Resolved

I was on 2 state championship teams in the early 1970's and while we, too, tried to "spread" our opponents, it was nothing like the pace I saw in this film. The speed-talking and air gulping made the participants nearly incomprehensible and I certainly felt for their opponents and judges who were trying keep their flow-sheets of arguments and counter-arguments straight. It was difficult enough in my day at our pace where the speed of our oratory was only slightly faster than normal speech.

Therefore, I thought the "revolutionary" approach by the Long Beach students was a type of appeal for "retro" or "old school" debate where, indeed, the emphasis was on the quality of the arguments and their presentation rather than information overload... although, I must admit that the affirmative case that my partner and I built did have elements of information overload.

One other thing I noticed was the giant tubs filled with manila folders that, I presume, contained printouts from the "for pay" research websites. In my day, we used metal file boxes and filled them with 6x9 index cards that we accumulated in summer debate "workshops" or frequent visits to the Emory University library. We had to transcribe all of our research onto the index cards as cutting up library books was generally frowned upon.

I really enjoyed the documentary and was particularly fascinated by the Long Beach duo who not only struck as being super smart, but also very capable of thinking "outside the box."

I had the good luck to see this film at the Los Angeles Film Festival. I have to admit that I was not a high school debater and know nothing of the activity, but I am glad that I went to see this film ! It is about so much more. I was completely moved by the students at Long Beach Jordan and their coach. It is a shame the Los Angeles School District does not support educational activities that truly challenge the mind. The students from the well-to-do school in Texas were just as fascinating with their own brand of outlaw mannerisms. I hope that kids from high schools all over the country will have the chance to see this film.

Where will it screen next ?

When most people think of a debate, they picture televised Presidential debates, which are glorified campaign ads tailored for the viewing audience. If that's your idea of a debate, you may be in for a shock if you watch "Resolved." The only thing that competitive high school and college debate have in common with a Presidential debate is that both involve speaking.

"Resolved" takes the viewer into the world of top-level high school debate, which is both fascinating and incoherent. Since a strategy called "the spread" came into vogue in the 1960s, debate has morphed into a rapid-fire contest to see who can make the most arguments and read the most pieces of evidence in a short time span. Competitive debate features the fastest speaking this side of a Federal Express commercial. Luckily for the viewer, many clips from the debates in "Resolved" come with subtitles.

"Resolved" follows two debate teams--one from a rich college prep school near Dallas and one from an inner-city school in Long Beach. Both do quite well on the national level, which is compelling in itself, but things become complicated when the team from Long Beach changes its strategy from the dry piling-on of evidence to arguments born of their personal experience. A resolution about the detaining of terrorism suspects becomes personal as they work their own issues with racism into their arguments.

As a former college debater, "Resolved" brought back many memories, but it also made me think. While debate is a fun and educational scholastic activity, it is also weighted toward the rich and privileged. Just which students, after all, have the easiest access to the voluminous files of evidence necessary to succeed at debate's highest level? What does this say, not only about debate, but about education, and, in general, about American culture?

After viewing (and buying) Greg Whiteley's first film - New York Doll, I was eager to see his newest project. However, never having been involved in debate myself, and never really seeing the draw of it, I was a little uncertain of how much I'd truly like the film. Once I saw the first trailer for the film, I was even more uncertain. Seriously - who talks like that?! And who can understand them??! If this was the whole movie, I might well be lost. I decided to give the film a chance, though, since I wasn't a fan of rock music and had never heard of the New York Dolls before I saw New York Doll, but I fell in love with that story. I decided to trust Mr. Whiteley, and I'm glad I did. There's a reason this film won the Audience Choice award at the Los Angeles Film Festival. You truly grow to care about the students in this story, and want them to be successful in this most competitive of worlds. When you get the chance (hopefully this film is picked up for distribution soon and we can all see it in the theatre), GO SEE THIS FILM. You'll be happy you did.

I am stunned at the comment about this movie posted by Jim Crotty. Has he even seen this film? I have and I can say it is pure genius . . . not even close to the knock-off that Crotty makes it out to be. Whiteley earned his street cred with the thoroughly original New York Doll (Sundance) and has outdone himself with his latest documentary, which has received glowing reviews (Variety, the Hollywood Reporter and Cinema Without Borders to name a few).

In Resolved, Whiteley uses high school debate—a world that is fascinating in its own right—as a vehicle to explore the equally fascinating lives of a handful of kids who participate in debate. The struggles (with life in general and with the debate community) of two inner city debaters from Long Beach Jordan High School are the heart of the film. Has Crotty even met these kids? If he claims that Whiteley stole his idea to follow these two kids, then he might have a point but his posting seems to suggest that he thinks he has a monopoly on documentaries about inner-city kids that debate, which is a truly audacious claim.

It does seem coincidental that Whiteley also named his pic Resolved but, as a former debater, this shouldn't surprise anyone since, as I recall, the first word spoken in every high school debate round is "Resolved." There is so much more to Whiteley's film than the name. If Crotty has a great film about debate in the works, I would love to see it and am not terribly concerned about what he calls it. As for Whiteley's film, it is as gripping and authentic as they come.

Perhaps we can get Whiteley to chime in on how he arrived at the name?