Production Company:
The Weinstein Company/Harpo Films
Director: Denzel Washington
Cast: Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker, Denzel Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett, Jermaine Williams, Gina Ravera, John Heard, Kimberly Elise
Rating: PG-13 for depiction of strong thematic material including violence and disturbing images, and for language and brief sexuality.
By Gregg Tubbs
(UMC.org)—"We do what we have to do so we can do what we want to do." That’s the mantra heard throughout the stirring new drama, The Great Debaters, directed by and starring Denzel Washington. This motto strikes at the heart of the hard road those who smash racial barriers must travel. This is familiar territory for Washington, who has played it out in war (Glory) and sports (Remember the Titans). But if it’s familiar theme, the new backdrop of a college debate team breathes new life into the struggle for racial equality, and when you’ve got the talents of Washington, Forest Whitaker and a group of bright young newcomers, it’s a tale worth seeing and learning from again.
Inspired by a true story, The Great Debaters plunges us into the Jim Crow South of the mid 1930s—a time when blacks endured the daily indignity of discrimination, and racial violence always simmered just beneath the surface. The film tells the story of the debate team at Wiley College, a small Black college in Marshall Texas. Washington plays the part of the brilliant but mercurial English professor and debate team coach, Melvin B. Tolson. Professor Tolson teaches his students the power of reason and words and forges a debating juggernaut, able to go head to head and mind to mind, against any team in the country. At the height of an incredible run in 1936, the team even travels to face off the Harvard debate team in Boston. (The historic debate was actually against the reigning champions, the University of Southern California debate team.)
Professor Tolson (Denzel Washington) teaches his students the power of reason and words and forges a debating juggernaut, able to go head to head and mind to mind, against any team in the country. Copyright © 2007 The Weinstein Company. |
Tolson inspires his small, underdog team to believe in themselves, their cause and the truth. A true agent of change, Tolson was also an important figure in tenant farmers rights and continued to battle injustice—against both whites and blacks—throughout his life. He instilled in his team the belief that they could use these competitive debates for more than personal glory; they could also be tools of change and enlightenment. As we learn in the epilogue, his team takes these lessons to heart—one becomes a lawyer, another a minister and the youngest, James L. Farmer, Jr., becomes one of the most important figures of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
Shattering the vicious concept that one race is mentally superior to another required a different type of competitor. These debaters were competitors of the mind. Their battlefields were the great halls of knowledge, and their weapons were ideas, reasoning and persuasion. With the backdrop of competitive team debates, the film explores, even dissects, issues such as social justice, civil disobedience and workers rights, without feeling static or preachy. As director, Washington earns kudos for infusing these debates with both passion and intelligence.
Wiley College is one of the oldest historically black colleges west of the Mississippi, and has strong ties to the United Methodist Church. The college was founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley, and it remains a member of the International Association of Methodist-related Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU). Its Christian roots are evident from the very beginning when Wiley professor and president James L. Farmer, Sr. (Forrest Whitaker), the first black Texan to hold a doctorate, exhorts incoming freshmen with words from Corinthians to “put away childish things” in preparation for the rigors of college and the desperate challenges of the outside world.
At the height of an incredible run in 1936, the Wiley College team travels to face off the Harvard debate team in Boston and wins. Copyright © 2007 The Weinstein Company. |
There is so much to recommend this film, but two things—in particular—stuck with me. First, that big change often must come one small, painful step at a time. We see the incredibly delicate balance Tolson and his team must strike between fighting back and laying low, choosing their battles wisely and often swallowing their pride for the greater goal. Secondly, The Great Debaters denies us any complacency about the ugly reality of racial violence. A pivotal lynching scene leaves you dazed and winded like a punch in the gut. It reminds us again that this was a life and death struggle, and it required incredible courage to take a stand.
The battle against racism is far from over. The Great Debaters reminds us that it still has the power to shock, shame and inspire. Without a doubt, this is simply one of the best and most powerful films of the year.
Study Questions:
Were you familiar with the story of the Wiley College debate team? Why do you think their story has not been told before?
At the start of the film, Professor Farmer reads to incoming freshmen from 1 Corinthians 13:11. Why do you think he chose that verse? How did it apply to the students?
Farmer also says “We do what we have to do, so that we can do what we want to do.” What do you think that means? What things did the debate team “have to do"? What things did they gain the right to do?
Tolson said Jesus was a “radical.” What did he mean? Do you agree? Did Jesus defy the established order of his times?
Which debate topic did you find most interesting? Did you side with the “pro” or the “con” argument?
Why do you think Tolson explained to his students the historical source of the word lynch? What did that have to say about the power of words and their connection to real life?
In the critical debate with Harvard, James Farmer, Jr. quoted St. Augustine, who said, “An unjust law is no law at all.” Discuss how we as Christians should approach a law that we believe is unjust. What criteria do we use to determine whether a law is just or unjust?
Professor Farmer was obviously a Christian. Do you think Tolson was? Was Tolson a communist? Does that exclude him from being a Christian?
If you had to debate a social issue, what would it be? Who would you debate? What position would you take?
Was Jesus a “great debater”? Did he use words and truth or violence?
Related Links
Official The Great Debaters site
Theatrical Trailer
