Because it could motivate or hopefully inspire kids to do the same.". I've been studyingreally studyingthe game since I was a kid! I'm in a prayer group with the DA, I'm a member of the NRAand I'm always packing.". In 2010, he had a guest-starring role in an episode ofLaw &Order: SVUthataired on March 24, 2010. Kick him out of one growth path and onto another. There's no official trailer or premiere date yet, but Aaron's set to play a character called Vick Wilson in the show, which follows doctors that compete in some of the most complicated surgeries in the world. He was one of 12 children born to Michael Jerome Williams Sr. and Denise Oher, who provided their . You just need to mind your own business. Cookies help us deliver our Services. Bullock's character essentially forces Oher into football once she learns of his "protective instincts" on a career-aptitude test. Last Caress even makes a point of noting the "fine performance from the incredibly likable Quinton Aaron.". Sometimes you might not even know why you're doing something. The Blind Side (2009) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Even after Michael overcomes some of the challenges of outsiderness, however, he continues to experience racism and discrimination. You can have courage based on a dumb idea or mistake, but you're not supposed to question adults, or your coach or your teacher, because they make the rules. An All-American at Ole' Miss, Michael Oher holds up a jersey after being selected as the Baltimore Ravens' first round draft pick at Radio City Music Hall April 25, 2009. Michael Oher: Courage is a hard thing to figure. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Molly revealed, "My youngest brother is marrying Collins Tuohy in three weeks. And it should go without saying that, regardless of the real-life origins of the film, these portrayals are implicitly racist ones, stemming from stereotypes of urban Black-ness. Of course, lessons were learned and points of view exchanged. To the credit of the "Blind Side" creative team, the 2009 film does shine a spotlight on the Tuohys' efforts to provide Oher with more clothes, food, and shelter. Teachers and parents! What viewers can and do know is that the real-life Oherhas a career in the NFL. Leigh Anne likens Michael to Ferdinand the Bull, a gentle giant -- a similarity that becomes obvious once he tries out for the school football team. And, of course, to Oher's athletic abilities, football instincts, and determined personality, which were real. 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. In specific, Oher said that it was the stability that the Tuohys provided for him that allowed him to thrive and grow into the person he's become. His name was Michael Oher, but everyone just called him "Big Mike.". She is currently a student at USC majoring in broadcast journalism. In Worthless, a cheerleader horror movie, he played the principal in a school overrun by mean girls and dark magic that sends the main character on a terrifying journey into her past. Michael at first appears lost amidst the Tuohys' generosity: he is unsure about joining their meals. ", Sandra Bullock was reluctant to play a character based on a living person, until she spent time with Leigh Anne herself: "How can you explain that kind of energy? After his role onLaw & Order: SVU, Aaron surfaced as a guest in an episode ofMercy, as well asHarry's LawandDrop Dead Diva. When you look at him, think of me. Struggling with distance learning? It's who you are and maybe who you want to be. To be fair to "The Blind Side," most of the movie takes place after Oher has entered Wingate. By the time [Sean] met Big Mike, he had a new unofficial title: Life Guidance counselor to whatever black athlete stumbled into the Briarcrest Christian School. At the end of a successful season for Michael, a teammate confronts him, making a lewd reference to Leigh Anne and her daughter, Collins, and Michael beats him up. The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family. This is a literal exchange between Bullock's character and a gang member who knows Michael: Bullock: "No, you hear me, B*TCH! Why is the movie the blind side called the blind side? She refers to a scene in which Oher returns to his stereotypically violent former neighborhood, only leaving when Tuohy rescues him from it. The next morning, Leigh Anne notices that Michael has left. 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. Are you listening, Hollywood? "It was terrifying to think of playing her," Bullock said, "but it was a challenge I couldn't say no to." 2016 started off in familiar fashion for Aaron, with a bit part inMothers and Daughtersthat didn't even make the first page of the film's IMDb credits. Big Mike was going to drop out, said Big Tony. While little-known actors can gain a lot of exposure quickly, they can also be pigeonholed into playing one type of character. 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. Menu. "[27] Melissa Anderson of the Dallas Observer argues that the "mute, docile" portrayal of Oher effectively endorses the Uncle Tom stereotype of African-American submission to white authority. In other ways, Michael uses his outsiderness to his advantage: as the biggest kid at Briarcrestif not the biggest 16-year-old in the state of Tennesseehes a natural football player. I stopped it, he said. [7] Bullock initially turned down the starring role three times due to discomfort with portraying a devout Christian. It runs out of narrative steam halfway through -and it's definitely not as funny as it thinks it is -but it is not terrible. All I can say is, if there were more Leigh Anne Tuohys, the world would be a better-run, more harmonious and more productive placeas long as it was by her rules! He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft and played in the National Football League. The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of. The important thing to remember here is that all of the characters who exist in the cityscape but don't havereal-life counterparts are carefully crafted, quietly racist caricatures on the part of the filmmaker. 