Revision Piece

For this timed write our assignment was: In an essay of about a page (3-5 paragraphs), develop a thesis-driven discussion that demonstrates how the film defines what it is to be an outsider (using one or two characters from the film you chose and discussed) AND how this definition upholds or challenges your own cultural understanding of what it means to be an outsider.

I developed a thesis driven discussion of how the film demonstrates what it is to be an outsider and even managed to stick to using only two characters. When I originally started this piece I was using four characters and decided to narrow, narrow, narrow, as this continues to be my weakness. However, I narrowed to the point that I totally overlooked the second half of the prompt with the exception of a single sentence. So first I will present my original piece for "Remember the Titans" and then I will add a revised piece with a paragraph included about how this definition upholds or challenges my own cultural understanding of what it means to be an outsider. This definition especially hits closely to home as my granddaughter was multi ethnic and her parents dealt with these issues on a daily basis as a result of an ever present undercurrent in society that causes some people to be unwilling to except change and allow individuals the freedom to love whomever they might chose.

In the movie Remember the Titans, director Boaz Yakin shows clearly through effects such as costumes, camara angle, music, etc., the othering of two main representative protagonists, Julius Campbell, a black player from the Burg ghetto, and Gerry Bertier, a white player who decides to become friends with the black players and especially Julius. The treatment of these individuals as outsiders is a horrific example of human nature at its worst.
The marginalization of the black community was so extreme in Alexandria, Virginia, as to cause total alienation and segregation between the two groups. The black community lived in a ghetto known as the Bhurg, while the white community was in the main part of town. As Sheryl, Coach Yost's daughter introduces in the beginning of the film, she says, "Up until 1971 there was no race mixing. Then the School Board forced us to integrate. They combined the white school and the black school into one." This is where the true extent of the 'us' and 'them' mentality can be seen. As the football team started practices before the school year began, they were forced into integrating with one another before the rest of the community. As Russel Thornton states in his article "What the Census Doesn't Count", "Race as we now know is a social notion, not a biological reality (Latterell 65)". He goes on to say, "Nevertheless, the races society has created are real to many people and have important psychological and social implications for individuals (Latterell 65)". The white community believed that they were in every way superior to the black community and this created an atmosphere of "insiders" and "outsiders".
The early focus of the film is how this marginalization affected the players on the team. The filmakers show this through various ways. The use of costume shows that the white players have letterman's jackets and the black players do not. The musical score relies on classic motown music when the black players are in the forefront of a scene. Julius is immediately shown as the leader of the black players on the team while Gerry is shown as the leader of the white players. Coach Boone tries to get them to interact, but is met with great resistance. The haunting effects and dark mist used at the Gettysburg Memorial Cemetery truly show the cost and extent of the battle that they are still fighting. It is on the evening after this visit that we see Julius and Gerry begin to come together as teammates and leaders as an example that they can "belong". They do not have to remain separated into groups of 'outsiders' and 'insiders'. From their leadership, most of the team follows suit.
It is on return from camp that the new friends have become "outsiders" together in a new sense. Gerry is treated differently by his white friends, girlfriend and mother, bringing new light to the idea of being an "outsider". His was a voluntary choice, unlike Julius who was judged by the color of his skin. The director does an excellent job of showing this in a scene when Gerry's girlfriend pulls up in a car with other white kids and Gerry is standing above them. They want him to leave his fellow team mates (specifically the black players and Julius and come with them). The camera angle zooms down on them to show us that Gerry has stepped above their petty thought processes and grown into the commendable young man and example he was known to be.
Later in the film we see the new affects of "belonging", in a sense, on Julius. As he walks through the white neighborhood music is again used to highlight the significance of the atmosphere. The song "Peace Train" by Cat Stevens is playing with the lyrics, "now I've been smiling lately, thinking about good things to come, and I believe it could be, something new has begun." It is used very powerfully as it is obvious he has never been in a white part of town before. They bring in an ominous moment with a close up on a policeman rolling down his window and after finding out it was only to congratulate Julius on their playing the music comes back in loudly to celebrate this "something new (that) has begun."
These two young men begin the film in a fist fight over a racial issue (the hanging of a poster of two men signifying black power at the Olympics in Mexico City) and end the film "brothers". They travel a rocky road of coming to terms with one another to leading their teammates and community to becoming one and placing their prejudice in the past. As Thornton states, "Race is a social, not private, reality (Latterell 67)", and Remember the Titans shows this both dramatically and effectively through the many aspects used in film making. The memorable song of the movie "Ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you" signifies the bringing together of these two individuals and groups in Remember the Titans.

