Tolson, a professor at wiley college in texas who, in 1935, inspired students to form the schools first debate team, which went on to challenge harvard in the national championship. The astounding miss samantha booke is played by journee smolett. Nov 19, 2010 melvin tolson denzel washington is the new coach for the all black wiley college debating team located in marshall, texas. The great debaters is a 2007 film directed by denzel washington that portrays the journey of the wiley college team, a group of africanamerican debaters, and their pursuit against racial discrimination and inequality against the negros through the art of argument in the debate competitions they join. Tolson, a professor at wiley college in texas who, in 1935, inspired students to form the schools first debate team, which went on to challenge harvard in the national championship directed by denzel washington. The argument that samantha booke gave at debate team tryouts. The first and only female member of the debate team, she captures audiences with her passionate and heartfelt delivery of arguments and becomes the love interest of henry lowe. The great debaters 611 movie clip quinn debate 2007 hd. The story really belongs to the characters of henry lowe, samantha, james farmer, jr. The great debaters 2007 movie mistakes, goofs and bloopers. Their team participated in the first collegiate interracial debate in the united states in the 1930s.
The plot the movie is about a a group of african american college. The great debaters the setting henry lowe samantha booke the movie is set in the year 1935, in wiley, texas. Other talented debaters on tolsons team include fiercely independent student henry lowe nate parker, and samantha brooke jurnee. Denzel washingtons great debaters is a big winner new york. Remember, if a question has multiple parts, you must answer all parts of. Dec 25, 2007 the great debaters is oprahproduced, oprahapproved, and oprahendorsed. The latter shows promise but needs polishing, and tolson thinks he can provide that. The great debaters is so earnest and wellmeaning that it wont even matter that youve seen it all before. The students and the teacher are from the school wiley college. However, in 1930s segregated texas, this task proves to be hard with racism, hatred, and prejudice at an all time high. No text could have existed at the time of this scene for tolson to quote.
Denzel whitaker, samantha booke jurnee smollett and henry lowe nate parker form an elite academic squad in the great debaters. Lowe, played by nate parker, is the stubborn and outspoken leader of the group. Samantha booke has just transferred to wiley and the only girl in the team, henry lowe,a handsome man who struggles to balance his academic ideals with his ways, and james farmer jr. Empty like antwone fisher, denzel washingtons first directorial effort, the great debaters is an earnest drama about the search for selfesteem and sense of responsibility among young black. The movie is based on the reallife story of the debate team at wiley college, an allblack school in texas who won a national championship in 1935 and, as the credits at the end of the film indicate, went undefeated for a period of. The great debaters is a 2007 american biographical drama film directed by and starring. Smollett as samantha booke is chosen the first woman to ever debate and n.
The great debaters was released on dvd on may, 2008 on 1disc and 2disc editions. The great debaters is a true representation of the hatred and discrimination white people had for black people in the 1900s. Over time they all white debate teams that are prejudice of the black students. Jurnee smollett plays samantha booke, the first woman to make the team. Although the running time is 123 minutes, the pace never flags. This fictional movie is based on a remarkable true story about a tiny african american methodist college named wiley college in texas that had a winning debate team of african american debaters in the highly racist, jim crow south during the 1930s. Because he is a mere dissenting voice of the truth i speak. I recently came across this dvd when looking to purchase the great debaters movie. With denzel washington, forest whitaker, kimberly elise, nate parker. Henry lowe as the leader made a tough decision in letting the 14year old boy, james jr. The state is currently spending five times more for the education for a white child than it is fitting to educate a colored child. Based on a true story, the great debaters tells the story of wiley college s professor melvin tolson as he leads his africanamerican debate team to victory. According to the student, henry lowe, what is the only place other than school where one can.
Black college debate team battles harvard and racism the denver. The great debaters based on a true story, the plot revolves around the efforts of debate coach melvin b. A wellknown poet and founder of wiley college debate team. Overall this movie is a masterpiece of the drama genre and definitely a milestone of denzel washington as director. Jan 05, 2008 henrietta wells was a real woman and the first on the wiley debate team. Its a perfectly respectable drama, made from the inspiring sports movie template but centered around a college debate team instead of a sports team. A brilliant young woman i know was asked once to support her argument in favor of social welfare. She participated in one of the youngest member of the debate team age 14. The great debaters offers a fictionalized and limited account of the exploits of the awardwinning wiley college debate team headed by melvin b. The great debaters questions choose 6 of the following 16 questions to complete for fridays class. Beginning in 1935, under the leadership of a professor, poet and political activist named melvin tolson played by denzel washington, who also directed, wiley college, a small black institution in marshall, tex.
