The Blind Side

Rating: 8/10 (10 September 2012)

The Blind Side is about a young black man Michael Oher played by Quinton Aaron who receives love from white family. Sandra Bullock plays Leigh Anne Tuohy. Leigh Anne is married to husband is Sean Tuohy played by Tim McGraw. Leigh Anne and Sean have two children S.J. Tuohy and Collins Tuohy played by Jae Head and Lily Collins. Essentially, Michael is homeless, his mother is addicted to drugs, and he sleeps on the couch of a family friend. Michael enters a private school because a coach sees his enormous stature and pleads the board to let him in school. Leigh Anne is spots Michael and figures that he doesn't have a warm place to stay for the night. She makes Michael get in their car and sleeps with them for the night.
During the night Leigh Anne and Sean talk about Michael and if he will steal from them. In the morning Leigh Anne wakes up to find the blankets that Michael used are folded neatly and stacked. Michael had already left their home. Leigh Anne feels ashamed for thinking that Michael would steal just because he is black. The main theme for this film is prejudices. Michael faces them every day in an all most all white private school. The Tuohy's experiences it because their friends and family don't understand why they would care so much for a young black man.
Save the Last Dance could be compared to The Blind Side because in Save the Last Dance, Sara Johnson played by Julia Stiles, a young white dancer moves into an urban school with mostly black students. Sara meets the prejudices of being the only white girl and hated by the other students just because she isn't like them. In the Blind Side before Michael moves in with the Tuohy's Michael is always surrounded by darkness. For example the scene where Michael is at a laundry mat, Michael is there at night time. Another example is when Leigh Anne asks Michael if he has a place to go to it is night. The contrast of night and day in this movie represents Michael's life, mood, and hope. A dark night is gloomy and you can't see where you are going. Michael's future before the Tuohy's was the same. After Michael moves in with the Tuohy's his life changes and his future becomes brighter.
Another technique used is color. Before Michael moves in he has two shirts both gray. After he moves in Leigh Anne takes him shopping and he gets multicolored polo's. The next day Michael proudly walks into school wearing his new polo. The clothes and colors here represent Michael's confidence. Before he hung his head and rarely looked up but after the new clothes he smiled and was confident in himself. In the Blind Side, a young man transforms into his full potential. Michael and the Tuohy's face the prejudices and overcome them together as a family.