Revision: In the movie Remember the Titans, director Boaz Yakin shows clearly through effects such as costumes, camara angle, music, etc., the othering of two main representative protagonists, Julius Campbell, a black player from the Burg ghetto, and Gerry Bertier, a white player who decides to become friends with the black players and especially Julius. The treatment of these individuals as outsiders is a horrific example of human nature at its worst and upholds my beliefs that the "othering" of individuals based on race is wrong.

The marginalization of the black community was so extreme in Alexandria, Virginia, as to cause total alienation and segregation between the two groups. The black community lived in a ghetto known as the Bhurg, while the white community was in the main part of town. As Sheryl, Coach Yost's daughter introduces in the beginning of the film, she says, "Up until 1971 there was no race mixing. Then the School Board forced us to integrate. They combined the white school and the black school into one." This is where the true extent of the 'us' and 'them' mentality can be seen. As the football team started practices before the school year began, they were forced into integrating with one another before the rest of the community. As Russel Thornton states in his article "What the Census Doesn't Count", "Race as we now know is a social notion, not a biological reality (Latterell 65)". He goes on to say, "Nevertheless, the races society has created are real to many people and have important psychological and social implications for individuals (Latterell 65)". The white community believed that they were in every way superior to the black community and this created an atmosphere of "insiders" and "outsiders".

The early focus of the film is how this marginalization affected the players on the team. The filmakers show this through various ways. The use of costume shows that the white players have letterman's jackets and the black players do not. The musical score relies on classic motown music when the black players are in the forefront of a scene. Julius is immediately shown as the leader of the black players on the team while Gerry is shown as the leader of the white players. Coach Boone tries to get them to interact, but is met with great resistance. The haunting effects and dark mist used at the Gettysburg Memorial Cemetery truly show the cost and extent of the battle that they are still fighting. It is on the evening after this visit that we see Julius and Gerry begin to come together as teammates and leaders as an example that they can "belong". They do not have to remain separated into groups of 'outsiders' and 'insiders'. From their leadership, most of the team follows suit.

It is on return from camp that the new friends have become "outsiders" together in a new sense. Gerry is treated differently by his white friends, girlfriend and mother, bringing new light to the idea of being an "outsider". His was a voluntary choice, unlike Julius who was judged by the color of his skin. The director does an excellent job of showing this in a scene when Gerry's girlfriend pulls up in a car with other white kids and Gerry is standing above them. They want him to leave his fellow team mates (specifically the black players and Julius and come with them). The camera angle zooms down on them to show us that Gerry has stepped above their petty thought processes and grown into the commendable young man and example he was known to be.

Later in the film we see the new affects of "belonging", in a sense, on Julius. As he walks through the white neighborhood music is again used to highlight the significance of the atmosphere. The song "Peace Train" by Cat Stevens is playing with the lyrics, "now I've been smiling lately, thinking about good things to come, and I believe it could be, something new has begun." It is used very powerfully as it is obvious he has never been in a white part of town before. They bring in an ominous moment with a close up on a policeman rolling down his window and after finding out it was only to congratulate Julius on their playing the music comes back in loudly to celebrate this "something new (that) has begun."

This film upholds my beliefs that the "othering" of individuals due to their race is extremely wrong. It shows very clearly the mistreatment of the black teammembers as well as the later mistreatment of the white teammembers who have chosen to become their friends. This is a subject that is very familiar to me as my son in law is black and my daughter has very blonde hair and blue eyes. My granddaughter was multi ethnic and this was another battle she would have had to fight throughout her life had she lived a full life in society. I especially appreciated the way the filmmakers chose to show the "othering" of the white individuals or chose to become friends with their black teammates. This is something we have a great deal of familiarity with in our family as a result of our somewhat unique situation. I hope their comes a day when no one looks twice at the color of an individual's skin and a white and black person can walk hand in hand without anyone turning their head. I feel the filmmaker's had this same vision and portrayed it with great empathy.

The two young men, Gerry and Julius, begin the film in a fist fight over a racial issue (the hanging of a poster of two men signifying black power at the Olympics in Mexico City) and end the film "brothers". They travel a rocky road of coming to terms with one another to leading their teammates and community to becoming one and placing their prejudice in the past. As Thornton states, "Race is a social, not private, reality (Latterell 67)", and Remember the Titans shows this both dramatically and effectively through the many aspects used in film making. The memorable song of the movie "Ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough, to keep me from getting to you" signifies the bringing together of these two individuals and groups in Remember the Titans. It will also be so close in my heart in remembering the way it brought together my daughter's family and brought a beautiful little girl into the world for a short period of time.