Research Paper On The Blind Side

The world is far from a uniform system. Each and every individual is placed in a different situation depending on everything from location, race, beliefs, and economic status. Psychology looks at how individuals come out of these specific environments and how they transform into an adult through the trials and tribulations of their growth. In The Blind Side, director John Lee Hancock focuses on an athletically skilled African-American teen, Michael Oher, who is transformed from a homeless orphan from the projects into a highly sought after college football prospect through a positive change in family, school, and supportive surroundings.

As infants grow up to be adults, they succeed and surpass phases in their development that prove mental growth has occurred. These phases, such as learning to be independent and being able to make decisions on their own or being persuaded by others, are well explained within theories created by theorists and psychologists such as Jean Piaget and Erik Erikson. These theories were created to show a unique psychological outlook on ones’ personal developmental growth. One of the most crucial phases is the adolescent stage; this stage sees a growth and development in the biosocial, cognitive, psychosocial and moral aspects of an adolescent’s life. The Blind Side’s Michael Oher is a great example of someone who is experiencing the adolescent stage. Michael Oher is a seventeen-year-old African American who grew up in the housing projects in Memphis, Tennessee and was separated from his drug-addicted mother. As a result, Michael went from foster home to foster home until he was adopted by the Touhy’s. Throughout the movie, Michael demonstrated various cognitive and psychosocial developments. Even through his struggles and experiences, he was able to overcome the obstacles and become successful as a student and as an athlete.

“Based on a book by journalist Michael Lewis chronicling the real life Oher’s experiences, “The Blind Side” manages to inspire despite its broad-strokes approach to characterization.”(VLM, 2010) The Blind Side is based on a true story, the story of Michael Oher, a homeless boy with a traumatic past until one women, Leigh Ann, took him in as her own son and changed his life for the better. Michael is now known as an American football player, that was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens. The film, “The Blind side”, produced by John Lee Hancock, demonstrates that a tragic childhood does not necessarily mean one is destined for defeat, as long as there are those who care enough about you. “The Blind Side” uses rhetorical appeals by illustrating ethos, logos, and pathos to teach the audience moral lessons on learning and coping with traumatic life experiences and defining oneself socially through personal actions.

After fulfilling his basic needs, Michael also achieved the safety needs where he had a sense of protection with his newly adopted family and environment that were surrounding him. According to Norwood (2009), living in a safe place and having protection from other is very important for human beings. In home, Anne treated Michael Oher as her own child where she always gives him support such as bought him some new cloths to encourage him to start a new life; she also brought Michael a trunk when he wishes for it. Besides than his adoptive mother, Sean Junior also plays an important role in the changes of Michael’s life. Because of the adoption, both of the boys had become buddies in a matter of seconds. After Michael joined the American football team in school, Sean Junior had became Michael’s personal trainer to brush up Michael’s techniques and physical abilities in football. Collins, daughter of Leign Anne also showed acceptance towards Michael when she ignores her friend’s impression towards Michael and chosen to accompanied Michael when she saw him study alone in the library.

Sean and Collins Tuohy are the final members of the family who influenced Michael. Collins, the daughter, started out quiet towards Michael, but she becomes a defender of Michael. She shows this when she moves from studying at a table with her friends to sit with him in the library. Sean also becomes Michael’s defender and father figure. He signs papers at school as Michael’s emergency contact and takes over the tutors’ lessen to help Michael write a paper. He discusses the charge of the light brigade in a way that relates to Michaels’ life. Michael had not had a father his whole life and

The Blind Side depicts the story of Michael Oher, a seventeen year old African American homeless boy from a broken home, taken in by Leigh Anne Tuohy, a wife and mom of two living in a well to-do neighborhood. Repeatedly running away from the group home after group home, he was placed in after he was taken from him drug addicted mother, he happens to run into the exceedingly accepting family. Only after the catholic high school football coach sees his size and agility he is accepted to the privet school, despite a 0.7 GPA and lack of a place to sleep Leigh Anne Touhy, along with only one of his teachers, take a special interest in him. The families give him

As he receives all these gifts, he becomes more comfortable with his friends and surroundings at home and at school as well. He tested in the 98 percentile under “protective instincts”. This can be seen not only on test papers, but also in near-death situations such as stopping the airbag from killing SJ and protecting Mrs. Tuohy from the gangsters in his hometown. Every other subject his teachers have tested him in, he has failed miserably. Therefore, Mrs. Tuohy hired a tutor, Miss Sue, to help Michael get better grades and learn more efficiently in school. Other than schoolwork, Oher has grown into a great football player as well; he has learned to play his position at left tackle, protecting the quarterback’s blind side.

