BF132636

BF132636

The Blind Side

The Blind Side was written and directed by John Lee Hancock. It is about the life story of Michael Oher, and Offensive Lineman who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. Michael grew up in poverty in Memphis Tennessee. His mother was a drug addict and he never really knew his father. He was bounced around through many different foster homes after becoming a ward of the state. This film tells a true life story of a boy with little to no prospects. It is a film about human relationships, the need to reach out to the ones less fortunate, believing in one’s self, and following one’s convictions even when it might seem as if the whole world is against you.

In the beginning of the film, one of his foster parents named Tony Hamilton brings Michael to see a coach at Wingate Christian School (5 min. 41 sec). He tells the coach that he wants Michael to get a good education and to be able to play sports. With a little persuasion from the coach with the school staff, Michael is able to attend. He starts off his school year with a GPA of 0.6. It is indeed evident that he needs a quality education. The coach made a statement that the school needed to admit him not for the sports but because it is the right thing to do as a Christian (7 min 52 sec). During his first day of class, he is given a test to see how much he knows. At the end of class, the teacher comes to collect his work and sees that he has not filled out his test but only has drawn a picture of a lone sailor is a boat maybe expressing a symbol of a feeling of abandonment.

Leanne Tuohy enters the movie as a very well organized, interior designer. Who clearly takes well care of herself, likes to be in control, and pushes her children to succeed and to be the best. She shows signs of being scoring high in the extravert region of the Big 5 personality test. Her son SJ or Shawn also shows the characteristics throughout the film. Mr. Touhy is a successful business man who has eighty-five fast food chains across America. Their daughter Collin is quiet but confident. You can tell by their family dynamic, that they both children have a good level of self-esteem and that they have an Authoritative Parenting style and they have a validating couple style to were they argue little but listen well to each other in order to achieve a positive outcome.

At school, Michael is told that his presumed biological father is deceased. There was a story in the paper about a body that was found. An apparent suicide, his father had jumped off of an overpass. He claims that he hasn’t seen his father in a long time and shows a small amount of grief. This could be a sign of absent grief (16 min 33 sec). Michael also shows signs of dyslexia meaning that he has problems in reading or the inability to read page 266. One of his teachers realizes that he can take and pass oral exams but is unable to take written tests in class (16 min 33sec). After the teacher realizes this, she expresses to the other teachers that he can succeed and they too start to help him with his learning disability. Depression can also hinder academic achievement because it interferes with memory page 323. They are more likely to remember negative information instead of positive. I look and I see white everywhere: white walls, white floors, and a lot of white people…. The teachers are not aware that I have no idea of anything they are talking about. I do not want to listen to anyone, especially the teachers. They are giving homework and expecting me to do the problems on my own. I’ve never done homework in my life. I go to the bathroom, look in the mirror, and say, "This is not Mike Oher. I want to get out of this place." (11 min 46 sec).

Michael’s life was about to change for the better when Mr. and Mrs. Touhy saw Michael walking in the cold with only shorts and a short sleeved shirt (20 min 04 sec). She asks her husband to stop when she gets out of the car to ask him where he is going. He claims that he is going to the gym because it is warm there. This is when she realizes that Michael has no where to go and insists that he come home with her and their family. After spending the night, she invites him to stay for Thanksgiving dinner. Here is where he shows signs of poverty when he stuffs biscuits into his pockets to save for later. He goes into the dining room to eat alone since at this point in the movie he feels like a stranger instead of a family member. Mrs. Touhy realizes that the football game in which her family is watching just isn’t as important as quality family time that she wants to show Michael.

Leanne tells Michael that she is going to take him shopping for new clothes since she can tell that the clothes on his back are the only ones that he owns. This is when he tells her that he has clothes and he takes her to where his momma lives. He also tells her that he doesn’t like to be stereotyped or called “Big Mike”. He takes her to where he came from which is a bad part of the ghetto. When they pull up he instructs her not to get out. This is where he shows his first sign of protectiveness in the movie (30 min 05 sec). When he walks up, there are drug dealers and thugs out front of the impoverish neighborhood and he sees a Notice of Eviction on his mother’s door. He hides behind the door and is overcome with grief. After collecting himself he gets back into the car and lies to Mrs. Touhy by stating that she wasn’t home which he says out of shame. When they pull away and drive to the clothing store, Michael shows his respect for Leanne by stating that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her in that part of the neighborhood.

