The Great Debaters
I will assume you saw the coalescing (notice the gerund [look it up, it may be on your final])between this film and the Romantic period authors you’ve been studying. Think about the film and how the themes it promotes line up with the tenets of the Romantic Period. Between how the individual relates to community, the birth of consciousness, the fight for social justice,education as the key to freedom, or love of nature (or any other idea you think pertinent), choose one topic and discuss how it connects to the period and the film. Organize your response according to everything you know about responding to a text. Be sure to include concrete examples from both your readings and the film.
Feel free to use some periodic or cumulative sentences, party in the front or back! Proofread for everything on your current list, including unnecessary commas.
St Augustine did not come up at all in the narratives, or did I miss something?
I enjoyed the movie a lot.
I give the tape to every 15 year old I know. My intention is to coax the inner intellect into sprouting..
Desiree N.
Ms. Keeble
AP English 11
13 December 2012
During the Romantic Period, new ways of thinking and ideas were questioned. Writers during the Romantic period discussed equality. The film, The Great Debaters, and Henry David Thoreau’s essay have ideas about equality and simplicity. Thoreau fought for his beliefs on living in peace and equality just like the four main characters in the film did. Thoreau and the four characters weren’t afraid to work hard and fight for what they believed in, just like the writers in the Romantic Period. Writers in the Romantic Period were willing to risk their reputations by writing about beliefs some people thought were absurd, as long as their message was heard they didn’t care. Henry David Thoreau and the four main characters from The Great Debaters did a good job with fighting for what they believed in, they had great courage and valor.
Andrea O
AP English Per.2
The film “Great Debaters” portrays three African American students from Wiley College in Texas during in 1935 whose fight to overcome the adversities in their way promotes some of the key ideas presented by the authors of the Romantic period. Samantha Brooke , Henry Lowe , and James Farmer Junior’s experiences throughout the movie as they use their words to fight the discrimination and racism they face , connect to the ideas during the Romantic period as the three experience the birth of consciousness in their own person . The part of the movie that highlights the connection between both the film and the ideas of the time is the last debate in which the Wiley College Debate team debates with the Harvard Debate team on Civil Disobedience. Henry Lowe first experiences the birth of consciousness as an individual, a key element during the Romantic period, when he comes to the realization that it isn’t always about him but rather about the group as a whole. This relates to the broader theme because as is suggested by Emerson in Self Reliance , a person must do some growing within themselves before they try to change a society thus making it possible to connect the aphorism “Trust thyself” in his essay to Lowe’s experiences. James Farmer also has a similar experience when he is debating and he states that “An unjust law is no law at all”. This is a direct quote from Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, which fits perfectly because James relates the injustices African American people are facing in the Jim Crow South with what Thoreau is saying in his essay to emphasize how African Americans are being wronged by the very laws that should protect them . All in all , while there were other instances in which the experiences of the characters relate to ideas of the Romantic Period, these were among some of the most important in the sense that the individuals had to grow up and come to terms with what is going on around them .
In the fight for social justice in the Great Debaters had a great example. When Mr.Tolsen got arrested for having the union meeting with the farmers because he was the leader of the farmer union. By law Mr. Tolsen had the right to form a union so he got arrested for doing nothing at all. When the farmers did a peaceful non-violent protest they basically fought for social justice. They did it in a good way so thier wishes was granted and Mr.Tolsen got set free.
Henry Thoreau fought for social justice by letting people know that materials aren’t necessary for self happiness in a non-violent way. He did it by example when he moved to the woods barely using items that weren’t needed. That’s how he fought for social justice by leading by example
Caitlin Huie
Ms. Keeble
AP English Per 2
17 December 2012
The film, The Great Debaters, relates to the Romanticism Period in perspective to the love of nature. Thoreau writes in Walden about his time living in nature. In the book, he explains how nature calms him and makes him grateful for his life. He’s appreciating everything he has and demonstrates how nature brings out the best in him. In The Great Debaters, Henry Lowe and Samantha Booke go out onto the lake. During this, Samantha comments on how calm and peaceful Henry seems when he’s rowing on the lake. Henry replies saying how much he loves being on the lake and how it relaxes him. Nature brought out the calmness of Thoreau and Henry and it showed the love they both had towards it.
Jhoann B.
