Remember the Titans Essay
By Jansen Sears
Remember the Titans starts out with a bang. The setting is Alexandria, Virginia in 1981. The conflict is a racial uprising. In they’re town a black boy is shot by a white store-owner. This is all happening simultaneously with T.C. Williams High School is becoming desegregated. At T.C. coach Yoast is king. He is an extremely successful coach but is about to be replaced.
Coach Boone is set to take over the role of head coach. This is the initial conflict that sets the movie in motion. Herman Boone comes from South Carolina and is eager to take the job. The addition of a black coach and having a biracial football team causes huge conflict as expected. All the white players are concerned for they’re starting spots and feel whites deserve them. Gary is T.C. Williams’ star quarterback. Gary and Julius, the black defensive end are two of the main characters because of they’re talent and leadership among they’re race on the team.
As Coach Boone announces camp by laying down the law. All players are to be ready to go at 7:29 in white shirt and tie, not a minute late. This is the most conflict of the whole movie. The white players almost quit the team when Coach Yoast was demoted to defensive coordinator. Coach Boone splits up the white bus and black bus and makes an offensive bus and defensive bus. Also all players must room with someone not of they’re race and get to know every player of the opposite race. This creates huge conflict. Fights break out between roommates’ and there is big contention between the two sides. All of this up till now is the initial conflict leading into the rising action.
Coach Boones requirements and tough conditioning works in the long run. When the players jog to Gettysburg, they see the field where thousands of men died fighting the same fight they were dealing with now. On the first day of school protestors are outside. Coach Boone is aware that the school board didn’t think he would make it through training camp and would be fired if he lost a game. Coach Boone wasn’t always perfect. Him and Coach Yoast would but heads when one of them made a mistake.
The season starts out running. T.C. Williams goes through the season win after win till they stay undefeated. The team became unified more and more every game. Then tragedy struck. Gary is injured in a freak car accident and is paralyzed from the waist down. This sets back the team initially but ends up bringing them all together. They still have one last hurdle to overcome though. They have a formidable foe waiting at the state championship. At the half they trail. They stayed perfect all season but it looks like they’re inspiring run might be over. In the locker room Coach Yoast comes forward to pump morale into his players. After this the team goes out on a mission and in the climax of the movie wins.
This movie totally follows the usual model for movies. In the beginning with the schools and races blending together and the struggle with the team is the initial conflict. The rising action is all throughout the training camp and the season as they come together as one and achieve an undefeated record. The climax of the movie is the championship game where they face they’re toughest challenge. They have the set back but come back to win for the happy ending. After this the movie wraps up. All of this demonstrates how Remember the Titans totally follows the mold as do most movies.