Running head: REMEMBER

Assignment 1: Remember the Titans

Kevin Liao
Madonna University

REMEMBER

2
Assignment 1: Remember the Titans

Sports movies have been made since the silent era of films. The ability to overcome great
feats as an individual or as a team has always been a common theme in big screen sports
entertainment. Sports films have always been able to draw big crowds into the theaters because
of this reoccurring theme. The struggles the protagonist(s) face and the audiences journey with
them to conquer those hardships submerges the audience in a sea of emotion. The ability to make
this emotional connection and the ability to send a message to its viewers is what makes a sports
movie great.

If these are your evaluative criteria you must define them

more deeply--how do they work? And do they work in this
film.

Almost all successful sports movies have those characteristics. For example, Rocky a
sports film about low class boxer Rocky Balboa. People watching this movie get to follow the

main protagonist in his journey to the top. They get to see Rocky in all of his struggles, and see
his hard work and dedication. The audience gets to experience it all with him from being poor to
becoming the reigning world heavyweight boxing champion. The audience can understand from
this movie that if you work hard enough and persevere you can achieve anything. This movie
was so popular more than 4 successful sequels were created and continue to be made. Another
example of a movie containing these characteristics is the sports film Miracle, this movie is
possibly the most well-known Hockey films to date. The movie tells the story of a group of
hotheaded college hockey all-stars who are united as a team by their coach Herb Brooks. This
film uses one of the most powerful tools a movie could use to drown its audience in emotion.
This tool is a speech from the coach. The audience gets to live and see with the coach how he
creates and unifies his team prior to his speech. The viewers get to experience the thoughts and
feeling with the coach and the team. When it is time for the speech the music cuts out, only the
inspirational words of the coach can be heard, once the coach reaches the climax of his speech

Is this
your
criteria?

REMEMBER

the music comes back and emotion begins to flow through the audience. Using a speech to create
and reinforce the connection with audience can be seen in many other films. Like Rocky the
viewers can obtain from this movie the clich message that if you work for your goals you can
achieve. These are a couple of the movies that contain the characteristics previously mentioned.
Out of all sports movies the movie that incorporates these characteristics the best is
Remember the Titans. This movie was released in the year 2000. The film is based on a true
story which makes it all the more real as a viewer. The movie takes places in the 1970s at a high
school where racism was alive and well. Schools which taught both black and white students
were still widely frowned upon in America. The movie does a good job of illustrating this.
For the first time the school would have a both black and white football players on the
football team. Another first for the team would be that the head coach would be black. The white
community of the area roared with disapproval. At the start the team was extremely segregated.
White players would not work well or cooperate with black players and vice versa. Over time
some black and white players become slightly friends. However, many players from both sides
still did not approve. Keep in mind the audience gets to witness this and experience emotions and
form opinions of their own. After juggling between being friends and hating each other the coach
decides to put an end to the fighting. During training the coach leads his team on a run to a
battlefield of Gettysburg. Gettysburg is the site of the highest in casualty battle between the
Union and the Confederates during the civil war where freedom for people of color was being
fought for. This battle is known as the turning point of the war. Symbolically it is also the turning
point of the movie. Here he makes the greatest speech in sport movie history; This is where they
fought the battle of Gettysburg. Fifty thousand men died right here on this field, fighting the
same fight that we are still fighting among ourselves today. This green field right here, painted

REMEMBER

red, bubblin' with the blood of young boys. Smoke and hot lead pouring right through their
bodies. Listen to their souls, men. I killed my brother with malice in my heart. Hatred destroyed
my family. You listen, and you take a lesson from the dead. If we don't come together right now
on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed, just like they were. I don't care if you like
each other of not, but you will respect each other. And maybe... I don't know, maybe we'll learn
to play this game like men. This speech was truly the sharpest tool in the box. This created a
message and used a perfect setting to enhance the strong sense of emotion to the audience. This
movie not only included the clich message previously mentioned but an even deeper message
that color does not dictate who we are.
To create a great sports film one must capture the audience with emotion and teach them
a message at the same time. Remember the Titans does this better than any other film. Many
teachers use this film to teach a message as this film teaches it in a better fashion than any other
production. Remember the Titans is a great film that goes above and beyond.
Good writing. But you must define
the criteria more completely and
then make some explicit connections
between you plot summaries and the
criteria--shall we talk?
B+