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. .

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Extended Reading

The Great Debaters quotes

  • Melvin B. Tolson: Take the meanest, most restless nigger. Strip him of his clothes in front of the remaining male niggers, female niggers, and nigger infants, tar and feather him, tie each leg to a horse facing an opposite direction, set him on fire, and beat both horses until they tear him apart in front of male, female and nigger infants. Bullwhip and beat the remaining nigger males within an inch of their life. Do not kill them but put the fear of God in them, for they can be useful for future breeding. Anybody know who Willie Lynch was? Anybody? Raise your hand. No one? He was a vicious slave owner in the West Indies. The slave-masters in the colony of Virginia were having trouble controlling their slaves, so they sent for Mr. Lynch to teach them his methods. The word "lynching" came from his last name. His methods were very simple, but they were diabolical. Keep the slave physically strong but psychologically weak and dependent on the slave master. Keep the body, take the mind.

  • Henry Lowe: School's the only place you can read all day. Except prison.