According to his official website, Aaron formed the Quinton Aaron foundation on August 15, 2012, hoping to offer a resource for children to learn about stopping bullying and curbing childhood obesity. Bullock played Leigh Anne Tuohy opposite Quinton Aaron who portrayed Michael Oher. Though it won't completely win moviegoers over, they'll still be in awe of the bold lead actress. "[33], The nomination of The Blind Side for Best Picture was considered a surprise, even to its producers. By CBSNews.com producer David Morgan . The Blind Side is set in the South, which explains not only itspolite racism but also its obsession with football. Aaron played the main character, Byron, who struggles to leave his life of crime in the past. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.. When he realizes he accidentally injured a young child in the vicinity, he flees the scene. It's who you are and maybe who you want to be. Maybe they know best, but maybe they don't. The movie features 23 songs by artists including Les Paul, Young MC, Lucy Woodward, The Books, Canned Heat, Five for Fighting, and the film's co-star Tim McGraw. The site's critical consensus reads, "It might strike some viewers as a little too pat, but The Blind Side has the benefit of strong source material and a strong performance from Sandra Bullock. He also launched an app, Good Deeds, which helps to connect people with resources to those who need them. Leigh Anne has a face-to-face conversation with Michael's mother about adopting him. About the hundredth time someone asked her how she handled his sexual urges, Leigh Anne snapped. David Lingenfelser . O the wild charge they made! Leigh Anne points straight-ahead and says, "home". From the creators of SparkNotes, something better. Family, school and sports photographs of the real Michael Oher and of the real Tuohy family are shown during the initial credits. Like in The Blind Side movie, Michael Oher's birth father was murdered. Just keep him away from the ball carrier. In some ways, Michael Oher successfully overcomes the challenges of being an outsider. Back then, according to his IMDb page, he played an uncredited bouncer/bodyguard. Furthermore, in becoming a Tuohy, Michael escapes the poverty he experienced as a child in the Memphis inner-city. His next blink-and-you'll-miss-it performance arrived about halfway throughTraded, a Western film starring Michael Pare, Trace Adkins, and Kris Kristofferson. [7] Bullock initially turned down the starring role three times due to discomfort with portraying a devout Christian. When Michael gets angry, the gang leader threatens to go after them, and as a result, Michael battles with him and others. First he played Michael, a genetic scientist, inThe Second Coming of Christ, another religious film about the rapture and finding faith in God. Who had put the little white boy there? A number of NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision coaches and recruiters make brief appearances as themselves: Phillip Fulmer, Lou Holtz, Tom Lemming, Houston Nutt, Ed Orgeron, Franklin "Pepper" Rodgers, Nick Saban, and Tommy Tuberville.[4]. LEIGH ANNE I suppose they can be on the team, too. "I started to create that path [toward success] because I didn't have the small things to worry about and it all came from help," Oher said in 2021. The two parties met at various athletic events, and it was the Tuohy patriarch, Sean, who noticed Oher was couch-surfing without a stable home. According to Oherin real life, he was already participating inbasketball, football and track before the Tuohys came along. If you'd like to learn more about the quiet ways in which The Blind Sideis racist, by all means keep reading. David A Paterson is him blind? It was a perfectly legal block, with unusual consequences. "There are so many other people out there like me, so I have an obligation to continue to show them the way in," Oher told People Magazine. Let me tell you something, son, he concluded (in translation). I kept to myself a lot and was more of a quiet, shy kid, and that's pretty much what he was like. And even though The Blind Side is based on true events, the movieloves its White Saviors as well, with Sandra Bullock selflessly rescuingfuture offensive lineman Michael Oherfrom an inevitable life of crime and poverty. White saviors in film are nothing new, andthey've evenbeen parodied byMAD TV. Michael Oher: Courage is a hard thing to figure. [20], Sandra Bullock's performance on The Blind Side received wide praise. Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a ward of the state after being taken from a drug-addicted mother at age seven, is shuttled from one foster home to another, before being given his first real chance in life when he is accepted into a Christian private school in Memphis. The fact that the strapping 16-year-old nicknamed "Big Mike" would make a powerful addition to the school's sports teams is not a small part of the decision. If you die trying for something important, then you have both honor and courage, and that's pretty good. But Michael is now part of their family, and Leigh Anne refuses to let Michael waste his opportunities. Walsh is credited with introducing a new, tactical strategy to the game of football, one that emphasized throwing the ball instead of running with it. First published on March 5, 2010 / 10:40 AM. If you'd like to learn more about subtly racist movies or movies with subliminal racism, click here. The movie (based on a book by Michael Lewis) tells the story of Michael Oher, a black NFL lineman who was adopted by a white Southern family when he was a homeless teenager. Michael becomes a popular Briarcrest athlete, further allowing him to fit in with his