In Virginia, high school football is a religion. When in 1971 T. C. Williams High is forced to desegregate, white players fear for their positions. Then again, talented Black athletes could just be what the team needs to win the championship
Boaz Yakin, director of the inner-city flick Fresh (1994), is not the first white man to take on African American history. Edward Zwick (Glory, 1989) or Steven Spielberg (Amistad, 1997) did it before him with films which Blacks supported and enjoyed, but also criticized. It always comes down to the same, vital issue: whose story is it? The narrator of Glory is Robert G. Shaw (Matthew Broderick), the white commanding officer of the 54th Regiment, not one of the Black soldiers who made history. The main character of Amistad is not Cinque (Djimon Hounsou) who led the slave revolt but Baldwin, the slaves’lawyer. In keeping with tradition, Remember the Titans‘narrator is none other than the daughter of the white coach replaced by Denzel Washington.
Remember the Titans is a lesson in history, and a rare invitation to a dialogue, on and off screen, between Blacks and Whites. Yet one can’t help but grieve the quick burial of the political under mounds of feel-good, heart-warming, politically correct dialogue (there’s a gay hippie, a handicapped and even a tomboy for feminists seeking representation
). Disney is known for its mastery of the fairy tale. This is no exception to the rule: Remember the Titans paints an idealized vision of the sublimation of racial conflict through virile sportsmanship. Denzel Washington gives his usual outstanding performance, with an unusual faith in collective redemption.
