The Great Debater: "A hero is an actor"

Cleve 2022-03-21 09:02:21


"A hero is an actor"

brought the issue of race into several debates, and depicted personal growth in the battle of words. It should be said that this is the novelty of "The Great Debater", but this novelty is due to Denzel Washington's heavily dramatic treatment of the film misses an opportunity to deeply build on the theme of racism, and instead, Washington's apparent fondness for pompous debates highlights exactly what lies at the heart of the Hollywood narrative. : It must be entertaining, without seriousness, and at the same time wrapped up in the popular scenes - there must be immature love here (think they are all students), a brilliant young man who teeters on the edge of depravity and despair, and is bound to get back on his feet (This bad boy had better have no family), the image of a good son who wants to express himself, surpass his father, and finally succeed... Indeed, they all need to grow.
Growth is an inexhaustible theme for Hollywood, just as the narrative mechanism of "failure/victory" is their magic weapon, "it is moving and sincere", the appropriate comments of the American media just cover up a certain narrative point that this type of film strives to avoid , instead of smashing the crux of the racial issue with an axe, it is better to focus on the emotional variations of a few ignorant young people as a scoring algorithm for the climax of the movie.
It's true that Washington loves to splurge on debate competitions, and until the end of the film, we really don't enjoy a hearty competition. Often, we wait for a long time, only to find that the debate competition shown in front of us is more like a spectator. The remnants of flowers only give us a few words borrowed from so-and-so books and so-and-so, but lack the inner logic of the sparkling intellectual collision or debate between the pros and cons. As a result, our question is whether the students really understand The racial debate they've worked so hard for? Washington hides the mystery and value of the debate with a naughty montage, highlighting his lack of confidence in the narrative, coupled with his excessive pursuit of dramatic effect, which greatly sacrifices the deep display of characters. Take the Harvard game as an example. It lacked obvious convincing. After a few montages, the summary statement directly became a performance of their own experience. The victories belonged to the most eloquent performances, and their performance was due less to talent than to Washington's understanding of the narrative of Hollywood films -- an infectious performance that was far more important than a serious and profound debate.
People stood up and cheered the victorious Waley College, as if welcoming the return of a hero, "A hero is someone who looks like a hero," Robert Warshaw's subtext was actually, "A hero is an actor." In a slightly emotional way The heroism of the characters, skipping the complex psychological details, is indeed much more economical and easier to accept for audiences who don't want to consume dead brain cells, at this point, we have to say, Denzel Washington did a good job That's not bad, the truth is that his cliché in the film shows that he knows better than anyone else the synonymous relationship between "hero" and "acting", as one person pointed out, "Denzel Washington clearly pointed out that hiding behind the camera. Jiang Shan lacks the necessary interest, and he is obviously more obsessed with dramatic performances in front of the camera."
Nonetheless, the free-spirited performances of the two black actors are still worth watching, and what's more, this is a good movie, although it is a bit too good. .

View more about The Great Debaters reviews

Extended Reading
  • Ernest 2021-12-26 08:01:01

    The most difficult debate in this world is one with oneself. The positive side is one's own beliefs, and the negative side is fear and anxiety. All power is won by yourself. If you don’t fight for it, don’t believe in your own right, don’t rely on solid logic, don’t stick to your own line, equality and fairness won’t fall from the sky... When Uncle DW was thin, he was really handsome. what!

  • Eveline 2021-12-26 08:01:01

    the voice of Justice... the sound of Racial Equality...really GREAT!

The Great Debaters quotes

  • James Farmer Jr.: We do what we have to do in order to do what we want to do.

  • James Farmer Jr.: In Texas they lynch Negroes. My teammates and I saw a man strung up by his neck and set on fire. We drove through a lynch mob, pressed our faces against the floorboard. I looked at my teammates. I saw the fear in their eyes and, worse, the shame. What was this Negro's crime that he should be hung without trial in a dark forest filled with fog. Was he a thief? Was he a killer? Or just a Negro? Was he a sharecropper? A preacher? Were his children waiting up for him? And who are we to just lie there and do nothing. No matter what he did, the mob was the criminal. But the law did nothing. Just left us wondering, "Why?" My opponent says nothing that erodes the rule of law can be moral. But there is no rule of law in the Jim Crow south. Not when Negroes are denied housing. Turned away from schools, hospitals. And not when we are lynched. St Augustine said, "An unjust law in no law at all.' Which means I have a right, even a duty to resist. With violence or civil disobedience. You should pray I choose the latter.