The Great Debaters

The Great Debaters

Who is 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 does not exist.

Why does he not exist?

Because he is a mere dissenting voice of the truth I speak.

This is the chant of the Wiley College debating team taught to them by their mentor – Prof Melvin B Tolson (Played by Denzel Washington).  The movie is based on a true story.  It is set in the 1930s, when educational institutions in the US were segregated by color.  In this environment, Professor Melvin B Tolson of little Wiley College for black students in Marshal, Texas launches a debate team.

An interesting try-out is followed by the selection of four students, two primary debaters and two stand-in debaters. 

The first debater is Hamilton Burgess.  Experienced and conservative, he resigns from the debate team on the eve of their first debate scheduled with a white college.  He is concerned that his conservative image and future prospects will suffer as a result of his continued association with Prof Tolson.  Prof Tolson indulges in some clandestine after-hours communist politics attempting to organize share-croppers into unions.

The second debater is Henry Lowe, who comes from a humble and very chequered background that includes drinking, womanizing and brawls.  He is a brilliant debater who argues with passion and logic.  Sometimes his passions overtake him, and he ends up doing stuff that he shouldn’t be doing. 

The first stand-in is Samantha Booke.  An absolutely gorgeous intellectual who delivers her arguments with finesse and grace.  She joins the debating team to hone her public argument skills that she would need in her career as a lawyer.  She makes her debut at their first debate with a white college.  She and Henry Lowe have a mutual infatuation during the movie.  It’s quite hot :)

The second stand-in is James Farmer, Jr.  He is only 14 years old at the time and clearly a genius.  His research for the team is impeccable.  He is the sane voice for the team.  He has a great line that I love “We do what we have to do, so we can do what we want to do.”  He also has a secret crush on Samantha.  He makes his debating mark at the end of the movie when his argument defeats the great Harvard Team of debaters.

There is a great moment towards the start of the movie when Denzel Washington as Tolson is grooming the debaters.  He tells them how a slave was made.  The psyche of a slave is conditioned to behave in a self-defeating manner.  He explains how the Willie Lynch theory was practiced on slave-farms to enable the concept of strengthening the body and weakening the mind, so that the mind can be captured and chained even when the body was free.  This was done through systematic psychological and physical conditioning rituals.  He elaborates on the rituals. “I am here to free your mind.” He tells the debaters.  Denzel has some great dialogue delivery abilities.  He absolutely shines in this scene.

Some great topics are debated through the movie.

The first memorable topic is for and against social welfare.  The Wiley College team is asked to argue for it.  The opposing team makes some excellent arguments based on work ethics and that providing social welfare promotes bad work ethics.  They argue that if you take away the fear of survival by feeding the unemployed, then they may never want to work.  They argue that – let them learn how to survive or let them die. 

Henry Lowe first delivers the prepared arguments about the fallacy of making peace by killing off all the dissenting citizens.  Then he deviates from the prepared arguments practiced with Prof Tolson to make a passionate argument based on the fact that the primary beneficiaries of social welfare are children.  How does one make a starving child suffer due to the work ethics of her father?   In fact, how does one explain to a starving child that she must starve for the work ethic of her father?

The second memorable topic is for and against segregation of educational institutions in the U.S.  Samantha Booke makes her debut as a debater in this historic debate which was the first one held between a black college and a white one.  Since it was held off-campus, there is some controversy surrounding it. 

She first makes her logical arguments based on the fact that the government is spending five times more per white child proving the innate discrimination inherent in segregation.   The white college debater counters with passion arguing how a black student, who would be unhappy surrounded by white discrimination, could possibly gain a good education in that environment.  It’s the controversial Jim Crow argument.  He acknowledges that even though de-segregation is the right thing to do, it could not be done “today”.  To which she argues back passionately something to the effect of (I’m paraphrasing from memory)  “… if not today, then when? Tomorrow, ever, never?  No!  The time for justice, for freedom and equality is always… IS ALWAYS… right NOW!”

In between the debating, Prof Tolson gets arrested for his communist activities.  The community comes together for his release.  However, he is blacklisted by his peers.  The debating team suffers some setbacks due to his politics but they battle on loyal to him and each other.

On the way to a debating venue, the team accidentally stumbles upon a lynching of a black man by a white crowd.  The black man is strung up to a tree, tortured and then burnt alive.  By the time the debating team accidentally arrive at the scene, the lynching is at its last stage.  When the mob sees them, they get chased, but manage to escape in their car. 

Witnessing the lynch mob and being unable to aid their fellow man, has a deep effect on each of the team members.  Henry Lowe, the debater with the chequered past who at this point is in love with Samantha Booke, falls off the rails.  He takes off, gets drunk, gets laid and then comes back.  Samantha is heartbroken by his behavior and abandons the team to return back home on the eve of one of their key debate.  James Farmer Jr. makes his debut here as a debater, but fails miserably, bringing the team their first loss. 

Henry Lowe then goes on to make amends by somehow convincing the Harvard Team to invite them for a debate on campus.  He then convinces Prof Tolson to allow Samantha back on the team for that great debate.  There is a great scene here when she walks into the room to rejoin the team.  Henry Lowe attempts to talk with her and she delivers one tight slap to his face.  Silence.  Prof Tolson quips “Resolved.”  It’s funny.  But you know the romantic part is over between them.  She isn’t the type to put up with shenanigans like that and she isn’t interested in any debates over it.  She ends it with one slap.  Period.  Back to business.  Just love it.  Even though, it was contrary to the spirit of their debating team.  Then again, some exceptions strengthen the rule.

The whole debating scene with Harvard is just simply brilliant.  There is so much that happens there that you just have to see it.  The build up to it is outstanding, the debate itself is both passionate and poignant.  It was history in the making – the best black debating team battles the best white debating team.  It was broadcast live over the radio at the time.

That’s right, this movie is based on a true story.

Prof Tolson, went on to become an internationally renowned poet.

Henry Lowe went on to study theology and became a minister.  Every saint does have a past :)

Samantha Booke went on to become a successful lawyer and an eminent social worker.

James Farmer Jr. is a renowned name in the civil rights movement.  He founded the Congress of Racial Equality.

Definitely a MUST WATCH movie.