The Great Debators

I rated this film a 9 out of 10.

A story about a team that is the underdog and goes through some hardships, but gets back on their feet and wins is what all people want to see on the big screen. The Great Debators fits in this mold, but breaks it at the same time. The Great Debators is filled with an all-star cast featuring Denzel Washington as Mr. Tolson, Nate Parker as Henry Lowe, Jurnee Smollett as Samantha Booke, and Denzel Whitaker as James Farmer, Jr. Denzel Washington also directed the film.

This film was released in 2007, but is based on the time of 1935 when Jim Crow laws were prominent in southern Texas. In a nutshell, the debate team of a smaller negro college goes on the excel and beats one of the best colleges in the nation. They had their ups and downs. Which is why the film/story fits into the category with other films like Friday Night Lights and Remember the Titans. But this film breaks the mold because of the seriousness of Jim Crow laws that are seen in the movie.

One scene in the film I will always remember is when the debate team and their coach, (Henry Lowe, Samantha Booke, and James Farmer, Jr with Mr. Tolson,) are driving to a college for a debate and they come across a group of white men lynching a black man. I cried. Why do people hate others because they are different? The black man in the scene seemed to be hanging on a structure that looked like a cross, like Jesus. I thought this was a serious symbol because I believe that Jesus was killed because he was believed to be different just as the black man had been to the white men. The black man most likely didn't do anything wrong, just like Jesus.

I felt this film deserved a 9 out of 10 for several reasons. One, the acting was done very well. I felt all the characters were played well. Two, the film itself was nice. The scenes were easy to watch, and the lighting was good. Three, it is a story that not many people know about. Debate teams are not as important to society as football or basketball or other major sports are. Four, the history in this film brings to the surface the wrongness of the actions of the southern white men of 1935. How cruel they are. I'm just glad that this is 2011, and not 1935. Yes, there is still racism in the world, but we don't just... Lynch people when we feel like it.
Quote- "An unjust law is no law at all." spoken by James Farmer Jr, I believe.

A source I used: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427309/