Film Review - Racism in Remember the Titans

This essay discusses issues of racial unity, harmony, and racial tensions with special reference to the Hollywood movie, “Remember the Titans” (2000) and by using the framework of naturalization of racism.

Running Head: FILM REVIEW – RACISM
Film Review – Racism
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1FILM REVIEW – RACISM

2FILM REVIEW – RACISM
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
1. Definition of the Framework....................................................................................................2
2. Introduction of the Scenes that Depict the Framework............................................................2
3. Explanation of How the Scenes Demonstrate the Framework.................................................3
References........................................................................................................................................4

3FILM REVIEW – RACISM
Introduction
A multiracial society is one where members of all races and ethnic groups are treated with
respect, dignity and at par with one another (Oliver 2017). This essay discusses issues of racial
unity, harmony, and racial tensions with special reference to the Hollywood movie, “Remember
the Titans” (2000) and by using the framework of naturalization of racism.
1. Definition of the Framework
The framework that is used to analyze the movie, ‘Remember the Titans” is that
of naturalization of racism. According to this framework, the racist practices prevalent in
society, such as the existence of segregated schools and churches, as well as
neighborhoods and the low existence of inter-racial romance or marriage, is something
that is considered to be natural in a white man’s society (Bonilla-Silva 2017).
2. Introduction of the Scenes that Depict the Framework
Some of the scenes that depict the framework of racial naturalization are when the
school’s football team, that has many white players in it, refuses to play unless a white
man by the name of Yoast is made assistant coach to the head coach, Herman Boone,
who is a black man. The school chairman’s coercion to get Yoast to have the team lose in
the football tournament just so that Herman Boone can be dismissed is another example
of the framework of racial naturalization.

4FILM REVIEW – RACISM
3. Explanation of How the Scenes Demonstrate the Framework
The most important scenes in the movie are when the football team under the
leadership of Herman Boone learns to overcome their racial differences to work well with
one another and win the tournament. Another important scene is the unity and spirit of
collaboration that is established within the team through the identification of common
interests and goals and through learning to work with each other, even rubs off on
assistant coach Yoast who is denied a post in the Hall of Fame because of the racial unity
he shows. The framework of racial naturalization is one that is clearly demonstrated in
this scenes, as the scenes show that indifference to blacks and working under black
leadership was unnatural in white society. The football team had to overcome many odds
and really had to learn to work with one another, for a common goal that is winning the
football tournament, to realize that racial unity is important and necessary to live in just
peaceful society. Also, the fact that assistant coach Yoast was being pressured into
getting the football team to lose so that coach Boone could be dismissed is another
example of the fact that denying black people justice and rights is regarded as natural. It
felt natural for the school chairman to act unfair and try and have the team lose so that a
black man could lose his job.

5FILM REVIEW – RACISM
References
Bonilla-Silva, E., 2017. Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial
inequality in America. Rowman & Littlefield.
Oliver, L.L., 2017. Living The Spaces Between: Being Multi-Racial. California Institute of
Integral Studies.