The Great Debaters
Essay Preview: The Great Debaters
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How many times have you watched a movie that was based on a true story and thought to yourself I cannot believe that this really happened? The Great Debaters is based on a true story; the plot revolves around the efforts of a debate coach Melvin Tolsen at historically black Wiley College to place his team on equal footing with whites in American South during the 1930s. Through out the movie the team will debate against other colleges but the main focus is when Wiley College goes up against Harvard.
The movie also explores the social setting of Marshall Texas during the Great Depression including not only day-to-day insults and slights African Americans endured, but also fighting for equal rights, civil rights, and for freedom. Lynching was something that they also witnessed. Through out the movie Melvin Tolsen is accused of being a communist because he is trying to organize the local tenant farmers both black and white. Racism was the most prevalent theme in the movie and the struggle to overcome.
Melvin Tolsen who is a well-respected professor from Wiley College holds an audition for students to try out for the debate team. Only four students will be picked for the team. As Melvin selects the team he chooses two leads and two alternates. The students that were picked for the team are Henry Lowe who is the group leader; Hamilton Burgess and the two alternates are Samantha Booke who was the first black female debater and James Farmer Jr. who is the youngest at 14. After Tolsen preps the students they start debating local colleges. When Tolsen realizes that his team has immense skill, they begin to venture into the world of debating white colleges. During the movie the team is faced with obstacles that include faith in each other and society. The team begins to work together in amazing ways to accomplish the enormous task of defeating the best college debate team in the country.
James Farmer Jr. was not just the youngest debater on the team he was truly passionate about taking the lessons to heart. He knew that the debates were not to be used for just personal glory, but they could also be tools of change and enlightenment. James proved to himself and to others that he had become a credible debater.
When it was time for Wiley College to debate against Harvard, the team arrived in Boston and found out that the topic of the debate will be changed. This had quite an effect on the team they spent the night burning the midnight oil and argued like crazy. Once the big day arrives people are listening on the radio from around the country. When it came time to debate, the subject was is civil disobedience morally justifiable? James Farmer Jr. and Samantha Booke were incredible. The speeches that James and Samantha gave came from their hearts. They both spoke with great knowledge about the subjects that were giving to them. Wiley took the pro position and Harvard took the con. The two of them talked about what it was