The Great Debaters

I liked this movie. It was good in the way that schmaltzy sports movies are good. Which is fine. I thought there were some good performances. Denzell Washington was good. The young debaters were good. I particularly liked the performances of Forrest Whitaker and Denzel Whitaker (no relation). I think it is easier to be the radical than it is to be the straight man and Whitaker did it exceedingly well (both of them). I found more in the quiet strength of Forest even though he was a bit of a prig than I did in Washington. I also thought Denzel Whitaker was particularly good in the subtler role. The story was typical, though I found it interesting hearing from Denzel Washington that Wylie had gone undefeated and did not lose any debates and that that debated USC in their finale. Both of those items were changed for the movie. But, having said all of that, I think the reason I liked the movie the most was that it made me think about the lack of debate in our culture. Nevermind that it seems like Academic Forensic societies seem to be on the decline (though that may just be my ignorance) but it seems like there is no real debate anymore. Especially in the political realm. Politicians do not debate, they just share the stage and exchange tag lines and catch phrases. There is no elegant discourse. There are no more Lincoln-Douglas debates. I think it's a shame. Oh well. The movie was good, anyway.