Ms. Keeble
AP English 11 Per 2
17 December 2012
Education is of paramount significance to society because it is an effective weapon against manipulation and oppression. The Great Debaters, an inspiring and enriching film demonstrating the struggles of a Negro debate team from Wiley College against racism and racial discrimination, manifests one of the ideas of the Romantic Period by conveying education as the key to freedom. The Wiley College debate team’s first debate at an all white university was in Oklahoma with the resolve, “Negroes should be admitted to state universities.” Samantha Booke highlights education as a medium of freedom by saying, “As long as schools are segregated Negroes will receive an education that is both separate and unequal… the time for justice, the time for freedom, and the time for equality is always, always right now!” Booke powerfully delivers her speech to emphasize how education is the solution to African Americans’ struggle against racism and social injustice. Learned minds, like the students of the Wiley College debate team, are what molded the United States into a society celebrated as the freest in the world.
Diana Larios
AP English 11
Keeble
Period: 1
16 December 2012
In the film, “The Great Debaters” we witness a vast association to Henry David Thoreau’s book, Civil Disobedience, and all of his ideals on ways that we can approach different situations without having to incorporate violence and bring justice with the power of words. Mr. Tolson (Denzel Washington), said to his students that were in the debate team, “I am here to help you to find, take back, and keep your righteous mind” which to me seemed to be saying that he was there to teach them how to obtain justice by speaking and the use of words and not by using a clenched fist. The debaters themselves actually read Thoreau’s book and used their finding as part of their arguments towards the end of the film. The most gruesome scene from the film was when they encountered a lynching mob and found themselves in danger. Farmer Jr. used that as his argument even though it was a personal experience because it stated his feelings which included anger, sadness, fear, and all was proclaimed with words and without violence. He was able to profess that all over the nation without blood being shed which was exactly the ideal that Thoreau stood by. They all believed that social justice could be reached with the use of one’s words and not with violence.
Phuong-My N.
Keeble
AP English, Per. 2
16 December 2012
“The Great Debaters”
In the film, “The Great Debaters”, four African American students from Wiley College in Texas debate numerous debate teams across the country to show that just because they are a different skin color, does not mean they are incapable of competing against the best. This film relates to the Romantic Period because of many reasons. One reason is that the film has to do with education being the key to freedom. People greatly underestimated the Wiley College debate team at first, but as they did their research and practiced, they ended up being undefeated for quite some time. The Wiley College debate team eventually obtained respect from both whites and blacks (despite the discrimination against African Americans during that time period) after their victory against the Harvard debate team. This shows that if you work hard for what you want, you will achieve your goal. For the students on the Wiley College debate team, they just wanted respect and freedom from the whites and they got that by showcasing their knowledge through debates.
Abraham N.
Ms.Keeble
Period 5
AP English 11
16 December 2012
One example of how the movie The Great Debaters, and the Romantic Period are connected is the social justice behind both events. In The Great Debaters, a team of African-American debaters try to defy social norms and defeat an all white debate team, during one of the most racist periods of history. One memorable scene from this movie to justify this opinion is when the Black debate team was traveling on bus when they run into a highly racist group hanging a Black man. One of the people debating, James L. Farmer Jr. later brought this event up while debating as like an appeal to pathos to the audience.
During the Romantic Period, social justice was a big topic that was spread around in the form of literature and art. For example, acclaimed poet and author Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was also a transcendentalist, had many writings on how being a transcendentalist was the best way to live because if you become self-reliant, and not rely on anyone else, you will be at your best. He criticized many of societies norms like the church and political parties, saying that they corrupted individuals making them not pure. Both of these events are related because they went outside of the social norms to try and make a statement that showed society that a certain way isn’t always the best decision. The films statement that African-Americans can be at the level, and even exceed the level of Caucasians, at a time where Blacks were being highly discriminated against, and the Romantic Period’s statement being that you shouldn’t always follow the rules of who’s in power because they just might be wrong, and that you should be an individual.
The captivating film, The Great Debaters, depicts the journey of 4 colored college students making a mark in history with just their words. One of the themes throughout this film was the fight to change social injustice. The debaters argued specific topics that had to do with this. This theme ties right into the Romantic Period since Thoreau fought for this himself. He was “about that life”. Wanting equality for each and every human being was important to him, just as it was important to a negro in the South. Seeing the downfall of not having it was very difficult for those debaters to handle once they saw a charred negro body hanging by his neck. Situations like this should never be tolerated, which is why the fight for justice compelled them, and Thoreau, to stand up for what they believe in.