The Blind Side Essay Example

faced with these barriers and is tackling them head on.

Leigh Anne Touhy provides Michael with psychological and safety needs and social and belonging needs by accepting him into her family and giving him a “new life” this is reinforced when she is told by her good friend Beth that “you are changing that boys life”, and she replies ”No, his changing mine”, the dialogue between these two characters has a deep emotional meaning attached to it in that not only is she changing Michael’s life for the better but he is also subliminally changing her family’s life through his presence even though it is unintentional. John Lee Hancock puts emphasise on the fact that Michael is poor and the Touhy’s are rich and juxtaposes these two central characters repetitively throughout the film.

This is done to portray to the audience that a person’s socio-economic status can affects an individual’s capacity to learn and excel at the things he may be talented at, in Michael’s case football. Another aspect which is xplored throughout the film is the fact that attitudes towards belonging can change of time this is evident in Michael because at first he was hesitant in staying with the Touhy’s but later transitions into part of their family, Michael makes many transitions throughout the film which include from Illiterate to educated and from disrespected to honourable, this movie has a very motivational aspect to it in that it inspires people to push past any barriers they may be faced with.

Michael is quickly accepted as part of the family and creates a connection with them and has a sense of belonging with them this is also

done at his school when his football coach strengthens Michaels sense of belonging by describing him as “his son” this makes Michael Ohers feel a part of the group and encourages him to excel without the fear in his mind that he is not accepted in the environment he is faced with.

Explain how to your related material links to 1 or more of Peter Skrzynecki’s poems. “The Blind Side” composed by John Lee Hancock and “St Patrick’s College” composed by Peter skryznecki both vividly explore the various aspects of belonging. Both Texts depict barriers that may be faced but if are confronted can forge a person’s identity even though these barriers restrict the central characters from belonging at that current time. Both “The Blind Side” and “St Patrick’s College” describe the two central characters being Michael Oher and Peter Skryznecki not belonging to the environment they are introduced to either through migration from another country or because of their skin colour or socioeconomic status.

In Peter Skryznecki’s poem “St Patrick College” peter recognises that he does not fit into the society and environment he was confronted with for eight years shown in the quote “like a tourist” this emphasises peters lack of belonging to the area and bus he caught everyday for eight years and had troubles adapting and accustoming himself to the barriers he was faced with because he was a migrant. Similarly in the film “The Blind Side” Michael Oher also feels that he does not fit into the society and environment he was confront with when he moved into the “white” neighbourhood and attended the “white” school this isolation and segregation of feeling

like he wasn’t a part of them because e was “black” acted as a major barrier for Michael to excel at what he was talented at, but once Michael learnt to not pay so much attention to the factors challenging him from excelling and started to feel a lot more part of the group which is depicted well when the football coach calls Michael “his son” this makes Michael feel a warm sense of belonging and allowed him to work on his self-actualisation needs and motivated him to work harder towards achieving the 3. 0 GPA he needed to go to college and also his football.

Additionally, in Peter Skrzynecki’s poem “St Patrick’s College” peter did not feel a part of the school he was being forced to attend because his mother was “Impressed by the uniforms” this quote portrays a negative connotation from peters perspective about why his mother only chose that school thinking that she was only does “what was best” but was not taking into account peters thoughts and feelings towards the school and whether or not he wanted to attend and be educated there.

This emphasises to the audience peters disconnection and lack of belonging with “St Patrick’s College” straight from the start because he felt like he was not “like them” or belongs to them because he was “like a foreign tourist” The irony is that Peters mother thought just because she was “Impressed by the uniforms” uniforms being symbolic of uniformity and unity and identity and which create a sense of belonging, peter did not feel any of that during his eight years of stay at “St Patrick’s College”. Furthermore, Peters

mother attempt to give her son peter a good education and she is trying to establish a sense of belonging with peter through her actions.

Correspondingly, this is also depicted vividly in the blind side as the Touhy’s are trying to give Michael Ohers the education he needs to get the 3. 0 GPA he needs to make it to college football. These two texts both explore the various aspects of belonging and not belonging and the struggles and hardship the central characters have to go through to excel and adapt to the environment and society around them, to establish themselves a part of the group. Engagement with the text:

My exposure to the two texts “The Blind Side “ composed by John Lee Hancock and Peter Skrzynecki’s poem “St Patrick’s College” has forged by understanding of belonging and not belonging through the various concepts and aspects explored throughout the film and poem. We learn that people can be segregated and alienated because of their level of education, race, skin colour, heritage, and most importantly socio-economic and socio-cultural backgrounds. Which are depicted vividly and explicitly through the central characters of both texts, Michael Ohers and Peter Skrzynecki, where they have both been segregated and made to feel as not part of the group because of society preconceived notions and perceptions of what people must be to fit into societies criterion.