- I'm going to react
to a movie scene that multiple viewers like you requested
Denzel Washington's speech in the football movie.
Remember the Titans.
He gives this speech at Gettysburg, which is the site
of the well-known battle during the Civil War.
I've watched this many times before.
Maybe you have.
It's not very long.
Most movie speeches are concise
so we'll watch the whole thing together
and then I'll give you my breakdown.
- Anybody know what this place is?
This is Gettysburg.
This is where they fought the Battle of Gettysburg.
50,000 men died right here on this field
fighting the same fight, and we're still fighting
amongst ourselves today.
This green field right here, it's painted red, bubbling
with blood, young boys, smoke and hot lead pouring right
through their bodies.
Listen to their souls, man.
I killed my brother with malice in my heart
hatred destroyed my family.
You listen, take a lesson from the dead.
If we don't come together right now on this hollow ground
we too will be destroyed just like they were.
I don't care if you like each other or not
but you will respect each other
and maybe, I don't know, maybe will
Learn to play this game like men.
- This is amazing.
And I have three takeaways that you can use to think
about your own public speaking as well.
Number one, this speech is mostly delivered
as what we call a cautionary tale.
A warning, for example, he mentions the number
of soldiers who died and draws parallels
to the conflicts his team is having.
- 50,000 men died right here on this field
fighting the same fight
and we're still fighting amongst ourselves.
- In contrast, most stories
and sports speeches are inspirational.
Coaches generally want to get their players fired up to win
but in sports and in life
sometimes there's a need for a little tough love
and that means being honest about the problems.
Now, we can't overuse this approach, but once in a while
a cautionary tale helps people take responsibility to
not repeat the mistakes of the past.
And he says, essentially
this is the problem we have to fix.
- I don't care if you like each other or not
but you will respect each other.
- Also, most stories from coaches might be
about their own past experiences or other sports stories
but this cautionary tale is an analogy
because he's telling a story about war
the Battle of Gettysburg to compare it to the teams battle
the cautionary tale plus the analogy
gives the story a double dose of power
and perhaps I'll state the obvious.
Stories are usually much more persuasive
than facts and figures and a traditional argument structure.
A story gets into listeners' hearts.
Number two, he adds showmanship
and impact by bringing them to the place
or at least a movie recreation of the actual land
and graveyard where the Battle of Gettysburg was fought.
This adds drama and weight to his words because
it's real life, the players are standing on the battlefield.
In contrast, these same words would not have the same level
of impact if he had given the speech
in a gym or a locker room, which was out of context.
Now, you can't usually bring your listeners outside
like this, but I've seen similar approaches
to this in normal public speaking situations.
For example
we sometimes see it where a speaker will be telling a story
about a special person who meant a lot to them
maybe it was their hero.
And then at the end of the story
they will reveal that that person is
in fact in the room and they'll have that guest stand up.
That's showmanship at its best
and there are other ways to integrate showmanship
into your own communication.
With a little bit
of creativity and planning, you just have to think
about how you can enhance your message.
For example, you might do something as simple
as showing an image, a powerful image
and that can really enhance your message much more
than the words alone.
Number three, Denzel's character paints a vivid picture
with colorful language
by describing the scene to bring them back to the day
and put his listeners into the middle of the action.
- This green feel right here
it's painted red, bubbling with blood.
Young boys, smoke
and hot lead going right through their bodies.
- The words are so carefully chosen to paint a picture
that it's almost poetic and he's not in a rush.
His posture, his pacing, let every word sink in
and of course, the movie makers give Denzel a lot
of help by showing the fog and the gravestones
and there's music in the background, but his words
timing and tone carry most of the emotional load.
I also noticed that he uses what sounds like a quotation.
It may have come from a letter
from one of the soldiers who later wrote that
- Listen to their souls, man, I killed my brother
with malice in my heart, hatred destroyed my family.
- Using the right quotation
in a message can be really powerful
because it isn't simply the speaker's opinion
it's the voice
of the actual people who were there on the day.
Overall, it's a fantastic speech.
Denzel Washington is an excellent dramatic actor
one of my favorite, and he brings this moment
to life with his credibility and competence.
But what else did I miss?
That's my question for you.
Please leave a comment below about any aspects
of this speech that you found especially effective
and I'm doing a series on short movie speeches like this.
Feel free to take a look at the other videos
on my channel and make some suggestions
about what other movie moments you'd like me to react to.
Until next time, thanks.
God bless and I will see you soon.