Internal Dialog, Blind Side

The primary influence our perceptions is our Self Concept. While watching this film, I noticed some perceptual errors that the characters made. One of the common perceptual errors is the tendency to assume that others are like us. A lot of the people that interact with Michael make this error. The students at school tend to not interact with Michael because he is a different race and also has a different personality than they do. The teachers also are guilty of this same perceptual error because they’re not used to having students that don’t know the fundamentals of learning at Michael’s

Michael was brought up in poor project housing that was consumed by drugs, alcohol, and gangs. He was pushed in and out of foster homes forcefully being separated from his mother and siblings. As the movie showed in harsh flashbacks, Michael is deeply affected by the forceful separation from his mother. This constant absence from the mother or other supportive figures leaves Michael unable to make a secure attachment to any strong base. Erikson’s stage of trust versus mistrust is displayed due to Michael’s inability to count on the kindness and compassion of others which leads him to withdraw from his surroundings (p 248). This abrupt memory in life affects Michael in his idea of family and commitment. The harsh environment also kept Michael from attending school, and the times he did there was no support for him to even try in school.

He liked his accent. He liked what seemed to be a good heart. He liked the way he didn't treat him like a kid and the way he was unafraid to make mistakes in his new language." In this quote Michael expresses why he admires the rabbi and takes such a liking to him even though the rabbi is of a different religion and has different beliefs. Michael communicates that differences in religion should not have an impact on the relationship of two people. It is human nature to treat others the way one would want to be treated regardless of the differences in beliefs two different people may have. This simple fact of life is personified in every interaction Micheal had with the rabbi since the rabbi treated Michael as an adult and with a great amount of respect and kindness, in spite of the fact that Michael is a Christian and he is a Jew. Michael reiterates the kindness and respect embodied by the rabbi back towards him regardless of the fact that he may disagree with the rabbi's

The helpless nature of Michaels actions show how much Hanna has affected his subconscious and although he is made aware of his actions, his physical dependence comes from the deep scaring within him.

Michael suffers great depression since his dog Ked died. Most of his family and other colleagues address him to see if he is through with Ked’s death, but really he was depressed all along. “I can't tell how sad i really am about Keds versus how sad i am in general”(Cameron 223). In addition, Michael gets sad of unusual things. “I can picture her eating a banana in her tiny office. This, too, makes me sad”(226). Michael gets depressed about Mrs. Dietrich being alone. Also, Michael gets heartbroken about other little things. “I think of her learning to write beautifully as a child and then growing up to be a guidance counsellor, and this makes me unhappy”(227). Michael is not just depressed of his dogs death, but every little problems in his life.

With his family and his passion for football, Michael has become more of a man. He finally speaks for himself as he did with the inspector lady and speaks for his family as he did when he beat up the gangsters that were insulting his “mother”. He is now more confident than before shown by

The lack of ability of creating friendships when he was a child could explain why he always surrounded himself with children, and preferred to be in the presence of children than adults. He always stated that children were pure in the heart and less manipulative than adults. The Id of Michael struggled with the ego. The ego was never able to keep under control his desires and pleasures, allowing his Id to take over. His creation of the amusement park shows how the Id overpowered his ego. The amusement park wasn’t only for children to enjoy, but for him to enjoy and relive his childhood. Freud would analyze this gratification as becoming a core aspect of Michael’s personality.

Through the use of low-key lighting, long-shot and dialogue, Hancock made me recognize the significance of friends and family by revealing to me the positive influence one young teenager can have on a range of people - in this case Michael is having a positive influence on Sean, his football team/coach and Leigh Anne. Not only did Michael influence these characters in a positive way, but they influenced him as well and changed him for the better. I'm concerned about the fact that our society is not improving instead it is becoming much worse with all the stereotyping that is rumoured. Avoid stereotyping others because you are not going to receive anything from it apart from putting others down. A million people did not believe in Michael at the start, but I am certain they changed their view on him

One scene that came to mind was when he was practicing on the football field and wasent performing to his best ablity that everyone knew he had. In the Scene his adoptive mom Mrs. Tuohy helps him understand the position he is playing and how he should allude his players to his family, that its like protecting his family when he is playing. This scene display a great verbal communication concept that helps michael achieve what he was suppose to achieve which was perforimg at his highest level of tallent that everyone knew he had.

Michael struggles making friends. one way he does is in paragraph 21-28 it says Michael hadn’t made any friends the teachers barely notice him. This is probably because his parents dead and he is being quiet in class. But one day Michael went to the pet store looking for something small and living and hermit crabs where a dollar. When Michael got home he showed the hermit crab to Aunt Esther. “Where is he” says Aunt Esther. Then some eyes poke out of a shell.

John Lee Hancock puts emphasise on the fact that Michael is poor and the Touhy’s are rich and juxtaposes these two central characters repetitively throughout the film. This is done to portray to the audience that a person’s socio-economic status can affects an individual’s capacity to learn and excel at the things he may be talented at, in Michael’s case football. Another aspect which is explored throughout the film is the fact that attitudes towards belonging can change of time this is evident in Michael because at first he was hesitant in staying with the Touhy’s but later transitions into part of their family, Michael makes many transitions throughout the film which include from Illiterate to educated and from disrespected to honourable, this movie has a very motivational aspect to it in that it inspires people to push past any barriers they may be faced with. Michael is quickly accepted as part of the family and creates a connection with them and has a sense of belonging with them this is also done at his school when his football coach strengthens Michaels sense of belonging by describing him as “his son” this makes Michael Ohers feel a part of the group and encourages him to excel without the fear in his mind that he is not accepted in the environment he is faced with.

In How to Read Literature like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster uses physical imperfections to tell a story about the character’s past. The writers use deformities to set the characters apart and give them a uniqueness. They try to make a thematic point by using deformities. Physical imperfections can symbolize the character’s morals. Some characters do not use their imperfections as a crutch.

As a young child Michael suffered abuse and enforcement to succeed by his father. Michael has said that this has affected his physical development as there had been times when his father would come to see him and he would be sick. This was just from the fear he had of his father hurting him if he did not do well.

Michael’s character is carried through the whole book and Walter providers his reader with encounters with Michael when he was just starting to make films. Michael is involved in a scandal in his film, Cleopatra, in which he told a doctor to tell Dee that she had stomach cancer instead of what she actually had inside her, which was a baby. Michael met with one of Dee’s friends to tell him that he asked a doctor to cover up the pregnancy, and he chose stomach cancer “...because the symptoms could match up with those of early pregnancy” (140). In these first encounters the reader gets to see Michael's original attitude and goals in life. His main goal is to make money. He doesn’t seem to care much for people and relationships as we see in his actions toward Dee and his wife, “He spots Wife No. 4 through the open kitchen door, in yoga pants and tight T-shirt. He gets the full protuberant effect of his recent investments in her, the top-of-the-line viscous silicone gel sacs implanted in her retromammary cavities, for minimal capsular contracture and scarring” (90). Michael Deane is clearing only looking for his own gain, treating both Dee’s and Wife No. 4’s body’s as his

I feel as if this scene would have been more historically accurate 20 years ago, but there are racially insensitive people all over, some just hide their insensitiveness better than others. Another scene was where in Michael’s first football game, the referees only threw flags on plays that he made, when there was no reason for a flag to be thrown. This I feel is very accurate historically, football and the South are hand in hand, and anything out of the ordinary or anything that threatens a team will not go overlooked by anyone. The referees most likely felt that Michael had an advantage over the other players just because he was African American, not knowing that a few weeks prior Michael couldn’t even tackle another player, and still had to think that the person he was to tackle was a threat to his family.