Let's talk about Remember the Titans

This movie is the perfect example of why I hate films that loosely throw around the phrase, "based on a true story." About the only true things found in this movie are that there was a T.C. Williams football team, and in 1971 they won the state championship, while also being coached by a man named Herman Boone. That's essentially where the historical accuracies of this film come to an end.

It's crazy how much this movie gets wrong about the story surrounding the '71 Titans. For one...the real story isn't that interesting to begin with. Alexandria schools integrated all the way back in 1965 and yet the movie is trying to tell us they desegregated in '71 and that the climate was similar to that of Birmingham circa 1963. While there were still tensions, most of the guys from the ACTUAL '71 Titans say there was very little overt racism going on between the players on the team. And then you have the pesky little fact that this team was loaded with All-State talent. They finished #2 in the country for high school football for a reason. That state championship which came down to the final play in the film was actually a snooze fest in real life (T.C. Williams won 27-0).

I could list all of the inaccuracies found in this film, but I feel the Deadspin article below (from the year 2014), will do a much better job at shedding some light onto this movie:

LINK

I realize movies exist to entertain us and to send messages. But I really do hate it when a film plays fast and loose with the facts of a true story drama. Remember the Titans is one of modern film's most egregious offenders in that regard.