Summary
The 2009 filmThe Blind Sidetells the compelling real-life story of Michael Oher, the Tuohy family, and Michael’s journey to becoming a top football player.The Blind Sidehad a happy ending that has unfortunately since been sullied due toallegations that the Touhy family lied to Michael.Despite the controversy around the film,The Blind Sideremains popularand is widely considered one ofthe best movies based on a true sports story.
InThe Blind Side, the Tuohy family takes Michael, a homeless, traumatized 17-year-old, into their home, giving him a second chance and the opportunity to become a football star. It’s an inspiring story that reminds viewers of the power of compassion. A major reason for its popularity is its performances, with the movie earning Sandra Bullock (Leigh Anne Tuohy) an Academy Award. Bullock is joined by a strong supportingcast inThe Blind Side,which helped make it more than just a sports biopic.
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Leanne Tuohy’s Final Quote In The Blind Side Explained
Why Leigh Anne Tuohy Thanks God & Lawrence Taylor
The Blind Sideopens with a monologue from Leigh Anne over footage of Washington Commanders quarterback Joe Theismann’s career-ending injury in an 1985 NFL game against the New York Giants. Leigh Anne breaks down the clip, explaining how it happened in just four seconds (which she counts in Mississsippis) that changed football forever. Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor was, according to Leigh Anne,“the best defensive player in the NFL,” who sacked Theismann, bending his leg at an unnatural angle and breaking it.
Leigh Anne goes on to explain that the second-highest-paid position in the NFL is left tackle, and it’s thanks to Lawrence Taylor. The role of a left tackle is to protect the quarterback’s blindside. The position became more important after Theismann’s injury, with teams seeking great left tackles, and paying them well, to keep their quarterbacks from having similar fates. At the end ofThe Blind Side, Leigh Anne discusses an obituary in the newspaper of a Black boy killed in the projects with a promising future.
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The last obituary features a photo of David, who was Michael’s friend and Alton’s minion. Leigh Anne talks about how that could have been Michael if things had turned out differently. If Michael had never met the Tuohys, and he hadn’t dedicated himself to football, he could have become like David or the other boys murdered before they could turn their lives around. In her final line, Leigh-Anne ties everything back toThe Blind Side’sopening monologue and Michael’s new beginning at Ole Miss when she says,
“That could have been anyone. It could have been my son, Michael. But it wasn’t. And I suppose I have God to thank for that. God and Lawrence Taylor. One Mississippi…”
The Symbolism Of Ferdinand The Bull In The Blind Side
Leigh Anne Reads The Children’s Story To Michael & S.J. In The Blind Side
One of the most touching scenes inThe Blind Sideis whenLeigh Anne reads the children’s bookThe Story of Ferdinandto Michael and S.J.The scene happens when Leigh Anne learns that Michael’s mother, who lost custody of him when he was 7, never read children’s books to him as she did to her children. Though S.J. and Michael could have been considered too old forFerdinand, Leigh Anne wants to give him the memory of a mother figure reading to him and make Michael feel the love she has for him.
Collins sweetly listens out of view from the doorway, showing one’s never too old for their mother to read them a story likeFerdinand. The book is about a bull named Ferdinand who isn’t like the other bulls. He likes to sit quietly and smell the flowers, not fight. Leigh Anne realizes Michael is just like Ferdinand when he struggles in football practice, not wanting to hurt anyone. As Coach Cotton points out, most kids who come from backgrounds like Michael’s can’t wait to take out their anger through violence, but Michael isn’t like most kids.
In 2017, the children’s book was adapted into the popular animated feature film,Ferdinand.
Leigh Anne appeals to Michael’s protective instincts, in which he scored in the 98th percentile, rather than a desire for violence, as Coach Cotton had wrongfully been doing. This entirely changed how Michael approached football, making him an almost instant star. When Leigh Anne reunites with Michael after he ran off during his scholarship investigation interview, she tells him she thought about Ferdinand the bull the entire time he was gone. Until then, she hadn’t considered if Michael actually wanted to play football, and she didn’t want to change who Michael was, as others tried to do with Ferdinand.
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Why The Movie Is Called The Blind Side
The Blind Side Is A Football Reference
The Blind Side’smovie title is said in the movie’s dialogue when referencing football. As Leigh Anne establishes in her opening monologue, it’s a left tackle’s job to protect the quarterback’s blindside. This is a fitting title for the movie, considering Michael’s a left tackle, but the title has a meaning beyond football. The scene where Leigh Anne breaks down Michael’s job as the quarterback’s protector is one of the most important and memorable in the movie.
Leigh Anne reminds Michael of a time he’d previously protected her and how he stopped the airbag from hurting S.J. when they got in a car accident. She compares the team to his family and when he looks at his quarterback, whose blindside he has to protect, she says he should think of her. Thus,The Blind Side’stitle touches on a major theme in the film: protection. For Michael, having a family is about protection, and while the Tuohy family protects him by sheltering him in a safer neighborhood, he protects them in return.
A quarterback’s blindside is what they can’t see. Before meeting Michael, the characters were blind to what people like him went through. Whether this blindness was intentional, Michael helped them get rid of that blindness. Some have alsointerpretedThe Blind Side’stitle to be about colorblindness, or the idea of not seeing race.While there is certainly a case for that, many see a negative side to the idea that it’s best not to see race, andThe Blind Sideand the Tuohy family never ignore Michael’s blackness and how others perceive him because of it.
