The Great Debaters
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''The Great Debaters'' is a 2007 American historical drama film directed by
Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...
from a screenplay by Robert Eisele and based on a 1997 article for '' American Legacy'' by Tony Scherman. The film follows the trials and tribulations of the
Wiley College Wiley University (formerly Wiley College) is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the ...
debate team in 1935 Texas. It stars Washington,
Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...
, Denzel Whitaker, Kimberly Elise,
Nate Parker Nate Parker (born November 18, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has appeared in ''Beyond the Lights'', ''Red Tails'', ''The Secret Life of Bees (film), The Secret Life of Bees'', ''The Great Debaters'', Arbitrage (film), ''Arbitrage ...
, Gina Ravera, Jermaine Williams, and
Jurnee Smollett Jurnee Diana Smollett (born October 1, 1986) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress appearing on television sitcoms, including '' On Our Own'' (1994–1995) and ''Full House'' (1992–1994). She gained greater recognition ...
. ''The Great Debaters'' was released in theaters on December 25, 2007 to positive critical reception.


Plot

Based on a true story, the plot revolves around the efforts of debate coach Melvin B. Tolson at
Wiley College Wiley University (formerly Wiley College) is a private historically black college in Marshall, Texas. Founded in 1873 by the Methodist Episcopal Church's Bishop Isaac Wiley and certified in 1882 by the Freedman's Aid Society, it is one of the ...
, a historically black college related to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (now
The United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...
), to place his team on equal footing with whites in the American South during the 1930s, when
Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were U.S. state, state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, "Jim Crow (character), Ji ...
were common and lynch mobs were a fear for African Americans. The Wiley team eventually succeeds to the point where they are able to debate
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. (In 1935, the Wiley College debate team defeated the reigning national debate champion, the University of Southern California, depicted as Harvard University in The Great Debaters.) The movie explores social constructs in Texas during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, from day-to-day insults African Americans endured to
lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...
. Also depicted is
James Farmer James Leonard Farmer Jr. (January 12, 1920 – July 9, 1999) was an American civil rights activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement "who pushed for nonviolent protest to dismantle segregation, and served alongside Martin Luther King Jr." ...
, who, at 14 years old, was on Wiley's debate team after completing high school (and who later went on to co-found the Congress of Racial Equality). Another character on the team, Samantha Booke, is based on the real individual Henrietta Bell Wells, acclaimed poet and the only female member of the 1930 Wiley team who participated in the first collegiate interracial debate in the US. The key line of dialogue, used several times, is a famous paraphrase of theologian St.
Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
: " An unjust law is no law at all", which would later be the central thesis of Letter from a Birmingham Jail, by
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
Another major line, repeated in slightly different versions according to context, concerns doing what you "have to do" in order that we "can do" what we "want to do." In all instances, these vital lines are spoken by the James L. Farmer Sr. and James L. Farmer Jr. characters.


Historical notes

The film depicts the Wiley Debate team beating Harvard College in the 1930s. The real Wiley team instead defeated the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
, who at the time were the reigning debating champions. Wiley was not allowed to officially call themselves champions, despite defeating the reigning champions, because they were not full members of the debate society; blacks were not admitted until after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Cast


Release

''The Great Debaters'' was released in theaters on December 25, 2007. The release of the film coincided with a nationally stepped-up effort by urban debate leagues to get hundreds of inner-city and financially challenged schools to establish debate programs. Cities of focus included Denver, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. On December 19, 2007, Denzel Washington announced a $1 million donation to Wiley College so they could re-establish their debate team. June 2007, after completing filming at Central High School, Grand Cane, Louisiana, Washington donated $10,000 to Central High School.


Home media

''The Great Debaters'' was released on DVD on May 13, 2008.


Reception


Box office

''The Great Debaters'' debuted at No. 11 in its first weekend with a total of $6,005,180 from 1,171 venues. The film grossed $30,236,407 in the US.


Critical response

As of November 20, 2012, the review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
reports that 80% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 132 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "A wonderful cast and top-notch script elevate ''The Great Debaters'' beyond a familiar formula for a touching, uplifting drama."
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
reported the film had an average score of 65 out of 100 based on reviews from 32 critics. Carrie Rickey of ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...
'' named it the 5th best film of 2007 and
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'' named it the 9th best film of 2007. Some critics have criticized the film for "playing it safe." John Monaghan of the ''
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...
'' stated, "Serious moviegoers, especially those attracted by the movie's aggressive Oscar campaign, will likely find the package gorgeously wrapped, but intellectually empty." Motion picture-historian
Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...
, however, hailed the movie as "Inspiring...plays with the facts but, despite its at-times-formulaic storytelling, shows us how education and determination can help ordinary people surmount even the most formidable obstacles."


