This film is set in the early 1970s, during a time when the school has just been integrated so that both white and black students go to school together. Racism was especially prevalent in the 1970s. Denzel Washington is one of the main characters in the film. He plays the part of Herman Boone, who is hired as the football coach at TC Williams High over a white coach in Alexandria, Virginia. The tension is at an all-time high and the team must unite and find a way to succeed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As far as sociological concepts go, the theme of this movie is mostly about racial prejudice, racism, stereotypes, and discrimination. The way racial prejudice functions and is represented in Remember the Titans reflects what happened and was happening in those periods of American history. For example, in the movie, when Coach Boone is named head coach over Coach Yoast, the white players are very angry and then prejudice against Coach Boone because he is black. The white players are also afraid that the black players get more playing time than them because Coach Boone is the head coach. During this time, of course, segregation had ended and black and white students could go to school together, but racial prejudice had not diminished at all. This time period was one of the greatest turning points in American history. In the film Remember the Titans, discrimination is also an important theme that goes hand in hand with sociological concepts. For example, Coach Boone is threatened with being fired if he loses a game. Another example is when Gerry's girlfriend Emma is hesitant and initially doesn't shake Julius' hand. The third and final example I will use is when people wouldn't let some of the characters into the restaurant because they were black or white but they hung around and made friends with black people. There are stereotypical comments throughout the film like black people are often called animals and the comment is made that "all the coaches are white". However, acts of prejudice and discrimination are reduced throughout the film. There are some examples of reduction of both. First, Coach Boone assures his entire team that playing time will be given to people who deserve it, regardless of their race. Another example, also quite funny, is when the team gets on the bus and Coach Boone tells all the kids on the team that he is their dad now and that their brothers are their teammates. This teaches the team to see each other equally. Picking up on that example, towards the end of the film, when Julius goes to visit the hospital and sees Gerry, the nurse says "no one is allowed except the family" and he says "but he's my brother". That was one of my favorite scenes and lines in the entire movie. Throughout the film, there were key moments that stood out and seemed to play an important role in reducing prejudice and discrimination. For the first example, when Rev and Louie both shared an interest in music, which led to them singing in the dining room and on the bus. In the end, the team as a whole takes to the field singing and dancing. The second example is when Emma shakes Julius' hand after initially refusing to shake it. Another example of reducing prejudice and discrimination is when Gerry insists on playing basketball with Julius even after Gerry's mother says no. The last example I will use is when Petey gets beaten up and the others defend him. There have been many.
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