This year, State Master Councilor Eric Dye has been promoting the theme "Lights Camera Action: PA DeMolay Goes Hollywood." All of the weekends and activities have been planned around a movie or genre to help enhance the quality of the program. It seemed fitting to post a blog about movies that members of DeMolay should see. Over the remaining months you will see a few of these posts highlighting a specific move that you may want to check out.
For anyone that knows me, I am an avid sports fan. This goes beyond the game itself for me, as some of my favorite movies of all time include sports films. One of my all time favorite sports movies has always been Remember the Titans. The movie stars Denzel Washington as Daniel Boone, the Head Coach of the T.C. Williams High School football team. The film takes place in Alexandria, Virginia in the year 1971, a time in which racial discrimination was still a concern in Virginia. Members of the T.C. Williams football team were not welcoming of the new members of the team or the new Head Coach, as they expressed their displeasure and got into fights constantly. Community members expressed there dissatisfaction of the changes made as well, causing disturbances for Coach Boone and his family. Coach Boone decided that the team needed to find away to get past their problems and work together. He took the team to training camp in Gettysburg, in which they worked harder than they ever have before. Although the process may have taken a while, the players became a unified team at the end of training camp. The team became a powerhouse team in pursuit of a state championship. The entire film highlights the adversity that took place in order to accomplish a common goal.
So what makes this a movie that every DeMolay should watch? Some of the important lessons that are taught in this movie, are the same lessons we teach in DeMolay. Some of those lessons include comradeship, tolerance, teamwork, and overcoming the odds to meet the goals at hand. Facing adversity is a big lesson in this movie, and in DeMolay we can come in contact with that same problem, realizing that it comes with the territory of being a leader. One of my favorite quotes in this movie is when Bertier tells Julius he doesn't play hard enough, he tells Bertier "Attitude reflects leadership, Captain." I always felt this lesson was important. As a leader, our attitude and reactions are most important for others to follow our lead. Lead by example, others will work hard if you do as well. This movie is also based on a true story, which makes the lessons taught mean so much more. Another reason you may want to check this movie out is because of the up and coming stars that appeared in this movie before they became big names in the industry. Those stars include Ryan Hurst, Donald Faison, Kate Bosworth, Ryan Gosling, and a very young Hayden Panettiere.
To this day, I still enjoy this movie like it is the first time I ever saw it. Hopefully this review inspired you to check out the film, as it is an all time classic.
Until next time - "Dad" Joe Pullin