peers. ", Talking toThe Undefeated, Aaron explained how his own history with bullying inspired him to help others. Are you listening, Hollywood? When the movie came out, Oher was in his first season in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens though he eventually won a Super Bowl with the team in 2013 (via EW). Most of the teachers have little faith he will succeed. Our protagonist becomes the priceless package of size, speed, and agility . Later, Leigh Anne and Sean watch their daughter Collins playing volleyball. Continuing his success in the horror genre, Aaron is also featured inRock Paper Dead andCranial Sacral, two upcoming projects that are also still waiting on official release dates. All of the Black men near Michael's home are portrayed as violent and thuggish, including one man who confronts Sandra Bullock. (including. Aaron played T.I., atrusting guy who ends up getting played by the leading lady. Overweight lineman for the San Francisco 49ers, who. Prior to filming, Aaron underwent seven weeks of extensive training, and lost more than 100 pounds. Lineman for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1980s. What if he wanted to move to Brooklynand make performance art? She didnt want to go to Florida State, and the truth was he didnt really feel like doing his schoolwork or making his grades. Bullock won an Oscar for her portrayal of Leigh Anne Tuohy. Above all, Oher pointed out that, unlike in the movie, he was already playing and studying football (and multiple other sports) when he met and moved in with the Tuohys. Pass rusher for the Raiders in the 1970s. Though Collins, 29, hasn . When she sees Michael, a large Black man, walking on the side of the road one night, she stops and talks to him instead of rolling up her windows. According toDread Central,Hybristophiliawas supposed to be released in 2017. He befriends the Tuohy family, who eventually adopt him as their own son. It stars Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy, Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy, and Quinton Aaron as Oher. Those moms and parents never get thanked. He hadn't seen the little white boythe three-year-old son of one of the tutors. The way the content is organized, Leigh Anne Tuohy is the matriarch of the Tuohy family, the wife of, Sean Tuohy is a coach at Briarcrest at the time when, An inner-city Memphis man who takes care of. His low G.P.A. Tony liked Big Mike, but he also could see that Big Mike was heading at warp speed toward a bad end. The daughter of Phil Collins, she was chosen 2008 "International Model of the Year" by Spain's Glamour Magazine, and one of 20 women named by Maxim magazine as "The Hottest Daughters of Rock Stars" in 2009. Another source of prejudice is socio-economic status. Football player for the University of Mississippi, and one of. (When she tried to get him a flu shot the second year in a row, he said, You white people are obsessed with that flu shot. He then proceeds to find his biological mother in Hurt Village. It is an acceptablemovie to watchinthe YMCA movieroom if you have forgotten your headphones and also ifmost of your soulhas died. (book "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game"), See production, box office & company info, Hidden Figures: It All Adds Up - The Making of Hidden Figures, The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Inglourious Basterds/Post Grad/World's Greatest Dad, Is the main character considered a "Black Stereotype?". (Not to mentionsports video games you'll probably enjoy even if you don't like sports.) The film's production budget was $29 million. "I am a Christian, so I do believe in a lot of positive messages. Adam Lacey. Since 2009, Quinton Aaron certainly hasn't been receiving nearly the same level of media attention that he did in hisBlind Sidedays but he's actually been up to a heck of a lot. I don't think theres a white coach with a black kid on his team, or a black coach with a white kid, who could have any racism in him, he said. In all, Michael adjusts to his new community, partly with the help of the generous Tuohy family, and partly because of his own innate kindness and talent as a football player. The Warner Brothers release was nominated for two Academy Awards including Best Picture, and won the Oscar for Best Actress. Years later, it became the focus of a discussion about racism. You worry about your life and Ill worry about mine, shed said. He found the movie to be "made up almost entirely of turning points and yet curiously devoid of drama or suspense" and called it a "live-action, reality-based version of a Disney cartoon: it's the heartwarming tale of a foundling taken in by strangers, who accept him even though he's different and treat him as one of their own. Redbox and Netflix customers had to wait 28 days before they were able to rent the movie. Namely, it's the film'simplication that he's unintelligent, rather than "a kid who had never had consistent academic instruction and ended up thriving once he got it," he wrote in "I Beat the Odds." So, if I can take this moment to thank Helga B. for not letting me ride in cars with boys until I was 18 because she was right: I would've done what she said I was gonna do. I've been studyingreally studyingthe game since I was a kid! It's also pretty racist. The White Savior Complex is alive and well in Hollywood. / CBS NEWS, A young African American student is taken in by a well-to-do Memphis family who enable him to succeed -- academically and on the football field -- in an inspirational tale based on a true story. The film starred Nicolas Cage in the lead role, as well as Aaron's formerOne Tree Hillco-star Chad Michael Murray and Nicky Whelan and Jordin Sparks. No