The Blind Side, a Hollywood Film

1556 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Conclusion for the blind side film analysis

Have you ever wondered why so many films portray the story of a poor, abused, homeless, colored person that is eventually rescued by a smart, rich, white person? Every few years, there is a new film made that captures this same story, but the way the viewer is affected by the representation of race changes quite often. This idea gets old to many viewers who may agree with the idea of race being addressed in film, but not in the same way all the time. When a rich, white, republican family in the South takes in a homeless black boy to live with them, they struggle with the disapproval of society and their own insecurity. The Blind Side, a Hollywood film released in 2009 by director, John Hancock, represents the idea of race in this conventional, racist fashion.
The Blind Side, based on a true story, is about a seventeen year old, large, physically distinguished black boy, Michael Oher, who grew up in the projects in Memphis. This movie captures his disturbing life. Out of circumstances which include Coach Cotton's belief that he would advance the school's football team based mostly on his size and the way he moves, Michael is accepted into Wingate Christian School - an exclusive white private school - despite his disturbing 0.6 GPA. After Michael starts attending Wingate, most of his teachers believe there is no way to teach him except Mrs. Boswell, his science teacher; she begins to understand that he learns differently from the rest of the students. Believing he has no one to help him, Leigh Anne Tuohy- mother of Wingate students, Collins and S.J. Tuohy, and wife to Sean Tuohy, franchise owner of several Taco Bells - invites Michael to stay in the Tuohy's expensive home for the night. But that one night slowly turns into weeks, ...

... middle of paper ...

... the tale told was worthy of being on film. But, along with many other films out there, its racial representation stereotyped blacks as lower humans than whites. Because of Michael’s portrayal as a simple- minded child and the fact that once again white man had to step in to save the day, The Blind Side expresses race in a way that is especially negative towards blacks.

Works Cited

Puig, Claudia. "Strong Acting Can't Outrun Shallow Tale in ‘The Blind Side’ USATODAY.com." Strong Acting Can't Outrun Shallow Tale in 'The Blind Side'- USATODAY.com. USA Today, 20 Nov. 2009. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.

Seibert, Perry. "The Blind Side." TV Guide. TV Guide, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.

Nemiroff, Perri. "The Blind Side." Review. Cinema Blend LLC, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.

The Blind Side. Dir. John L. Hancock. Perf. Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron. Warner Bros., 2009. DVD.

Show More
Related

  • The Blind Side Rhetorical Analysis

    1087 Words  | 3 Pages

    Media such as movies, video games and television, in general, are all created to support some form of social context. This helps with generating popularity because people are able to relate to the form of media. In Greg Smith’s book What Media Classes Really Want to Discuss, he describes 6 different representational strategies that justifies people’s way of thinking. The trope that I will be amplifying is the white savior tactic. In addition, I will connect this strategy to the movie The Blind Side. There are clear examples throughout the film where racism and low-income cultures exist in which the white family is there to help. The Tuohy family from the movie “The Blind Side” serves as the white savior for the progression of Michael

    Read More

  • Stereotyping In The Blind Side

    1233 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sometimes in life we are quick to judge a book by its cover, but once we begin to read, we sometimes often discover that the book we once judged, was something special after all. This is exactly what was demonstrated in The Blind Side. Many people saw Michael and was so bothered by his appearance that they did not bother to figure out who he truly was. It wasn’t until they were forced to deal with him, that people saw him for who he really was. Michael was not just some bad kid from the hood, he was a child with a lost spirit that came from a broken home and a bad situation that needed someone to guide him and show him the true meaning of love. As Christians we are taught to love our neighbors, but stereotyping often gets in the way of that. Stereotyping can compel negative results on a person’s character, but in this case, it opens ones heart to mother someone who needs mothering.

    Read More

  • The Help, A Feel-Good Movie That Feels Kind Of Icky,: Movie Analysis

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    New worldly conflicts arise everyday and many of these conflicts make us question our morals as individuals and as a nation. In both “Flight Patterns” and “The Help: A Feel-Good Movie That Feels Kind of Icky” we are introduced into the conflicts that race bring about in everyday life. It is indisputable that race is hard to talk about and everyone seems to have a different stance on what is racism and what is not. In both stories, race is brought up and talked about in a way that is solely bringing truth to the issue. In Sherman Alexie’s story we see the thought process about race from someone who is not white, and in Dana Stevens’ story we see how a white woman sees controversy in a film that is supposed to be about black women. Both stories

    Read More

  • The Blind Side Sociology

    592 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Blind Side is a heartwarming and compelling story of the NFL player Michael Oher, who is adopted into a family that is a significantly higher social class than he. The story is a true account of a boy that went from rags to riches and depicts eloquently the social stratification in the United States.

    Read More

  • The Nature Of Bigotry In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Let’s begin discussing this well written novel by Ralph Ellison in 1952 called “Invisible Man.” The narrator himself is "an invisible man” (3). “It is told in the first person and is divided into a series of major episodes, some lurid and erotic, some ironic and grotesque” (Books of the Times). This book describes the “racial divide and tells unparalleled truths about the nature of bigotry and its effects on the minds of both victims and perpetrators” (Cover). He describes his criticism and how he was viewed by others. “Paradoxically, is simultaneously too visible, by virtue of his skin color, and invisible, in that society does not recognize him as a person but only as an aggregation of stereotypes” (Strauss 1). He lived in New York City as an upstanding young black man. “Ellison 's use of invisibility as a metaphor extends beyond the issue of race” (Strauss 1). As Ellison describes, humanity of a black man is racially divided and not equal. He tells his story from the safety of an underground hole coming to the realization that the end is the beginning. Not everyone is seen as equal, not even today.

