Remember the Titans
PG For thematic elements and some language.
QUICK TAKE
Drama: A newly assigned black football coach tries to inspire his recently integrated team to victory during the racial unrest of the early 1970s.
PLOT: It's the summer of 1971 and racial integration has arrived at Alexandria, Virginia's T.C. Williams High School. The first institution affected by the ruling is the Titans football team, with Herman Boone, a black coach, being brought in to replace Bill Yoast, the longstanding, successful and well-respected white coach.
Tempers obviously flare, with Yoast and his nine-year-old, football fanatic daughter, Sheryl sharing the outrage of his players and the community. Boone, who's just moved to the area with his wife, Carol and daughter, Nicky, isn't crazy about the idea either, but when he experiences the outpouring of support from the local black community, he knows he can do the job.
Although hurt by his sudden demotion, Yoast decides to stay on as Boone's assistant, mainly to keep his white players from quitting the team and thus jeopardizing their chances of continuing in the sport. As such, the two coaches call a reluctant truce and take their players off to summer training camp.
There, Boone hopes to integrate the white players, including captain Gerry Bertier and fellow veteran Ray Budds along with transfer students Lewis Lastik and backup quarterback Ronnie "Sunshine" Bass with the new black players including quarterback Julius "Big Ju" Campbell, running back Petey Jones, as well as Jerry "The Rev" Harris and Darryl "Blue" Stanton, into one cohesive team where race has no bearing.
Employing a Marine-like training regimen and trying to keep Yoast's leadership tendencies in check as his new defensive coordinator, Boone makes his various players spend time together, getting to know each other as people and teammates. Successfully completing that, the now unified team returns from camp for the first day of school, only to find that the rest of the student body clearly isn't as comfortable being integrated as they are.
Nonetheless, and despite facing varied reactions from those around them - such as Gerry's girlfriend, Emma Hoyt, who has a hard time dealing with his acceptance and defense of his new black teammates as his friends - Boone, co-captains Bertier and Campbell, and their team set out to prove that as a cohesive and disciplined unit, they can overcome any diversity thrown their way as they set out for another victorious football season.
Judging
Theme: Changing our judgmental attitudes can be difficult.
More than a Movie: Racial tensions subside when the high school football team integrates-and wins. Coach Boone issues a challenge in the press to the thugs who threw a brick through his window. Assistant coach Yost tells him to calm down and stop hanging on to his sinful pride before it hurts others, especially his daughter. Boone counters that Yost has only tasted what Boone lives with every day.
Jesus calls us to "walk a mile" in someone's shoes before passing judgment on him or her. Issues might appear cut and dried from our perspective, but Jesus encourages us to love others before correcting them. Tonight I challenge you to temper your natural reactions and prejudices toward others' problems and seek Jesus' loving viewpoint first.
Discussion Questions:
Has someone ever treated you as Yost treated Boone? (Like they know how you feel) How did it make you feel?
Why are we so quick to judge others?
Read Aloud: John 8:3-7. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst, they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such. What do you say about her?" This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."
ASK:
Why were the Pharisees no better than the woman? What do you think Jesus was writing in the dirt?
How can you learn to see people with love first instead of with judgment?
How will putting yourself in other people's shoes help others see Jesus?
Readiness
Theme: We must be ready when God calls us to act.
More than a Movie: The newly integrated high school's football team must put aside their prejudices for the good of the team and the town. When Rev gets sacked and breaks his hand, Coach Boone calls on Sunshine to replace Rev as quarterback. Sunshine says he can't do it, he's not ready. Coach says he had to take care of his 12 brothers and sisters when his Dad and brother unexpectedly died. He wasn't ready either, but he stepped up. Sunshine nods and enters the game.
You never know when God's going to call on you to enter the "game" in a tough situation. When he does, it's always under seemingly impossible circumstances (which makes it clear that he's the one doing the work, not us!). Jesus' followers must be ready to step out in faith and into the thick of battle at a moment's notice, whenever God calls them.
Discussion Questions:
Have you ever been forced to do something you weren't ready for? What happened?
