Remember The Titans

PLOT AND STRUCTURE

In the spring of April 1971, segregation ended in the public school system. During the same time a school in Alexander Virginia was currently segregated before the change was made to end segregation. At the school of T. C. Williams high school segregation was ended, but the belief from many was still not there. The film I selected was Remember the Titans. The film was produced on September 29, 2000. Remember the Titans is a 2000 American sports drama film based on a true story and, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. The screenplay, was written by Gregory Allen Howard. This film is based on a true story of an African American coach named Herman Boone, who his role was played by actor Denzel Washington. The film is about a football head coach Herman Boone. Herman Boone was a tough coach but was also true an equal to his players. This was Herman Boone first year coaching at T. C. Williams High school and there intent was to try and bring together an interracial football team. The first to do so in that community. At that time many were angry and

heated at the school and at the coach. Although there were many conflicts throughout the football team, do to being divided by racism and the different styles of leadership due to race, as well as there were many conflicts throughout the coaching staff as well do to race. Not just between the players and the coaching staff, but between the white player’s parents and the new black coach as well. The structure of the film opens up with a funeral. Although the audience is not told of whose funeral it was at that time, it then begins with the voice of Sheryl Yoast and she begins to talk about football and the importance it has on the community and how the board of education forced the school to integrate. During the course of the film the team finally realizes how important it is to work as a team, not just on the field but in the real world as well. It first began at team camp during their summer training. They soon started working together and figured out their problems among one another, they actually started to be a team. But once camped ended that all of that changed once they got back to their home town. People were protesting against the school for integrating, fights were breaking out. The football season didn’t start out the way they all would have hoped it was going to start. The offensive line wasn’t doing their job on blocking for their quarterback, and they were only playing for themselves not as a team. The captain of the team made a decision on finally accepting there new fellow black team mates. That has a huge turning point in the movie. They begin standing up for each other and they started standing up against their old white friends if they tried to do anything to their new black friends their team mates. They started to come united as one on the field and in the classrooms as well. Cause if they don’t do good in the classroom they couldn’t play on the field, so they begin to form study sessions and bond more. They start winning games one by one and ended up going all the way to the regional playoff game. It was a tough, long hard game but in the end they win the game. During the celebration for their victory, the team captain is involved in an auto accident and is paralyzed. At the hospital one of the members of the football team goes and sees him. The nurse wouldn’t let him in because he’s black and she says family only, but the captain said let him in he’s my brother. This event was a big inspiration for the team and for the coaches. In the end they end up winning the championship game and defeated racism all at the same time.
THEMES
Race is the biggest theme played throughout the movie. At that time white students who lived in that community grew up hating blacks. By watching their parents discriminate against blacks which would then lead them to follow those same behaviors and actions. But football was the gate way to end all that. Football had the ability to make a difference in their lives. Before the integration of the public schools, they were enemies against one another only based on their skin color. Football changed their way of thinking. They were forced to work together and they finally came to realize that they are the same and there was no difference between one another. They begin to overcome racism and begin to see how easy it is to change for the good. They set aside their differences and began to work together as one, as a team to accomplish their dreams of winning their first state title. Some more major themes that I found throughout the movie where unity, pride, brotherhood, and trust. All of those themes played a great impact on the players and on the audience as they developed deeper and deeper in one another throughout the movie.
SYMBOLISM
The team was the biggest symbol in the film. Football is a sport of team work and dedication of one another. Without pride, strength, trust, and dedication from one another there would be no team. If a team is not unified and is divided by racism, due to the color of your skin you will not be successful as a team. They will not win games if the team its self is segregated. Even if they have the best and biggest players in the county they still will not succeed if they are not one team. They soon began to realize that, and once that was realize they overcame there differences and become strong team.
CHARACTERIZATIONS AND PERFORMANCES
Hermane Boone the head coach of the football team, also played by the actor Denzel Washington. For the start of Hermanes career as a football head coach it did not start out well for him and his family. He was consider an outsider and many of the people in that community threaten him and his family if he stayed as the head coach. They even took it to the extent of throwing bricks though his windows during the night. All to try and scare him and his family and make to make a point that there should not be a black coach coaching there football. In return to all of his Hermane wanted to say as head coach and told them that he’s not going anywhere, cause he know that if he started at T. C. Williams high school as head coach of the football team he’s going to make a difference in the team and maybe in the community. As a result he did stay and in the end of all that nonsense that took place, he took his team and won the national football championship game.
