Setting the Scene Aim: Develop understanding of setting(s) in Remember the Titans You will Identify the time and place Discuss historical and social context Consider mood and atmosphere Starter: When? Where?
Answer the questions: In what year did the story take place? Where is Alexandria? Where is T. C. Williams? Where did the Titans train? Where did they compete? Where did the people protest? When did the people change?
A signifier is any item that signals time or place (or character). E.g. a decorated tree is a signifier of Christmas; a white cane is a signifier of a blind person.
How many signifiers can you identify that signal time and place? How many signifiers can you identify that signal time and place in the film?
What aspects of filming, sound and music, lighting, costumes etc reinforce the impression you get from the basic setting?
Answer the following questions: How does Gettysburg High School differ from T.C. Williams? How much of T.C. Williams do we actually see? Where does most of the action take place? How much of the homes of Boone and Yoast do we see? What is the effect of this? 1971 was a difficult year politically in the US, but nothing of that is shown in the film. Why not? Comment on the costumes. How much do they locate the film in a specific time and or place?