Resolved (film)
Encyclopedia
Resolved is a 2007
documentary
concerning the world of high school
policy debate
. The film was written and directed by Greg Whiteley of New York Doll
fame.. The film captured the "Audience Award" title at its debut on June 23, 2007 at the Los Angeles Film Festival
. The film was produced by One Potato Productions. The film made its television debut on HBO in the summer of 2008 and subsequently received 2 Emmy Nominations: one nomination for Best Documentary; the other for Editing for the 2009 Emmy Awards held in September, 2009. In July of 2009 it was released on DVD by Image Entertainment.
policy debate
, successful debaters fly through academic research and facts at a pace of 400 words per minute by utilizing a strategy known as the spread
. As a result of the spread
, the ability to understand a round of policy debate
by a lay person has decreased significantly since the spread's development during the 1960s. With debate
rounds now filled with specialized jargon
, the accessibility and value of a debate round in increasing public discourse has also decreased. Today, high-powered rounds at national competition and the Tournament of Champions
are contested almost exclusively by wealthy students of noteworthy private schools. Resolved begins by focusing on the careers of Matt Andrews and Sam Iola, the former a stand-out rising sophomore and the latter a rising senior famous within the policy debate
community. The team of Iola and Andrews hails from Highland Park High School
, a recognized national debate power from Texas
. From there, Whiteley shifts his focus to Louis Blackwell and Richard Funches of Jordan High School in Long Beach, California
. By contrast, Jordan High's debate
team is underfunded, and the school is a public high school with only 12-18% of its students going on to a four-year college
. In an underdog
style victory, the team of Funches and Blackwell capture the California
state championship. Once the team from Long Beach has won the state championship while playing by the conventional rules of modern policy debate
, the team is introduced by their coach Dave Wiltz to Paulo Freire
's Pedagogy of the Oppressed
. From there, the team from Jordan High changes their debate strategy, arguing against the current strategy used in high school debate, and using Freire's work to show the oppressive nature of the spread
and the structure of debate as a whole. Along these lines, Jordan High's team chooses to read slowly and focus on persuasion
rather than pure quick argumentation. At the end of the documentary, however, they are defeated by a "traditional" team- Rahul Hirani and Tim Jurka from Saint Francis High School (Mountain View)
. The judge defends his decision by stating that the Jordan High team convinced him that the structure of debate is flawed, but then the debaters went on to use the very structure of debate to continue to defend their arguments. Thus, their arguments were not consistent. They attempt to qualify for the tournament of champions, but this loss effectively curtails this dream. Moreover, one of the debaters is suspended, further ending any hope to this chance. In addition to the social message, Resolved involves commentaries from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito
, Jane Pauley
, and Juan Williams
.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
concerning the world of high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
policy debate
Policy debate
Policy debate is a form of speech competition in which teams of two advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government or security discourse...
. The film was written and directed by Greg Whiteley of New York Doll
New York Doll
New York Doll is a documentary film based on the life of former New York Dolls member Arthur Kane. The film was nominated for both a Satellite Award and a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, where it premiered in 2005...
fame.. The film captured the "Audience Award" title at its debut on June 23, 2007 at the Los Angeles Film Festival
Los Angeles Film Festival
The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times is an event held annually in June in downtown Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Film Festival began as the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1995. The first LAIFF took place over the course of five days in a single...
. The film was produced by One Potato Productions. The film made its television debut on HBO in the summer of 2008 and subsequently received 2 Emmy Nominations: one nomination for Best Documentary; the other for Editing for the 2009 Emmy Awards held in September, 2009. In July of 2009 it was released on DVD by Image Entertainment.
Plot
In today's world of high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
policy debate
Policy debate
Policy debate is a form of speech competition in which teams of two advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government or security discourse...
, successful debaters fly through academic research and facts at a pace of 400 words per minute by utilizing a strategy known as the spread
Spread
Spread may refer to:*Statistical dispersion*Spread , an edible paste put on other foods*the score difference being wagered on in spread betting*the measure of line inclination in rational trigonometry...
. As a result of the spread
Spread
Spread may refer to:*Statistical dispersion*Spread , an edible paste put on other foods*the score difference being wagered on in spread betting*the measure of line inclination in rational trigonometry...
, the ability to understand a round of policy debate
Policy debate
Policy debate is a form of speech competition in which teams of two advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government or security discourse...
by a lay person has decreased significantly since the spread's development during the 1960s. With debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
rounds now filled with specialized jargon
Jargon
Jargon is terminology which is especially defined in relationship to a specific activity, profession, group, or event. The philosophe Condillac observed in 1782 that "Every science requires a special language because every science has its own ideas." As a rationalist member of the Enlightenment he...
