Tan Siang Tai A131561 LJ04 Remember the Titans

Remember the Titans

Good day. For this journal, I will write in English because I'm running out of idea to write anything in Malay. For this journal, I would not be writing on review on lectures on last Wednesday because the truth is that I slept throughout the hours. But I did notice that the lecturer was talking about motivation, so I'm going write about motivation and as usual for me, I often get motivation from movies. This movie is called 'Remember the Titans'. Starring Denzel Washington and few other fie young actors, this movie took my breath away the first time I watched it. This movie was produced in 2000 and the first time I watched it was on channel TV3 in 2003. Then again I watched it on channel TV2 and 8TV in different years, and until now, I think I have watched the movie again and again for more than 10 times. Guess what, I'm still inspired, always motivated the movie. The movie, in my book of ranking for movies, it is number 1.

The movie is about football, American football, or more often known as rugby. The movie is set around 1970 or 1980. During that time, the black and white in USA were not friendly and frankly cannot mix around each other. But then a high school in one of the state decided to integrate and mix all the white and black students into one single high school, named T.C. William. Of course, the action was strongly objected by, basically everyone in the town, especially the football team where all were made up of white people. After a while, black coach was sent the school to be the coach assistant of coach Yoast. His name is Boone. However something happened and coach Yoast had to switch position with Boone, resulting in coach Boone becoming the head coach while coach Yoast becoming the assistant coach. Everyone was furious especially the team that trained with Yoast for years. Coach Boone started to recruit people to play football, of course people that showed up were the black people. Then a white people, named Louie came to join the team, and soon after the Yoast team joined the recruit only because Yoast decided to join as the kids said they were not going to play for Boone if Yoast is not joining. Now everyone is here, but of course everyone is not fighting for the same thing nor for the same people.

After that, coach Boone hold a football camp where everyone has to participate in the camp. Before heading to the camp, Boone asked the team to divide into the defense and attack teams into two buses, where white and black and have to sit together and that the pair in bus will be the pair in the room later at the camp. Thing was not nice at the beginning, there is often conflict and clash between black and white, even between the coaches themselves, and the training was not working at all. In one work, the team was malfunction. Two men, sort of like the leaders for black and white, Julius and Bertier, don't always see eye to eye. They have the same idea for the team, same vision, it's just that thing won't work like that even when you see the same thing. One night, Boone did a drastic move, called out everyone and jogged in the middle of the night around the jungle. When they stopped, Boone said this: I don't care who you are, I'm not asking you like each other, but you will respect each other, and maybe, just maybe you will start to play like a man. After that night, thing started to change. They start to see the good of other people, they start to accept other people, different people, and eventually they became like a team. That was when in the camp, soon after they finished the camp and returned school, the team clashed with reality. The team won their first match but thing started to fall apart when the reality asked to give up, when the people outside don't accept the integration. But luckily enough, the team leaders, Julius and Bertier managed to hold the team together and they survived and the community started to recognize, accept them, and be a part of the integrated team. They celebrated with the team when they won, they cheered for the team during the competitions, the whole community and the team became one. After they won the last match (semi-final) before going for the state championship, during the celebration, Bertier got into an accident and he was paralyzed. The team was heartbroken, but they stood even stronger than ever to play in the state championship. They won in the final.

The story line was great, the director was super, the casts were even better. What makes the film such inspiring is that, it teaches us to have faith. Have faith in the friendship even the people around you don't understand why. Have faith in the strength of a team even things begin to fall apart. Have faith in the people you trust, knowing that they may fail you, yet they will be the strongest support you ever have. Have faith in people, have faith in yourselves, believing that you can make a different and you can make a change. One of my favorites sentences in the movie, said by Boone: we are different. Unlike any other team, they don't have race problem, we have. But that doesn't make us vulnerable, we are strong and we are one team. You do not let anyone, anything come between us. Let's rule the field like a titan.

The movie teaches me to see life in different perspective. It motivates me to be different, to be better, wanting to be better. Life is big, life is dangerous, life is boring, but at the same time, life can be exciting, life can to inspiring, and life can be beautiful. It's how we see it, where are we heading, and ultimately who are we going to be. Be inspired, make a change, and mark your existence, because you are a part of this world and that everyone can make a difference.