I canÕt begin to understand what it would have been like to live in the times of race segregation. I was born in 1971 Ð the same year that ÒRemember the TitansÓ was set. The time when schools began to integrate and people were learning to live together in harmony. All of this was oblivious to me. As black and white people struggled to accept one another, my struggles mainly consisted of which matchbox cars to play with in the back yard.
I think ÒRemember theTitansÓ tells a powerful story of hardship and triumph. The overcoming of racial differences for a common good. Although I am sure that this struggle raged on in cities across the country, people like those on the T.C. Williams football team helped to set an example for others to follow.
I thought ÒRemember the TitansÓ did a good job of capturing the conflicts that existed between blacks and whites at that time in our countryÕs history. But, I thought it went a little overboard with its predictability. Although based on a true story, I doubt that everything was as it appeared in the movie. The white boy who is least excepting of integration becomes the champion of civil rights. The neighbors who all hate the black coach living in their neighborhood unanimously have a change of heart and embrace him as he fights for a state championship. I am sure this type of behavior occurred, but I doubt it all occurred at the same school. It seemed like all the typical racial stereotypes were overplayed to heighten the story.
In retrospect, the movie was good, but not as good as I was expecting. I had heard some wonderful things about the film and was expecting to watch a triumph of the human spirit. Instead, I left ÒRemember the TitansÓ not truly feeling the emotions that the story tried to capture. |
