January 26, 2013 (Mankato, MN): Movie Night — Remember the Titans
Yakin, B. (Director). (2000). Remember the Titans. [Motion Picture/DVD] Los Angeles, CA: Walt Disney Home Video.
Set in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971, the fact-based story begins with the integration of black and white students at T. C. Williams High School. This effort to improve race relations is most keenly felt by the school’s football team, the Titans, and bigoted tempers flare when a black head coach is appointed and his successful predecessor reluctantly stays on as his assistant. It’s affirmative action at its most potentially volatile, complicated by the secret that the coach will be fired if he loses a single game in the Titans’ 13-game season. The players represent a hotbed of racial tension, but the team struggles toward unity and gridiron glory. This film applies to cultural competency because it has to do with stages of cultural adaption. First, the players were unaware of what they were about to face. Then, they looked at only the differences between the two races. Then, they realized their similarities, including a common interest in football and wanting to win. Then, they became acquainted and adapted their attitudes and behaviors to work together, capitalizing on the strengths that each individual brought to the team. 114 min. See a discussion guide at http://mysite.cherokee.k12.ga.us/personal/brittney_walker/site/Subject 1 Notes/1/Remember the Titans.pdf.