Director 導(dǎo)演：

Denzel Washington 丹澤爾#8226;華盛頓

Leading Cast 主演：

Denzel Washington 丹澤爾#8226;華盛頓

Nate Parker 奈特#8226;帕克

Jurnee Smollett 杰妮#8226;斯默里特

Denzel Whitaker丹澤爾#8226;懷塔克

Forest Whitaker福里斯特#8226;惠特克

Genre 類型：Drama 劇情

Runtime 片長：123分鐘

Distribution出品：Harpo Films 哈珀電影

Plot Outline故事梗概

在20世紀(jì)30年代的德州，政府依舊沿用著19世紀(jì)70年代的法律對黑人實行種族隔離和種族歧視。作為一名有知識有頭腦的黑人，Melvin B. Tolson非常希望通過自己的力量為同胞們做些事情，于是在空余時間他開始在學(xué)校中成立黑人高校的第一支辯論隊。在辯論隊成長的道路上，Melvin不斷挑戰(zhàn)著社會當(dāng)時的傳統(tǒng)觀念、反抗著當(dāng)時的游戲規(guī)則。他反叛的精神和激進(jìn)的教學(xué)方式不斷遭到當(dāng)局的審查，但他始終堅持著自己的信念，最終，辯論隊員們進(jìn)入了哈佛大學(xué)的辯論殿堂，成為了第一支打敗哈佛高才生的辯論隊。

Movie Review 影評

By Scott Lewis

It's 1935， and life is hard for the residents of Marshall， Texas. For the landowners and the sharecroppers， there's the threat of poverty brought about by crushing labour laws， greedy corporations and a country recovering from a depression. For the local African-American population， there's abundant racism， segregation and double standards.

For debate team-mates 14-year-old James Farmer， Jr.， teammates Henry Lowe， Samantha Booke and Hamilton Burgess， and firebrand teacher Melvin Tolson， there's another problem: no black college has ever debated their white counterparts， and won.

When Denzel Washington teams up with Oprah Winfrey to make an underdog movie about a college debate team in the Deep South before the Second World War， litters the script with real-life heroes and founders of the Civil Rights movement， and throws in some sharecroppers， lynchings and a lovesick 14-year-old genius， you can be certain of one thing: this is going to be a movie with a message.

It doesn't disappoint – the movie is full of righteous anger and moral lessons. Set in the small town of Marshall， Texas， The Great Debaters is based on the true story of the Wiley College Debate Team， the first black college to take on an Ivy League school. It's full of underdog movie tropes – family issues， interpersonal conflicts and social taboos all conspire to wreck the team's one big shot at success. As a result it's generic， the outcome is obvious from the start， and there's nothing remotely original in the entire movie… but it's still a damn good way to spend a couple of hours.

Where The Great Debaters really， truly comes in to its own is on the strength of its scripting. Screenwriter Robert Eisle has put together a fantastic story， littered with quotable lines and dramatic， uplifting speeches. The casting is another stroke of genius – Denzel Washington (rather predictably) excels in his role as Melvin Tolson， and Hollywood legends John Heard and Forest Whittaker are also on board， but these noted luminaries are all outshone by the performances of the younger cast – Nate Parker (Lowe)， Jurnee Smollet (Booke) and Denzel Whittaker (Farmer). All three of the principal younger actors put their heart and soul into this movie， infusing it with a passion unmatched since 2000's Remember The Titans.

If you're looking for a decent feel good movie to while away an afternoon， then this is certainly a solid candidate. It won't change the world， but it will definitely make you stop and think about it for a while.

1935年，德州居民的生活十分艱苦。勞動法的頒布、貪婪的企業(yè)的蠶食以及剛從大蕭條中緩過勁的國家都讓當(dāng)?shù)氐牡刂骱偷柁r(nóng)面臨著窮困的威脅。對于當(dāng)?shù)氐拿酪岷谌藖碚f，他們飽受歧視、種族隔離以及雙重標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的欺壓。

而對于由激情澎湃的教師麥爾文組織的辯論隊（隊員包括14歲的詹姆士、亨利、莎曼莎以及漢密頓）來說，他們又面臨著另一個挑戰(zhàn)：沒有哪所黑人大學(xué)曾擊敗過白人大學(xué)。

當(dāng)?shù)蔂?8226;華盛頓聯(lián)合奧普拉#8226;溫弗瑞制作一部反映二戰(zhàn)前南部大學(xué)辯論的故事的電影時；當(dāng)他們將現(xiàn)實中的英雄和民權(quán)運動的創(chuàng)始人與佃農(nóng)、私刑及14歲的天才少年融合一起時，那么有一件事是確信無疑的：這部電影肯定是在傳遞一個訊息。

該片一點兒都不人失望，充滿了正直的憤怒并給我們上了一堂道德課?！秱ゴ筠q手》將背景設(shè)置在德州的小鎮(zhèn)馬歇爾，根據(jù)真實故事（第一支打敗常春藤學(xué)院的威利學(xué)院的辯論隊的故事）改編而成，充滿了描繪小人物的各種因素——家庭問題、人與人之間的沖突以及社會禁忌，而這些都足以毀掉辯論隊踏上成功之路。不過結(jié)尾還是流于俗套，一看開頭就能猜到結(jié)尾，毫無新意……但還是值得花上幾小時去觀賞。

真正讓《偉大辯手》脫穎而出的是它的劇本。編劇羅伯特#8226;伊斯勒創(chuàng)作了一個了不起的故事，將名人名言與強(qiáng)有力的演講融合在一起。當(dāng)然，演員也是吸引人的要素之一：丹澤爾#8226;華盛頓（不用說也知道）超常演繹麥爾文#8226;托爾森；好萊塢傳奇人物約翰#8226;何德以及福里斯特#8226;惠特克也傾情出演；但是這些耀眼的明星卻被年輕的新星——奈特#8226;帕克（飾洛）、杰妮#8226;斯默里特（飾布克）和丹澤爾#8226;懷塔克（飾法默）蓋過了光芒。這三個年輕的演員將所有的精力都投入到了這部影片中，使該片成為繼2000年《沖鋒陷陣》后最無“片”能敵的激情之作。

如果你正在尋找一部真正的好片消磨午后時光，那么《偉大辯手》絕對是最佳選擇之一。雖然它不能改變世界，但一定會讓你思考。

Dialogues 精彩對白

一 辯論預(yù)選賽

思想激進(jìn)、積極為黑人爭取權(quán)利的Tolson教授準(zhǔn)備在Wiley學(xué)校成立一支辯論隊，通過辯論的方式來擴(kuò)大影響。以下就是辯論預(yù)選賽的情況。

Tolson: Of the 360 students here at Wiley College， only 45 of you were brave enough to try out for the debate team. Of the 45 only 4 be who'll remain standing when the tryouts are over. Why? Because debate is blood sport. It's combat， but your weapons are words. (James knocks the door) Come on in. Now that Mr. Farmer has joined us， we can begin. Sit down， Mr. Farmer. Not right there， over there.

Mrs. Tolson: James， come this way.

James: Good evening， Mrs.Tolson.

Mrs. Tolson: Evening.

Tolson: We're waiting for you， Mr. Farmer.

James: I'm going， Sir.

Tolson: Thank you， Mr. Farmer. You smell very good Mr. Farmer.

James: Thank you， Sir.

Tolson: You're very welcome. Gentlemen and lady， this is the hot… spot. You will enter it at your own risk.

Reed: Mr. Tolson， what about the debaters from last year?

Tolson: Don't ask question you already know the answer to. Get up here， you will be first. You， right here， in the hotspot. Debate starts with a proposition， with an idea， resolved. \"Child labour should be regulated by the Federal Government.\" The first debater argues the affirmative. Affirmative means that you afford something. Mr. Reed will argue affirmative， the second debater argues the negative. Negative means that you are what?

Burgess: Against.

Tolson: Brilliant， Mr. Burgess. You shall argue the affirmative， Mr. Reed， go.

Reed: Well， Sir， I begin with a quote from the poet Cleghorn， \"The golf links lie so near the mill that almost every day the labouring children can look out and… and…\"

Tolson: \"…and watch the man at play.\" Is that what you learned from last year， Mr. Reed? To start something and not finish it， is it?

Reed: No， Sir.

Tolson: Sit down. Who's next? You， stand up， stand up…

(The trials continue. Tolson picks out Samantha from the crowd.)

Tolson: It's getting late， how much longer can you hide?

Samantha: I'm not hiding， Sir. I transferred from my college just to come and try out of your team.

Tolson: I'm deeply moved. What's your name?

Samantha: Samantha Booke.

Tolson: Booke?

Samantha: With an \"e\".

Tolson: Arise， Miss Booke， with an \"e\". Into the hotspot， Miss Booke， with an \"e\". You know there's never been a female on the debating team ever.

Samantha: Yes， Sir， I know that.

Tolson: What makes you think you should be the first?

Samantha: Because， Sir， I am just as qualified as…

Tolson: With standing， Miss Booke.

Samantha: …anybody else. My gender has nothing…

Tolson: Resolved: Welfare discourages hard work. You're logging the negative.

Samantha: All right.

Tolson: Welfare takes away a man strongest reason for working which is survival. And that weakens the will of poor. How do you rebut that， Miss Booke with an \"e\".

Samantha: I would say it does not. Most of the new deal goes to children anyway and to the handicapped and to old people.

Tolson: Is it a fact or conjecture?

Samantha: It is a fact.

Tolson: Speak up.

Samantha: It is a fact.

Tolson: What's your source?

Samantha: The president.

Tolson: Of United States?

Samantha: Yes， Sir.

Tolson: That's your primary source? You spoke to President Roosevelt personally?

Samantha: Of course not. I did not speak to him personally. But I listened to his Fire Side Chat.

Tolson: A radio broadcast?

Samantha: Yes.

Tolson: Any other sources? Any other sources?

Samantha: Yes， there are other sources. Like that looking at a mother's eyes when she can't feed her kids. Without welfare， Mr. Tolson， people would be starving.

Tolson: Who's starving， Miss Booke?

Samantha: The unemployed are starving.

Tolson: Mr. Burgess here， is unemployed. Obviously he's not starving. I drew you in， Miss Booke. You gave a faulty premise so your syllogism fell apart.

Samantha: Syllogism?

Tolson: Your logic fell apart. Major premise， the unemployed are starving. Minor premise， Mr. Burgess is unemployed. Conclusion， Mr. Burgess is starving. Your major premise was based on a faulty assumption. Classic fallacy. Who's next?

(Samantha returns to her seat. Henry takes the hot spot.)

James: You were right.

Tolson: Tell us your name.

Henry: I'm Henry Lowe， with an \"e\".

Tolson: All right， Mr. Lowe. I will name a subject， you speak a few words. An opportune quote from literature.

Henry: Go ahead.

Tolson: Beauty.

Henry: \"I heard the old， old men say all that's beautiful drifts away like the waters.\"

Tolson: Very good. History. And name the author this time.

Henry: \"History is a nightmare from which I'm trying to awake.\" James Joyce.

Tolson: Self-pity.

Henry: \"I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.\" D.H Lawrence.

James: I love D.H Lawrence， have you ever read?

Tolson: Mr. Farmer.

James: Yes， Sir.

Tolson: I have eyes on the back of my head and ears on both sides. Stand up. Tell me the irony in the name Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

James: Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus， Prince of peace， and Bethlehem Steel makes weapons of war.

Tolson: Very good， sit down.

Samantha: Good.

Tolson: Who's next?

Language Focus 語言點

1. try out

固定詞組，“參加選拔”的意思。

2. resolved

本來是形容詞，“下定決心的”意思，但在電影中的意思是“論點”。

3. logging

“l(fā)og”的本意“木頭”，但在對話中，它變成動詞，意思是“進(jìn)行”。

4. rebut

“反駁”的意思。

5. conjecture

意思是“推斷、猜想”。

6. Fire Side Chat

這就是美國歷史上著名的羅斯?？偨y(tǒng)情暖美國人的壁爐旁的談話。在美國經(jīng)濟(jì)大蕭條時期，羅斯福通過這個人性化的舉動鼓舞了美國人民。后來，這個短語引申用以指代總統(tǒng)對民眾親密的、話家常的談話。

7. I drew you in…

“draw in”是個固定短語，意思是“引誘，使……入圈套”。

8. syllogism

這是邏輯學(xué)中的“三段論”，即包括大前提、小前提和結(jié)論的演繹推理形式。

二 嶄露頭角

由于受到父親影響，Burgess不得不因為Tolson的信仰而退出辯論隊。關(guān)鍵時刻，Samantha頂替了Burgess的位置，并在和俄克拉荷馬州城市學(xué)院的辯論中取得了勝利。

00:53:43 – 00:57:53

Samantha: Resolved: The Negroes should be… should be admitted…

Audience: I can't hear you. Louder!

Smantha: Resolved: Negroes should be admitted to state universities. My partner and I will prove that blocking a Negroes' admission to a state universities it not only wrong， it is absurd. The Negro people are not just a colour in the American fabric. They are the thread that holds that all together. Consider the legal and historical record. May 13th， 1865， Sergeant Crocker， a Negro is the last soldier to die in the Civil War. 1918， the first US soldiers decorated for bravery in France are Negroes Henry Johnson and Nedham Roberts. 1920， The New York Times announces that the \"n\" in \"negro\" would hereafter be capitalized.

OCC Debater 1: To force up south what they are not ready for would result in nothing but more racial hatred. Dr. W. E. B Du Bois - he is perhaps the most eminent Negro scholar in America - he comments: \"It's a silly waste of money， time and temper to try and compel a powerful majority to do what they're not determined to not to do.\"

Henry: My opponent so conveniently chose to ignore the fact that W. E. B Du Bois is the first Negro who received a PhD from a white college called Harvard.

OCC Debater 1: Dr. Du Bois， he adds: \"It is impossible， impossible for a Negro to receive a proper education at a white college.\"

Henry: The most eminent Negro scholar in America is the product of an Ivy League education. You see， Du Bois knows all too well the white man's resistance to change. But that's no reason to keep a black man out of any college. If someone didn't force upon the south something it wasn't ready for， I'll be still in chains， and Miss Booke here'd be running from all of Assa.

OCC Debater 2: I do admit it. It is true. Far too many whites are afflicted with the disease of racial hatred. And because of racism it would be impossible for a Negro to be happy in a southern white college today. And if someone is unhappy， it is impossible to see how they could receive a proper education. Yes， the time will come when Negroes and whites would walk on the same campus. And we will share the same classrooms. But sadly the day is not today.

Samantha: As long as schools are segregated， Negroes will receive an education that is both separate and unequal. By Oklahoma's own reckoning the state is currently spending 5 times more for the education of a white child than in the spending to educate a colored child. That means better textbooks for that child than for that child. I say that's a shame， but my opponents today is not the day for whites and coloreds to go the same college， to share the same campus， to walk in the same classroom. Well， would you be so kind to tell me when is that day gonna come? Is it gonna come tomorrow? Is it gonna come next week? In 100 years? Never? No! The time for justice， the time for freedom and the time for equality is always， always right now! Thank you.

Language Focus 語言點

1. Dr. W. E. B Du Bois

杜波依斯，美國作家，1868年2月23日生于馬薩諸塞州一個貧苦黑人的家庭。曾在3所大學(xué)讀書，獲得哈佛大學(xué)法學(xué)博士和哲學(xué)博士學(xué)位并在亞特蘭大等著名黑人大學(xué)任教。他以畢生精力研究美國和非洲的歷史和社會，他的著作以確鑿的材料和精辟的論述證明黑人曾以他們的才智對美國歷史和人類文明作出了貢獻(xiàn)。另外，杜波依斯還創(chuàng)作詩歌、小說和散文。從19世紀(jì)90年代起，杜波依斯投身于美國和非洲黑人的解放運動。他是泛非運動的創(chuàng)始人，也是美國有色人種協(xié)會的創(chuàng)建者之一，并任協(xié)會的機(jī)關(guān)刊物《危機(jī)》的編輯達(dá)24年之久。在黑人解放運動中，他一貫堅持進(jìn)行積極斗爭，反對妥協(xié)投降。美共領(lǐng)袖威廉#8226;福斯特曾稱他是“黑人的一個最偉大的代言人”，是“黑人的新的杰出領(lǐng)袖”。1961年，杜波依斯參加美國共產(chǎn)黨；同年應(yīng)加納總統(tǒng)的邀請，遷居加納，加入加納國籍，主持編纂《非洲大百科全書》。1963年8月27日病逝。

2. Ivy League

常青藤（Ivy League）一詞通常是指美國東部八所高學(xué)術(shù)水平、歷史悠久的大學(xué)。這些大學(xué)多成立于美國早期：哈佛成立于1636年，耶魯成立于1701年，賓西法尼亞大學(xué)成立于1740年，普林斯頓成立于1746年，哥倫比亞成立于1754年，布朗成立于1764年，達(dá)特茅斯成立于1769年，康乃爾成立于1865年。準(zhǔn)確地說，原來常青藤一詞是指上述八所大學(xué)的體育競賽活動。在20世紀(jì)30年代，首先采用這個提法的是紐約報體育新聞記者Stanley Woodward，幾年后，這些大學(xué)才正式成立了以常青藤命名的體育聯(lián)合會。

三 戰(zhàn)勝哈佛

在取得一系列光輝的戰(zhàn)績后，Wiley學(xué)院的辯論選手終于收到哈佛的邀請，有了與哈佛高才生激辯的機(jī)會。雖然，哈佛人才輩出，但是，他們還是贏了。

01:43:55 – 01:56:41

Radio Announcer: Direct from Harvard Memorial Hall in Cambridge， Massachusetts. This is WNBC Radio bring to you live tonight's history-making debate between little Wiley College from Marshall Texas and the Harvard University debate team. The first time ever a Negro college has faced the national champions. Harvard's Dean and students are making their ways to the podium now. The crowd， as if on cue， fall silent.

The Dean: On this historical occasion， we welcome the distinguished team from Wiley College. The illustrious judges， you， the audience， and， through the wonder of radio， the nation. Harvard University celebrates its 300th anniversary this year， and in Franklin Delano Roosevelt， its 5th President of the United States. But no university， no matter how grant or august in its history can afford to live in the past. So in the spirit of tomorrow， I introduce to you today the debaters from Wiley College， Miss Samantha Booke and Mr. James Farmer Junior. Mr. Farmer will argue the first affirmative.

James: Resolved: Civil disobedience is a moral weapon in the fight for justice. But how can disobedience ever be moral? I guess that depends on one's definition of the words. Word. In 1919 in India， 10，000 people gathered in Amritsar to protest the tyranny of British rule.

Nathaniel: Has it started?

Mr. Farmer: Your brother's talking， just sit down.

James: General Reginald Dyer trapped them in a courtyard and ordered his troops to fire into the crowd for 10 minutes. 379 died. Men， women， children shot down in cold blood. Dyer said he taught them a moral lesson. Ghandhi and his followers responded not with violence but with organized campaign of non-cooperation. Government buildings were occupied. Streets were blocked by people who refused to rise even being beaten by police. Ghandhi was arrested. But the British was soon forced to release him. He called it a \"moral victory.\" The definition of moral: Dyer's lesson or Ghandhi's victory? You choose.

Harvard Debater 1: From 1914 to 1918. For every single minute the world was at war， 4 men laid down their lives. Just think of it. 240 brave young men were hurled into eternity every hour of every day of every night for four long years. 35，000 hours， 8，281，000 casualties. 240. 240. 240. Here was a slaughter immeasurably greater than what happened in Amritsar. Can there be anything moral about it? Nothing. Except that it stopped Germany from enslaving all of Europe. Civil disobedience isn't moral because it's non-violent. Fighting for your country with violence can be deeply moral， demanding the greatest sacrifice of all. Life itself. Non-violence is the mask civil disobedience wears to conceal its true face – Anarchy.

Samantha: Ghandhi believes one must always act with love and respect for one's opponents. Even if they are Harvard debaters. Ghandhi also believes that law-breakers must accept the legal consequences for their actions. Does that sound like anarchy? Civil disobedience is not something for us to fear. It is after all an American concept. You see， Ghandhi draws his inspiration not from an Hindu Scripture but from Henry David Thoreau who I believe graduated from Harvard and lived by upon not too far from here.

Harvard Debater 2: My opponent is right about one thing. Thoreau was Harvard grad and like many of us， a bit self-righteous. He once said: \"Any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one.\" Thoreau， the idealist， could never know that Adolf Hitler would agree with his words. The beauty and burden of democracy is this: No idea prevails without the support of majority. The people decide the moral issues of the day， not the majority of one.

Samantha: Majority do not decide what is right or wrong. You conscience does. So why should us citizens surrender his or her conscience to a legacy? We must never， ever kneel down before the tyranny of a majority.

Harvard Debater 2: We can't decide which laws to obey， which to ignore. If we could， I'd never stop for a red light. My father is one of those men that stand between us and chaos. A police officer. I remember the day his partner， his best friend was gunned down in the line of duty. Most vividly of all， I remember the expression on my dad's face. Nothing that erodes the rule of law can be moral no matter what name we give it.

(James steps up to the podium， and says nothing. For a moment it looks like he has forgotten what he wants to say.)

Nathaniel: Why doesn't he say something?

(James looks around the audience)

James: In Texas， they lynch Negroes. My teammate and I saw a man strung up by his neck and set on fire. We drove through a lynch mob， we pressed our faces against the floor board. I looked at my teammates. I saw the fear in their eyes， and worse， the shame. What was this Negro's crime that he should be hung without trial in a dark forest filled with fog? Was he a thief? Was he a killer or just a Negro? Was he a sharecropper? A preacher? Were his children waiting up for him? And who are we to just lie there and do nothing? No matter what he did， the mob was the criminal. But the law did nothing， just left us wondering: \"Why?\" My opponent says: \"Nothing that erodes the rule of law can be moral.\" But there is no rule of law in the Jim Crow South. Not when Negroes are denied to housing， turned away from school， hospitals and not when we are lynched. St. Augustine said: \"An unjust law is no law at all.\" Which means I have a right， even a duty to resist with violence or civil disobedience. You should pray I choose the latter.

Language Focus 語言點

1. podium

“講臺、講壇”的意思。

2. august

這里做形容詞，意思是“令人敬畏的、威嚴(yán)的”。

3. anarchy

“無政府狀態(tài)、政治混亂”的意思。

4. Henry David Thoreau

亨利#8226;大衛(wèi)#8226;梭羅，19世紀(jì)美國最具有世界影響力的作家、哲學(xué)家，所著《瓦爾登湖》一書150年來風(fēng)行天下，不知出版了多少個版本。他強(qiáng)調(diào)親近自然、學(xué)習(xí)自然、熱愛自然，追求“簡單些，再簡單些”的質(zhì)樸生活，提倡短暫人生因思想豐盈而臻于完美。

5. grad

非正式用語，“畢業(yè)生”的意思。

6. the line of duty

固定搭配，“值勤”的意思。

7. lynch

既可做動詞也可做名詞，在電影中是做動詞，意思是“以私刑處死”，即不經(jīng)過正當(dāng)法律程序處死，尤指被暴民絞死。

8. mob

“暴徒、烏合之眾”的意思。

9. sharecropper

“交租耕種農(nóng)”，尤指美國西南部的小佃農(nóng)。

10. Jim Crow

該詞源于1828年一名叫Thomas D的年輕演員所扮演的黑人角色“Jim Crow”，在表演中，他將自己的臉涂成黑色，扮演一個無知、傻氣的美國黑人，很快“Jim Crow”就風(fēng)靡全國，而這也為種族隔離法做了準(zhǔn)備，因此，“Jim Crow”成為了種族歧視和隔離黑人的代名詞。

Trivia 電影八卦

1．1935年，和Wiley學(xué)院展開辯論賽的并不是哈佛大學(xué)而是美國南加州大學(xué)。丹澤爾#8226;華盛頓在一次采訪中表示這是因為哈佛大學(xué)更有名望才會在電影中如此加工的。

2．在和哈佛大學(xué)辯論的場景中，我們看到James拿著圓珠筆，但圓珠筆是在1938年才出現(xiàn)的，而影片的時間是1935年。

3．Tolson教授在給學(xué)生講解“l(fā)ynching”的時候，他提到了Willie Lynch的演講，但該演講并沒有歷史記錄，直到20世紀(jì)90年代才驚現(xiàn)網(wǎng)絡(luò)，一個生活在20世紀(jì)30年代的教授竟能未卜先知實在是厲害。

4．?dāng)[在Farmer博士書房的證書是由波士頓大學(xué)檔案管理員Kara Jackman提供的。

5．《偉大辯手》是自1979后第一部被允許在哈佛大學(xué)拍攝的影片。而在影片完成后，丹澤爾#8226;華盛頓宣布將100萬美元捐贈給Wiley College用于校園重建工程。

