My take on the Blind Side

I saw the movie Blind Side this afternoon and I absolutely loved it. It wasn’t gory. It wasn’t science fiction. It wasn’t full of foul language and nudity. It was an inspiring story about a homeless boy who ends up going to a Christian school. When a family whose children attend the same school realize he is homeless they take him in and raise him as their own. The young man they take in becomes a football star in high school, is recruited by many colleges and eventually plays professionally. This is based on the true story of Michael Oher who becomes an All American offensive left tackle.

I liked the movie so much that when I got home I looked it up on the Internet to see what the critics said about it. One site gave it a “C” and sited four critics who were pretty “ho hum” about everything except Sandra Bullock’s performance (and she was good). Another site said, “Sticking safely to proven inspirational sports-movie/fish-out-of-water formulas while holding the inherent sociological issues to the sidelines, the dramedy doesn’t skimp on the crowd-pleasing stuff, but given the setup, there also was room for more thought-provoking substance.”  Ugh! Give me a break.

I know I’m not a professional movie critic. The last movie I talked about on my blog was the kid movie where meatballs fell from the sky, but for what it’s worth I loved the movie for several reasons.

1. I am a teacher. I’m not in the classroom now, but once a teacher, always a teacher.  I’ve had kids like Michael and I’ve seen how public education often sells them short. Too often children get labeled early (troublemaker, truant, slow, etc.) and it sticks with them until they graduate or much more likely, they drop out. The best year I ever had in a classroom was the year I worked with high school at risk students. These were children who lived in poverty with little or no supervision, who were exposed to drug and alcohol abuse and violence. A child whose had nothing to eat and been up all night because their dad was drink and beating up on mom has a very hard time coming to school in a good mood and ready to learn (and yes there are educators that expect them to still be that way). There are programs to help these kids but its often too little too late. The bigger problem, the one that really needs fixing is in the home and until we find a way to fix families, we aren’t solving the child’s problems.

And while the young man in this film was accepted into a private Christian school because of his athletic potential, the truth is many private schools also fall short of helping many students because it takes a lot of money to attend these schools and there just isn’t enough of that to go around these days. Private schools often have such accelerated academic programs that students who learn at a slower pace or differently (Michael was an auditory learner) are often excluded or find the curriculum so hard they just give up. The teacher in me loved seeing Michael go from a struggling learner with very poor reading skills, to a confident young man who raised his grade point average enough to be able to accept a college scholarship. I also loved the teacher at the Christian school who took up for Michael in the teacher’s lounge when the other teachers were talking about him and criticizing him. She went the extra mile, found out what Micheal’s problem was and talked the other teachers into testing him verbally. Does it really matter how a child learns as long as he learns it? And how many children get labeled as “stupid” merely because they don’t have the same set of learning skills other children have? I could go on and on here but you get the idea.

2. I loved the fact that the family who took Michael in didn’t care what the neighbors or relatives said about the fact that they were white and Michael was African American. I love the south and don’t want to live anywhere else but racism in any form is just plain wrong. Always has been and always will be.  Nuff said.

3. Sandra Bullock did an awesome job of playing “the mom.” And if there is a role in life that’s near and dear to my heart, it’s motherhood (and now NanaHood). Women are the glue that holds the family together and the woman Sandra played was a true Steele Magnolia. She was classy, fearless and determined to do the right thing. One of my favorite scenes took place when she marches out on the football field one day during practice and tells Michael to think of the team as his family and that he is to protect them, especially the quarterback. Then she tells the coach that “Michael doesn’t respond well to being yelled at,” and she tells the coach he can thank her later. She was right. Her way of motivating Michael worked. I found myself wondering if coaches all across America would take notice of this scene and remember that just as not every student is motivated the same way, neither is every player. There are other ways to inspire excellence than by screaming and yelling at kids.

4. I’m a sucker for a happy ending. I love underdogs and especially underdogs who succeed. Michael could  just as easily gone back to his old neighborhood and become a statistic, but he didn’t. Yes, he had help and the family who took him in were awesome, but the real star of the show is Michael Oher. Congratulations, Michael. You did good, real good.

5. Finally, I hope the movie inspires all of us to extend a helping hand when we see someone in need. There is a scene early in the movie where the Tuohy family sees Michael walking on the street one cold winter night wearing just a T-shirt and shorts. Sandra Bullock’s character, the mom, makes her husband stop the car and they end up taking Michael home with them. I’m not suggesting that everyone pull over and pick up a homeless person, but I am suggesting that we all do more to help kids like Michael (and adults too) who need someone to care enough to find a way to make a difference. There is something we all can do.

Matthew 25:31-46

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 34 Then the King will say to those on the right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.