Resolved

This film was great because it brought back a lot of memories. It'd been so long that I'd forgotten how much work went into preparing for and attending the many many many tournaments. And it'd been ages since I'd heard someone talk about the "tab room." For folks who are not familiar with competitive debating, the type of debate featured (team debate) is not the only type. Alongside team debate at the same tournaments is Lincoln Douglas debate which involves individuals competing against each other in a far more eloquent manner. No speed reading. No trying to "out flow" the other person. I found Lincoln Douglas debate to be invaluable training for the real world.

For parents who see the film, I hope you encourage your kids to try debate. It can be the high pressure competition shown in the film, but it can also be about fun, friendships, and gaining confidence. Most importantly...stay involved! These schools and students need parents to help transport kids to tournaments and to judge competition rounds.

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."

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?

A few years ago, while Mr. Whiteley was shooting for my husband in Portland, Oregon, we asked him what projects he was developing. He excitedly told us about Resolved and its concept. This was an idea he had working for quite some time. New York Doll had yet to be conceived. Jim is way off with his inflammatory remark that Mr. Whiteley is a THIEF. The time frame makes that impossible. New York Doll and Resolved are both unique, brilliant accomplishments. Mr. Whiteley has incredible talent, finds passion in the otherwise mundane. An old, washed out rock star brings tears to my eyes. Debate ... well would you ever? And, would I ever go to see another film about debate? Well, now I would. Please, Jim, proudly continue with your project as I, for one, welcome films aimed for the above 90 IQ.

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.