Denzel wins Debate: Intelligence is Cool After All
Denzel Washington is red hot with two movies up for Golden Globes and a message of hope for those with a passion for words
By Amy Asmuth
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 1/9/08 — In “The Great Debaters,” two-time Oscar-winner Denzel Washington plays a character exactly opposite the hood he plays in “American Gangster,” though both films are up for Best Picture at the Golden Globes (press conference edition) and getting critical kudos.
In “Debaters,” he and his crew make a mark in civil rights history while making a point that intelligence is cool. “Knowledge is power, that’s always the message in life,” said Denzel Whittaker who plays one of his students. “It’s powerful, great and it is even cool to be intelligent,” he told Hollywood Today.
Denzel Washington, who plays debate team coach Melvin Tolson, inspired this writer with his sage advice just as his character did with his students. He said, “Do what you gotta do, so that you can do what you want to do. Believe in yourself and stand up for your own opinions.”
He is a man who practices what he preaches: he recently gave Wiley College $1 million so they could re-establish their debate team. Washington stresses, “We created this environment, we created this world that they are born into and it is our responsibility to create an environment for them to excel.”
“We’re not developing the muscle that imagines as we used to. We went from the spoken radio to television to film or computer,” Washington adds.
The debate the film centers on actually took place in the 30s against University of Southern California, not Harvard as the film takes literary liberties in portraying. But it was just as white and daunting to the students from Wiley, the small black college in the Deep South.
In the midst of this time of inequality they establish roots of strength, hope and courage.
They weren’t even allowed to call themselves victors after they won, as blacks were not allowed in the debating society of the day. It wasn’t until after World World II blacks were officially accepted into the debating society even though Wiley College had gone on to become undefeated for the next ten years.
It was one of those time in Black History that might not have made all the text books, but definitely made a difference.
Debate itself was originated by the ancient Greeks who also invented democracy and the art of public speaking. “It’s something to be said about shutting your opponent down with words instead of your fists,” said Jurnee Smollett, an actress in the movie.
This is Washington’s first directorial stint since his acclaimed “Antwone Fisher.” “I have a great appreciation for what a director does. I studied a lot and learned from Spike (Lee), Ed Zwick, Jonathan Demme and Ridley Scott.”
The movie also stars last year’s best actor Academy Award winner Forest Whittaker. Produced by Oprah Winfrey and Joe Roth, the screenplay is by Susan-Lori Parks and Robert Eisele.
It’s a rare find to experience a passionate and power driven movie such as the “The Great Debaters.” “We as young people don’t have to be voiceless bystanders. We can be pro-active. Whatever your passion is, whatever your cause is we have got to take care of each other, we have got to give back,” Smollet encourages.
All told, the film’s message is as intelligent and uplifting as Denzel himself. “The Great Debaters” should have an after-life in classrooms long after this Award Season is a memory.
