Journal Entry #2

Aaron Tejada

ENG 201

Prof. Matyakubova

03/20/20

Journal Entry #2

                                                  The Great Debaters

 

24. Consider why the movie ended with the debate at Harvard University while, in reality, that debate took place at the University of Southern California. What might Harvard represent to a movie audience that USC does not? How might the movie change if the final debate were held at USC in the film?

A film inspired by true events, “The Great Debaters”, directed by Denzel Washington, Professor Melvin B. Tolson formed a debate team in the small predominantly black Wiley College in 1935 Jim Crow Texas. The team went on to go undefeated throughout the movie until they faced Howard University, their only loss. The film ended on the high note of victory against the prestigious Harvard University, however, in reality the actual debate and victory took place at the University of Southern California. To compare Harvard and USC is like comparing an apple to an orange. Harvard is a top tier Ivy League school, while USC is a great school in itself, Harvard will give you better opportunities to achieve great things. An Ivy League school like Harvard attracts the most outstanding and brilliant individuals because of its prestige and its reassurance that you will succeed no matter what you decide to do.

 

Harvard is known worldwide for its prestige, which is why the substitution in the film was made. It provides more interest from the audience and it portrays how much the debate team accomplished, having Harvard as the final debate made it feel like the final boss in comparison to video games. If the movie would have kept USC as the final debate, it would not have had the same effect because USC is not an Ivy League school, so their accomplishment would have felt diminished. The audience would have felt like a different school should have been the final debate. In the film, when Professor Tolson reads the letter from Harvard that his wife had waiting for him, there is a sense of pride in his face as he starts to tear that his team is finally being recognized. He then proceeds to celebrate the accomplishment with one of his students who is also part of the debate team, Henry Lowe. The whole town is proud of them for the major accomplishment, and while being away at the final debate, their support is there for them as they hear the debate on the radio cheering them on.

 

A predominantly black school beating a top school in a segregated nation that humiliated blacks with discrimination and racial violence is the reason why Harvard was substituted in for USC. In reality, Wiley went undefeated from 1929 to 1939. This by itself is a huge accomplishment and goes to show how good they were. The substitution would not have been necessary had this been mentioned in the film but had it not been mentioned and USC would have stayed as the final debate, the impact would not have been the same. The film presented us with future black leaders in civil rights movements and rights for African Americans. In the end, the film credits, even though fictionalized, showed us what the main characters of the film did after, mainly pointing out how they helped their fellow African Americans. The success after beating Harvard jump-started their careers and lives with the opportunities it brought for them with how their lives turned out. 

 

To have changed the final debate would have been a different movie, less fictionalized, and more according to the actual facts. It would have portrayed different emotions, such as when James’ final debate speech where he made Samantha tear up, and his parents proud of him. That tiny but yet huge change would not have shown the character growth we saw from the entire debate team.