Comments on: Resolved

By: Trendi Adams

Trendi Adams — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:29:45 +0000

Interesting to read the comments from current high school debaters! Though Richard and Louis’s style appears to be “really cool”, it is a harsh and real reality that where is the importance of the debate when no real debate occurs, and the harsh reality of the stigma attached to African American debaters. As a current coach and being in the forensic world since the age of 9 and being a 30 year old black female, the elitism of the art is blindly exclusionary, however, on the other level of it, the prime purpose of the debate itself can be had if in CEDA or CX {whatever region you’re in} the defragmenting of “SPREADING” can occur and educational benefits can begin. However, this is not the only style of debate in high school or college.

This film has impacted me both positively and negatively, however, due to my personal experience in this world has been so long and am still active, the most powerful part of this film to me is the nonverbals of the film and what wasn’t said.

By: Lesly Gutierrez

Lesly Gutierrez — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:44:43 +0000

This movie was amazing, I’m a high school debater and we watched this one day and I think it’s so cool to see debate shine, and Richard and Louis’s style of debate was really cool.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:41:12 +0000

Sad and touching, yet strangely motivational. Makes me not to want to lose another round.

By: Norman

Norman — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 01:10:26 +0000

How do I purchase for download for my students?

By: David Thomas

David Thomas — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:59:25 +0000

As a retired director of intercollegiate forensics and author of debate books, I’ve seen several major innovations in the practice of debate in high school over four decades. The courage that Richard and Louis showed by challenging the reigning “SPREAD” paradigm through a passionate commitment to Paolo Friere’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed is by far the most important new thing to happen. As I see it, the primary value of the debate tournament system is to motivate students to master skills of analysis and advocacy through competition in an intellectual activity. As the film demonstrates clearly, the worst result of the spread technique is not so much that debates are made unintelligible to average listeners, but that it rewards mindless regurgitation of overwhelming volumes of evidence cards and argument briefs that the debaters themselves may or may not have had any part in producing. For a variety of reasons, the democratic purpose of having debates in the first place is subverted by the strong tendency to make it into a game that can only be played successfully by an elite, wealthy few schools.

Bravo to the breakthrough achievement of Louis and Richard, and their coach David Wiltz, who showed the way to open up the field to more diverse participants. Let us not overlook the great effect that the Urban Debate League has had in recent years in drawing in minority schools to debate competition. Yet it took Louis and Richard to show that it is not enough simply to recruit minority students into an elitist activity. Their living example of Pablo Friere’s educational philosophy, and their apt use of it to ground their entire arguimentative strategy, will ultimately revolutionize interscholastic and intercollegiate debate. Hopefully, the activity will become much more important to students than as a boot camp in preparation for laws schools, but a real liberalizing of public policy deliberation for everyone.

Finally, I want to say that as a film teacher, I’m very happy that the movie succeeds in portraying an esoteric activity like high level HS debate competition in realistic scenes, yet still manages to keep the narrative simple and clear enough to hold the interest of uninitiated viewers.

In other words, watch this movie, and you will probably enjoy it. Not only that, you’ll encourage your teenagers to try out for debate, and you’ll actually enjoy attending their contests when they do.

By: joshd

joshd — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:52:50 +0000

Towson university won the college CEDA debate championships in May running a similar argument to the one Jordan uses in Resolved (a criteque of debate with a racial focus). It was very cool to see them win. That they beat University of Kansas (where I debated) in the final was the only negative.

By: Ian Jacoby

Ian Jacoby — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 05:52:47 +0000

The film is available to buy in fall of 2008. As for the documentary itself, I thought it was fantastic. It really gives a ton of insight into debate and the competitiveness that exists. As a high school debater I’m ecstatic that we’re finally getting the recognition deserved.

By: ram pandey

ram pandey — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:15:12 +0000

I,m also make a documentry and films but i have not to bary.i want to seal eo all my documentry.

By: P. Smith

P. Smith — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 05:14:23 +0000

Loved it. How may I purchase a copy? My students have to see this.