    Read More

  • Summary of Finding Forrester

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    The entire film is based on significantly different racial opinions, opinions of different writing styles and stereotyping of different people in general. Race is a huge issue in the film and many stereotypes are made.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Stereotypes Essay

    1452 Words  | 3 Pages

    For many years, African Americans have faced the challenge of being accurately and positively portrayed within mainstream media, such as American made films. They are often represented as people who are inferior to those of the Caucasian race, and are frequently presented with problems that are related to racial discrimination. The portrayal of African Americans in media such as movies has often been considered a large contributing factor to the racial tensions that still exist in our world today (Lemons, 1977). The movie, To Kill a Mockingbird, sheds light on the portrayal of African Americans in movies, and how stereotypes can greatly impact the lives of those who are not of the Caucasian race.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of The Blind Side By Tackle Michael Oher

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Blind Side is based on the remarkable true story of Baltimore Ravens' offensive left tackle Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron). Michael grew up in the inner city housing projects with his mother in Memphis, Tennessee aptly named "Hurt Village." Michael's story begins with his being homeless and coming from a broken home with a drug-addicted mother, and an absentee father. Because of his family circumstances, Family Services took control of his life as he was growing up. Unfortunately, he was being bounced around in and out of foster homes, and now as a teenager he finds himself discarded by the people he has been living with. By a stroke of luck, and the coach's wish for a player the size of Michael, he ends up being enrolled in a private Christian school where the

    Read More

  • Race Representation in Friday

    1916 Words  | 4 Pages

    Before we get into the movie specifically, we should first talk about representation and how race is represented in the media in general. Representation is defined as the assigning of meaning through language and in culture. (CITE) Representation isn't reality, but rather a mere construction of reality and the meaning behind it. (CITE) Through representation we are able to shape how people are seen by others. Race is an aspect of people which is often represented in the media in different ways. Race itself is not a category of nature, but rather...

    Read More

  • Social Existing Issues Depicted in Fruitvale Station

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first social issue portrayed through the film is racial inequality. The audience witnesses the inequality in the film when justice is not properly served to the police officer who executed Oscar Grant. As shown through the film, the ind...

    Read More

  • How the Opening Scene in Invisible Man Introduces the Major Themes of the Novel

    953 Words  | 2 Pages

    The opening scene of the novel introduces the theme of blindness. As the narrator says, “When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination-indeed, everything and anything except me,” (Ellison 3). This quote shows how people do not see the narrator. The narrator says that people “refuse” to see him. An example of this is when he bumps into a white man at night. The narrator says, "…when it occurred to me that the man had not seen me, actually, that he, as far as he knew, was in the middle of a walking nightmare!” (Ellison 4). This quote is an example of how people are blind and do not see the narrator. The narrator realizes that the man had insulted him because he did not see him. Blindness is a recurring theme in the novel, and shows how people refuse to see the truth in their community. Another example of blindness in the beginning of the novel is the battle royal that the narrator is forced to take part in. All of the fighters are blindfolded, and therefore are blind to see how the white people are taking advantage of them. Blindness is shown as a negative theme in the novel.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Film Analysis Essay

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many times in Hollywood, a movie that intends to portray a novel can leave out key scenes that alter the novel’s message. Leaving out scenes from the novel is mainly do to time limits, however doing so can distort the author’s true purpose of the story. In history, Movies were directed to intentionally leave out scenes that could alter the public’s opinion. This frequently let novel 's main points be swept under the rug. There were times of this at the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement, where white Americans were the only ones making movies. Not many African Americans had the opportunity to be involved in the process of major productions. Because racism in To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is underplayed in the film, it shows

    Read More

  • The Blind Side Belonging Analysis

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Blind Side by John Lee Hancock intended to idealize the social rejection which tensions the perception on how people are sighted “different” or “other”. The first hindsight depicts the acknowledged tourist of a black, homeless teen (Michael Oher) impacted disconnection of environmental surroundings despite his structure of aggression and primal instinct capability on the football field. Hence, his absolute value contradicts the endured hardship on unity within the white community established in the Long Shot provokes the impulsive grouped teachers in the table whilst Michael is isolated on his own. Michael instigates himself to question presiding his alienation from lost disaffection signalling symbolic gesture from the direct speech of the teacher’s opinions on “I don’t think….” reveals the reputation of Michael considered an outcast. The sarcastic tone when “he writes his name…. barely” socially rejects him. His supplementations of childhood obstacles ratify the contradiction of freedom and equality in contrast to the Civil Rights Movement based on colour discriminating the repetition of the word “white” effectively speaks “I look and see white everywhere, white walls, white floors and a lot of white people” optimizes his vain separation and feelings of isolation to project his empathy. The director plays an authentic appreciation to

    Read More

  • The Blind Side Sociology Analysis

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the blockbuster movie The Blind Side, director John Lee Hancock brings to light an emotionally charged and compelling story that describes how a young African American teenager perseveres through the trials, tribulations and hardships that surround his childhood. The themes of class, poverty, and also the love and nurturing of family encapsulate the film mainly through the relationship that Mrs. Tuohy and Michael Oher build during the entirety of the movie. This analysis will bring together these themes with sociological ideas seen throughout the course.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis of Crash the movie

    1325 Words  | 3 Pages

    If this movie were to be summarized in one sentence, one may say that no matter who you are, everybody holds preconceptions and stereotypes against other people. For example, in this movie, an upper-class white woman sees two black men so she clings to her husband, showing she is scared of them. Even though this woman had no idea who they were, she still jumped to a conclusion that they were going to harm her because of the color of their skin.

    Read More

More about The Blind Side, a Hollywood Film

Open Document