Movie Essay: The Great Debate Team

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“The Great Debaters” is a loosely based movie based on Willey College, a historical black college, which overcame its struggles during the Jim Crow Era, and went to form one the most well-known debate team. Melvin B Telson, one the main characters, helped the debate team by teaching them how to be great debaters, which is displayed in the last debate, Willey College versus Harvard University. Practice, trust, and courage is what make a great debate team. To become great or proficient at anything. One must practice, that is no expectation in the “Great Debaters”. In the movie, they practice day in and day out, with the help of Melvin B Telson as their coach. The team (Henry Lowe, Samantha Booke, & James Farmer Jr.) went from novice talkers to dynamic and powerful speechmakers. The way Samantha Booke and James Farmer Jr. debated in Harvard, their words were passionate and powerful. Practice is what makes a great debate team.…show more content…
The teammates must believe each other so they can be confident that someone has their back. Samantha Booke and Henry Lowe were the primary debaters. However during the Harvard debate, Henery Lowe was not one of the speakers, it was James Farmer Jr. James was consider the alternative speaker, but he was the alternative because he was young and inexperienced. Throughout most of the movie, James wanted to participate in the debate, he wanted to prove was ready for the task. His other teammates dismissed him. While the team was preparing for the Harvard debate. Henry Lowe had an awakening, and told James to take his spot in the last debate. James was excited yet nervous for the trust that Henry gave him, the trust paid off because Willey College won over

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