The setting for the movie is that in April 1971, the United States Supreme court issued a ruling to end all segregation in public schools. The movie follows a real story (with some fictional parts added for the movies sake) about a football team at T.C. Williams High School located in Alexandria, Virginia. Starring Denzel Washington who portrays Herman Boone, he who becomes the head coach of the football team the Titans. He is brought in as an assistant coach to an all white coaching staff and to work under Coach Yoast. And when Boone is appointed as head coach the black residents of the town see him as a symbol. A symbol of pride and respect that is lacking in their community. When Boone first met the Titans coaching staff, he knew that he was not wanted. As the fact that he was a black man. Even though he received rude behavior from the coaching staff, he remained respectful, polite and diplomatic. He made clear that his goal/agenda was winning football games.
Right off the bat, the movie starts with a riot after a white storeowner kills a black teenager. This incident results in even more racial tensions, some which already exist because of the integration of the high school. Coach Boone’s first issue needs to be solved. That is the racism within the team.
Once Boone became head coach he immediately seized control and used his authoritative power to set the tone for the staff and the team. This results in the first impression the boys on the team get of him being cold and very tough. To strengthen the relationship between the team and to physically train, the Titans go to a two-week training camp in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Here they realize that it was no first impression they had gotten of Boone, it was reality and they were going to pay for it if they didn’t get to know each other and stop the racism that was going around on the team. This was not easy at the start. Fights were breaking out everywhere and everyone was constantly clashing. The next thing coach Boone does is to wake all the players up at 3:00 AM and sends them on a long run while he accompanies them.
They arrive at Gettysburg, where thousands of men died in war. There Boone gives a moving speech about races getting along and fighting for a cause. As a result, this makes the players on the team get their priorities and goals straight. And so they befriend each other and prove to their community that they can get along and play as a team. The two-week long training camp is then over and they arrive back at the school. However, things are not especially good. The racism is bigger than ever as a consequence of the newly integrated high school.
Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell are shown as the unofficial leaders of the white and black team, respectively, in the movie. They end up becoming best friends at the end of the training camp, and Gerry chooses his black friends over his white friends, who aren’t quite accepting over the integrated school. This shows how much Gerry has changed as a person and values his friends on the team, who are just as accepting as he is. The players on team’s and the coaching staff’s beliefs and values has changed too over the course of the film, because of Coach Boone and Coach Yoast.
It’s time for the team to actually play, and they perform perfect on the field. They make it to the State playoffs with an undefeated streak. However in the big regional game, the Titans are penalized for every play they do. It’s obvious bigotry, therefore Coach Yoast uses his white privilege to threaten the referee to expose what’s going on. Now that the game is fair, the Titans win and are off to the state championship.
The team celebrates and they are local heroes in their community. Furthermore, is Gerry Bertier involved in a car accident. He becomes paralyzed for his waist down and will never be able to play anymore. At the hospital, Gerry’s and Julius Campbell’s strong friendship is shown again when Gerry refers to Julius as his brother.
At the championship game, the Titans face a very tough team and it remains a close call until the end of the game. The Titans win because of Coach Boone putting his pride away and listening to Coach Yoast’s different play. The Titans defeated racism and won the championship in only one year. Afterwards the movie cuts to seven years later to the funeral for Gerry, after his was killed by a drunk driver.
My opinions of this movie, is that it shows racism and the problems of caused by racism in a great way. This movie might even open the eyes of bigoted people. The odds were against Coach Boone, but he managed to lead his team to success while becoming a symbol for the black residents and inspiring everyone in the town. His belief in racial equality and love for football not only helped a team, but the town too.