Beyond his academic duties, tolson was an accomplished poet, journalist and social activist. The great debaters focuses on the year 1935 and three tolson debaters, two of whom are frankly composites, though inspired by real wiley students. Drawing inspiration from the true story of a temperamental debate coach who molded the students of a small east texas college into a formidable team that gave even harvards elite squad a run for their money, denzel washingtons the great debaters features the director himself as the ambitious educator, and forest whitaker as the resentful father of a student whose loyalties now. James farmer sr are you fooling around with that girl son. Hamilton burgess jermaine williams, from left, james farmer jr. The great debaters is one of the great movies of 2007. There are enough things to admire about the great debaters, the heavily fictionalized true story of the little debate team that could, that your impulse is. In addition to hines and bell, tolson brought along henry heights as the anchor. Who wrote the first poem the professor recites the first day of class. The finalists for the debating team include henry lowe nate parker, a brooding and passionate young man who is obviously frustrated by all that he has seen. Dec 24, 2007 the great debaters is about an underdog debate team that wins a national championship, and some critics have complained that it follows the formula of all sports movies by leading up, through great adversity, to a victory at the end. But, despite of the consecutive challenges and shortcomings, henry lowe, samantha booke and james farmer jr. When challenged by henry lowe, professor tolson begins to recite the infamous william lynch speech. The great debaters, inspired by an american legacy magazine article of the same name, takes place in 1935 in marshall, texas, where melvin b.
Produced by todd black, kate forte, oprah winfrey, joe roth. Inspired by the critically acclaimed hollywood film the great debaters, the real great debaters of wiley college unveils the true story of wiley college s 1935 debate team and their groundbreaking defeat of the allwhite reigning national championship debate team at the university of southern california. The great debaters, first and foremost, is an episodic plot film, which is inspired by the true story of the undefeated wiley college. Samantha brooke jurnee smollett, who has transfered to wiley with the dream of being the first woman debater. The great debaters begins telling the story of melvin tolson denzel washington assembling a firstrate debate team from a tiny black college in marshall, texas, in the 1930s.
Denzel whitaker, henry lowe nate parker, samantha booke. Leadership in the great debaters research paper 987 words. I initially expressed interest in this dvd when i understood that nate parker who played henry lowe, who was modeled after wiley college debater henry heights was interviewed for the documentary. Because she is the minority on the team, she feels that she must prove herself worthy of being on the team. Nate parker henry lowe, jurnee smollett samantha booke, denzel. The lot makes a definite approach to their speech making, driven by logos, pathos and ethos. While most educators may not have recognized the remarkable potential of assembling such a disparate team, tolsons unique vision truly. Jun 18, 2008 the film, loosely based on a true story, revolves around the efforts of debate coach melvin b. Which argument does henry lowe use to win the first debate. Directed by denzel washington, the great debaters is a very emotional and powerful david versus goliath story. She was one of the two debaters in the historic debate depicted in the film.
Samantha booke, henry lowe and hamilton burgess were the members of this great team of debaters. The great debaters are based on a true story about an all black debate team journey to the top. It is based off of the debate team of wiley college, a small religious black school in east texas, during the great depression in the 1930s. Parker as henry lowe is sort of the leader of the debaters yet plays a surprisingly small role in the showdown in harvard. Its initial push to break the color barrier in college debating by competing. Stirring, likable and unashamedly formulaic, the great debaters is a fictionalized account of a true story. A narrative analysis of the film the great debaters and its. Feb 03, 2015 drawing inspiration from the true story of a temperamental debate coach who molded the students of a small east texas college into a formidable team that gave even harvards elite squad a run for. His impact on and off the camera is unmeasurable and is a large part of what made this movie so emotional for its viewers. In the early 1930s, in the jim crow south, a small, allblack school in marshall. Going to see the great debaters is a great way to celebrate black. As these students gel into a debate team, we could be watching any film about educational achievement against tall odds. In the film, tolson, still years away from his reallife literary career of the civil rights era, is but an unorthodox english professor whose passion.
Henry lowe nate parker is a handsome, fiercetempered, justiceloving debater who must learn accountability and responsibility through teamwork and humility. Samantha booke jurnee smollett, wiley college s first female on the debate team, must learn confidence in debate and sensitivity and tact in her relationships. He also showed this in bringing henry lowe into the debaters club because he probably saw his qualities. According to the professor, what type of sport is debate. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Smollett are cast as the three debate students in the the great debaters. In the 2disc edition, the first disc includes no extra material, but the second disc includes an audio commentary, a making of documentary, deleted scenes, featurettes, and a still gallery. The great debaters is an inspirational film that wears its heart on its sleeve.
The great debaters marred by inaccuracies, imbalance movie. Another character on the team, samantha booke, is based on the real. For smolletts character, samantha brooke, its about never quitting. According to the student, henry lowe, what is the only place other than school where one can read all day.
Denzel washingtons second directorial effort hits all the high and low notes with. Although denzel has acted in over 40 movies and produced several more, this is only the second movie for him to. Tolson makes the selection of the main characters to be on the debate team, henry lowe and hamilton burgess are the primary debaters with samantha booke and james farmer jr. Nevertheless, tolson sets out to motivate his students, choosing james jr.
