Released in 2009, The Blind Side is an American football movie based on a 2006 book of the same name. Despite mixed critical reviews, it was a commercial success. Below, you will find The Blind Side summary, as well as a movie analysis.
Introduction
The Blind Side is a movie produced in 2009 that focuses on the life of Michael Oher. Michael is a teenager who overcomes numerous challenges, such as homelessness and loneliness, to become one of the most reliable offensive linemen in the National Football League (NFL) of America (Lewis, 2009).
The movie was directed by John Lee Hancock and was based on the book, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis. The movie stars Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher, Tim McGraw as Sean Touhy, Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Touhy, and Jae Head as S.J Touhy.
These characters shape the plot of the movie. Sean and Leigh Anne are foster parents to Michael, while S.J. is their only son who has good relations with Michael as his big brother. Before moving in with Sean and Leigh, Michael had lived in other foster homes, as well as on the streets (Lewis, 2009). This movie is quite thematic because the viewer experiences sad feelings for what Michael goes through and feelings of joy for Michael’s life transformation from solitude and misery to success and greatness.
The Blind Side: Summary Essay
The movie’s plot revolves around courage, communication, and American football. Michael Oher, played by Quinton Aaron, is a homeless black teenager with a troublesome life. Eventually, he is taken in by a well-off white couple, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, played by Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock. Together, the family goes through many challenges, teaching each other many moral lessons.
The Blind Side: Full Plot Summary
The main character in this movie is Michael, a seventeen-year-old black and homeless American teenager. He does not know his father, and his mother is a drug addict. He puts up at various foster homes. However, he escapes in several instances due to various reasons. Hopping between foster homes leaves Michael without much formal education or essential skills that can help him get a job (Lewis, 2009).
One of Michael’s foster parents tries to enroll him in Wingate Christian School despite his poor academic records. His athleticism and passion for football impress the football coach, who recommends his enrollment. Because of his huge stature and young age, Michael is nicknamed The Big Mike by his friends. While at Wingate Christian School, Michael becomes friends with S.J., the son of Leigh Anne, an interior designer, and Sean Touhy, a business guru (Scott, 2009).
One day while driving home, Anne notices Michael walking alone in the rain and decides to talk to him. On discovering that he intended to spend the night outside the school’s gym, she decides to take him home and spend the night. After that, Michael becomes part of that family amid negative criticism towards Anne from wealthy friends about making him part of her family.
Leigh Anne identifies as a caring person, as she goes ahead to seek legal rights to be Michael’s guardian, which gets approved (Scott, 2009). Although Michael starts slowly with the team due to his gracious and calm nature, Leigh Anne is always around during training sessions to motivate him (Lewis, 2009).
Michael impresses most college coaches with his ability on the pitch. However, Leigh Anne discovers that Michael’s GPA is below the required average of 2.5, which qualifies him for a college scholarship (Scott, 2009). Anne goes ahead to hire Michael, a tutor who works with other teachers and helps him attain an average of 2.52.
Michael receives scholarship offers from numerous colleges, but settles for the University of Mississippi, the alma mater of his foster parents. Michael sticks with his decision despite receiving numerous threats aimed at making him change his decision. It later emerges that Michael’s foster parents restrict anyone under their care from joining other colleges apart from the University of Mississippi (Lewis, 2009).
A confrontation ensues between Michael and Leigh Anne, and they disagree. As a result, Michael goes back to the projects where his mother lives. He reunites with old friends who make unpleasant remarks towards his foster parents. This makes Michael angry, and a fight ensues. Their cruelty forces him to run.
Leigh Anne searches for Michael in vain. He calls Michael, who agrees to meet and discuss a few things that made Michael uncomfortable (Lewis, 2009). During the meeting, Anne promises to support Michael’s decisions and allow him to talk to officers investigating his decision to join the University of Mississippi.
Michael moves back to his foster parents’ house and plans to join college get underway. The movie ends with Michael bidding farewell to his foster family. He focuses on his football career while in college and grows into an all-star left tackler (Scott, 2009). The end creates a feeling of joy, as one feels happy for the once poor, illiterate, and fat teenager who came from a broken home but managed to identify and fulfill his real potential despite all many challenges.
