Prejudice, as defined in psychology, involves holding a negative attitude towards the members of a group, based merely on their membership of that group. Any group can be the focus of prejudice. A person, who is prejudiced against a certain group, has a tendency to overlook the individual characteristics or behavior of members of the group to whom he/she is prejudiced, merely because they belong to that group. In the film ‘Remember the Titans’ (2000), prejudice is portrayed in several ways, but mainly focuses on the discrimination of the African-Americans. One form of prejudice, which if frequently revisited in the film, is racism. Racism occurs when prejudice and discrimination are directed at people who are members of a particular…show more content… This ensured that every team member had to take part, and they learnt about each other in the process.
Coach Boone frequently reminds his team “the best player will play, colour won’t matter,” which enforces equality among the players. Boone says that choosing players isn’t a matter of favoritism, and that it “doesn’t matter if you’re black, white or green.” This factor ensures that the white team members understand that there is no hierarchy within the team; that the blacks are not inferior. Boone is focused on ensuring everyone understands that they are of equal importance.
‘Remember the Titans’ is a film that revolves around prejudice, discrimination and the factors that may reduce prejudice. Coach Boone is present as the key person involved in trying to reduce prejudice. Through the use of factors such as sustained contact, mutual interdependence, superordinate goals and equality of status, Boone ensures that unity is maintained between all members of the team. This is done by encouraging them to understand each other for who they are, emphasizing that their skin colour does not matter and making sure they understand that they are all equally important in achieving their goals.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Grivas, John, and Linda Carter. Psychology for the VCE Student. Milton, Qld.: John Wiley & Sons
