Hegemonic Masculinity and “Remember the Titans”
(Remember the Titans, 2000)
Sports movies like, Remember the Titans represent hegemonic masculinity which teaches young men to be brave, violent, and over all, ‘manly’. Remember the Titans took place in a defining time in America’s history, in the 70’s when blacks and whites went from segregated schools to desegregated schools. In Allen Johnson’s article, “Unraveling the Gender Knot”, he explained why men feel pressured to be masculine, “As the turn of the twentieth century, there was widespread white male panic in the United States about the “feminization” of society and the need to preserve masculine toughness” (Johnson 614). The tension among race in this movie is obviously clear, as well as heterosexual pride and the importance of being a man through releasing aggression through football.
(Coach Herman Boone and Alan Bosley)
The 1960’s and 1970’s were a time in history when legislation passed to desegregate blacks and whites, however, this did not put an end to racism. Coach Herman Boone, a black man from North Carolina came to coach the Titans at T.C. Williams High School in replacement of Alan Bosley. Coach Boone intended for the team to be a united front which was initially uncomfortable for both the black and the white teammates. Coach Herman was accused of being a “race mixer” by those who opposed the desegregation. Richard Majors wrote about the significance of race in sports in his article, “Cool Pose: Black Masculinity in Sports”, “However, American society has prevented black males from achieving many aspects of this masculinity by restricting their access to education, jobs and industrial power” (Majors 110). This theory is relevant to the movie because it emphasizes the importance of including black men in sports. This movie told the story of men who were not given a voice, to men who could be apart of a team and advocate for the oppressed. Majors also described his theory of “Cool Pose” which is the ways that minorities express themselves through different lifestyle behaviors. Cool pose is an outlet for those who do not have the type of access that privileged groups have. Majors describes cool pose as being, “Expressive behaviors are not, of course, restricted merely to professional athletes. College, high school, and playground athletes also mimic, develop, and use expressive styles” (112). Men in “Remember the Titans” were able to express their own, person cool pose as an outlet of control during a time of oppression.
(The team’s first interaction with one another, post segregation)
Another trait of masculinity is homophobia which was also portrayed in Remember the Titans. Many of the men on the team were uncomfortable with their hippy, long haired teammate, Ronnie. For starters, he was called “fruitcake” and “sunshine” because of his feminine characteristics. Chris Roberts explains the connection between masculinity and name calling among men in his article, “Men, Sports, and the Culture of Masculinity”, “Men are “bulletproof,” even the nastiest words should not affect a man’s psyche. And, perhaps the most dangerous message, men don’t walk away from confrontation or from bullies” (Roberts). Ronnie had also laid a fat kiss on his teammate Gerry which was what caused the uncomfortable homophobia among Gerry and the rest of their team. Ronnie became more accepted by his teammates after he “proved himself” in his first violent fight against teammate, Gerry. This was a way of proving to the team that he was a man. Peter J. Kareithi describes the ways that hegemonic masculinity is displayed in society through forms of media in his article, “Hegemonic Masculinity in Media Contents”, “On a global scale, hegemonic masculinity is a representation of society’s ideal of how male behavior should be. [...]In addition, hegemonic masculinity also emphasizes superiority of ‘manly’ men over the ‘not-so-manly’ men” (Kareithi 27). According to Kareithi’s theory, Ronnie would have been eaten alive by his teammates if he did not stand up for himself by fighting Gerry. By fighting Gerry, Ronnie asserted his masculinity through physical control and by proving that he was not homosexual. It is almost bizarre that in order to be accepted as a man, among a group of men, violent behavior is encouraged in order to be accepted. Kareithi describes these acts as, “By helping to differentiate masculinity from femininity, images of masculine aggression and violence – including violence against women – afford young males across class, race and geographical boundaries a degree of self-respect and ‘security’ within the more socially valued masculine role” (Kareithi 27). Ronnie was in fact, proving himself as a man rather than a feminine man by becoming involved in fights, and by ending the movie as a dominant and aggressive player.
Another theme among hegemonic masculinity is the domination over women. One of the men on the team phoned his girlfriend and was embarrassed to say “i love you” in front of his teammates. Michael A. Messner and Jeffrey Montez de Oca explained the ways that masculine toughness affects women in their article, “The Male Consumer as Loser: Beer and Liquor Ads in Mega Sports Media Events”, “The industry seems to know this: as long as men remain distrustful of women, seeing them either as bitches who are trying to ensnare them and take away their freedom or as whores with whom they can party and have sex with no emotional commitment attached, then men remain more open to the marketing strategies of the industry.” (Messner,Oca). This is true to the way that the men spoke about women as they made “your mamma” jokes in the locker room. It is a sign of mental and physical toughness to degrade women because they should not be trusted or respected. The only main character who was a woman was Sheryl, Alan Bosley’s daughter who identified closely to the men on the team because of her tomboy traits. Though she identified as “one of the guys”, her character still portrayed traditional traits that women should have in the 1960’s. Sheryl was the “homemaker” for the team, almost as though she was their cheerleader, someone who would cater to their needs as she cheered from the sidelines. Hegemonic masculinity dictates the ways that women are treated as objects and as caterers to men.
Racism, homophobia and sexism are common themes among Remember the Titans. Hegemonic masculinity is seen among sport culture which should be a subject worth investigating closely as our society moves forward. Johnson expresses the importance of making a change and challenging the patriarchal themes among masculinity, “Make noise be seen. Stand up, volunteer, speak out, write letters, sign petitions, show up, Like every oppressive system, patriarchy feeds on silence. Don't collude in silence” (Johnson 619). This idea is what should be taken away when interpreting hegemonic masculinity. Men can be men without being racist, homophobic and sexist.
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