Movie Analysis: The Blind Side
The Blind Side has been a movie produced that is based on real life events and story about Michael Oher, whom is a African-American football player that had many struggles from a child to his teenage years and eventually became an NFL player after being adopted by the family, the Tuohy’s, who were white Americans. What has made ‘The Blind Side’ a great story is the fact that it tells the true story of a boy with little or no prospects. It shows how someone with limited opportunities in life and it has flipped around just by simple acts and gestures of a loving family. It is a film about human relationships, the need to reach out to the ones less fortunate, but most importantly, it's a film about believing in oneself and following one’s convictions even when the whole world might be against you. In this paper I will be discussing the concepts intercultural communication, self-concept, and relation development. Intercultural communication is a form of communication that aims to share information across different cultures and social groups. Self-concept is an idea of the self-constructed from the beliefs one holds about oneself and the responses of others. The model of relational development is an explanation put into stages that identifies and develops understanding about the communication experiences that interpersonal communicators experience in terms of changes in intimacy levels. The relational stages model is useful to apply in all situations in which interpersonal communication occurs. It is relevant for romantic as well as platonic or same-gender relationships.
The first concept I will be discussing is intercultural communication. Michael is from a different race. Therefore his interaction not only with his new family but others in the public or school is not friendly. When he goes to school for the first time other students avoid him. The relationship between Michael and the rest of the school was first met with fear. His teachers were starting to give up on him except for a couple of them and he didn’t have any friends until he met SJ. It really wasn’t until he started living with the Tuohy’s that he started to get accepted. Also, if it wasn’t for his history teacher introducing another way to teach him, His other teacher would have just let him go until he failed. There were also differences in the living environment Michael was used to and the one he ended up in. Michael lived in a ghetto earlier with his mother who was an alcoholic and drug addict. They were poor and whatever money they had was used by his mother to fulfill her cravings. Living with the Tuohy’s, Michael was starting to get a taste of the good life.
The next concept is self-concept. Ann Tuohy meets criticism from her friends as to what she is doing with a black boy she actually calls her son. She tells them why Michael needs foster family. Michael on the other hand despite his poverty and not an academic giant is determined for success from any angle of life. His determination in life makes him utilize the opportunity he got and became successful both academically, sports and social life. At the beginning, Ann was just being a nice person and really wanted to help Michael. Even though that never changed, she became a little selfish on how she handled the situation with Michael picking out a college. It was something that she didn’t realize until the issue was being investigated. After that she had to take a step back and re-evaluate why she adopted and helped Michael in the first place. In the end, Michael did end up going to the school that she wanted him to go to, but it was not because she persuaded him to but because he truly accepted them as family and wanted to follow in the footsteps of his new family.
The third concept is relationship development. This is the winning part in this movie. Michael is adopted and copes well with the white family. Ann’s husband showed a little hesitation at first which is natural because of a man’s responsibility to keep his house safe and Michael was a stranger. When he got to know Michael, he opened up and accepted him as part of the family and just like his other kids. Collins Tuohy refers him as his brother in disbelief of her friends. She also was reserved in how she felt about the situation until she had gotten to know Michael. The relationship between Sean Junior and Michael was that of brotherhood. SJ was drawn to Michael from the very beginning and they became to best of friends pretty quickly. Michael became an asset to the family much of which was unexpected oh him. The family dynamic of the Tuohy’s was one of greatness. They all trusted and took care of each other. When Michael first came in the picture, Ann was not met with resistance for bringing and accepting a stranger in their home. She was met with normal concern at first to make sure she thought she was doing the right thing, but that’s normal and should not have been any different. Throughout the movie, you could see the love and concern in the hearts of both the Tuohy’s and Michael. It was like they needed each other. Michael needed them to have a better chance at life and Ann needed to be shown a bigger would. At first she came off as snob but in the end was taught kindness and how not to take anything for granted.
When this movie came out, I didn’t want to watch it. I thought it was a sad and drawn out movie that wouldn’t hold my attention. I am very happy that I chose to use this movie for my report. This movie was full of different things to hold and keep your attention. Yes it made you sad but it also made you laugh. The story of Michael Oher is one that inspires and shows that anything is possible as long as you have the right determination and support behind you.