Themes & Elements Developed in the Movie
This movie identifies as a film that integrates various themes and elements. The fact that the movie develops out of a real-life story makes it an undeniable fairy tale.
It gives the viewer a touch of reality that human relations depend on. There are two important lessons about human relations brought out in this movie. First, it is important for human beings to reach out to the less fortunate in society. Michael is a teenager who has lost hope of fulfilling his dreams, but the family of Leigh Anne helps him identify and fulfill his potential (Lewis, 2009).
The second lesson is that people need to believe in their abilities and develop relations with people who believe in them. Leigh Anne believes that the decision to make Michael part of her family is right despite objections from friends. Michael has great potential, and Leigh’s family believes in his abilities, which is the reason they do all they can to ensure that he exploits them (Lewis, 2009).
For a keen viewer, the movie also develops the theme of love and family. The nature of life is such that people do not have a choice of who comprises their families. Some people are lucky enough to experience love from both parents and the joy of growing up in a complete family, while others are not that lucky.
However, from the movie, it is clear that these situations are not permanent because individuals can get these experiences from people they interact with in life (Scott, 2009). Michael came from a broken home that did not have a father, while the mother was not resourceful due to her drug addiction.
He lacked the life opportunities that his peers from bonded families had. However, he is able to feel the love of a family later in his teenage years after a white couple that already had two children adopts him. The love shown by others is often influential in how people develop perspectives about life (Lewis, 2009). The concept of family developed in this movie goes beyond nuclear families to include a social unit that shares common values, includes people who believe in each other, and who show love towards each other.
In the movie, challenges of poverty, racial discrimination, as well as drug and substance abuse are evident and well explored. Modern American society identifies as one that adores drugs and looks down upon people from poor backgrounds, as well as a society still incensed with the old habit of treating people based on the color of their skin (Scott, 2009).
This unfortunate reality has for long refused to die out of American culture. The treatment accorded to Michael’s foster parents when they go looking for him in the projects is unacceptable and one that modern parents would not want their children to grow up knowing. The comments made towards Leigh Anne during Michael’s adoption talks also clearly indicate various perceptions that American people still have towards each other.
Humor also develops a lot in this movie, as there are certain scenes that leave the viewer in stitches (Scott, 2009). One such scene is during one of the games when Michael, using his huge body, gives an opponent a block that clears him off the pitch. The scene gets funnier when the coach demands to know from Michael why he did such a thing to an opponent. Michael responded that he was trying to stop after the whistle but was on top speed.
Michael also said he carried the opponent to the bus because he felt the time was right for the player to leave the pitch. Numerous tackles, which prompted the referee to throw a flag as a warning, dominated Michael’s style of play in that game (Scott, 2009). Another element developed in the movie is sacrifice.
Michael’s foster family sacrifices to help him in a unique and inspiring way. They go out of their way to provide him shelter, food, clothing, education, and a career in football. The movie had a good reception across America, with critics giving positive remarks. The most notable remarks touched on the impressive role of Leigh Anne, played by Sandra Bullock (Lewis, 2009). The movie received many nominations and awards, including Academy Award, People’s Choice Awards, and Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards.
Conclusion
The main character in this movie is Michael, who puts up at various foster homes. However, he escapes due to various reasons. The fact that the movie develops out of a real-life story makes it an undeniable fairy tale.
This movie generates a sad feeling for what Michael goes through, as well as a feeling of joy for how his life turns into a success story. Themes and elements developed in the movie include humor, sacrifice, human relations, the importance of love and family, poverty, racial discrimination, as well as drug and substance abuse.
It is important for human beings to reach out to the less fortunate in society. Michael is a teenager who has lost hope of fulfilling his dreams, but the family of Leigh Anne helps him identify and fulfill his potential. It is also important for people to believe in their abilities and develop relations with people who believe in them. Leigh Anne believes that the decision to make Michael part of her family is right despite objections from friends. The movie had a good reception across America, with critics giving positive remarks.
References
Lewis, M. (2009). The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game (Movie Tie-In Edition). New York: W. W. Norton.
Scott, A. (2009). Steamrolling over Life’s Obstacles with Family as Cheerleaders. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/movies/20blindside.html?_r=0