Essay about The Blind Side: Michael Oher’s Transformation

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.

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.

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

Unfortunately, his father was murdered in prison so he could not overcome that obstacle. However, he was taken in by a foster family named the Tuohy’s who made him happy and treated him like real family. Biography.com says, “The young boy was finally taken in by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy when he was 16, and the Tuohys became Oher's legal guardians when he was 17”. In his junior year of high school, Oher began to excel in football. By the beginning of his senior year, Oher was the starting left tackle on the varsity football team. He quickly became a top football prospect in the state of Tennessee, which led to multiple scholarship offers from Division 1 schools.” This means that when he was taken in by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and they became his legal guardians he began to excel at school and football. His mother was taken into a rehabilitation center, but this was an improvement since at least Michael was able to see her sometimes. His other siblings were all taken to foster care. It’s amazing that while he had all of these obstacles he still overcame them with a determined attitude and the help of some special people.

The Blind Side is based on a true story about a homeless boy named Michael Oher (Big Mike) who has been living with different people until the Tuohys take him in. Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy eventually become his legal guardians and the story is about how his life improves while playing football at Wingate high school in Tennesee. It shows his struggles with grades, and how the family and Michael are affected by the other. Because of his giant size he goes on to get a football scholarship for the University of Mississippi. The story is about his journey.

Although they divorced it may have had its positive sides to Michael’s developments as he may have learnt to not rush into such a serious relationship and also to be completely sure that the person he decides to marry is really the person he wants to spend the rest of his life with.

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,

Individuals were terrified of Michael, for example the young ladies in the recreation center fled from the swings after saw Michael. Michael constantly expected that no one could make companions with him. Michael's football mentor at Wingate, a non-government funded school, saw football potential in Michael and got him yielded into the prestigious school. In any case, he had learning ineptitudes and still did not have an unending home. Leigh Anne Tuohy, the mother of a Wingate understudy, Collins, and wife of the proprietor of a couple Taco Bell restaurants, gets a few answers concerning Michael's issue and invites him to complete what has been begun at their home. At the point when Michael is in the Tuohy's home, a comfortable relationship was made amidst him and the

With Michael and his circumstances and the welcoming of him in the family this enhanced his

“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

One misconception that people have about Michael Oher because they watched the movie but did not read the book, is that Michael had no experience playing high school football before meeting the Tuohy family. There are many other misconceptions about Michael Oher that people don't know the truth about. The director altered some scenes in the film, so a lot of people don't know all of the facts. The Blind Side is a story about an African-American boy who was living in poverty and had drifted away from the school system until a woman named Leigh Anne Tuohy and her husband, Sean, took him in. The Tuohys eventually became Michael's legal guardians, transforming both his life and theirs. In the film and the book, The Blind Side, there were several similarities between the movie and what happened in reality; However, some of the events in the movie were inaccurate.

Michael Oher might be a name you are familiar with, but it hasn’t always been that way. Michael Lewis’ book The Blind Side tells Michael’s story of how he became himself. Michael is one of thirteen of his mother’s children and was living with her in housing projects in Memphis, Tennessee. Michael is basically homeless as he usually stays wherever he can other than his mother’s. Michael is in and out of school as a teen and is living a rough life. But, Michael’s life changes drastically all at once.

Oskar Schindler once said, “Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.” In the movie The Blind Side, a simple act of kindness changes one man’s life forever. Michael Oher experienced a troubled childhood, in which he was abandoned at a young age. Michael ran away from several foster care families and being homeless, until a woman named Leigh Anne Touhy took him in. Throughout this life changing event, the Touhy family and Michael

Mike O’Donnell, a thirty-seven year old Caucasian man, is the character we will be focusing on throughout this paper. He is a father of two kids, Maggie and Alex, and currently going through a failing marriage to his high school sweetheart Scarlet. Mike is also employed in a dead end job where he has no hope of moving up the corporate ladder. Due to his failing marriage and struggles at work, Mike has become very unhappy with how his life has turned out. Miraculously, Mike is given the opportunity to become a teenage again. He is now nearly the same age as his children; which causes certain issues and realizations throughout the movie. Many issues play out throughout the movie due to Mike not initially being able to fit in with the adolescents. Another common issue that is seen throughout the movie is the faulty relationship he currently has with his family. Throughout the movie he slowly begins to repair the relationship with his families. In the end of the movie, Mike realizes how great his life really was. He is able to become his actual age again, and vastly improves his relationship with his family.