The Great Debaters By Denzel Washington

Improved Essays
The film Great Debaters starring Denzel Washington is a powerful example of a movie that can show you different aspects of the change in society. The movie is about a teacher, Denzel Washington who tried to teach an African American debate team how to compete and to improve on every level. This was a hard thing to do because around this time in America, it was hard for anybody of color to be this successful. He ran into many roadblocks while trying to produce success and making sure that his team was ready to compete in the best way they could. This was a very determinate group of African American students; they just needed some guidance by an intelligent teacher who could help them strive harder while also being a positive influence. The movie …show more content…
The color of their skin they were underestimated and in which they were called many names by the opposite race. The perspective that whites had upon African Americans was that they weren’t worth anything and that they weren’t capable of achieving anything. The students tried to prove them wrong through the debates because they knew their worthy. They eventually became a virtuous debate team and not only began to win debates but respect from the whites. During this time, they also gained confidence in their debating skills. The culture of the 1930’s impacted their behavior because they wanted to prove their worthiness, and intelligence. It also impacted the way they acted towards the opposite race. The idea was that the whites didn’t like them so they had a certain animosity towards …show more content…
The messages were about African Americans and to show their struggle during the 1930’s. It suggests the audience to learn the struggle of African Americans around this time period and respect the trials and tribulations that they had to go through. It recognizes the beliefs of both races because it doesn’t just show one side of the story. The characters in the story help show the purpose through their real life situations and it helps the viewer’s easily connect. The film was created because the author wanted to explain how African Americans came a long way in the fight for identity and the courage they have inside them. The characters stood up for what they believed in no matter who tried to stop them. They knew what they wanted and strived until they received it. The last event that the film shows has shaped the norms and how people of this race acts today. The film showed how social change, change of environment and socialization can all affect a group of people and how it could affect them in a negative way in different situations. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma- which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition” (Steve

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Jim Crow laws were meant to segregate black Americans, but looking at the bigger picture, how did the Jim Crow laws effect Americans? Jim Crow isn’t a man, but rather the name of certain laws that took place in America from 1877-1954. It started from the end of Reconstruction and began at the start of the Civil Rights movement. The laws were written to enforce racial segregation mainly in the South. Even though slavery was ended, the hate towards the African Americans was still firmly rested on a majority of the white American in America.…

    • 1958 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Media Analysis: White Men Can’t Jump Race is an issue that many members of society face today, in particular those in a minority of their communities. Things such as everyday life, can in itself be conducted by one's ‘race’. This problem has been around ever since the idea of race was created and has been a constant source of conflict in modern society. 1992 brought us a movie released with the title: White Men Can’t Jump, the movie addresses race issues in sports. This is a story of a white ex college basketball player Billy Hoyle, who ‘hustles’ black players that underestimate his skills on the streets.…

    • 1404 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Importance Of The NAACP

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages

    On February 12, 1909, many blacks from across the United States came together to form what is now known as the NAACP in Springfield, Massachusetts. NAACP lasted for 100 years for the fight of equality amongst the black community. The NAACP has shaped america 's society today for the equality rights that was fought for by the black community. The NAACP has helped with equality of education, social and racial discrimination. Since the black community fought for equality they no longer have to suffer from segregation in schools, racial discrimination or social discrimination.…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Has Racism Changed Since the 1900’s? From worthless property to businessmen and presidents, look how far we have progressed. Did racism charge from the 1900’s to the present day?Have we improved in accepting others for the way they are? Racism has gotten better from the 1900s to now because people are more accepting Racism in the 1900s was a very sad and terrible thing for African Americans of all ages. They were thought to be less than everyone else and they were treated as if it was a gift to be near a white person.…

    • 855 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Discrimination was seen everywhere throughout history, even after laws made it that everyone was equal. In the early 1900s, it was common for African Americans to be treated unfairly. Many were falsely accused of rape, found guilty during the trials and were hanged. African Americans were often seen as easy targets, and one case was the Scottsboro Trials. Nine African American teenage boys were on a train to Chattanooga, and they got into trouble with some white boys, who then involved the police.…

