At West Newton Cinema on Wednesday evening, a documentary centered around five girls in the Newton South High School (NSHS) debate team, Girl Talk, screened as part of the Local Spotlight: Filmmaker’s Forum.
Girl Talk covered the invaluable experience of finding one’s voice while navigating societal expectations forced on girls in the competitive debate world.
The five girls, Gil Alon, Bella Ehrlich, Gaby Lewis, Hannah Phan, and Anika Sridhar, often received unwarranted comments about the length of their skirts, as well as comments that their voices were “too feminine for debate” during their participation in local and national debate competitions. The competitions ranged from National Qualifiers to the Tournament of Champions.
The film starts with four of the girls as freshmen in high school and novices on their student-led debate team. Ehrlich was an experienced senior who guided underclassmen through the debate world.
Ehrlich highlighted what girls are normally taught in the debate environment in the documentary.
“Stand up tall, no slouching, glue your feet to the ground, pretend [there’s] sticky glue,” Ehrlich said. “Lower your voice at the end of sentences. Be more assertive, not aggressive.”
The film noted that judges call female debaters “too aggressive” twice as frequently in comparison to male debaters.
NSHS’ debate team places a special emphasis on gender inclusion.
“It is not easy, but easier to be a girl on a debate team [at NSHS] compared to others,” one of the boys on the debate team said in the documentary.
As the film progressed, it was apparent how debate transformed the lives of the stars as they became more comfortable and confident with their voices, even if they were deemed too feminine or high-pitched. The girls also developed their own, unique styles of debate, found their debate partners who became lifelong friends, and honed in on their research skills.
Rachel Clark, video editor for the documentary illustrated the girls’ accomplishments in the documentary.
“It’s such an incredible world of high achievers, and these girls are impressive,” Clark said. “Seeing how these girls become confident and find their voices is really remarkable to watch.”
Sridhar won the Tournament of Champions in 2018, becoming the first girl in nine years to win. As the film unraveled, the documentary emphasized the significance of this victory and what it meant, not only for Sridhar, but also for other female debaters, and their high school.
Anne Marie Stein, co-chair of the Newton Cultural Council and coordinator of the Local Spotlight: Filmmaker’s Forum, described the documentary’s message.
“[Girl Talk] is a portrait of this debate team, but it’s also about voices,” Stein said. “For these young women, in the context of an activity that is primarily male-dominated, [the documentary is about how] to find your way, find your voice, and how these processes help you to do so.”
At the film’s conclusion, the original novices, Sridhar and Lewis, became captains of their high school debate team and later mentored and guided the next novices.
Lewis’ father elaborated on the extent of her commitment to the team.
“I’m sure my daughter was not thrilled at six in the morning, getting up and going all the time, but her love for it, the confidence had built her … and she started to question things,” Lewis’ father said. “Even spoke back to her father, which is good.”
Jerry Reilly, another coordinator for the Local Spotlight: Filmmaker’s Forum, agreed with the obvious transformation for girls on the team that occurred throughout the documentary.
“[I was] blown away by the power of debate for these kids,” Reilly said. “You see these kids transforming over those couple of years. It is important.”
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