Read Aloud: Judges 6:11-16. Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak&ldots;, which belonged to (a lowly man), as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Mid'ianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, you mighty man of valor." And Gideon said to him, "Pray, sir, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this befallen us? And where are all his wonderful deeds which our fathers recounted to us, saying, 'Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Mid'ian." And the LORD turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Mid'ian; do not I send you?" And he said to him, "Pray, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manas'seh, and I am the least in my family." And the LORD said to him, "But I will be with you, and you shall smite the Mid'ianites as one man."
ASK:
What's the hardest thing God has ever asked you to do? How did you respond?
Is it possible that all the little choices we make each day are a "battle"? Explain.
Does God ask us to do some things that we can accomplish under our own power? Why or why not?
How can you make sure you're ready to answer God's call to action, whenever it comes?
Salvation
Theme: It's not hard to join God's "team."
More than a Movie: The newly integrated high school's football team must put aside their prejudices for the good of the team and their town. Coach Boone enters the gym to meet his players. He asks Petey why he's smiling. Petey responds that football is fun. Coach drills him on this point until Petey recants, deciding that football isn't fun at all. Boone tells the team that they need to clean up their appearance and submit to his dictatorship. If they do, and survive his football camp, they might be on his team.
Many people see God this way. God bursts in, takes all the fun out of life, forces us to clean up our act, and makes us do everything his way. Only by meeting God's expectations can we hope to actually join his team. This is a lie! God meets us where we are, gently prodding and drawing us closer to himself. The only way to earn a spot on his team is by humbly asking for a position.
(Good time for the "pizza" story here)
Discussion Questions:
Have you ever wanted to be on a team or part of a club? What happened?
How did the experience make you feel?
Read Aloud: Ephesians 2:4-9. But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God-- not because of works, lest any man should boast.
ASK:
What requirements does God have for "making his team"?
Is God like this coach in some ways? Why or why not?
What rules does God have for staying on his team?
Should following Jesus be fun? Why or why not?
What is the key to "Happiness"? What are the things that make you sad?
OUR WORD TO THE WISE
The following is a brief look at the content found in this PG rated drama. Various racist remarks and attitudes (and some brief, threatening behavior) are present as students, coaches and residents deal with the integration of the local high school in the early 1970s and the replacement of the longstanding white coach with a black coach.
That leads to some fighting between the players, and some minor property damage. Standard, bone-jarring football violence occurs on the field, and a person's car is suddenly, but accidentally hit by a large truck, resulting in the first driver being paralyzed from the waist down. Profanity consists of only a handful of expletives, while a few colorful phrases are also present.
One male player kisses another male player, but it seems more in a goading rather than romantic/sexual fashion, we see and/or hear some vomiting and a few miscellaneous characters drink. The film's remaining categories have little or nothing in the way of major objectionable content.
ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
Some adults may have drinks at a rally, but the contents of their beverages couldn't be ascertained.
Some people have wine at a reception.
BLOOD/GORE
We briefly see one of the players vomit.
We hear Herman vomit before a game.
A truck accidentally smashes into a car at an intersection, resulting in the driver of the car being paralyzed from the waist down (and we later see him in a hospital with some bloody cut, scrapes and bruises on his face).
DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
Various people, such as Yoast's assistant coach and various white players (on their and opposing teams) behave in a racist manner and make some racist remarks such as calling Herman or other African-Americans, "animals," "boy, "Sambo," "monkey" and "coons," and some neighborhood people remark that all it takes is for one (black person) to move in and then the neighborhood will be overrun.
Sheryl initially has a bad attitude toward Herman, not because he's black, but because he replaced her father as the head coach (and because she's a huge football fanatic).
Gary initially has a bad attitude toward Herman - as he makes his own demands that aren't met - but he quickly changes his ways and becomes one of the stalwart defenders of the black players and integration.
Forced to get to know one another, one white player asks a black player if he has a daddy and then if he has a job.
From a coaching standpoint, Yoast is disrespectful to Herman by occasionally questioning his authority and decisions in front of the players (although this changes as the story progresses), and some may see Herman as being too tough on his high school players.
Emma is disrespectful to the black players and students, refusing to shake Julius' hand (although she eventually comes around, changes her ways and does shake his hand).
