In the divergent country of America, many people have fought for equality for many different races. They risked their lives so that everyone in this great country could come together as one and accept each other for who they are. In the movie Remember Titans, which is a movie about an African American coach named “coach Boon”, tries to transform a separated little city down in the South and bring his football team to come together as a whole. In this scene, Coach Boon takes his team on a run through the forest/swamp to Gettysburg, where the Battle of Gettysburg took place. The reason why the coach takes his football team there is to show them that many Americans lost lives fighting for rights, and he connects that to how if his team does not come together as a whole, regardless of what race one is, then they will also be destroyed. Coach Boon also tackles them with the idea that they must respect one another, and explain the importance. The director of the movie, Boaz Yakin, shows through reaction shots, music and setting the importance of coming together as a team to achieve something great. Also, through close-up, lighting and long shots he shows the importance of respecting each other in order to achieve that goal.
Through the use of reaction shots, music and setting, the director portrays that the team must stand up for one another and what they want as a whole. If they come together and help each other out then eventually they will be victorious. As coach Boon is giving his speech and says how people fight for what they believe in, the camera shows several of the players. The reaction on their faces shows how they must get up and compete for what they believe in, in order to meet those expectations; otherwise, they will also be diminished like the soldiers who fought for their rights at the Battle of Gettysburg. Through the reactions of the player’s faces, they know that it will be very hard to achieve their goal, but they must fight hard to earn it. In the background, there is music to set the tone of the scene and really emphasize the importance of getting up and standing up for one another and also for what they believe in. The setting for where this scene takes place creates a mood for what the scene is going to be about. The setting appropriately correlates to what the coach is giving his speech about to the group of players.
Through the lighting in the background, the close up of the player’s faces and the long shot of the coach, the director portrays how they must respect one another. After the players have reached Gettysburg and are resting, there is high contrast lighting; this shows that the players don’t have very much respect for another. The dramatic shadow that this high contrast lighting creates shows that there is no hope for these players. As the coach continues to give his speech, the high contrast lighting turns into low contrast lighting; which shows that the players are understanding the importance for respecting one another and that there might be hope for this team to be successful. This idea of respect also ties into the importance of standing up for what you believe in, as it shows that one must also respect what another person believes in, and together and gain something good out of it. Through the close up of the different faces of the players during different parts of the coach’s speech, it shows how the players are really taking into account for what the coach is enlightening them about. This gives another opening to the fact there might be hope for this team. The use of the long shot of the coach while giving his speech, really illustrates how the coach wishes for his football team to come together as a team so that they will be victorious.
Throughout the scene, Boaz Yakin implements multiple techniques to show how the football team must come together as a whole. These techniques build up to the idea that the players must stand up for what they believe in and that they must respect one another to get the best results. It is not possible to always come out on top without understanding the importance of what must be done, how it must be done and why it must be done.
