• Home
  • News
  • Top Picks
    • Movies & Films: Top 25
    • Documentaries: Top 25
    • Films For Students: Top 10
    • Music Videos: Top 10
  • Categories
    • Film
    • Documentary
    • Shorts
    • Blog
    • Calendar
    • Links
    • About

Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World

Libertarian Movies, Films & Documentaries

The Girl Who Spelled Freedom (1986)

Tagged: Democide, Escape from socialism, Pro-immigration, Voluntarism

A young girl escapes the killing fields of Cambodia, immigrates to America, and four years later becomes the U.S. national spelling bee champion. Based on a true story. [ The Girl Who Spelled Freedom credits: Dir: Simon Wincer/ Wayne Rogers, Mary Kay Place, Jade Chinn/ 90 min/ Family, Drama, Biography/ Pro-Immigration, Voluntarism, Escape from Socialism, Democide]
No trailer is available.

This is a nice, upbeat Disney tale of hard-working immigrants and the people who help them.

It tells the remarkable story of Linn Yann, who escaped with her family from the killing fields of Cambodia in 1979. In the opening scene we see the Yanns struggling to traverse miles of Cambodian jungle under heavy gunfire. When they finally reach Thailand, exhausted and hungry, the Thai government says it won’t allow them to stay. If they can’t immediately find sponsors abroad to help them emigrate, they will be sent back to Cambodia, where they will very likely be executed for leaving.

Enter a kind middle-class family from Tennessee. After hearing from their church about the plight of Cambodian refugees, the Tennessee family sponsors the Yanns, and opens their house to them. There are many problems along the way, but the Yanns gradually blend into American life, and the industrious Linn Yann throws all her energy into learning the English language. Amazingly, just four years later, she becomes the U.S. national spelling bee champion.

This is one of those marvels of educational achievement for which Asian immigrants, in particular, are renowned. Granted, spelling isn’t rocket science, but the point is the same: immigrants work a lot harder than most of us.

From a libertarian perspective, The Girl Who Spelled Freedom has much going for it. It portrays totalitarian socialism for what it is, dramatically supports our immigrant tradition, and puts private philanthropy in a favorable light. On the downside, a bit too much focus is placed on the rather mild difficulties encountered by the American sponsors, who, despite their obvious generosity, seem a bit whiny at times. Nonetheless, this film is an agreeable watch and is especially well suited to introducing younger viewers to the concept of free movement of people.

How to See It

YouTube Video Search
Google Video Search

Links

IMDB
Wikipedia
Google
Related Film: The Killing Fields
More Films About: Escape from Socialism
More Films About: Democide
More Films About: Voluntarism
More Films About: Pro-Immigration
Book: Children of Cambodia’s Killing Fields: Memoirs by Survivors
Book: First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (P.S.)

“The vivacious 15-year-old resident of Chattanooga, Tenn. can’t contain her excitement. This week’s ABC Disney Sunday Movie The Girl Who Spelled Freedom will tell the story of her life. She’s eager for chums to tune in, but like any teen TV addict she’s got bigger dreams.”
–“A Cambodian Teen Triumphs as a Chattanooga Word Wiz,” People Magazine

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related

Featured Post

The Onion: Should the Government Stop Dumping Money Into a Giant Hole?

It's one of the great economic questions of our time. Does dumping money into a giant hole create jobs and stimulate the economy, or is it simply a waste? Paul Krugman has suggested that even faking an alien invasion would be good for the economy, the idea being that any activity, with or without production … Continue Reading

maos great famine

Mao’s Great Famine (2011)

Mao Zedong's "Great Leap Forward," a far-reaching program of forced modernization intended to transform China into a socialist paradise, instead results in the greatest holocaust in human history — with a death toll of 45 million. Also listed as La grande famine de Mao. [ Mao's Great Famine credits: Dir: … Continue Reading

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut

South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999)

WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS In the name of saving the children from obscene language, the parents of the South Park kids go to all extremes—including censorship, mind-controlling implants, executions, and finally war on Canada. [ South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut credits: Dir: Trey Parker/ (voices … Continue Reading

Themes

Abuse of power American revolution Anti-draft Anti-regulation Anti-slavery Anti-socialism Anti-taxation Anti-war Ayn Rand Corrupt government Creator as hero Democide Econ 101 Eminent domain Equality & law Escape from socialism Freedom of speech Free press as hero Government as bigot Government as torturer Government enforced morality Government healthcare Government schools Incompetent government Individualism John Stossel Law & liberty Legalize Drugs Libertarian heroes Libertarianism 101 Power corrupts Power worship Pro-capitalism Pro-immigration Propaganda Psychiatric coercion Resistance to tyranny Right to secede Search & seizure Second amendment Sexual liberty Social tolerance Unions & monopolies Voluntarism Working for government

Genres/Categories

Action-Adventure Animated Biography Blog Comedy Documentary Drama Family Featured Film Foreign History Horror Music-Dance Netflix News Romance SciFi-Fantasy Shorts Thriller Upcoming Western

About Miss Liberty

This site is a collection of films and documentaries of particular interest to libertarians (and those interested in libertarianism). It began as a book, Miss Liberty’s Guide to Film: Movies for the Libertarian Millennium, where many of the recommended films were first reviewed. The current collection has grown to now more than double the number in that original list, and it’s growing still.

  • RSS

© 2023 Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World. All Rights Reserved