A white restaurant owner won't serve several black players.
Someone throws a brick through Herman's window trying to intimidate him.
Some officials and referees conspire to call fouls against Herman's team to make him lose, and then throw out Yoast's nomination for the state Hall of Fame for standing up to them about that.
A white coach calls Herman a monkey and says that his white players will knock the "chocolate" out of the black players.
GUNS/WEAPONS
Shotgun: Retrieved and held by Herman after someone throws a brick through his window, but otherwise not used.
PROFANITY
At least 2 damns, 1 crap, 1 hell, 1 incomplete S.O.B. and 2 uses of "Swear to God" as exclamations.
SEX/NUDITY
Ronnie plants a kiss on Gerry in the locker room, but we don't know if it's serious or just trying to goad him on.
VIOLENCE
During a racial protest, someone throws something through a storefront window.
Little Sheryl kicks a man in the leg after getting upset with him.
Gerry and Julius struggle in their room with Julius elbowing Gerry in the gut. Gerry then holds Julius down and punches him, with Julius then punching him back. Other players then race into the room and struggle with each other.
The football players get into another scuffle.
After Ronnie plants a kiss on him in the locker room, Gerry tries to punch him several times with a person being knocked to the floor.
Various instances of on-field football violence take place during the games (players violently tackling, hitting others, etc.).
Some players get into a fight with some punches being thrown before they're separated and other students get into a scuffle.
Someone throws a brick through Herman's window trying to intimidate him.
We see a montage of players hitting an old car with a sledgehammer, but it's apparently for some sort of charitable event.
A truck accidentally smashes into a car at an intersection, resulting in the driver of the car being paralyzed from the waist down (and we later see him in the hospital with some bloody cut, scrapes and bruises on his face).
Trivia
The original script was full of profanity but Disney, in an effort to produce a good family film, asked producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, to remove all extreme profanity from the script.
Tourists often went to the real T.C. Williams High School after the movie was released, according to Sports Illustrated, and were very surprised that the real school does not look like the one in the movie. The movie was not filmed in Alexandria; it was filmed in various locations in Georgia.
The school used for T.C. Williams is Druid Hills High School, in DeKalb County, Georgia. The school has no stadium or football field, though, so the football scenes were filmed at Berry College and at other High Schools in the Atlanta area including Paulding County High School.
In T.C. Williams High School, there is a large trophy case in the main lobby across from the auditorium completely dedicated to Gary Bertier. There is another large trophy case on the opposite wall dedicated to the 1971 T.C. Titans.
The football camp that the players go to was filmed at Berry College in Mt. Berry, Georgia. Berry has never had a football team (save intermural flag football). The quadrangle of buildings in which the players stayed are really girl's dormitories. Many students can be seen in the background of these shots as classes were in session during filming.
The midnight run taken by the players while at camp would have taken them a long time to complete as the places they pass are not only all over the 28,000 acre Berry College campus, but are as much as 60 miles away in Chickamauga National Park.
The real Sheryl Yoast died in 1996.
In real life, Coach Bill Yoast has four daughters, not just Sheryl. Since two daughters were older and one a baby, Sheryl was with her father at most of the games and other events, and the filmmakers thought it would be confusing and distracting to depict the other three. The sisters were fine with it, and enjoyed the movie.
The state championship game was played at 12 o'clock noon on Saturday, not at night as portrayed in the movie.
As part of the director's efforts at authenticity, two of the referees in the film - E.Y. Coley and B. Keith Harmon, who played the crooked referee - are actual officials with the Atlanta Area Football Officials Association.
The Perry High School marching band from Perry, Georgia portrayed the marching band of TC Williams HS. Perry was chosen because their uniforms were of the same colors as those of TC Williams HS. All of the band music in the film is actually played by them, and as thanks for their participation in the film, they were given a semi-truck trailer.
There is one scene in the film where a brick is thrown through Coach Boone's window. In real life it was an old toilet that was thrown, but film makers thought this would add humor to the serious situation.
Though in the movie Gary Bertier is paralyzed before the Titans win State, he actually played in that game and was in the car accident afterward.
