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The Great Debaters (2007)
Director: Denzel Washington
Movie review
From Time Out New York
The rules of formal debate are clear. Avoid emotional appeals. Empty rhetoric will cost you. Stick to the facts. Destroy your opponents’ arguments with sustained, reasoned attacks. The rules of The Great Debaters are also fixed. If you must clap, clap extremely slowly, with tears rimming your eyes. Have your inspirational coach (Washington, also behind the camera) ladle out tough love, while also teaching his eager students to overcome 1930s Texas racism with their beautiful minds. Have this teacher observe their final victory from a balcony, quaking with pride. Have it be at Harvard. (In real life, it was the University of Southern California.)
The story of Wiley College’s national triumph under the real Melvin B. Tolson fits the Oprah mold snugly; her company is a producer. And while it would be unseemly to fully reject a movie this well-meaning, you wish it had more faith in the intellect of its viewers. It calls out for a thornier director, one who might have made an ironic meal out of the phony wars of words hiding deeper resentments. Forest Whitaker shows up as a stern, righteous scholar; though he never gets the chance, you know he could eat these cute debaters for breakfast.
Author: Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York Time Out New York, Issue 637–638, December 13–26, 2007
User reviews of this film
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- don said...
- Posted on Nov 15 2009 02:24 you people are all stoopid its only a movie! you get it ist only entertainment. i bet you stoopid ass people get excited over a football game as if you were getting baid by the team too
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- dan said...
- Posted on Oct 10 2008 01:51 I think that you are missing the point of intellectualism- to educate the public for the betterment of society. Intellectualism based on bravado, elitism, and abstract shallowism, is a waste of energy and does not fulfill a purpose. Your analysis is wrong. This movie is not about debating tactics, its about sending a meaninful, reasonably, and progressive message. You are not an intellectual because you read alot of books- you are just a nerd. you only become an intellectual when you realize the purpose of your attainment of knowledge.
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- Kehinde said...
- Posted on Jan 06 2008 11:13 This film is fantastic. I'ts a film for the young and old to watch. The way Denzel acts in this role just proves he is one of America's finest actors. The potrays the story of gut's,determination and true spirit. It's a film that you can use in the classroom to teach children both black and white children about the wrongs doings that racsim brings out of people who have a lack of knowledge.
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- RBG said...
- Posted on Jan 02 2008 03:36 The Great Debaters is a wonderful movie. It's not a biopic or manual for proper debate style, but rather a beautiful metaphor for triumph in an ugly time, Denzel Washington has created a timeless presentation of true American spirit and the struggle between compromise and righteousness. Don't miss this movie if you appreciate great stories and great performances. Kudos to both Denzels, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett and Jermaine Williams!
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- charles said...
- Posted on Dec 31 2007 00:00 Danzel has delivered another master piece. It is very refreshing to see how Black people have always overcome very difficult times. This movie touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I will see it over and over and over again.
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- Francesca said...
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Posted on Dec 27 2007 05:52
Thank you Jennifer. I thought the debates in this were a joke too! And I really wanted to like this film and was excited by the idea of it.
I felt like the debate at the end of the film was nothing more than a preaching/sob stroy contest worthy of propaganda. I just found out to that so little of this movie actually happened. For example the credit follow ups on two of the characters are for characters that didn't even exist,
I kind of feel like this is a propaganda movie.
I had to laugh at these "great debators" who had no apparent awareness of things such as logical falacies. And don't get me started on how anachronistic this film was. - Report as inappropriate
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- Jennifer said...
- Posted on Dec 25 2007 23:24 Joshua, everything you said about the rules of debate are 100% true, which is why this film made me (a black, female Texan and HBCU alum) want to scream. I was so puzzled by what I saw that I came home and began to see if I could find film reels from early 20th century debate competitions. I kept thinking, "Maybe the emotionless, dry-witted, fast paced debates that I participated in (complete with actual rebuttals and debaters arguing points that they themselves don't agree with) are some sort of modern day creation." They must be, because the "debate" I saw would've been laughed off the stage by the judges themselves. Don't get me wrong, TGD is a *good* film. I just don't know if it's a film about debate.
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Cast & crew
Director: Denzel Washington
Cast: Denzel Washington, Nate Parker, John Heard, Forest Whitaker
Genre(s): Drama
Rated: NR
Duration: 123 mins
US Release: Dec 25 2007
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