Last night we went to see The Blind Side. All 4 in my party loved the movie. As I often do after seeing a movie, I read reviews on returning home. The reviews were generally positive – 65% on the tomatometer.
The movie, based on a book, is (as Miracle Max might say) mostly true. As Hollywood does, they take a story and redo that story to make the movie they want to make.
The movie worked for us. It tells a story of an athletically gifted boy from the projects who was almost homeless. An affluent family takes him in and helps him achieve both academically and athletically. The boy, now a man who plays in the NFL, is Michael Oher.
Why did the movie work for us? We had no preconceived notions of what the story should be – we went with the flow of the movie. The movie touched you, but was not saccharine.
We live in the deep south – Alabama – and the movie takes place in Memphis. We know all the characters in the movie. The movie worked because it was believable (and the acting worked for us too).
Some critics disliked it because they wanted a different movie. I like the movie for what it is – an inspirational story about a young man who got a chance and succeeded. His chances were not good at the beginning of the story.
The story should remind us of the different worlds we live in. This is not a Southern problem, it exists in every big city, and many rural communities. We do not have equal chances at success.
As a society we should work to at least understand the problem, and perhaps find different solutions to the problem. I am reminded of a recent interview I saw with Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton. They have teamed forces to improve education for the underserved – Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton team up to rally for education on tour
So I see Michael Oher as a fortunate young man, rescued from a bad situation. Perhaps he was only rescued because of his football talent, but he as graduated from college and now will have financial security.
I am reminded that we should do more to allow the less fortunate to succeed. That really is the American Dream.
