Remember the Titans Defies Racism Riot

Remember the Titans, produced in the year 2000 and based on a true story, accurately represents racism of the 70’s. The movie tells a story of an originally all white football team from the south coached by a white coach. The school decides to hire a black coach and incorporate black athletes into the football program, becoming the first school of the south to immigrate. The story questions racism by mixing a white and black football team together.

At first the two teams are not willing to play together. Denzel Washington, the hired assistant coach, threatens the boys that they will either have to play together or that they will be cut from the team. Washington mandates that two players of two different colors will have to get to know each other by the end of the first week. Two characters, however, do not have such an easy time getting along. Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell are socially paired, but neither respect where one another comes from, which barricades their friendship.

Julius puts up a poster that supports African-American culture that Gerry refuses to keep up on “his” wall. Julius responds, “You better use your x-ray vision superman, you’re going to look right through it cause it ain’t coming down.” which then results in a physical fight. This does not critically injure either player, however later on, Gerry gets into a car crash and becomes paralyzed from the waist down.

Coaches and team members are some of the first to arrive to the hospital, standing by Gerry’s side. When Julius gets to the hospital, Coach Boone(Denzel) notifies him that Gerry has been paralyzed from the car crash. Julius is heartbroken and immediately walks over to Gerry’s parents. Julius begins to repeatedly apologize to them, when Gerry’s mother interrupts his tears saying, “He doesn’t want to see anybody but you, Julius.” Julius respectfully responding, “Yes ma’am.”. When Julius enters the hospital room with Gerry the nurse says that only ‘kin’ are allowed to visit the patient. Gerry answers, “Are you blind? Don’t you see the family resemblance.”.

Gerry, in a vulnerable state, comes around to confess that he was afraid of Julius before, for a reason he could not understand, but really only hating his brother. Julius then explains that one day Julius and Gerry will move to the same neighborhood and grow old together. Sharing love and brotherhood in the hospital bedroom expresses the turning point in discrimination between the two. Racism is a dominant ideology of American culture, be that as it may, Remember the Titans tells a story that defies and overcomes racism.

Here's the movie trailer: