I decided to analyze the The Blind Side from a sociological perspective digging deep into the film examining the different people and how they live in society. The certain personality traits and appearances play a huge role in this film when studying it from a budding sociologist. Certain sociology related terms came to mind when watching the film such as social imagination, symbolic interactionism, self-awareness, perspective, and stereotypes. A sociologist will look at this film very differently than any ordinary human being such as myself. They will look hard into the meaning behind certain pictures and interactions, whereas I would just be watching the film for entertainment and pleasure. Interactionism appears a lot throughout the film …show more content…
Some would say these symbols include football, family, his nickname, or a car accident. Because of Michael’s appearance, many stereotypes and generalizations quickly develop creating an idea in people’s minds of who he is and where he came from (Adler & Adler, Joel Charon, 19). People other than Michael’s new family would view him as ‘big’, ‘black’, ‘homeless’, or ‘stupid.’ For example, in the film Leigh Anne’s friends see Michael as “a large black boy living under the same roof.” This upsets Leigh Anne because she sees Michael as her son and does not appreciate the racist comments and lack of support. Looking at the family as a whole would not be the norm in today’s society since there is one black man living with four white people (Adler & Adler, 498). The conflict theory has a lot to do with this point about the norm and one can examine this social conflict into greater detail (Lecture, 2 Feb.). Many would argue about this problem because it depends on what type of family or social class one a person is talking about. Developing an idea about Michael without even knowing his story and background creates conflict and …show more content…
The film gives insight into both extremes of the social structure in Tennessee through the lives of both Michael and the Tuhoy family. Social reality is distorted in the film through Michael’s ability to overcome stereotypes and social interactions and then become a successful, educated athlete. The Tuhoy family brings Michael into their home as one of their own and forms many inseparable relationships that represent social interactionism. Viewing this film from a sociological lens really made me pay more attention to detail and the purpose behind many of the scenes. It was a lot different than how I would normally watch it. I was able to use a lot of terms and ideas from class lectures to help me look at this from a sociological viewpoint. The Blind Side greatly exemplifies many sociological struggles that society faces almost every
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
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.
Taking the bad in with the good, although you may be the perfect classification in order to be targeted in todays society. How you’re classified is based on things such as a persons race, intellect, social class, and appearance. A 2009 film, The Blind Side, written and directed by John Lee Hancock stars, Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, is based on a true story. This movie tells a story that truly depicts simple acts of kindness that has the capability to change a persons life.
“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.
The film The Blind Side was based off of the book written by Michael Lewis and was directed and written by John Lee Hancock. The movie premiered on November 20th, 2009. Warner Brothers Pictures produced the film for a general audience over the age of thirteen because of language, violence, drugs, and sexual references. This is a story of a young African American boy, Michael Oher, and his struggle through life to become a successful human being with the help of the people around him. The Tuohy family, teachers at Wingate, and his tutor, Miss Sue, all worked together to help make Michael the professional football player and writer he is today.
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
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.
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.
After a careful study and a deeper research on an introduction to sociology, I have come to understand that no problem can be solved well enough if one does not have the sociological perspective which is defined as a way of looking at the world through a sociological lens. In fact, there is the need of the lens that will help one to view situations and have the eye to emerge through different views to solve that problem. This mirror has become a doorway that will help one to have a beginner’s mind to approach problems.
John Lee Hancock’s “The Blind Side” explores a diverse range of aspects and notions of belonging through the techniques presented in the text. The characterization of the central character Michael Ohers being a big illiterate black African American teenager coming from a broken home and family sets the context for the rest of the film where he is faced with many barriers restricting his comfort and pushing him towards his total disengagement from the “White” Society. After the Touhy’s accept Michael into their home, he begins his long path transitioning from the old “Big Mike” to the new Michael Ohers. The barriers that Michael is faced with include the school he goes to and the environment he is residing in being a new experience to him
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,
A critical analysis of the movie The Blind Side provides examples of the sport topics Race and Ethnicity, community in sport, and sport in parent-child interactions, and the human communication concept of interpersonal. Race and ethnicity in the world of sport varies, an ethnic group or ethnicity is a population group whose members identify with each other on the basis of common nationality or shared cultural traditions. The term race refers to the concept of dividing people into populations or groups on the basis of various sets of physical characteristics which usually results from genetic ancestry. An example of race is brown, white, or black skin all from various parts of the world, while an example of ethnicity is German or Spanish ancestry
In the context of this extraordinary real life story a boy, depending on which society you
“The Blind Side” is a movie based on a true-life story of how Michael Oher goes through the difficulties in his life before he becomes one of the best defensive players of the NFL football team. Growing up in a broken family; where he had a drug-addicted mother, the father being in the prison and he, himself was always going in and out of the foster homes, as the audience, we all probably have already expected what will happen to this young man.
The Blind Side was based on the life of Michael Oher a teenage African American boy whose mother was battling drug and alcohol addictions, in the projects of Memphis Tennessee. Mike as he is know in the movie was in foster care several times and always ran away to his Mother, thinking that no one could ever love him the way his Mother could, even with her ongoing addiction. Mike often slept at his fathers friends home, but even he could not give Mike the support that he desired. He would wash his clothes in the sink at the local laundry mat, and often had to steal food from the local gas station just to survive. When his only caregiver whose couch Michael slept on every night took his