    • 1360 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This brilliant film leaves its audience to think twice about judging other people who might not be as different from themselves as they had originally thought. The way this movie portrays how such different personalities come to learn to accept and respect one another gives me hope that more people will judge with their heart instead of their eyes. As a teenager, I know that the majority of high school students struggle to fit in with their peers, who are ironically probably trying to do the same. In the beginning of the film, it shows five teenagers in saturday detention, all who are categorized in different groups; the criminal, the athlete, the basket…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Watts Riot Research Paper

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages

    To understand the Watts Riot, one has to understand there were many causes for Negros to seek change. Many Negros in the south were subject to physical and emotional violence for many years. Negros' had decided change needed to happen in order for them to have equal treatment. Turmoil within the Negros' communities divided them; because some Negros believed the answer was to protest peacefully while many other Negros believed violence was the answer for change to happen.…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The film shined light on the complexities of identity and class of immigrants in America while simultaneously allowing the reader to get attached the member of the family by understand the goals and ambitions of…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    African Americans were not welcome in white schools in the 1950’s. The schools were under segregation at the time so black people were not allowed in the same schools as white people. In Melba Beal’s book, she explained to us what she went through as a black student in a white school. She was a leader in the movement against segregation. At this time in history, African Americans didn’t understand what real freedom and justice were.…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    From the 1865 to 1900 African-Americans faced many challenges. There was many things that were changing in that time frame. Yes, slaves were freed and they were given some rights. But it was at a cost since the whites limited them. So there were struggles socially, poltically and econmically.…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    African Americans’ Struggle The use of an unknown narrator in “Battle Royal” by Ralph Waldo Ellison has an important significance in the story. The author is both trying to deliver the message of racism through the story of his character, and in the meantime, he is showing the reader that racism was a fact for every black person regardless who that person may be. It is also important to understand the story from its historical context. The story was written in 1952 in the era of legal racial segregation and when African Americans were discriminated against by the vast majority.…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    The movie I chose to analyze this week is The Freedom Writers, and I rented the movie online through Amazon Video. The movie and true story, The Freedom Writers, is about a White high school English teacher named Erin Gruwell who is a new teacher at Woodrow Wilson High school, a low performing and troubled school in Long Beach, California. The story is told in 1994, only two years after the civil unrest and race war after the 1992. Los Angeles riots. Her English class is filled with all minority students ranging from African-American, Asian, Latino, Mexican and only one White male student in the class.…

    • 1413 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The movie puts in perspective the struggles that African Americans faced living within white communities. However Coach Boones (Denzel Washington) house was not the only racial discrimination that were happening. Some of them were at the very being of the movie when fights were breaking out on in the streets, in the school, and during the being of football practice. There were several times that the school had racial discrimination issues, such as fighting. I remember that one of the first days of school there were people outside on the street of the school protesting African Americans being allowed into T.C. Williams High School.…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    "Freedom Writers" Social Theory Analysis Even though many people aren't really aware of the existence of the social theories, they are a big part of our lives. Until we studied them, I didn't know about this, and now that I have a better knowledge about them I can easily apply them to my everyday life and what surrounds me. The movie Freedom Writers is a movie that contains ALL the social theories, and they are really easy to spot. In this essay I shall walk you though some of the things I identified from the movie regarding the social theories, to help you understand why this movie is the perfect example of the social theories. To start of, the first and biggest issue in the movie is Race.…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tuskegee Reflection

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I went with an expectation that I already know what the movie was about because I have read about the Tuskegee study before. This movie showed what the Tuskegee study was about. This study was conducting an experiment among black men in Tuskegee, Alabama who had syphilis but without treating them. However, while watching I was very surprised at what I saw.…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays