Esther Oyetunji
“I’ve learned that my voice, it means something.”
Each year, thousands of high school students around the country take part in speech and debate contests. ( I did a few myself in high school.) The goal is to make it to the Nationals of the National Speech and Debate Association. The most prestigious category is Original Oratory. Speak., directed by Jennifer Tiexiera and co-director Guy Mossman, spends a year following five of the best OO contestants as they hone their speeches, and live their teenage lives.
The documentary follows the same pattern we’ve seen in other films about academic competitions, like Spellbound and Science Fair. Such films are inspiring, and this is one is no exception. The filmmakers have chosen a diverse group of speakers, all well accomplished in speaking. All with a subject they are passionate about.
Noor, from Texas, whose mother is the school’s speech coach, has a severely disabled brother. Her speech is advocacy for seeing the disabled in new ways. She’s also raising a pig that she doesn’t want to go to slaughter. Also from Texas is Noah, who only fairly recently learned of his diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome. He seeks to eliminate the stigma attached to suicide. His mother took her own life.
Mfaz, from Minnesota, was born in Sudan. She has over three million TikTok followers. She raises her voice to talk about the way society uses humiliation as a means of control. Mfaz was among the top six in last year’s Nationals final. Sam, a gay young man also from Minnesota, speaks of the weaponizing of nostalgia to promote discriminatory laws, especially when it comes to anti-LGBTQ legislation.
When asked about the biggest competition, they all name Esther, the two-time defending champion in Original Oratory. (One of them calls her “a legend”.) From Florida, she’s the daughter of a pastor who came here from Nigeria. Her speech focuses on the way people use the idea of “protecting children” to gain power, while neglecting to actually do anything for children.
It is not just that they are accomplished speakers. They have chosen important subjects and demonstrate a critical understanding of the world they live in. These are voices being raised about things that need to be talked about. The speeches are not simple soap box rants. The students have developed their arguments carefully and skillfully. We listen to their words not because they are put before us, but because they have grasped our attention.
Noor and her mother make the point that schools often spend large amounts on competitive sports (especially football in Texas), while speech programs are often neglected or non-existant. Yet, speech programs, as we see in the film, often create confident students who are not afraid to say what needs to be said. We need people who are willing to speak the truth to a world who may not want to listen.
Photos courtesy of Vox Pop Films.
