Remember the Titans

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Sam Rall Remember the Titans Remember the Titans is a film set in Alexandria, Virginia during the year 1971. Directed by Boaz Yakin the film follows a school, T. C. Williams that was the first to be racially integrated. This caused a great deal of conflict between the races, and the film depicts how a football team can bring together two races and create the unity that is displayed later. The film tackles themes such as both inter and intra racial racism as well as the way a town can come together. Yakin uses techniques such as camera angles, dialogue, music, and relationships to create a strong emotional tie between the viewers and the film. As the film begins, there is clear hatred between the white and black members of the team. There are stereotypes in every angle and both teams have preconceived ideas about the opposite race. When conflict arises, and Coach Yoast is forced to step down from coaching, the white players say that they won’t “play with any of those black animals.” There are many ways that racism is exemplified throughout the movie. One of the earliest examples is when Ray and Petey are getting to know each other as mandated by Coach Boone, and Ray is asking Petey questions. The setting for this scene is in front of scenic Gettysburg College, which represents a large part of the history between blacks and whites. The questioning is set up like an interview and is as impersonal as possible. There are racist references, defensive speech, and suspiciousness all shown in this interview. Ray at one point asks Petey, “What’s your daddy’s name? Oh wait, you do have a daddy right?” He follows up by asking, “And what’s your daddy do? Oh wait, he does have a job right?” In this camera shot the two are a significant amount of distance away from each other to represent to racial gap between them. It shows how much distance there is to go before the

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