The actual name of the High School opponent in the championship game was Andrew Lewis High School in Salem, Virginia.
The final score in the championship game was 27-0, won by T.C. Williams. Andrew Lewis totaled negative rushing yardage during the game.
Goofs
Factual errors: All the players on the Titans came from three separate and distinct high schools other than newly-integrated T.C. Williams. Thus, during the fall, no athlete would yet have earned a T.C. Williams varsity letter -- yet Bertier, Ray and several others are seen wearing "TCW" letter jackets.
Continuity: Facemasks on helmets change from shot to shot in games.
Revealing mistakes: All "road" games for T.C. Williams obviously filmed on the same field, including the State Championship game.
Continuity: During a game sequence, an opposing running back runs a sweep. He fumbles the ball which is picked up by a Titan player, who runs it in for a touchdown, the wrong way.
Anachronisms: High school football rules in 1971 did not allow a recovered fumble to be advance by the recovering team. This happens several times in crucial situations.
Anachronisms: In the early 1970s, Igloo coolers were galvanized steel, not plastic as shown.
Factual errors: After football camp the players return. The subtitle states the first day of school as September 4th (1971). This was a Saturday and would not be the first day of school.
Revealing mistakes: A helmet can be seen on the driver of the car when it spins after being hit.
Crew or equipment visible: Just before Gary is hit by the truck when the lights of the truck are shown, you can see the shadow of the camera on the street.
Continuity: When Rev is injured, the player on the opposing team is said to be a Nose Guard. However when Rev is tackled the player is obviously coming from the end. If the player had been playing Nose Guard as previously stated he would have come from up the middle. This same mistake is repeated when Sunshine takes over as Quarterback.
Continuity: In stadium, the people are dressed for cold weather. Afterwards in the downtown scene they are dressed like it is a warm summer night.
Continuity: When Sunshine first comes to the team during training and throws the ball at Gary, it appears to be dropping to the right of his back and missing. But hits him in the middle of his back in the final close range shot.
Crew or equipment visible: When Coach Boone goes to Coach Yost's house to apologize for accepting the head coaching job, the cameraman is reflected in the window just before Boone knocks on the door.
Anachronisms: In the championship game, the team opposing the Titans starts using the shotgun offense. The Titans' assistant coach recognizes the play immediately and clearly knows it's a pro-type offense, saying, "Who do these guys think they are, the New York Jets?" However, in 1971, the shotgun formation had not been used in the NFL for over a decade (and then only by one team, the San Francisco 49ers) and was not a part of the pro playbook until Tom Landry reintroduced it with the Dallas Cowboys in 1975. If the coach had recognized the formation at all he would never have associated it with the Jets or the pros.
Anachronisms: A "CSX" railroad car appears in the background. This movie takes place in 1971 and the CSX railroad corporation was not formed until the mid 1980s.
Revealing mistakes: During the locker room scene, a tattoo on the right shoulder of the actor who plays Petey can be seen, though it has been covered with make-up to make it less visible.
Revealing mistakes: In the locker room scene where the players are talking about Gerry Bertier's mom, you can see a covered up superman tattoo on the actor's arm who plays Gerry.
Factual errors: T.C. Williams High School had actually been integrated since 1963. The successful 1971 football season was not credited to integration but to consolidation of two other high schools; the tripling of the class sizes gave them a larger talent pool to choose from. There was racial violence at that time in Alexandria but not over the football team; instead it was over an unrelated incident where a white convenience store clerk killed a black student in a struggle.
Continuity: In the very beginning Julius Campbell's father introduces him to Coach Boone as a defensive end. Later on however Sheryl clearly states he plays strong-side linebacker.
Factual errors: When Coach Yoast brings Petey into the game he asks him if he wants to play linebacker for him, although what he clearly plays in that game then is not linebacker but cornerback, also being the position Alan plays for which he has been substituted.
Continuity: When Sunshine first comes to the practice and throws the football at Gerry you can see Alan and Blue standing behind Gerry watching the football fly through the air. But when the football hits Gerry you see Alan and Blue in front of him turning to laugh.