6．影片中的James在現(xiàn)實生活中是全美最大的民權(quán)組織之一“種族平等委員會”的創(chuàng)始人和領(lǐng)袖。

Melvin B. Tolson in History 歷史中的馬文#8226;托爾森（加一張真人的照片）

馬文#8226;托爾森（1898 - 1966）是一名杰出的詩人、小說家、劇作家、專欄作家及教育家。他出生于密蘇里州的牧師家庭，小時候在西部城鎮(zhèn)生活。其父雖然識字不多，但從小就向他灌輸“知識就是力量”的思想，因此托爾森自小便好學(xué)苦讀。1923年，他以優(yōu)異的成績在林肯大學(xué)畢業(yè)并取得文學(xué)學(xué)士學(xué)位。畢業(yè)后，托爾森開始在Wiley學(xué)院任教，擔(dān)任英語和演講學(xué)科的老師，除了教學(xué)外，他還訓(xùn)練學(xué)校的足球隊并指導(dǎo)戲劇社演出，還成立了該院的第一支辯論隊。就如電影中所表現(xiàn)的那樣，這支辯論隊在真實的世界中也是戰(zhàn)績非凡，十年僅一敗。盡管事務(wù)繁重，但托爾森并未停止文學(xué)和藝術(shù)創(chuàng)作。當(dāng)他還是小孩子的時候就已經(jīng)展露繪畫天分，但是因為其母不贊成一名吉普賽藝術(shù)家?guī)グ屠枭钤於黄确艞壚L畫。于是他選擇了寫詩來宣泄內(nèi)心的郁悶。1912年，他在當(dāng)?shù)氐膱蠹埳习l(fā)表了詩歌《The Wreck of the Titanic》，幾年后，他就成為了林肯高中的知名人物——小有名氣的高中生詩人。期間，他還在學(xué)校年刊中發(fā)表了2篇短篇小說和2首詩歌。但讓托爾森真正聲名遠(yuǎn)播的是他于1939創(chuàng)作的《Dark Symphony》，該詩為他贏得了全美詩歌大賽的冠軍并最終在《Atlantic Monthly》上發(fā)表。同時這首詩也吸引了一名編輯的眼球，他最終在1944年幫托爾森出版了他第一部詩集《Rendezvous with America》，該詩集受到大眾的歡迎并受到評論家的好評。在1937到1944年間，托爾森也給《Washington Tribune》周報一個叫《Caviar and Cabbage》的欄目寫專欄，該專欄主要發(fā)表了托爾森有關(guān)種族和等級的看法。1982年，Robert M. Farnsworth將托爾森的這些文章編輯成冊，以《Caviar and Cabbage: Selected Columns by Melvin B. Tolson》為名出版。在獲得“桂冠詩人”的頭銜后，托爾森于1953年發(fā)表了長詩《Libretto for the Republic of Liberia》。該詩結(jié)構(gòu)復(fù)雜，寓意深刻，以超現(xiàn)實的手法表現(xiàn)了托爾森的創(chuàng)作才華。詩人艾倫#8226;塔特（Allen Tate）在序中高度評價了托爾森，稱他不僅吸收了現(xiàn)代詩歌的傳統(tǒng)并使其得到進(jìn)一步發(fā)展。在《Libretto for the Republic of Liberia》的修訂本中，托爾森加入了他在黑人住宅區(qū)時創(chuàng)作的詩歌。這些詩歌促成了托爾森想創(chuàng)作一個有關(guān)黑人的作品的想法，他將這個作品分為5本書，每本書代表美國黑人在美國歷史上不同階段的狀況，但他只完成了一本書《Harlem Gallery: Book I， The Curator》（1965）。在這本書中，他以圖片、對話和對生活的評論與讀者分享了他的觀點，這也促進(jìn)了有關(guān)黑人藝術(shù)家在白人社會中的角色的討論。20世紀(jì)60年代，托爾森的作品不再那么暢銷，主要的原因是黑人審美運動的成員譴責(zé)托爾森對白人的姿態(tài)并指責(zé)他的作品深奧難懂。的確，托爾森在作品中透漏了他社會大同的想法，而詩人夏皮洛（Shapiro）為《Harlem Gallery: Book I， The Curator》寫得序充滿了非洲感覺，這讓人難以將托爾森定位為現(xiàn)代詩人還是傳統(tǒng)詩人。盡管如此，托爾森的作品還是因其中的種族觀點受到現(xiàn)今社會的認(rèn)可，他的詩歌也經(jīng)常被匯編成冊，而他一生獲得的榮譽(yù)以及為黑人爭取權(quán)利所做的貢獻(xiàn)讓他成為不朽。