The Great Debaters
Casey Green 1
09/13/11
SPC 100
Section 14
The Great Debaters
This film focuses on being a confident and decisive person in life, through passionate and informed topics. Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners.¹ After watching this film it does strike a cord of wanting to be able to reach out to others and share my own opinions in a strong, confident manner. To inspire others on something I may be passionate about in life, to share a different aspect of life that others have not lived. I can't say exactly how much this film has impacted my views on public speaking although the film itself does evoke a response. In relation to our course goals and objectives, the film also emphasizes the improvement of individual speaking skills. Our course goals involve communicating effectively, using speech as a way of achieving personal/ professional goals and that public speaking can be used for social change. In The Great Debaters it speaks of social change in the actors' life and being part of the voices in that transformation. Similarly to public speaking, it is essential to articulate the ways in which ethical free speech is a tool for change.² Public speaking is used to inform and educate people on debatable subjects with the intention of giving them a different aspect to consider. Denzel Washington in this film stresses that “Education is the way out of ignorance and darkness into the light.” Comparable to the film, public speaking hopes to increase awareness of oneself as an effective communicator and be confident in sharing the ideas with others. Critical thinking, listening skills and being able to research and organize ideas are all effective tools with public speaking. The Great Debaters use these skills throughout the movie. 2
My individual goals would be to feel prepared when giving
09/13/11
SPC 100
Section 14
The Great Debaters
This film focuses on being a confident and decisive person in life, through passionate and informed topics. Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners.¹ After watching this film it does strike a cord of wanting to be able to reach out to others and share my own opinions in a strong, confident manner. To inspire others on something I may be passionate about in life, to share a different aspect of life that others have not lived. I can't say exactly how much this film has impacted my views on public speaking although the film itself does evoke a response. In relation to our course goals and objectives, the film also emphasizes the improvement of individual speaking skills. Our course goals involve communicating effectively, using speech as a way of achieving personal/ professional goals and that public speaking can be used for social change. In The Great Debaters it speaks of social change in the actors' life and being part of the voices in that transformation. Similarly to public speaking, it is essential to articulate the ways in which ethical free speech is a tool for change.² Public speaking is used to inform and educate people on debatable subjects with the intention of giving them a different aspect to consider. Denzel Washington in this film stresses that “Education is the way out of ignorance and darkness into the light.” Comparable to the film, public speaking hopes to increase awareness of oneself as an effective communicator and be confident in sharing the ideas with others. Critical thinking, listening skills and being able to research and organize ideas are all effective tools with public speaking. The Great Debaters use these skills throughout the movie. 2
My individual goals would be to feel prepared when giving
References: Dictionary.Com http://dictionary.reference.com/ Syllabus Martin Luther King - Biography". Nobelprize.org. 13 Sep 2011 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html McKay, Brett, and Kate . "The 35 Greatest Speeches in History." The Art of Manliness. August 1, 2008 http://artofmanliness.com/2008/08/01/the-35-greatest-speeches-in-history/4/