"Rocky" Meets Black Forensics Program

DVDs:


	• The Great Debaters Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker Genius Products (TVN), 2008 average customer review:based on 42 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Your Mind Is A Weapon

This film is more than a movie about debaters. Inspired by a true story, it contains some events of how African-Americans lived during the 1930s amidst the atmosphere of random lynchings.

Melvin B. Tolson (portrayed by Denzel Washington) was an educated professor at Wiley College (in the rural south) by day and a human rights radical by night. Not even his wife (portrayed by Kimberly Elise) knew of his activism. The quartet of intelligent debaters each had their own baggage to carry. Henry Lowe (portrayed by Nate Parker) liked juke joints, "holy wine" and the ladies. Samantha Booke (portrayed by Jurnee Smollett) wanted to be a lawyer and knew it was an uphill climb. James Farmer, Jr. (portrayed by Denzel Whitaker) seemed to seek the approval of his father (a Ph.D. scholar and minister who spoke seven languages; portrayed by Forest Whitaker); Junior had witnessed his father being degraded by a White man because James, Sr. had accidentally killed the man's pig with his car; Junior also witnessed the strength of his father standing up to the sheriff and convincing him to release Professor Tolson from jail after being arrested for holding a meeting to organize sharecroppers (both Black and White) "to make things right" against the farm bosses, after which Junior told the man "that pig wasn't worth $25, you owe my father some money." The team became a trio when Hamilton Burgess (portrayed by Jermaine Williams) withdrew because his father disapproved of Professor Tolson's rumored "communist" political beliefs - he was at Wiley College "to be educated, not investigated."

Although this debate team had a record of 10-1, their crowning glory came when they won against the Harvard debate team on the subject of civil disobedience. It did not escape my attention the character named Wilson (portrayed by Damien Leake) who appeared briefly near the end of the movie. He was the butler/attendant for the three Wiley College students as they were preparing for their Harvard debate. Despite his position, his high intelligence showed when he inserted himself into their conversation nonchalantly by saying "Satyagraha from the Sanskrit meaning truth and fairness."

The Wiley College debaters' mantra: Who's the judge? The 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 doesn't he exist? Because he is merely a dissension portion of the truth I speak.

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Much more than a movie about debaters

The Great Debaters is a terrific, multi-dimensional movie with layers of stories that each leave a profound impression. I can't say anything new or better about the movie than the amazon.com review, and customer reviews, have said already.

Extremely sensitive to violent scenes, I found the lynching scene to be on the very edge of what I am able to tolerate. The sex scenes were not blatant or gratuitous, mostly just suggested.

I believe this movie should be required viewing for American kids in middle school.

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The Debaters...

A wonderful movie for most of the family. There are few scenes that you won't want your younger children watching.There is a small amount of foul language and a bedroom scene. There are a few inaccuracies but that is nothing new to hollywood. The acting is great!

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"Rocky" Meets Black Forensics Program

"The Great Debaters" is an entertaining portrayal of a small black college debate team in the 1930's - Wiley College. They became the Davids who slew the white Goliaths in the art of debate. Against all odds, the team mows down opponent after opponent before its climactic contest - taking on the Harvard debate team in Cambridge.

Need I tell you how it ends? Without seeing the movie, you probably can guess. The cast is strong and the story is feel-good, but the characters are somewhat two-dimensional. White folks in particular do not come off very well, being stereotyped as either sadistic redneck crackers or smug intellectuals. Such is the portrayal in OprahLand perhaps.

The movie hearkens back to a bygone day when college debate involved reasoning and oratory; this, in stark contrast to modern college debate, which features how fast you can spit out information at 400-words per minute, incomprehensible except to the cognoscenti.

In "The Great Debaters", each black student becomes Demosthenes when he or she gets up behind the podium. Also, the Wilie team always gets the "proper" side of the debate resolution. They never have to argue AGAINST equal rights, civil disobedience or letting blacks into public universities. These awkward sides of the issue are always assigned to the white debaters in this morality tale. Funny how that works out....

Entertaining but not totally filling.

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Washington & team lead the debate

As an historical document and a thought-provoking entertainment, this film can't be beat but unfortunately it didn't score a home run at the box office despite excellent reviews. It's certainly an appropriate docu-drama for the times now since it shows us how far we've come since the '30's and how much further we'll need to come before we can call ourselves truly "The United States of America". The scene of a Negro after being lynched then being burned to death was particularly disturbing but I'm glad Washington as director inserted this true incident into the film. His direction is excellent and he's abetted by a fine cast of new and older actors. Particularly amusing is the scene between him and Forest Whittaker as they carry on a casual debate in a humorous fashion. I wish there were more films of this type rather than the inane Tyler Perry films that pass as comedy-dramas. Washington & producer Oprah Winfrey should be proud of this inspirating film.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Denzel Washington directs and stars in this uplifting drama based on a true story about a small East Texas all-black college in 1935 that rises to the top of the nation's debate teams in a duel against Harvard. A poet and debating coach at Wiley College Professor Melvin Tolson (Washington) sees debating as "a blood sport" and recruits the meanest and brightest including troubled Henry (Nate Parker) driven Samantha (Jurnee Smollet) and the 14-year-old prodigy James Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker). Oscar winner Forest Whitaker (no relation) plays Farmer's father the initially unsupportive president of the school. There's tough training romantic heat over the attentions of fiery Samantha (the first girl on the team) and some no holds-barred racism (including a witnessed lynching) before the big match-up against the Ivy League school adding to the overall emotional force.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/CLASS DIFFERENCES Rating: PG-13 UPC: 796019810708 Manufacturer No: 81070

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