I Rewatched “Remember The Titans” As An Adult And It Gave Me A New Perspective I Didn’t Expect

I can’t believe Remember the Titans came out 25 years ago. I don’t even wanna talk about how old that makes me!!! I recall watching this movie in the theater but haven’t watched it since then. So, I thought I’d revisit the movie as an adult. Here are my thoughts.

1. The first line in the movie is: “In Virginia, high school football is a way of life. It’s bigger than Christmas Day.” — Sheryl. That’s exactly what this movie did: it made football bigger than the race-related issues in the film.

2. Coach Yoast makes it clear to Coach Boone that he did not hire him. He says, “The school board made the decision to put you on my staff.” Boone replies, “Well, I came up here to coach at G.W. I didn’t ask the schools to redistrict. I didn’t ask to be assigned to your staff, so I guess we’re both in a situation we don’t want to be in.”

3. “Make no mistake, I am qualified to be this school’s head coach.”

4. I did not realize it was Nicole Ari Parker playing opposite Denzel as Carol Boone. My first recollection of Nicole Ari Parker was Brown Sugar.

5. Ray says, “I ain’t playing for no thief,” and Gerry claims Boone stole Yoast’s job.

6. I can see where they got the inspiration to cast Denzel Washington as Alonzo in Training Day!

7. I missed this before, but Ray actually told on himself by saying, “And Rev? He better be praying I block for his black behind.”

8. The Gettysburg speech was at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.

9. This speech is about as deep as the film goes, set just after the Civil Rights Era, addressing the issue of respect. But the visual exposure to the grounds of the “bloodiest battle” is what got through to the players.

10. I didn’t realize “yo mama” jokes were such a cultural thing.

11. Another cross-cultural bonding example is through music. (Ryan Gosling doing his best Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell impression is priceless. Actually, all the Ryan Gosling scenes sent me, lol. Guess he’s always been a heartthrob.)

12. When Coach Boone told Ronnie he had 12 brothers and sisters, I wondered why he made up that number.

13. Watching Julius walk out the house and encounter an officer had me on edge.

14. Boone confronted Yoast about coddling the Black players but not the white players.

15. I think the characters that changed the most were Julius and Gerry, who became more than friends. They became brothers. Gerry tells the nurse, “Don’t you see the family resemblance? That’s my brother.”

16. In the movie, it was never revealed how Gerry Bertier died. The narrator, Sheryl, just states that he passed 10 years after the team’s big win.

17. The victory at the end did not feel as victorious watching this 20+ years later. I think I was more hopeful for change when this movie came out, but having lived 25 years after its release, it always feels like we’re going backward when it comes to race in this country. Remember the Titans is an incredible film, but I noticed the victory at the end of the movie felt just like that: a movie and not reality. Idk, I think, as a child, I saw the end of the movie as some sort of victory over racism. I was naive, I guess.

What movies have you rewatched as an adult that changed your perspective?

Let me know in the comments.

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