Remember the Titans is a film that appeals to a modern day audience because of the themes that make up the plot. The racial tensions creates a plot that draws viewers in with the emotions it stirs up. The movie uses a standard sports film plot while adding a deeper, more meaningful message than just the “give your best” sports lesson. The movie shows us how an individual can grow. Overcoming racism and the addition of a “brotherhood” type of bonding is what makes Remember the Titans’ plot so engaging.

The first big scene that happens in the movie is when two schools, one of “white” students and one of “black” students, combines into one school and one football team. The racial tensions begin when the hall of fame coach of the high school is released for Coach Boone, the head coach of the other school. People are outraged that a black man is leading the football team instead of their white hall of fame coach. The football team begins a journey towards respect and friendship after they are taken to football camp. Coach Boone, played by Denzel Washington, pushes the football players’ boundaries by forcing them to bunk with each other and get to know each other. At first, watching is a bit uncomfortable because of the down right discrimination and hatred. As the film moves on, we see two of the “head honchos” of each team become brothers. You can tell the characters develop well because of how Julius and Gerry get along and how certain scenes go down. The decisions Gerry makes eventually shows how far he came from the beginning of the movie. Coach Yoast, the hall of famer white coach, grows throughout the movie too, even though he wasn’t displaying as much hatred as others. He learned how to be a better coach and a better person through Coach Boone. Even though the racial tensions cause quite the conflict, the bond of the football players prevails. The plot left me satisfied and a bit surprised as well.

As a 17 year old still in high school, the movie may appeal to me more than someone else. The movie appeals to me because of how important I think the message is. The world isn’t perfect and this movie highlights a message that anyone can learn from. It’s important to me that messages with such significance are shared so the world can change.

I would give Remember the Titans a B+ because I really like the story and it turned out great, but it wasn’t the best. A great movie will play with your emotions while sharing an important message. Remember the Titans did make me feel angry whenever there was prejudice, but it didn’t play around with my emotions. If my emotions were inside of a bottle, Remember the Titans only shook the bottle. A great story will break that bottle, glue the pieces back together and, sometimes, put my emotions back in the bottle. Remember the Titans is a story that would be considered enjoyable by teens and adults. The situations in the movie aren’t appropriate for younger audiences, so I would say the movie is suitable for anyone age 12+. If you haven’t seen this film, I would recommend you do so.