Julia Pittman

PSYC 1300-501

Reflection of "The Great Debaters"

Before beginning "The Great Debaters" (directed by Denzel Washington in 2007), I had

thought it was a documentary about a very good debate team. Never would I have thought it was

about racial segregation, education, and civil rights. The movie was very enjoyable and

interesting to watch. It was also intriguing seeing how many concepts in the movie relate to what

is taught in class. The concepts of recognizing personality types, understanding external

influences and internal motivations, the value(s) of education, understanding change and

persistence, and critical thinking are all important, not just in "The Great Debaters," but in all

aspects of life.

The movie revolves around the actions of the four debaters on the Wiley College Debate

Team and also the 2 teachers. The debaters are Hamilton Burgess, Henry Lowe, with alternates

Samantha Booke and James Farmer Jr. All four debaters have their own personality and learning

style. Hamilton is more of a verbal and tactile character than the other debaters. We can see this

in the way he presents himself, with a bit more gusto than the rest. For example, when he is

announced as to be one of the debaters on the team, he stands up and cheers, showing his

excitement and extroversion, rather than introversion. Another debater, like Hamilton, who is an

extrovert, is Junior (James Jr.). He is very visual and well-mannered, but opinionated. He shows

these traits, for example, when he argues with his father after Junior does not say where he was.

Although the confrontation was not all that well-mannered, it started out that way, and then led to

Junior giving his opinion. Unlike the other debaters, Henry and Samantha are more introverted.

Henry says he likes to read, which although seems odd considering he is more of a volatile and

kinesthetic person, makes sense because he seems to be quite visual and intuitive. For instance,

any time Henry starts a debate with Mr. Tolson, one of the teachers, you can see him start to get

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riled up, but he asks questions and gives thought-out arguments. Now Samantha, with her being

the first and only woman to be on the debate team, she is a bit more modest, but straightforward

than the others. She expresses these characteristics when she is debating. Like when she was at

the debate try-outs, she made a compelling argument using the example of "the look in a

mother's eyes when she can't feed her kids" (13:29). Samantha listens and notices things and uses

that to her advantage. The two teachers shown in the movie are Mr. Melvin Tolson and Dr. James

Farmer Sr., who is also Junior's father. Both are professors at Wiley College and both have very

different styles of teaching. Mr. Tolson is an English professor, but also the debate team's coach.

He is quite outspoken and boisterous, and he likes to get his point across. Tolson is also very

kinesthetically inclined. An example of this would be on the first day of class; the initial thing he

does is stand on his desk and recite a poem for his students. Unlike Mr. Tolson, Dr. Farmer is a

bit more traditional and orderly. He teaches theology and it is mentioned in the movie that he

speaks seven languages, which makes him quite the linguist. This trait is seen at the beginning of

the film, where Dr. Farmer is shown giving a sermon/lecture to a full auditorium of incoming

freshman. All of the character's personalities, styles of learning/teaching, and intelligences are

shown quite clearly throughout the moving picture.

All throughout the movie, and in life, there are external influences and internal

motivations. External influences come from other people when they use social referencing,

reciprocity, etc., which eventually leads people to internally motivate themselves. Other people

may "motivate" an individual, when they are only influencing them to try to make them motivate

themselves. Internal motivation is the voice within a person to move him/her to do what they

want to do. An example of these influences and motivations from the movie is when Junior

realizes Samantha, whom he has obvious feelings for, is in bed with Henry (external influence)

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and he has to keep a stoic face so as not to let it be known that he is hurt. Although later, he

bursts out at Samantha (internal motivation) and is involved in a heated argument with her.

Another example is when Mr. Tolson scolds Junior for following him to the sharecropper's union

meeting and told him not to tell anyone for fear he will get in trouble (external influence). Since

Junior swore he would not say anything (internal motivation) for fear, he too, would get in

trouble, it resulted in him getting in a fiery altercation with his mother and father. External

influences and internal motivations are merely a more complex system of "cause and effect".

As was said before, both Mr. Tolson and Dr. Farmer teach at Wiley College. Since both

are professors, they obviously would think education is very important. During the movie, Mr.

Tolson states to Henry, "I, and every other professor on this campus, are here to help you to find,

take back, and keep your righteous mind..." (27:39), which insinuates just how much the concept

of a good education means to him, as well as to the other instructors, including Dr. Farmer. Their

teaching styles, though, could not be more different. Yes, they are both disciplinarians, but one is

more traditional, while the other is a bit more unorthodox. Dr. Farmer is shown in the movie as

very religious and a bit old-fashioned. Although he is never shown in a classroom, he is seen

preparing lectures out of bibles and also lecturing to his son, Junior. For example, he kept telling

Junior how he did not want him to pay too much attention to Samantha, rather than his studies.

Mr. Tolson, on the other hand, is more modern in his ways of educating. He is almost

idiosyncratic in a way, with his movements and ways of speaking. An example of this is when he

told the debaters that he will write the arguments for their debates. He does this because "that's

the way it's been, that's the way it's going to be" (42:53) And since Tolson wrote those "canned

speeches- arguments written by faculty rather than students" (1:36:34), it is considered academic

integrity. Mr. Tolson wants to teach his students well and have them win their debates, but at a

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cost to the team (which does show off his more far-out ways). The academic effort of an

individual should be of his own, which is why a good education is something to be proud of and

valued.

Many changes occur during the movie. Once such change is the Wiley College debate

team being the first to debate an "Anglo-Saxon" school. This example is worth mentioning

because it brought the end of segregation just a little bit closer. Another example of change

represented in the movie is when Henry decided to let Junior debate for their biggest competition

instead of himself. This being an obvious "change" in who is debating, it also serves as a change

within Henry. Having walked out on his team multiple times, giving Junior his spot to debate

demonstrates how he has grown and wants to show the nation what he and his teammates from a

small African-American college can do. He is also persistent to implore reluctant Junior (and

Samantha) to not give up. His reasoning is that "Tolson made [him] captain and he said [Junior]

was ready" (1:42:39) He then went on to recite the mantra Tolson had made them repeat many

times. It gave them the encouragement they needed that would result in their win of the

competition.

In all debates, critical thinking is needed to defeat the opponent. Why? Because critical

thinking is the analysis and evaluation of a matter in order to form a conclusive reasoning. A

debate is just trying to solve a matter. Critical thinking was used by the debaters all throughout

the movie, but one such example is when Junior was at the debate try-outs and was questioned

by Mr.Tolson to explain the irony in the name "Bethlehem Steel Corporation", to which Junior

answers "Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus, Prince of Peace, and Bethlehem Steel makes

weapons of war" (15:19). This analysis and evaluation brought Junior to a reasoning of the

matter presented. But critical thinking can also result in logical fallacies or "faulty reasoning".

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For instance, during the try-outs, while Samantha debates Mr. Tolson, she says "the unemployed

are starving" (13:37). Tolson breaks this apart by giving the example of Hamilton Burgess being

unemployed and obviously not starving, considering he is rounder than most. Had she had time

to think out her answer, her syllogism would not have fallen apart. In all the other actual debates,

however, the debaters do have time to research and brainstorm their arguments, which then leads

them to their winning streak.

The concepts expressed in the movie will always be represented in humanity. "The Great

Debaters" is an interesting and inspirational film that captures the importance of education and

the struggles of racial segregation. And since it was based on a true story, it makes sense to use

what is learned from the movie and its characters in real life. It is important to keep the concepts

discussed at the front of one's mind, so as to have a better understanding of life.