Through some hard work and persistence, Michael’s grades start to improve to where he can try out for sports. This will in time become a great outlet for him and will be the starting place for his future career in the NFL. Not only do the teachers help him, but the Touhy family especially SJ with his persistent attitude and drive to help Michael succeed. Through football, the coaches see that he might be big in size but he is like a “big marshmallow”. They were surprised due to the fact that children that come from drug addicted parents and poverty have type of behaviorism (behavior changes caused by environmental influences) that they take any opportunity to be able to take their built up aggression out on something like sports. But he wouldn’t hurt a fly (52 min 37 sec).

Leanne is determined to find out more about Michael and his past. She also wants to legally adopt him. She doesn’t have to ask his biological mother since he is technically a ward of the state but out of respect as a mother she wants to get her blessing. When she finds his mother, she finds out that he was forcibly removed from his mother’s household due to her addiction and neglect. His biological mother is said to have had dozens if not more children out of wedlock and has a dozen arrest records. It is clear that the mother has a severe substance abuse problem and that Michael experienced self care due to his mother’s absence. Even though he had to go through chaotic environments (highly stressful and more likely to suffer emotional problems page 295) he would run away from his foster parent’s house to go take care of his momma. The biological mother is very sadden by this and shows remorse, shame, and guilt for the things she has put him through and done to herself. The director of this film portrayed what PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) throughout the film by showing Michael’s flashbacks with negative memories that he had when taken away from his mother and by also depicting the scene where Michael goes through an identity crisis (Erikson’s term for the psychological state of emotional turmoil when the sense of self becomes “unglued”) page 341. This is shown in the scene where Michael goes back to the ghetto and is in the drug house waiting for his mom to show up for her “daily dose” and he hits a mental break where he takes his anger and frustrations out on the taunting drug dealer(1hour 50 min).

Throughout the film, there are multiple scenes where racism is present. The people in the ghetto calling Mrs. Touhy a “snowflake”, the scene where her friends ask her if this is just another one of her charity cases or ask if she is concerned that Michael would robe or violate their daughter Collin. The film did receive some criticism, according to [|www.villagevoice.com], they claim that, “It peddles the most insidious kind of racism, one of which “whites” are virtuous saviors, coming to the rescue of African Americans who become superfluous in narratives that are supposed to be about them”. However I feel that the movie is about overcoming racism and symbolizes the Christian faith and doing a good deed for someone in need. This is a true story that was meant to be inspiring for example the scene during the football game where the coach defends Michael by stating that this is one of his boys when the refs didn’t make a call when he was kicked in the face after the whistle was blown (1 hour 15 min). Michael in return after seeing the good deed that came from his coach states to his coach, “Don’t worry coach, I got your back” and the game begins to turn around for the better. We start to see an extreme improvement in his self esteem levels through him gaining his confidence through sports and the relentless work ethics by improving his GPA to a 2.5.

Through all of his hard work and the support from the Touhys, Michael obtains a scholarship to Ole Miss. In the end scene he recognizes his family by telling the investigator for the NCAA, “I want to go to school here, because it’s where my family went to school” (1 hour 56 min). In the beginning of the movie Michael displayed an insecure attachment or avoidant attachment meaning that he was less positive and did not have supportive friendships, low self-esteem, not socially skilled, and had bad grades. But in the end with all of the love and support he received from his team and the Touhy family, he displayed a Secure Attachment page 152. The importance of family involvement for a child’s development is clearly scene in this movie. The Touhy’s not only encouraged him to play sports but supported him. Children need to have their efforts recognized and validated. Even the kids on the sidelines need to know that their families care enough to show up. The more involved, the more the child knows that they are supported and that they are important. Even though there was criticism as there is with every movie, the movie The Blind Side did however receive many awards and nominations. According to Wikipedia, Sandra Bullock won the Academy Award for Best Actress as well as the Golden Globe Award and Screen Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. The film was a nominee for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. And even better, Michael Oher became an NFL player for the Baltimore Ravens.

Work Cited

//The Blind Side.// Director John Lee Hancock. Producers Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove, and Gil Netter. Warner Bros, 2009. Film.

Boyd, Denise and Bee, Helen. //Lifespan Development//. Boston, Massachusetts. Allyn and Bacon, 2009. Print

“The Blind Side”. //Wikipedia.// Wikipedia Foundation, 16 April 2012.

__Subject Matter—20 points out of 20__

Good job covering the key elements of the assignment!

__Higher-Order Thinking—15 points out of 20__ :

You only start citing and nailing down specific textbook elements in the last few paragraphs. There is room here for a LOT more, especially about poverty and resilience.

__Organization--30 points out of 30__

Simple and straightforward--great job!

__Format--10 points out of 10__

Excellent references, citations and specific examples

__Grammar/Punctuation/Spelling--10 points out of 10__

__Readability/Style--8 points out of 10__

Awkward paragraph transitions--try breaking them apart using empty lines (hit "enter" twice).

Grade: 93/100