Great Debaters! I Like the Movie!

I finished watching Great Debaters (2007) yesterday. Please don't expect any ratings or critical appraisal of the film. I am no authority on films neither I have any interest to be. The only reason the film ended up in my movies folder is because of its' title and the obvious theme. The movie deals with four debaters under an eccentric intellectual professor in a small time Texas college. Set in 1935, Prof. Melvin Tolson forms a debate team of four, in Wiley College. The film had strong reference to the racial inequality Blacks had to suffer during those periods, since the main protagonists of the movie are all Blacks. Let's not delve into the film much, rather understand why does it mean anything to me. As I had mentioned in an earlier piece I am a parliamentary debater and the art holds a special position in my heart. After watching the movie, I did an online 'research' to know more about the film. As it turned out, the film is inspired by true events and most of the characters are real-life personalities who had an immense role to play in bringing about an end to the racial discrimination in US. The search on Wiley College debating team left me wonder struck. From 1935, they remained national champions for a decade with a win-loss margin of 75-1. The protagonist characters of the movie such as Melvin Tolson, Samantha Booke (partly inspired from Henrietta Bell Wells), James Farmer Jr. etc represent a period of increased intellectual activities among Black circle in US. The movie depicts the strong will power of the Black community to fight back the violence they encountered and uses debates to visualise these tensions. The climax debate of the movie, THBT civil disobedience is a moral weapon in the fight for justice, is an attempt at encapsulating the cultural transition and tensions of a bygone era. I would definitely recommend the movie to anyone, simply because I love it!

Wiley College Debate Team; Henrietta Bell Wells (in the middle) Melvin Tolson at her right

Who is the judge?

Judge is God!

Why is He God?

Because he decides who wins or loses, not my opponent!

Who is your opponent?

He doesn't exist!

Why does he not exist?

Because he is merely a dissenting voice to the truth I speak!

So, speak the truth!