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. Instead, hed fired off the line of scrimmage and gotten fit. I, in particular, failed to thank one. The circumstances were that the Ole Miss football team, like the Mississippi State football team, consisted mostly of poor black kids from Mississippi. Talented, highly paid left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens. You so much as cross into downtown, you will be sorry. Just keep him away from the ball carrier. Years later, it became the focus of a discussion about racism. He'd be an unorthodox choice, but it may not be bad timing, as word on the street is they're already looking for a brand new Bond. The film is an excellent biographical film for an interesting and interesting story. 182 offers from $2.70. Who had put the little white boy there? However, to do that, he must meet the minimum grade point average to get in so the Tuohys hire a private tutor for him, the outspoken and kind Miss Sue. By her own account, Bullock felt she could not objectively represent such a person's beliefs on screen. [19] It was the third biggest release of that weekend behind Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. "But, in turn, he brought out a side of their family that they didn't even realize was missing. Aaron played the . Football drama fictionalizes events surrounding the true story of All-American offensive tackle Michael Oher. Thompson told her side of The Blind Side at a seminar this week to teach journalists about the NCAA's enforcement procedures. "We needed an actor who would have a real screen presence opposite the whirlwind that is Leigh Anne," said producer Broderick Johnson. Lists about racism, prejudice, and discrimination in the real world and as it is depicted throughout film, TV, and music. [28], In her book, White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo criticized The Blind Side's perpetuation of "negative racial stereotypes", calling it "fundamentally and insidiously anti-black". [14] The Blind Side has also become the highest grossing football movie and sports drama of all time domestically[15][16] unadjusted for ticket inflation. The Blind Side stars Sandra Bullock as Oher's real-life adoptive mother Leigh Anne Tuohy, who is married to a guy named Sean who owns Taco Bell (played by country singer Tim McGraw). But often, it's the lives of the players off the field that grab you by the heartstrings. A big part of the tutors job was to steer the players away from the professors and courses most likely to lead to lack of performance. Also during that year, Aaron appeared in the family filmDancer and the Dame, a drama about a down-on-his-luck detective named Dancer who gets matched up with an extremely special canine partner. Mike's performance on the field, once he remembers to use his protective instincts, is exemplary. "[24], According to Michael Rechtshaffen of The Hollywood Reporter, Bullock's character is an "irrepressible hoot in writer-director John Lee Hancock's otherwise thoroughly conventional take on Michael Lewis' fact-based book." While the trailer makes the film seem like a light comedy, critics like Scott Haeyes of the St. Albert Gazette and Last Caress of Battle Royale with Cheese note that it's actually much darker, but an enjoyable film nonetheless. The debate started with someone tweeting about movies that made them sad. David Furones, . By CBSNews.com producer David Morgan . He was shot and killed, then thrown off an overpass on the west side of Memphis. Never one to limit himself professionally,Aaron also secured a role in the TV seriesGods of Medicine. By assigning him these character traits, the film is able to fit him into its narrative of "Kind But Underprivileged Black Man Who Needs Rescuing," as opposed to Live and Active Agent and Human Being With His Own Dreams, Goals, and Desires. Collins replies that they cannot just throw Michael out. We were all blindsided by the news of her sudden death. "[33], The nomination of The Blind Side for Best Picture was considered a surprise, even to its producers. Paperback. Defensive end for the Briarcrest football team. Movie: The blind sideIn this scene Michael Oher is being teached about the charge of the light brigadeIf you want to know why, I suggest you watch the movie . It takes a condiment-oriented demonstration from S.J.. Why did she assume anNFL career was the only viable path for a giant Black man? LitCharts Teacher Editions. When you look at him, think of SJ and how you'd never let anything or anyone hurt him. You worry about your life and Ill worry about mine, shed said. What is the streaming release date of The Blind Side (2009) in France? O the wild charge they made! Director John Lee Hancock Writers John Lee Hancock Michael Lewis (book "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game") Stars Quinton Aaron Sandra Bullock Tim McGraw Lily Collins (with Bullock at the New York premiere of "The Blind Side," Nov. 17, 2009), was born in England and had already begun an acting career as a toddler before moving at age six to the U.S., where she studied at the Youth Academy for Dramatic Arts. "I've seen that look many times," says her husband, Sean (Tim McGraw). Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does. Its racism, like the film itself, is quiet. 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