Gerry Bertier who was also played by actor Ryan Hurst. He had a major role in the movie, he was the team captain. He was a tough, strong, and very vocal individual. He was a key player for the defensives side of the football team. He was the middle man on the defense, also known as the middle linebacker. He led the team in tackles and had many sacks as well. Not only was he a key player and a leader on the field, but as well as off the field. Everyone looked up to him as a role model. Towards the end of his season during the celebration of their victory of the regional championship game. He got into a bad car accident, in the end he got paralyzed from the waist down. These incident was a huge motivation for his brothers on his team to play their hearts out and win the state championship game. In which they did in honor for him.
DIALOGUE
Blue Stanton yelled out “Five, Six, Five Six Seven Eight!” Then followed by that the whole team yelled “Everywhere we go -Everywhere we go-, people wanna know -people wanna know-, who we are -who we are-, so we tell them -so we tell them- We Are The Titans! -We Are The Titans!- The Mighty Mighty Titans! -The Mighty Mighty Titans!” These was a big scene in the movie during team camp, because it finally shows how the team is finally coming together as one team.
Another quote I found important was towards the end of the movie, when Sheryl says “People say that it can't work, black and white. Here, we make it work every day. We still have our disagreements, of course, but before we reach for hate, always, always, we remember the Titans.” This was said at the ending of the movie. This quote explains the impact that Remember the Titans had, not just on the individuals in the football team, but as well as the people in the community. It’s also showing that even if your against different races or people there are always ways to make a change in your life, if it’s for the good or even for the bad, someone or something can always happened.
CINEMATOGRAPHY AND VISUAL DESIGN
The film used eight different styles of camera shots which are each used to cause a particular effect on the audience. Such as he used point of view shot, high-angle shot, over the shoulder shot, close-up, extreme close-up, low angle, medium, and long shot all used to enhance the emotions of how the viewer feels, perceivers the film and he or she thinks about the film.
When the high angle shot was used in the film it was really effective. It showed the team as coming together as a unit. From that shot technique the audience can see the group in one shot. They finally can see how the team has come together and bonded as one, as they get in a huddle and do their team chant. The empty space in the gym emphasizes the impression that they have come together again, and proposes that they are eager to grind together and play as a team. Any other shot may not have given the same impression to the audience as these one did.
SOUND AND MUSIC
Music and sound plays a big impact throughout the film. It gets the audience emotionally and sensitively attached to the scenes at which the music was played and to the film in general. The music presented in the film is consider to be one of the most important techniques used in the film. All used to build suspense in the eyes of the viewers. The song most frequently used throughout the movie is “Ain't no mountain high enough” by Tammi Terrell, Marvin Gaye. Another song used often is "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" by Steam. This song is sang when they are all coming home from team camp and is used to show that they have come together and became a team and said good bye to their old ways of living and good bye to their old beliefs. They have all put aside racism and skin color and became united. All the songs played during the course of the film all add meaning and give the film character. These songs are considered background music used to add a tone of emotional feelings that the character himself is experiencing, as well as creates emotion in the audience and makes them feel as if they are connected, through the sound of music.
DIRECTION AND EDITING
The direction in this film that the director Boaz Yakin, wanted to emphasize throughout his film was that he wanted viewers to get a good sense of what’s happening and how it’s happening. On the football field and off the field. Boaz Yakin choose to tell the true story of the football team remember the titans. The way he did that was by using many editing techniques in the scenes to bring out emotion to the crowd. One of the most significant editing technique he used was when the team was at the state championship game. Meanwhile the teams captain, Gerry Bertier was currently still in the hospital due to the auto accident he was in. The director went from the team playing on the field, then back to Gerry in his hospital bed watching the game live on TV. The suspense that was building due to the switching of scenes was great. It made the audience more emotionally attached and made them even root for the team even more to win. Just so they can get the win and bring it home for their team captain. Also the excitement that it brought to Gerry once they won as well as tears to the eyes of the viewers.
GENRE AND CULTURAL/HISTORICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Remember The Titans was an inspirational movie.

This was an intense and emotional sports drama. This film shows the true love for the American game we call football. Even if you have differences between one another, this film demonstrations that anybody can overcome those differences, in which they did through the love for football. In these case even from one of the most racist community during that time, they as well where able to overcome racism to achieve something even greater. The same issues that where presented throughout the film, really made the audience look at themselves to have a better understanding of their own society. This film also presents the need to come together. In this case it was the football teams need to come together in order to help them succeed. This relates to society in the real world because we all have a need to be connected to someone or

something.
PERSONAL REACTION
I personally really enjoyed this film in many ways. This film had an impact on many younger and older individuals when it was first released, as it does still today. I believe that this film was one of the top best football movies ever made. I can still remember watching the movie for the first time, and the impact that it had on me. What I fund from watching this film is that it’s not just about football, it’s much more. This film teaches me that we should do the right thing, as well as have heart for one another because truly there are no differences between one another. Most importantly Remember the Titans is an overall great film and should go down in history as a top film ever made.