The Blind Side

The Blind Side (John Lee Hancock, dir, 129 mins, 2009) is a feel-good film that leaves itself open to two obvious criticisms. First, in the vein of films like Grand Canyon and Remember the Titans (should we also include To Kill a Mockingbird?), it reduces systemic (socio-economic) racism to personal, private matters. That we feel good when we watch this film may salve our conscience on such issues and insure our secure isolation. The Tuohy family consists of caring conservatives, kinder, gentler Republicans who have a black son before they ever meet a Democrat. Those interested in such criticisms of this film can read the review by Joanne Laurier at http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/mar2010/blin-m26.shtml or the essay on Remember the Titans in Erin Runion’s fine book, How Hysterical? If we wanted to take this level of criticism further, perhaps we should dwell on the fact that the Tuohy wealth is based on a series of fast food franchises (often critiqued as cardboard for the masses). Second, and of more aesthetic concern, the film repeatedly avoids (almost all) dramatic tension. It simply does not explore the kinds of problems that we would expect to arise in the mix of race and social class that is the new Tuohy family. Nor does it explore tensions between loyalty to family (the film’s great theme) and other loyalties. Perhaps, we should reread our Aeschylus or watch something like Before and After. Those interested in such criticisms can read the review by Dennis Schwartz at http://homepages.sover.net/~ozus/blindside.htm or that by Nick Da Costa at http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?id=8866.

Having salved my critical conscience somewhat, I wish to confess that I thoroughly enjoyed The Blind Side. Join me in singing, “We Are Family.” It is this that the film is about, not football. In fact, given the premise of the film set out in the introductory voiceover by Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), the football scenes are quite limited. The family, loyalty to the family, protecting your family members’ “blind sides” is everything. None of that is, I suppose, surprising in the film’s conservative ideology. What does surprise, however, is the film’s testimony to the constructed—that is, not natural or biological—nature of family. Family is something chosen, not given. Did someone—the original author or someone among the filmmakers—read De Beauvoir or Foucault?

Beyond that, like all hero(ine) films (Leigh Anne is the real heroine here), The Blind Side exhorts us to heroic virtues like honor and courage. Michael Oher, instructed by Sean Tuohy’s analysis of “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” has the final summation: “Courage is a hard thing to figure. 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. Maybe they know best, but maybe they don't. It all depends on who you are, where you come from. Didn't at least one of the six hundred guys think about giving up, and joining with the other side? I mean, valley of death that's pretty salty stuff. That's why courage it's tricky. Should you always do what others tell you to do? Sometimes you might not even know why you're doing something. I mean any fool can have courage. But honor, that's the real reason for you either do something or you don't. It's who you are and maybe who you want to be. If you die trying for something important, then you have both honor and courage, and that's pretty good. I think that's what the writer was saying, that you should hope for courage and try for honor. And maybe even pray that the people telling you what to do have some, too.”

Perhaps, I shouldn’t be, but I am a sucker for such.