The Great Debaters

Up to now my reviews for this blog has been limited to books I have read and found to be inspiring and powerful in there content or message. Over the holidays my family and I spent family time watching a movie we decided to watch for about the third or fourth time. The movie provided a historical perspective on when a small black college debate team took on at the time the elite debate powerhouse of Harvard University. The movie my wife was able to find for a steal at local merchant features two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington as a debate professor and Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker. The Great Debater was inspired by a true story. Most of the story takes place in the Texas with a focus on the early activities of the civil rights moment in the south. The actors bring the story to life in their real life depiction of the issues of the times and raw courage it took to take a position on the subject of civil rights. The storyline is a David and Goliath approach to meeting a challenge head on and with faith and pure determination becoming the unexpected victor. The movie is rated PG -13 with good reason, because of the strong nature of the content that was necessary to tell the story without editing out parts that made it both believable and intriguing. The movie is a lesson in the skill of debating and winning and overall preparation to compete in any area of your life. It speaks to team work and the beauty of each person on the team caring enough about the objective to give no less their best to position the team for victory. There are also underline themes in the movie of equal pay for equal work, women’s rights, equality in education and the true meaning of justice. The movie takes you through a real life event that had a great deal to do with shaping the civil rights moment of black people in the United States and events that helped them to achieve dignity and respect for their contribution to society.  I encourage you to get a copy from your local library and have a movie night. It is a movie about believing in your ability to succeed because you understand the importance of being prepared to win!