The movie The Blind Side was released in 2009. It is about a young man, named Michael Oher, who grew up in a poor environment. In the beginning of the movie, Michael was homeless and not currently attending school. All of that changed when a woman, named Leigh Anne Tuohy, offered Michael the chance to stay with her and her family. The Tuohy family was well off, unlike Michael, so it was an adjustment for both the family and him to live together. However, the family was very warm and welcoming to Michael, which differed from many of the other people Michael encountered. In the movie, Michael experienced racism, discrimination, and prejudice towards him from a variety of people.

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

The movie “The Blind Side” originally written by: Michael Lewis is about a highschool boy named Michael Oher who gets adopted by the Tuohy family. The family financially help Michael with his school grades in order to play football, after his grades went up Michael got the proper training to play in his school team. Eventually, he struggles but Sean motivates Michael training him using Football strategies. Sean recorded a video of his sports performance Therefore it made him famous and received a scholarship.

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.

Michael Oher is a complex character, this is mostly due to the fact that he speaks very little, and so in order to understand him better we must look at his actions. In the movie After watching the movie The Blind Side it is easy for one to see that at the beginning of the film Michael struggles with internal conflict, specifically about school and his living arrangement with the Touy family. The first time we see Michael really open up about his internal conflicts is when we hear his poem entitled “White Walls”, in this poem Michael talks about how he does not want to listen to the teachers and that he feels out of place in this new school. With the Touy’s Michael also feels out of place, this is shown the first night he stays with them,

The Blind Side was released on November 20, 2009 by Warner Bro. Pictures, and directed by John Lee Hancock. The film is based on a book, “The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game” and a true story. The Blind Side is a semi-biographical sports drama film about a neglected and troubled African-American boy named Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) growing up in the ghetto with his drug addict mother. Due to his mother’s drug abuse problem, Michael is forced into the foster care system. Michael would always run away from his foster home leaving him homeless. One night, while Michael is looking for a warm place to sleep, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) an upper class Caucasian female finds Michael and decides to give him a place to sleep in her home. Although many of her friends and family judged her for her decision of taking an African-American child into her home, Leigh Anne provided Michael with an education, home family, food, and clothes. She gave him the opportunity to have a future and to become his own person. Adults from the age range of thirteen and older will enjoy The Blind Side because of its cast,

The main character Micheal Oher’s, who is introduced to us through his rough life growing up. Micheal never knew his father and his mother was a drug addict. HIs mother gave birth to a total of fifteen children, who of course due to her drug addiction raised themselves basically. Michael spent his teenage years running away from a string of foster homes and situations. Michael got tired of foster care

“I don't even remember the season. I just remember walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere.” ― Stephen Chbosky, the Perks of Being a Wallflower. After meeting Michael, Leigh Ann, a high class rich woman, whose kids also attend Briarcrest Christian School, sheltered him and took care of him in her house. She treated him as if he was her own son. In one quick scene, the director indicates that Leigh Ann grew up a racist house through her high social class friends. But despite that, Leigh Ann did not let that shape her, in fact, she was very happy when she was taking care of Michael “I am happy; it has everything to do with Michael” she said one in the movie. On the other hand, for Michael, meeting Leigh Ann was probably the biggest life changing event during his life. When she took him in a took care of him and ensured that he has a happy life just like any of her children do, Michael felt something he has probably never felt before. Belonging. Leigh Ann provided him with things that he did not have the ability to have as a kid such as bedtime stories from children’s books, having a person that he could talk to and having a person who greatly cared about him. Furthermore, Leigh Ann greatly influenced his football career and she was his biggest supporter. She provided him with a tutor to raise his academic performance so he can attain a scholarship. She encouraged him, protected him and taught him the value of family and the importance of protecting them. Towards the end of the movie, Leigh Ann decides to adopt Michael legally. She was surprised that when she got to a government official, they said that she would only need to sign some papers without consulting his biological mother. She decides to look for Michael’s biological mother and request her permission to legally adopt Michael. Additionally, Leigh