LIfe message in Football

Rating: 9/10 (20 March 2011)

I thoroughly enjoyed Remember the Titans and enjoyed the theme of equality and tolerance that this movie emphasized. The film based in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971, and on the T.C. Williams' Titans football team, a local high school. The head coach of the Titans, Coach Yoast (Will Patton), who was nominated for the High School Football Coach Hall of Fame Coach of the Year. The film provides excellent background information to allow the viewer better understanding of the plot. A scene in the beginning of the movie sets the emotional stage for the rest of the movie, when a white store-owner shoots and kills a black man who he suspected of stealing. The resulting protests causes' racial tension in the city of Alexandria and that is furthered by the integration of races in T.C. Williams and effects the players of the football team as well as Coach Yoast. Coach Yoast finds that the school board has replaced him with Coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) as the football teams head coach. Some would think that this is a normal part of high school football, the major conflict that both Coach Yoast and the rest of town have with Coach Boone is that he is black and Coach Yoast is white. However, Coach Boone will not allow racial tensions to split the team and during training camp and the entire season, he focuses on promoting diversity by incorporating it into the practices and making the team bunk with someone of a different race and getting to know all of the team throughout.
When the team wins the State Championship Game, after losing a star player and banding together to play hard, Coach Boone realizes that his team has made a difference in the community and although the racial tension is still prevalent, a greater understanding among those who are willing to see past physical differences and realize all people should be judged on who they are and not what they make look like, changes are made to make Alexandria a better place to play high school football. Coach Boone and Coach Yoast prove that the Titans are a winning team, the issue of race is erased, and the true meaning of teamwork is born.
The film uses great use of lighting to emphasize the emotional atmosphere during certain scenes. The single scene that, I believe, uses this most effectively is the early morning run to Gettysburg. The scene was shot with a low light to emphasize the effect of events that previously happened there. In addition, the fog that used to illustrate the magnitude of the scene was just the right amount with the lighting used. I think that any difference in the amount of fog or light would have rendered the impact of the scene less effective.
I think the director did an excellent job of using the sport of football along with the actors themselves to emphasize the theme of equality amongst all people and that we as a society should not judge a book by its cover but only after we have read it in its entirety.