THE HELP

"Storyline." Internet Movie Database. 1990-2013. Web. 3 January 2013. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454029/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


The characters and issues make The Help similar to Remember the Titans.  Both movies have one or more young people aspiring to do something meaningful with their lives.  In Remember the Titans it is all of the football players who want to win a state title or earn scholarships to college.  In The Help however, the young admirable character is trying to become a writer.  They both work very hard to achieve their goals and gain success.  The issue of racism is also prevalent in both movies.  Remember the Titans deals with a community that is in turmoil because the school was integrated.  The Help deals with a community that is in turmoil because a writer digs up the truth about black maids.  The racism in the two movies is fueled by the characters' ignorance while the main characters want to challange the prejudices.

RACISM

Goodfriend, Wind, Ph. D. "Remember the Titans: Can Football Reduce Racism." Psychology Today. 3 November 2012. Web. 3 January 2013. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psychologist-the-movies/201211/remember-the-titans-can-football-reduce-racism

The way that the actual Titans, in real life, overcame their racism and won the state title was by reducing prejudices, setting common goals, seeing teemmates and not just group members, and having supportive coaches.  Gordon Allport was the psychologist who came up with this system.  He said that the teammates need an equal status.  Both groups need to hold the same power.  The team also needs a goal that neither of the two groups can acheive by themselves.  Each side can use their different strengths to accomplish the tast.  The players also need to see the other group of players as teammates and not one opposing unit.  Being able to personalize with the teammates is very important.  The last factor must be possitivity.  Any authority or coach present needs to be supportive.  Without any supportive authority, the team would crumble. 

REVIEW

Ebert, Roger. "Remember the Titans." rogerebert. 29 September 2000. Web. 3 January 2013. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000929/REVIEWS/9290304/1023

Much of the racism in Remember the Titans can be seen in the conflict between the coaches. "Denzel Washington and Will Pattonare the stars, two football coaches, one black, one white, whose lives are linked for a season, even though neither wants it that way." Coach Yoast lost his job as head coach to Coach Boone who is a black man. Some of the white players tell Coach Yoast that they will not play for a black man but, Yoast swallows his pride for the sake of the boys' futures. "Remember the Titans is not an activist 1970s picture, but more conciliatory in tone." The movie is made to leave its audience with a peace and, it does. Racism is a major issue in this movie but, the characters work out their differences. A great illustration of this is when Gary, a white player, gets hospitalized after a car accident and, he requests to see his "brother." The brother he requests is one of his black teammates and, before the season started, Gary refused to play with any black players.

BIO

"Boaz Yakin." Filmbug. 21 April 2002. Web. 3 January 2013. http://www.filmbug.com/db/36361


Boaz Yakin was born in New York City to two creative parents.  His parents met in France when they both were studying mime and the movement of actors.  After graduating high school, Yakin was accepted to New York City College.  There he studied filmmaking.  Yakin transferred quickly to New York University.  Yakin's talent for personalizing controversial issues was recognized and, he got his first screenplay deal when he was nineteen years old.  He worked for several companies to help develop projects and become more known in the film industry.  It was during this time that The Punisher hit the screens.  It was Yakin's first screenplay.  Only twelve months later, his second screenplay, The Rookie, was in theaters.  He decided to direct more personal films and directed his own screenplay, Fresh.  The film was very successful and, it won Yakin many awards.  Next he decided to spearhead a studio project.  Remember the Titans pleased its audience and was a box-office success.  He then moved to comedy and founded his own company called Raw Nerve.  Yakin's most recent film is Death in Love(2009).

PRIMARY SOURCE

Remember the Titans. Dir. Boaz Yakin. Perf. Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris. 2000. Jerry Bruckeimer Films, 2000. DVD.


Remember the Titans directed by Boaz Yakin is a moving, true story of overcoming prejudices.  Coach Boone, played by Denzel Washington, is the new head football coach at T.C. Williams High School.  The movie depicts the team's first season as a racially integrated school and, it is not a smooth transition with the team or the community.  The men find it very difficult to accept one another but, until they do, they have no chance of winning games.  When the teammates understand that fact and start to work together, they realize how wrong they have been.  They make strong friendships and, their love for each other starts to affect their community.  According to Internet Movie Database, "They came together when their classmates and loved ones would not."  Eventually even the community's eyes were opened: with their support, there is no stopping the Titans.