But the great debaters is a comingofage saga that doesnt evade the american age in which it takes place. Though the odds seemed stacked against them with lowe having more debating experience than booke and farmer, it is booke and farmers time to shine brighter than they ever have. Our debate squad reads hundreds of magazine articles and scores of books on. Remember, if a question has multiple parts, you must answer all parts of the question to receive full credit for that question. The great debaters 2007 denzel whitaker as james farmer jr. Though, like many of the characters in this film, brooke is a composite of real and imagined, wells and her participation in the great debaters is all too real. Dec 25, 2007 there are enough things to admire about the great debaters, the heavily fictionalized true story of the little debate team that could, that your impulse is to forgive the movie its shortcomings.
Henry lowe nate parker is tolsons best and brightest rebel. The great debaters 211 movie clip the hot spot 2007 hd. Kinyon great debaters essay 6 march 20 the great debaters based on a true story, the movie the great debaters is about a four person debate team at the historically black, wiley college in marshall, tx. Tolson, an africanamerican english professor, during the depression years.
The movie is about a historical event in the 1930s based on a true story of professor melvin b. The plot of the movie centers on the four main protagonists, melvin i. You dont have to know much about propositions, resolutions and fallacies to appreciate the great debaters, which opens christmas day. Denzel washington is the director and main character in the great debaters. The great debaters chronicles the journey of professor melvin tolson denzel washington, a brilliant but volatile debate team coach who uses the power of words to shape a group of underdog students from a small african american college in the deep south into a historically elite debate team. The great debaters 2007 nate parker as henry lowe imdb. The four students attending in the debate team are henry lowe, samantha booke, james farmer, jr, and hamilton burgess. Samantha booke takes the bus to school and is watching her impoverished. This makes the closing credits a tad misleading, since it relates tolsons and farmers subsequent actual exploits along with alleged later achievements of. This team made up of one girl, samantha booke, and three young men, james farmer jr.
The great debaters 2007 the great debaters 2007 user. Dec 26, 2007 the great debaters is this years major entry to this rather dubious genre. During the great depressionan age when segregation was in full swing and black americans were seen by many white americans as intellectually inferiorwiley was an unlikely debating powerhouse. The great debaters, directed by denzel washington, is an inspirational movie about a specific debate team overcoming racism in the segregated south. The great debaters is inspired by the remarkable story of wiley colleges winning debate team of the early 1930s. This essay argues that the great debaters is a text that is not simply a story about wiley colleges debate triumphs during the 1930s, but that the film shares a temporal bond to the time in which it was released in. Henry lowe, who is somewhat unstable, also decides to only allow samantha booke and james farmer jr. He anchored the debate team that defeated the national champio joined wileys debate team in 1930. Most of the students were scared to take this step but mr. The great debaters 2007 denzel washington synopsis. Based on a true story no, i did not read the book it tells of an ugly time in our nations history when there were many excellent teachers who happened to be. Set against the backdrop of the jim crow south, the great debaters. There are enough things to admire about the great debaters, the heavily. If you think im going to criticize an oprah movie, youre crazy.
In the movie the great debaters, is the character of henry. Samantha booke jurnee smollett, a high spirited young woman, who is taken by the charms of henry. However, the speech was proved to be a hoax that was actually written in the 1990s. So, the other three debaters, feisty samantha booke jurnee smollett, her womanizing boyfriend henry lowe nate parker, and hefty hamilton burgess jermaine williams are fictional. Before this film was produced, very little was generally known about wiley, a. Forest whitaker henry lowe nate parker samantha booke jurnee smollett. Tolson denzel washington at historically black wiley college to place his team on equal footing with whites in the american south during the 1930s, when jim crow laws were common and lynch mobs were a pervasive fear for blacks. Denzel is one of the most famous and highly praised actors of this time period. Samantha booke is the only female on the wiley college debate team and is barely noticed other than for her beauty in the beginning of the film when she catches the eye of henry lowe and james farmer jr. The great debaters was inspired by wiley college, a traditionally africanamerican school in marshall, and melvin tolson, its iconic debate coach. Financial analysis of the great debaters 2007 including budget, domestic and international box office gross, dvd and bluray sales reports, total earnings and profitability.
Denzel washington, who also directed the picture, stars as mel tolson, a professor at the africanamerican wiley college in smalltown marshall, texas, who battles jim crow to lead the schools debate team to national prominence. Hes fussy about whom he picks for his fourperson team and has his own mindgame techniques for turning them into winners. How many sports movies, or movies about underdogs competing in any way, have you seen that end in defeat. Why does samantha booke want to join the debate team. The particular scene being described is from the new film the great debaters, directed by denzel washington. The great debaters marred by inaccuracies, imbalance. The great debaters is a 2007 film about the true story of melvin b. Other talented debaters on tolsons team include fiercely independent student henry lowe nate parker, and samantha brooke jurnee smollett the first ever female ever to join the wiley college debate team.
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