Remember the Titans
A conventional Plot Diagram is a follows: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action and Resolution. Remember the Titans, is a good example of a film that follows the Plot Diagram. Remember the Titans, starts off with the narrator explaining what’s going on and where, this start of the movie is the Exposition. In the Rising Action a lot of problems occur, these problems eventually lead up to the Climax where the Titans are at their State Championship football game. The falling action is when the entire town comes together. The movie then comes to a close with the narrator again in the Resolution.
In the beginning of the story the main characters are introduced; Coaches Yoast and Boone, Gerry Burteer, and Julius Campbell. They are a part of T.C. Williams High School Football team, The Titans, In Alexandria Virginia in 1971. This was during the time of high school integration. Coach Boone, who is black, replaces white Coach Yoast as head of the high school football team and the football team becomes one of the first Race-integrated teams in the state. They are forced to respect each other and eventually become a team. This is the Exposition or Introduction of the story.
When the football team begins camp the story begins. There is no respect between Yoast and Boone and they worked separately. The team is separated black/white instead of offense/defense. Throughout the time in camp the team slowly learns to respect each other and they begin to play as a team. When they went to the camp they sat quietly on the buses and when they came back they were loud and energetic. However, another problem faced the team when they came back. They weren’t at camp anymore and the town and the school was still divided. Gerry’s girlfriend wouldn’t meet Julius because he was black. Parents were rioting outside the school. At the football games blacks sat on one side and whites sat on the other, both quiet. Some problems during the movie got resolved during the Rising Action but others did not until the Climax.
The Climax started before the semifinal football game. Gerry Burteer was hit in a car accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. Many of the characters were deeply sad and most of the town worried that the team couldn’t win without Gerry playing. This key moment brought the town together because both black and white felt Gerry was one of them. Gerry’s girlfriend finally shook hands and met Julius. During the game black’s and whites sat integrated on the stands, they also cheered as one when Gerry’s mom showed up to the game. This major event in the movie is the Climax.
The Falling Action in Remember the Titans is where the town comes together. The titans won their State Championship and most of the problems become resolved. During the game Coach Yoast asks Coach Boone for some help on the defense and the two of them worked together to win the football game. The falling Action in this movie sets up the mood for the resolution.
AT the end of the movie the narrator is talking again and it is 10 years later in the future. The narrator tells how strong the town became because of the Titans and the example they set. She tells us about Gerry Burteer’s life and how he went and played in the Olympics. In the final scene the narrator is with the team at Gerry’s funeral. The team is still close together and they still respect each other. This surprising ending is the Resolution and it makes a great ending.
Remember the Titans follows the Plot Diagram Perfectly. The Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution are all present, and all the elements that are needed are there to make up the different parts of the Plot Diagram. This movie was well written and well put together.