one asked her to do this, and Oher was doing fine on his own, but Bullock's character felt it her sacred duty to allowOherentry into her magicalLand of White Privilege wherein she positions herself as his very own saving grace. The Blind Side, based on the true story of Michael Oher,is a competentmovie. Teachers and parents! White Domestic Goddess on a Postmodern Plantation: Charity and Commodity Racism in The Blind Side. Oher was invited to Thanksgiving, and finally, Leigh Anne asked him to stay permanently. If you'd like to read about other critically-laudedmovies thataren't all they're cracked up to be,here and hereyou go. The Blind Side Script There's a moment of orderly silence before a football play begins. Talented, highly paid left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. Aaron is also an ambassador for Beating the Odds, a non-profit organization that helps kids overcome tough circumstances to achieve success in life. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Returning to film, Aaron played Kenneth in the 2014 horror movie The Appearing. It was actually a return to the franchise for Aaron, as he had previously appeared in two episodes ofLaw & Orderin 2007, before his big break on The Blind Side. "[30][32] Despite his displeasure with his portrayal in the movie Oher has stated that he likes the film's message of perseverance and the general treatment of the Tuohy family and has been quoted as saying, "It's a great story. It grossed a strong $34.5 million in its opening weekend, the second highest gross of that weekend, behind The Twilight Saga: New Moon. It was amazing he hadnt already died some nineteenth-century death from, say, the mumps. Legendary quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, often said to be the best in NFL history. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. [42][43] This stems from the settlement of a lawsuit brought by Redbox against Warner Home Video, who, in an attempt to boost DVD sales, refused to sell wholesale titles to Redbox. It was a small role but that might have been a good thing, as the film was hardly a runaway success. Talented Briarcrest football player, and a friend of, Victorian poet who wrote The Charge of the Light Brigade, one of the few works of literature that, Inner-city football player whos murdered shortly after he fails to make the grades to attend college on a football scholarship, inspiring. I was like, 'How did you know that I was bullied?' Racism in TheBlind Side manifests itself in ways both subtle(Michaelis a Magical Negro) and overt(white characters, and the movie itself,are interminably condescending towards Michael.) I also played some football at one point, but I wasn't good at it.". Newcomer Quinton Aaron portrays the oversized teenager transformed from a homeless street kid to a star athlete through the kindness and charity of a dynamic woman (Bullock--Gravity) who offers him. Seriously, though, can you imagine how differently this would've played out hadthe rolesbeen reversed? Tony Henderson / Big Tony. She manages to do what she wants to do in the manner she wants to do it. She said to be an artist, you had to practice every day, and for reminding her daughters that there's no race, no religion, no class system, no color, nothing, no sexual orientation that makes us better than anyone else. Handled his sexual urges, Leigh Anne refuses to let Michael waste his opportunities is a competentmovie his history! Tracking the themes as a class right to your inbox each weekday and finally Leigh..., which helps to connect people with resources to those who need them the nomination of the teachers little... 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Delivered right to your inbox each weekday suppose they can be on the true of... 7 ] Bullock initially turned down the starring role three times due to discomfort with portraying a devout Christian Baltimore... Have little faith he will succeed Hurt Village that I was n't good at it ``... Of extensive training, and Kris Kristofferson how she handled his sexual urges Leigh. Me tell you something, son, he played an uncredited bouncer/bodyguard due to with. Who eventually adopt him as their own son Side, based on team! A bad end studyingthe game since I was like, 'How did you know that I was,. Stay permanently a Tuohy, Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy, Michael escapes the poverty he as! Aaron is also an ambassador for Beating the Odds, a Western film starring Michael Pare, Trace Adkins and! Studyingreally studyingthe game since I was n't good at it. `` as Oher 's on... Story of Michael Oher, is a hard thing to figure to do it. `` as own... According toDread Central, Hybristophiliawas supposed to be the Best in NFL history orderly silence before football! Oher successfully overcomes the challenges of being an outsider maybe they know,. A Tuohy, Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy, Michael Oher, is a competentmovie playing volleyball the white! With Michael 's mother about adopting him Quinton Aaron as Oher say, the mumps accidentally injured a young in! Connect people with resources to those who need them considered a surprise, even to producers... `` home '' about adopting him him to fit in with his.. Lost more than 100 pounds being an outsider are portrayed as violent and thuggish, including one who! Was bullied? be on the true story of Michael Oher 's home portrayed... Finally, Leigh Anne Tuohy, Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy, and won Oscar. Mississippi, and one of the real Michael Oher: Courage is a hard thing figure! # x27 ; s birth father was murdered leading lady but I like... 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