, the accessibility and value of a debate round in increasing public discourse has also decreased. Today, high-powered rounds at national competition and the Tournament of Champions
Tournament of Champions (debate)
The Tournament of Champions is a high school debate tournament held annually at the University of Kentucky on the first weekend of May. It is the most prestigious tournament on the "national circuit," representing some of the most competitively successful debaters from the nation's most prestigious...
are contested almost exclusively by wealthy students of noteworthy private schools. Resolved begins by focusing on the careers of Matt Andrews and Sam Iola, the former a stand-out rising sophomore and the latter a rising senior famous within the policy debate
Policy debate
Policy debate is a form of speech competition in which teams of two advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government or security discourse...
community. The team of Iola and Andrews hails from Highland Park High School
Highland Park High School (University Park, Texas)
Highland Park High School is located in University Park, Texas.Highland Park is a part of the Highland Park Independent School District. It serves all of the city of University Park, most of the town of Highland Park, and portions of Dallas.-History:...
, a recognized national debate power from Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. From there, Whiteley shifts his focus to Louis Blackwell and Richard Funches of Jordan High School in Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. By contrast, Jordan High's debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
team is underfunded, and the school is a public high school with only 12-18% of its students going on to a four-year college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
. In an underdog
Underdog (competition)
An underdog is a person or group in a competition, frequently in electoral politics, sports and creative works, who is popularly expected to lose. The party, team or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the rare case where an underdog wins, the outcome is an upset. These...
style victory, the team of Funches and Blackwell capture the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
state championship. Once the team from Long Beach has won the state championship while playing by the conventional rules of modern policy debate
Policy debate
Policy debate is a form of speech competition in which teams of two advocate for and against a resolution that typically calls for policy change by the United States federal government or security discourse...
, the team is introduced by their coach Dave Wiltz to Paulo Freire
Paulo Freire
Paulo Reglus Neves Freire was a Brazilian educator and influential theorist of critical pedagogy.-Biography:...
's Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Pedagogy of the Oppressed is the most widely known of educator Paulo Freire's works. It proposes a pedagogy with a new relationship between teacher, student, and society...
. From there, the team from Jordan High changes their debate strategy, arguing against the current strategy used in high school debate, and using Freire's work to show the oppressive nature of the spread
Spread
Spread may refer to:*Statistical dispersion*Spread , an edible paste put on other foods*the score difference being wagered on in spread betting*the measure of line inclination in rational trigonometry...
and the structure of debate as a whole. Along these lines, Jordan High's team chooses to read slowly and focus on persuasion
Persuasion
Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding or bringing oneself or another toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic means.- Methods :...
rather than pure quick argumentation. At the end of the documentary, however, they are defeated by a "traditional" team- Rahul Hirani and Tim Jurka from Saint Francis High School (Mountain View)
Saint Francis High School (Mountain View)
Saint Francis High School, founded in 1954 by the Brothers of Holy Cross, is a Roman Catholic, co-educational, college preparatory secondary school located in Mountain View, CA. The Brothers of Holy Cross serve both on the faculty and on the Board of Directors...
. The judge defends his decision by stating that the Jordan High team convinced him that the structure of debate is flawed, but then the debaters went on to use the very structure of debate to continue to defend their arguments. Thus, their arguments were not consistent. They attempt to qualify for the tournament of champions, but this loss effectively curtails this dream. Moreover, one of the debaters is suspended, further ending any hope to this chance. In addition to the social message, Resolved involves commentaries from Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito
Samuel Alito
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
, Jane Pauley
Jane Pauley
Margaret Jane Pauley is an American television journalist, and has been involved in news reporting since 1975...
, and Juan Williams
Juan Williams
Juan Williams is an American journalist and political analyst for Fox News Channel, he was born in Panama on April 10, 1954. He also writes for several newspapers including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal and has been published in magazines such as The Atlantic...
.
Cast
- Louis Blackwell
- Richard Funches
- Jon Bruschke
- Matthew Andrews
- Sam Iola
- Samuel A. AlitoSamuel AlitoSamuel Anthony Alito, Jr. is an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and has served on the court since January 31, 2006....
- Jane PauleyJane PauleyMargaret Jane Pauley is an American television journalist, and has been involved in news reporting since 1975...
- Josh LucasJosh LucasJosh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:...
- Juan WilliamsJuan WilliamsJuan Williams is an American journalist and political analyst for Fox News Channel, he was born in Panama on April 10, 1954. He also writes for several newspapers including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal and has been published in magazines such as The Atlantic...
- David Wiltz