The problem of racial inequality has been an acute one in society for many years. Despite the fact that it is actively raised in all sources of media, literature and films, it remains quite problematic. One example of a work that raises the issue of race is the film by Boyz Yakin, Remembering Titans. It may seem at first glance to be just a sports drama, but it raises much deeper issues about society at the time and modern society in general.
Remembering the Titans is a sports drama based on real events. The school League of American Football has become a real test for Titan’s team. The difficulty was not the game at all but the composition of the participants. At the peak of racial discrimination and the struggle for equality, the coach will not only have to join the new team himself but also rally a strong team. The film’s description is based on the events in the early 70s of the last century. The film traces the sociological conflict of man against society.
A conflict is a confrontation between two forces. On the one hand, the main character acts have a specific goal that he wants to reach. However, on the way to this goal, an obstacle appears in front of him, which, as it were, pushes the protagonist away from the plan – this is the force opposing him. Their inevitable clash is presented as a conflict in the movie. All conflicts in cinema can be divided into internal and external. In the case of the exterior, the hero opposes the most diverse forces of the world around him, and in the case of the internal, the struggle unfolds inside – for example, in the character’s soul.
The theory of social conflict is a branch of sociology that recognizes and explores conflict as the most important factor of social development. According to this theory, people with power can use various means, among which coercion is the main one, to seek benefits from people with less power. The possibilities of distributing power and authority are extremely limited, so members of any social struggle to redistribute. This struggle may not manifest itself openly, but the grounds for it exist in any social structure.
One of the main messages of the film is that skin color does not define a person and cannot say anything about his personal characteristics. Katel emphasizes that “the desire to be singularly identified as people who are targeted only because they’re black is to embrace victimization” (26). During the time in which the film takes place, racism was a significant obstacle in the lives of African Americans. In the movie, the white coach of the school team is replaced by a representative of the black community, which is met with sufficient contempt. Tensions are also rising because two different schools with different races have to interact. The director masterfully shows the emerging conflicts and how the main character struggles with them.
Therefore, it can be concluded that it is difficult to resist the fact that, to this day, white power prevails in society. It is difficult for people of color to achieve the desired results and goals due to the fact that many treat them with contempt. I liked this assignment, so I think that raising such important topics as racial inequality is necessary to spread awareness among the population.
Work Cited
Katel, Peter. “Racial Conflict.” CQ Researcher, vol. 26, no. 2, 2016, pp. 25-48.