Resolved

The film opens by profiling Matt Andrews and Sam Iola, two standout debaters from Highland Park High School, a national policy debate powerhouse in Texas. Andrews is a rising sophomore and Iola a rising senior who has already earned recognition within the debate circuit. Their partnership foreshadows the high-stakes world they navigate.

Attention shifts to Louis Blackwell and Richard Funches of Jordan High School in Long Beach, California, an underfunded program where only 12-18% of students go on to four-year colleges. The film contrasts their environment with Highland Park's resources, highlighting the stark disparities that shape their opportunities.

In an improbable upset, Blackwell and Funches win the California state championship, drawing national attention to their under-resourced program. They achieve the title by pushing a different kind of argument and sticking to their unconventional approach.

Following their win, coach Dave Wiltz introduces Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed to the Jordan High team. The text becomes a catalyst for rethinking how they argue, emphasizing voice, oppression, and social critique.

The team shifts to a slower, more persuasive style, prioritizing argument quality over speed. They lean on cadence and clarity to explain systemic issues and to persuade audiences, sometimes incorporating hip-hop elements. This marks a deliberate departure from conventional high school debate tactics.

The Louisville Project inspires their new method, framing debate as a site of power, voice, and marginalization. They integrate these themes into rounds, challenging the assumption that winning requires only quick, technical rebuttal.

They debut the Freire-inspired approach in a major tournament, and their message is powerful, but the round reveals tensions between message and format. A traditional, more rigid team remains their opponent, illustrating the friction between critique and the rules of procedure.

During the judging, the panel questions the team’s reliance on a critique of the structure itself. The film shows the judge arguing that while the structure may be flawed, the Jordan team ends up using that structure to defend their own position, exposing inconsistency.

Following their controversial run, the team tries to qualify for the Tournament of Champions. Their performance against traditional tactics helps them develop a broader message, but the loss blocks their path.

Throughout the film, commentators including Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Jane Pauley, and Juan Williams offer perspectives that connect the debate world to broader social issues. Their remarks situate the Jordan High story within a national conversation about power, voice, and inequality.

The documentary frames policy debate as a lens on power and oppression, inviting viewers to question how debate structures can privilege some students over others. It suggests that true persuasion may require challenging the system itself.

In its closing moments, Jordan High's dream to reach the national championships is left unresolved. The defeat underscores the film's critique of the system while honoring the team's courage to challenge it.