Before I comment on the recent debate between the two uninspiring people vying to be the next president of the U.S., I would like to talk about an excellent movie that I saw last weekend.
“The Great Debaters” is a movie that is worth watching even if you drop other things to do. Apart from the fact that it revolves around Black people striving to fight against discrimination and even lynching, it is first and foremost a story of staunch determination and commitment to win.
At first, I was a bit puzzled – I thought debate arguments are usually lengthy with detailed reasoning to be positioned in front of a discerning audience and the judges panel by both teams arguing for and against an assigned topic. That is not the case of the debates featured in this movie – these were short ones, focusing more on a specific argument, or a specific rebuttal of the opposing team’s argument. The short debate content presentation was punchy and different from what I had known or experienced. In a way it was refreshing to see young folks fighting on the academic stage, and it was even more appealing when India’s non-violent civil disobedience movement was used in strong support of the winning team’s argument in the national championship.
For me, inspiration comes from two sources – the fight of the underdogs against established folks with privilege, and the other is the eventual win of the underdogs by merit, competence and remarkable perseverance.
“The Great Debaters” demonstrates the acting prowess and directorial capability of Denzel Washington. He has executed an amazing project with precision and talent, without bringing out the remorse of the Black community. He also shows that the only way out of the huge problems of racism for the Black community is by vigorously pursuing education. If Blacks rise to the level of the privileged Whites via the route of education, they always have the possibility of being treated better by the society than they were in the past. This movie is a clear demonstration of the critical importance and value of education.
As I was thinking about this movie, it was only natural for me to wander yonder to my country of birth – India. Discrimination is so embedded in Indian society that even today the problems persist – the upper castes constantly discriminate against the lower castes. The untouchables still clean the sewers. Whether you agree or not is not the issue here – the discrimination is there in the society for all to witness. It cannot be hidden away.
So every time I read about a lower caste youngster making it to the very top of a competitive exam, or to the top of her/his class, or finds the way to a U.S. education (yes, that is happening), then such instances demonstrate the progress of the society. Education is no longer the prerogative of the upper caste people, though one can easily argue that certain upper castes have been discriminated against. Whatever be the case, education has proved to be the single most important saviour for thousands of young folks in the Indian context.
The zeal and determination of the young debaters in “The Great Debaters” is palpable in several scenes; the aggressive training that they receive in the hands of their coach (Denzel Washington) is amazing and counter-intuitive. For you to get the impact of the movie, you got to see every moment of it. You would be transported to the time when the movie really happened – especially the scenes at Harvard.
Wonderful movie with lessons for all of us.
I know you want me to comment on the debate between Biden and Trump. I saw the entire 90 minutes of debate. My conclusion at the end of it was that Biden lost miserably to Trump. Even though Trump lied all through the debate and rarely answered the questions asked by the moderators, he came through as assertive, clear headed and clearly relishing the pincer attacks he was able to launch at the frail Biden who could not tackle him.
Time for Biden to withdraw and let a younger candidate take charge of defeating Trump.
Or else, Trump is sure to win and the establishment Democratic Party of the U.S. would be written off (much like the Congress Party of India).
Have a good weekend,
Cheers,
Vijay Srinivasan
29th June 2024
VJ Musings 