IndexIntroductionThe Blind SideFilm AnalysisConclusionIntroductionThe Blind Side is a film based on the true story of Michael Oher, who was once the offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens. Michael Oher, a black teenager, grew up in a poor area of ​​Memphis known as the “Projects.” He is homeless after running away from foster care and being taken away from his drug-addicted mother at an early age. A soccer coach at an exclusive, predominantly white private school notices his potential in the sport, after seeing his massive build and the way he moves. At first, the school board is reluctant to accept Michael into the school after seeing his low GPA and records; however, the football coach managed to convince them. One night, a white woman named Leigh Anne Tuohy notices Michael walking in the rain wearing only a t-shirt on the way home with his family. His son knows Michael and calls him "Big Mike" at school. Leigh Anne Tuohy offers Michael a place to spend the night. The Tuohy family has a very privileged lifestyle owning several fast food restaurants. For this reason, they give Michael a completely different life than he is used to and open up many opportunities for him. Leigh Anne and her husband eventually become Michael's legal guardians. Leigh Anne Tuohy invests her time in Michael to ensure he can reach his full potential. She defends him when people are racist towards him and calls him her son. She helps him understand how to play football and he turns into an exceptional footballer, sought after by many universities. The only problem is that Michael didn't get a good education growing up, so his GPA might not be up to par. Therefore, Leigh Anne Tuohy hired a tutor to work with him every night. Michael eventually graduates from this exclusive private school and accepts a football scholarship to the University of Missouri. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Blind Side Movie Analysis Throughout the film, I recognized examples of racism, classism, and sexism. However, racism was the most prevalent social issue in this film. An example of cultural racism in the film would be the fact that the Tuohy family and other whites only lived in a neighborhood with other whites and only associated with other whites. The city of Memphis was highly segregated, with whites on one side and minorities on the other. The “white” neighborhood in this film was portrayed as the “good” neighborhood and even Leigh Anne's friend suggested that if she went to the other side of town it would damage her “reputation”. This phenomenon would also be an example of white flight, as only white families living in suburbs and cities continue to be highly segregated even after segregation. There were also several examples of individual racism in the film. For example, when Mike approached the girls on the playground, they both ran away from him. The little girls must have thought of Michael as the stereotype of the black man represented in society. Another example would be the aggressive insults that Michael's opponent directed at him during the football game. The taunt that stuck with me the most was when his opponent said, "you're not welcome here," implying that he doesn't belong there because he's black. A man in the crowd also made a comment about Michael's attendance at the football game. When Leigh Anne went to lunch with her friends, they also always made racist comments (Smith et al., 2009). Their comments were also aexample of behind-the-scenes racism, where a comment is made in an all-white company and recognized as a joke. It seemed like his friends were against what he was doing because he was a person of color. The Tuohys were even racist at some points in the film. The first night Michael stayed at their home they were hoping he wouldn't steal anything and eventually the father said he couldn't believe he had a black son (Smith et al., 2009). Additionally, Leigh Anne asked her daughter if she was comfortable with Michael staying at their home. I believe this question would not have been asked if Michael had been white. Another type of racism, institutional racism, was also prevalent in the film. Many of the minorities had no jobs, most likely due to institutional racism. Even if they had a job, it was always a low-paid job (Smith et al., 2009). Furthermore, the area where the minority lived lacked resources and was of poor quality compared to the area where the majority lived. The film implied that the schools that minority children attended did not have access to the same funding as the schools that majority school children attended. This compromised the education Michael received as a child, giving him even less chance to succeed in life. Although racism was the most prevalent social issue, institutional classism was also an evident problem in this film. In the United States, social mobility is becoming increasingly difficult. Once a person is born into a social class, he or she is likely to remain in that social class for the rest of his or her life. The entire film implied that Michael would not have succeeded if it weren't for the privileged family that took him in. It was clear that the Tuohys had many more opportunities in life, such as easy access to a good education. Michael, on the other hand, did not grow up privileged and was homeless. It wasn't until the Tuohys took him in that he had the resources he needed to succeed in life. While sexism was the least prevalent issue in this film, it is still important to acknowledge. At the beginning of the film, when the Tuohys were attending their daughter's volleyball game, Leigh Anne arrived late and her son told her that she didn't miss much because it was a "girl's" volleyball game. This is an example of cultural sexism. This example may seem tiny, but it's important to mention because our culture continually reinforces the idea that men's sports are much more important than women's sports. Often, women's sports don't receive as much press recognition as men's sports, and people don't spend as much time watching women's sports as they do men's. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion All three of the social issues I just mentioned have some kind of impact on me. When it comes to cultural racism, unfortunately I still notice that most people only interact with people of their own race. I think our country is much better nowadays when it comes to racism, but we still have a lot of work to do, especially when it comes to stereotypes and segregation. Additionally, minorities are more likely to live in poverty and have low-wage jobs. Growing up, my upperclassmen friends were given many more opportunities in life, just as was portrayed in the movie. When I really think about classism, mostly everyone I know seems to have stayed in the social class they were born into. Being liberal, I've always had this belief that conservative people are less willing to help,, 33(2), 193-212.