Remember The Titans

Inspired, motivated, and appreciative. These are three of the many feelings I found myself flooded with after watching the wonderful film, Remember the Titans. The movie is set in Virginia, America (as many movies are). Allow me to set the scene for you. In the 1970s America was a different place to the one we know today. The superpower was polluted with racism, discrimination and segregation. Things were no different at the schools in the States at the time and things were particularly bad at TC Williams High School in Virginia. Students attending TC Williams High School were forced to integrate under federal mandate. This forced integration naturally caused conflict as it was not socially acceptable for black and white people to mix with one another. Conflict, bullying and offensive behaviour was naturally apart of the average students life.  The town of Virginia was divided by segregation through discrimination and racism. This small found itself in a dark place.

At the time of the integration of the schools, that saw white and black students mix with one another. Times were tough in Virgina. Racism was rife and there were often cases of violence both inside TC Williams high school amongst students and even more so outside the school amongst society. Virginia was a very proud state. They were proud of themselves. They were proud to be American. They were even more proud about their Football.

TC Williams High School, or ‘The Titans’ as they were known were a very successful High School Football team prior to the forced integration in 1971. Their Coach , Coach Joste was a white man. As TC Williams integrated, so to, did the coaching staff of their football team, The Titans. Coach Joste found himself replaced by a black man, Herman Boone or ‘Coach Boon’ as he is more commonly known in the movie. The football community made up of players and parents expressed their disapproval of the appointment of Coach Boon by protesting and threatening to boycott the season. Many of the white players who had performed admirably under Coach Joste in seasons past , assumed that Coach Boon would only select Black players and they were worried about their futures. The rest of the community wanted nothing to do with a black man and the certainly did not want him to go anywhere near their beloved Football. Little did they know , Coach Boon would be the best thing to happen to The Titans. He would also prove to be the best thing to happen to the people that made up the Virginia State.

When Coach Boon took over from Coach Joste, he made his intentions clear from the very beginning. He would not pick players based on the colour of their skin, but rather on their ability. He would not fire the previous white coaching staff but rather use them as his assistants. Most importantly he wanted to win. Coach Boon had the monumental task of taking black and white people and making them work with one another to achieve a common goal. Society taught them to hate each other. He taught them to tolerate each other. This tolerance turned to respect. This respect grew to love. By the end of the season TC Williams had won the State Championship. They were undefeated. They were also the one and only mixed race school in the State. The love that these players had for one another was reflected by their successful results on the field. These successful results made the people of Virginia sit up and take notice of The Titans. The Titans provided Virginia with the perfect example of what is capable when people put their differences aside, accept each other and work together towards a common goal. They achieved the impossible, the Titans of 1971will never be forgotten.

This Movie is about a whole lot more than a Football team. This Movie tells a beautiful story of how black and white people managed to overcome many obstacles to achieve success. This powerful film emphasises the potential we have as human beings when we put or differences aside, and embrace the uniqueness of individuals regardless of their race or social status. Denzel Washington does an outstanding job in his portrayal of Herman Boon as he leads from the front as the lead actor. Will Paton does a sterling job as Coach Joste and supports Denzel extremely well. On the whole, Remember The Titans is one of my personal favourite movies of all time. This film is incredibly prevailing as it tells a wonderful story that the world needs to be told. We need to be reminded of our potential. We need to become aware of our capabilities to work together as a society. Movies like this to inspire our youth; they alter the perceptions of stubborn racists and reinforce the importance of equality. This Movie is special in so many ways, an absolute must see.