Accolades

* Won: Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture * Won: Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture:
Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...
* Won: Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture:
Jurnee Smollett Jurnee Diana Smollett (born October 1, 1986) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress appearing on television sitcoms, including '' On Our Own'' (1994–1995) and ''Full House'' (1992–1994). She gained greater recognition ...
* Won: Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture:
Forest Whitaker Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, filmmaker, and activist. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Best Actor Award at the ...
,
Nate Parker Nate Parker (born November 18, 1979) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has appeared in ''Beyond the Lights'', ''Red Tails'', ''The Secret Life of Bees (film), The Secret Life of Bees'', ''The Great Debaters'', Arbitrage (film), ''Arbitrage ...
, Denzel Whitaker * Won: Stanley Kramer Award * Nominated:
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
for Best Motion Picture – Drama * Nominated: Image Award for Outstanding Director in a Motion Picture:
Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...
* Nominated: Golden Reel Award for Best Music Sound Editing in a Feature Film


Soundtrack

The songs for the soundtrack to the film were hand-picked by
Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...
from over 1000 candidates. It contains remakes of traditional
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
and
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
songs from the 1920s and 1930s by artists including Sharon Jones, Alvin Youngblood Hart, David Berger, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops. It features favorites, such as "Step It Up and Go", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", and the
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...
classic, "Delta Serenade".
Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...
released a separate album of the film's score, composed by James Newton Howard and Peter Golub. The complete soundtrack album includes the following songs:"The Great Debaters (Soundtrack)"
on Amazon.com
; Track listing # "My Soul is a Witness" – Alvin "Youngblood" Hart & Sharon Jones # "That's What My Baby Likes" – Sharon Jones, Alvin Youngblood Hart & Teenie Hodges # "I've Got Blood in My Eyes for You" – The Carolina Chocolate Drops & Alvin "Youngblood" Hart # " Step It Up and Go" – Alvin "Youngblood" Hart & Teenie Hodges # "
It's Tight Like That "It's Tight Like That" is a hokum or dirty blues song, recorded by Tampa Red and Georgia Tom on October 24, 1928. Vocalion Records issued it on the then standard 10-inch 78 rpm shellac record in December 1928. It became successful and even ...
" – Sharon Jones, Alvin Youngblood Hart & Teenie Hodges # "Busy Bootin'" – Alvin "Youngblood" Hart & The Carolina Chocolate Drops # "City of Refuge" – Alvin "Youngblood" Hart & The Carolina Chocolate Drops # "Two Wings" – Alvin "Youngblood" Hart, Sharon Jones w/Billy Rivers and the Angelic Voices of Faith # "Delta Serenade" – David Berger & The Sultans of Swing # "Rock n' Rye" – David Berger & The Sultans of Swing # "Wild About That Thing" – Sharon Jones, Alvin Youngblood Hart, & Teenie Hodges # " Nobody's Fault but Mine" – Alvin "Youngblood" Hart & The Carolina Chocolate Drops # "How Long Before I Change My Clothes" – Alvin "Youngblood" Hart # " We Shall Not Be Moved" – Sharon Jones w/Billy Rivers and the Angelic Voices of Faith # " Up Above My Head" – Sharon Jones w/Billy Rivers and the Angelic Voices of Faith # "The Shout" – Art Tatum # "Begrüssung" – Marian Anderson


References

* Original article about Melvin Tolson's Wiley College debate team. * Another very detailed article on the team and the film.


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Great Debaters, The 2007 films 2007 biographical drama films African-American biographical dramas Debating Biographical films about educators Films about racism in the United States Films set in Texas Films set in Boston Films set in Harvard University Films set in the 1930s Films shot in Louisiana Films shot in Texas Wiley University Harpo Productions films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films The Weinstein Company films Films scored by James Newton Howard Films directed by Denzel Washington Films produced by Joe Roth Films produced by Oprah Winfrey Films about high school debate Cultural depictions of American people Cultural depictions of educators Black people in art 2007 drama films Films set in universities and colleges 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language biographical drama films