Audience and Belonging in “Remember The Titans” by Boaz Yakin

“Remember The Titans” by Boaz Yakin is a visual where both the African Americans and All Americans still live in a time where racism was stronger and more open then today. When the school board decides to integrate both schools the white community doesn’t take it to well and a Young African youth is slain which causes uproar in the city. The uniting of both schools goes on and we as audience can see the hostility shown towards both races. It’s not until the football team and leaders unite do we start seeing a change in the community. The respect for an individual isn’t based upon his color but his soul. The uniting of a team brings a community bound by racism and hatred together for the greater good.

The director’s purpose in creating the text is to reveal the concept of belonging and not belonging. How belonging can be as much active as passive. The choice to belong is in each person and cannot always be blamed on other people or groups. The main themes are society, family, and cultural identity.

In the text “Remember the titans” the director uses the music as a symbol for the audience to determine whether a group or person belongs or not. In the opening scene where there is a standoff between the African -Americans and All -Americans the director uses non-diegetic sound to set the mood and atmosphere of a prejudice and hostile city. The lighting is very dim which represents gloominess and anger among the people. The close up camera shots helps the audience to feel the passive rejection shown by both African and all American. The director also uses an overhead shot to show the audience the threatening pose of all the rioters. The opening scene sets the irony of the community.

In this text the director focuses on not ...

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...t perceive that he belongs in that community. Not belonging when passive can be sometimes the hardest thing for a human as it brings rejections which turns into depression if your Sense of belonging is out of priority. All humans need to belong its pretty much what drives us to do things. If our acceptance comes from mere mortals then our motives are out. We as humans need to belong to the eternal Family of God where no matter what we do we can always have assurance that we have a family to come back to and belong.

The audience for this text is for a wide range a people and family. This movie is a great family movie as it shows determination and the will to move beyond the past. Especially for those that perceive they don’t belong or are passively rejected. The director has used a inspiring film to persuade humans to move beyond there past. To forgive and forget.