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What Happened To Michael Oher After The Blind Side
Michael Oher Became A Professional Football Player
The Blind Sidefeatured a mini epilogue that revealed what happened to Michael and the Tuohy family after the end of the film’s events. The movie ends with Michael beginning his NCAA Division 1 football career at the University of Mississippi, known as Ole Miss. Oher played college football from 2005 to 2008 and was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens as the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft, the same yearThe Blind Sidewas released. The epilogue includes a clip of Oher getting drafted and hugging the Tuohys, who attended the draft with him.
According tobiography.com, Oher had a breakthrough year in his college sophomore season, when he was moved from right guard to left tackle. Oher initially declared for the 2008 NFL Draft but rescinded to stay and play his senior season at Ole Miss, helping them earn their first winning record since 2003. Oher helped the Baltimore Ravens reach the playoffs in his first season with the team, starting all 16 games. In the 2012-2013 season, the Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII, making Oher an NFL champion.
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Oher played for the Tennessee Titans in 2014, and after becoming a free agent, was recruited by quarterback Cam Newton to play for the Carolina Panthers. Oher’s work protecting his quarterback helped Newton win the MVP. The Panthers made it to Super Bowl 50, where they lost to the Denver Broncos. In 2017, Oher was released from the Panthers and retired from professional football. In 2022, Oher married his college sweetheart, Tiffany Roy, with whom he has four children.
Michael Oher’s Career Highlights And Awards
2006
2007, 2008
2008
2009
2013
Why The Blind Side Movie Is Controversial
Michael Oher Filed A Lawsuit Against The Tuohys
As aforementioned,The Blind Side’shappy ending and the inspirational story of Michael Oher and the Tuohy family have sadly been affected by real-life allegations. In August 2023, Oher petitioned a Tennessee court, alleging the Tuohys told him they legally adopted him but had instead tricked him into signing a document that made them his conservators in 2004. This allowed the Tuohys to have control over his legal, medical, and educational affairs, and, according to Oher, they earned millions inThe Blind Sideroyalties, while he received nothing.
Oher’s petition requested the conservatorship be dissolved, an injunction be filed to prevent the Tuohys from profiting from his name, and for him to be awarded compensatory and punitive damages. This has caused many to question ifThe Blind Sideis a “fake” story.The Tuohy family claimed the conservatorship was created because the NCAA allegedly needed him to legally be a part of the Tuohy family to play football at Ole Miss, and their lawyers told them they couldn’t adopt someone over 18. They argued he had known about the conservatorship before 2023, as Oher alleged.
According tothe Washington University Law Review, Tennessee has allowed adult adoption (adoptions of people 18 or older) since at least 1972.
In September 2023, a Tennessee judge terminated the conservatorship agreement and instructed the Tuohy family share related financial records. Judge Kathleen Gomes said she was deeply disturbed by the agreement and had never seen one like it with someone who wasn’t disabled. In November 2023, CNN Flashdocs releasedBlindsidedabout the controversy, which is currently streaming on Max. The Tuohys maintain they didn’t make millions offThe Blind Side, and whenThe Blind Sideproducers defended the movie, they claimed their production company, Alcon,
“paid approximately $767,000 to the talent agency that represents the Tuohy family and Michael Oher…In addition to these contractual payments, Alcon made a charitable contribution to the Tuohy family foundation. We offered to donate an equal amount to a charity of Mr. Oher’s choosing, which he declined.”
The Real Meaning Of The Blind Side
The Blind Side Is About The Importance Of Perseverance & Compassion
Regardless of the story’s validity,The Blind Sidehas some important lessons and strong emotional themes that make it beloved. As aforementioned, one of the larger meanings ofThe Blind Sideis about family and protection. Though it can be considered a sports biopic, much of its success comes fromThe Blind Sidebeing a family film at its core. It’s not just a story about someone finding family but about someone finding an unlikely family.
It’s hard not to be touched by Leigh Anne and the rest of the Tuohy family’s compassion towards Michael inThe Blind Side. They see beyond what most others did, seeing Ferdinand behind the “Big Mike.” He is portrayed as incredibly protective and loyal, so all the compassion, love, and care the Tuohys gave Michael was met in return. When Leigh Anne’s friend tells her she’s changing Michael’s life, she says, “No. He’s changing mine.”
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Though it is understandable whysome have calledThe Blind Sidea “white savior” movie, the story also shows how Michael helped save himself. Though the Tuohy family was a big help to him, particularly financially, everything he got was eventually earned. He is incredibly determined and courageous and persevered through difficult situations for years before meeting the Tuohys.The Blind Sideis seen as heartwarming and inspirational for what the story uplifts and spotlights.
The Blind Side
Cast
The Blind Side is a biographical sports drama film that follows the life of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American teenager who is adopted by a wealthy white family. Under the guidance of his adoptive mother, played by Sandra Bullock, Oher overcomes personal and academic challenges to become a successful college football player. The film, directed by John Lee Hancock, is based on the real-life story of Oher’s journey.
