Stereotypes In Remember The Titans

Henri Tajfel (1979) anticipated that the “groups which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self-esteem. Groups give us a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world.” (McLeod, Social Identity Theory, 2008) Remember the Titans (2000) is an American sports drama film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. It is a true story which started with the integration of black and white students at T.C. Williams High School in Virginia. However further problems emerge as with tensions high, the well known and loved head coach at the school, Bill Yoast, is replaced by a new black coach, Herman Boone. These true events play out in 1971 when school sports are an important value for the community,

University Lecturer Mike Cardwell defined stereotypes as “...a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people.” (Cardwell, 1996). Remember the Titans has successfully demonstrated three examples of prejudice. Stereotypes were present when teammate Ronnie Bass was nicknamed ‘Sunshine’ when he joined the team and was made fun of for having long hair. He was teased a lot by his teammates as they called him ‘fruit cake’ and ‘pretty boy’. Being from California, they characterised him as being a ‘surfer dude’ and therefore found enjoyment in making fun of him for it. Negative feelings are another form of prejudice. These are feelings of dislike someone has towards another, solely based on their differences. Gary’s mother exercises prejudice towards Julius by saying to Gary; “I don’t want to get to know him.” This is not a direct assault on Julius but explicitly shows that she does not want to associate with him exclusively based on his membership to a group of black people. The final form of prejudice is a tendency to act in a discriminatory way. This involves treating someone as though they are deserving of less rights than another. Throughout the film the African American footballers were deemed ‘less fit’ than those of their white peers. Coach Yoast consoles with the players after they are harshly yelled at by Coach Boone. However, Coach Yoast never does the same for the white teammates, as though they are deemed to be able to handle it