the great debators

tolson

I have not seen the movie The Great Debaters starring Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, and Kimberly Elise. But after reading a review by Robert Piluso I am heading straight to Love Film and order it. The movie is based on the true story of the 1935 Wiley College Debate Team and their iconoclast teacher Melvin B. Tolson. What’s fired my imagination is Piluso’s thematic summary of the film which is:

“We are not slaves to our words, to any old, unjust tradition; we are the makers of our own reality. Every time we open our mouths, put pen to paper, or punch keys on a keyboard, we contribute a particular energy that will either ameliorate or corrupt our community. The speaker/writer owns the energy and is accountable for it, yet we all must live together in whatever world those words produce. So, choose your words carefully.”

As a writer, you can’t help but find those words inspiring.

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