Are we being blinded by The Blind Side?

Everyone loves the story of an underdog, and that is exactly what the film “The Blind Side” is about. The movie shares the story of a young man named Michael Oher, who lived a rough upbringing in the projects of Memphis, Tenn. However, his life is turned around when he meets a woman named Leigh Anne Tuohy.

This story undoubtedly leaves all its viewers with hope that there are still good-hearted people in the world like the Tuohy family. But, it also leaves room for plenty criticism around the truth of the story behind the film and the way it addresses its sensitive topics.

17 year old Michael Oher had been in and out of foster care, since his mother was addicted to drugs and his father had been murdered. Michael had been sleeping on his friend’s couch who's father knew the coach at a private Christian school. He pleaded to let Michael attend, promising that he had the potential to be a great athlete due to his large build.

Michael struggled to acclimate into the life of private school and the overwhelming number of white people. However, one night after a volleyball game he meets Leigh Anne Tuohy, a rich Christian mom whose children went to Wingate school. Leigh Anne noticed Michael aimlessly walking around and decided to take him into her home and welcome him to her family.

Michael had never known his academic and athletic potential while in foster care or the projects of Memphis called “Hurt Village”. However, with the help of Leigh Anne and her family, Michael realized his talents and eventually goes onto play college football at The University of Mississippi and is then drafted into the National Football League (NFL).

This story is a classic example of don’t judge a book by its cover. Many rich white families in the Memphis area had warned Leigh Anne about the potential “dangers” of bringing a strange boy into her home, not knowing who he is or where he came from. Leigh Anne gave Michael Oher a chance to be somebody and he took it.

“They taught me a lot of things, showed me a lot of different things. It shows that if you help somebody and give somebody a chance and don't judge people, look where they can get to,” said Michael Oher, speaking about his family taking a chance on him in an interview.

A life in Hurt Village did not offer up many opportunities for young residents, like Michael, to leave the projects and make something of themselves. Michael was bound to end up like the other residents of Hurt Village who had grown up in severe poverty. However, Michaels gentle disposition set him apart from his friends at Hurt Village.

Kelly Walton, a student at the University of Vermont, recently watched The Blind Side for the first time. “I wonder just how much of this movie is true and how the lives of Michael and the Tuohy family have changed since their story was told to the world,” said Walton. “It almost seems like it’s too good to be true and that there has to have been some struggles they faced.”

Kelly is right. The movie is too good to be true, because some aspects of the story were embellished for the big screen like many other books or life stories that are made into movies.

The Blind Side received criticism for the way it told the story of Michael Oher and the way it portrayed Leigh Anne as a “white savior” to this black boy from the projects. Critics argued that the portrayal of racism in this movie is unrealistic, and that Michael is too much of a “perfect black boy” that there was no real struggle for equality.

Making a movie about racism in the South is always controversial, especially when the movie portrays the white people as the reason for Michael’s success. I agree that the movie could have done a better job at addressing racism for what it really is and not this “fantasy” where people are so accepting. The ways of Hollywood altered the true story, consequently affecting Michael Oher in real life.

Michael has publicly said that he does not like the movie “The Blind Side” because it takes away from his career in football. He says that people don’t take his playing seriously because they have preconceived opinions about him. “People look at me, and they take things away from me because of a movie. They don’t really see the skills and the kind of player I am,” said Michael.

With all these questions surrounding the film “The Blind Side”, there is no question that the movie is entertaining and supposed to be light-hearted. Though there had been harsh words about the film by critics and even Michael Oher himself. “The Blind Side” is two hours of entertainment that will leave you wanting to learn more about the family that is behind this true story.