THE ANALYSIS OF THE MOVIE

“THE BLIND SIDE”

Compiled by:
Arief Wahyudi (2013.111.032)
Catherine Esther (2013.111.069
Desi Andreani (2013.111.062)
Elsha Regita(2013.111.051)
Frista Arin (2013.111.070)
Nyai Rohilah(2013.111.053)
Putri Novia(2013.111.081)
Yosef Pratiknyo (2016.111.132)
Tyara Faradillah (2013.111.057)
Table of Contents

PREFACE 3

THEMES 4
FAMILY 4
KINDNESS 4
PERSEVERANCE 5
EQUALITY 5

STYLE 7
VOCABULARY 7
RHYTHM 7

POINT OF VIEW 8

CHARACTER 9
MAJOR CHARACTER 9
MINOR CHARACTER 9

PLOT 11
CLIMAX 12

SETTING 13
TIME AND PLACE 13
SOCIAL SETTING: 13

CONFLICT 14
MAN VS. SOCIETY 14
MAN VS. SELF 15

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE 16
HYPERBOLE: 16
SIMILE: 16
METAPHORE: 16
ONOMATOPOEIA: 16
SYMBOLISM: 16

EXTRINSIC ELEMENTS 17
THE BOOK, THE BLIND SIDE: EVOLUTION OF THE GAME 17
THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK: MICHAEL MONROE LEWIS 17
THE DIRECTOR OF THE FILM: JOHN LEE HANCOCK 17
THE LIFE STORY OF MICHAEL JEROME OHER 18
THE FOOTBALL CULTURE IN THE U.S. 18

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The Analysis of The Blind Side (Movie)

Preface

The Blind Side is a 2009 American biographical sports drama film, and one of the most
successful biographical sports film of all time. It was written and directed by John Lee
Hancock, and based on the 2006 book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael
Lewis. The storyline features Michael Oher, an offensive lineman who played for the
Baltimore Ravens and the Tennessee Titans.

The film follows Oher from his very beginning, through his years at Wingate Christian
School (a fictional representation of Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, Tennessee),
his adoption by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, to his position as one of the most highly
coveted prospects in college football, then finally becoming a first-round pick of the
Ravens.

This paper tries to analyze the terms about the elements of the film, both internal and
external elements.

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 THEMES

A theme is the central topic of a literary works. Themes can be divided into two
categories: a work's thematic concept is what readers "think the work is about" and its
thematic statement being "what the work says about the subject". The most common
contemporary understanding of theme is an idea or point that is central to a story, which
can often be summed in a single word. The themes of this film are:

Family

Family is a big theme to this film. Often times, the protagonist shows the affection and
love to the family and this is a story of a changing person through the love of a family.
The Touhy family shows us that Family is not defined by the blood in your veins but by
the love in your heart by the way they treat Mike. Even though the Touhy Family is not
his biological family Mike still love them unconditionally, and he was trying to fit in by
steping in their foot step (same college with the Touhy family) by his own will.

Heavenly Father. We thank you for all the many blessings on this family. We thank you for bringing us a new
friend. And we ask that you look after us in this holiday season that we may never forget how very fortunate we
are. - Amen. (Leigh Anne Touhy – 00.27.50)

Michael! Michael come over here and get in the next one. Come on. Come on. Come over here. Oh, come on. It's
not like I'm gonna put it on the Christmas card. (Leigh Anne Toughy ask Mike to be on the family picture –
00.45.12)

Sean Touhy : We'd like to become your legal guardians.

Mike : What's that mean?
Leigh Anne : What it means is, that we want to know if you'd like to become a part of this -..family?
Mike : I kinda thought I already was.
Sean Touhy : Well alright then.
(Conversation which stated that Michael has already feel as part of the family far before The Touhy become his
legal guardian. – 1.03.12)

Kindness

This is kind of the branch of main theme. The Tuohy family embrace the belief that
family is not strictly designated by blood, and they never would have learned this lesson
had they not made the first step of kindness. Michael Oher will not be accepted in the

Leigh Anne’s Sister : Honey, you're changing that boy's life.

Leigh Anne : No. He's changing mine.
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(Conversation at the “restaurant with the overpriced salad” which stated that Leigh Anne’s belief that she got the
lesson from her kindness to Michael Oher. – 0.48.13)
 The Analysis of The Blind Side (Movie)

Touhy family, school, football team if he was not a good and kindness kid despite all of
the bad thing that happen in his life.

Perseverance
Michael Oher overcame the obstacles of having a father in prison and a drug-addicted
mother. He journeyed from nothing to be someone and the success of his life was a direct
result of his own determination to succeed. He trained hard and prove himself to be
someone worth of attention. When the NCAA questioned Michael, the organization
struggled to believe that a rich white family like the Tuohys would take an interest in
Michael if he hadn’t proved to be such a talented football prospect.

Coach #1 : Coach, you've done a great job with this young man.
Coach Cotton : Oh, well he was little rough when we first got him. But we, you know, coached him klup a little
bit.

(The scene when Coach Cotton bragging Michael in front of fellow coaches. – 1.26.12)

Equality

Black piece of crap!

(Jimmy ‘the player no. 66’ when play against Briarcest. – 1.18.23)

Aren't you worried, I mean, even just a little? He's a boy, a large, black boy, sleeping under the same roof.
(Leigh Anne’s Sister talking about Michael Oher. – 0.48.21)

When Bert Cotton (coach) trying to convince the board of admissions to accept Michael
Oher (Big Mike) in the school because his athletic abilities first they all reject him
because he is ‘black kid’, he is not from a good and perfect family, he is poor, and his low
IQ but eventually they accept him. And also when Michael Oher first joined Briarcrest
Christian School, there were many teachers who felt that he was unreachable, simply
because he was large and black. They judged him on his ability before they had even
given him assessment tests. It wasn’t until one teacher discovered that Michael could
take tests verbally that anyone truly put in their full effort to teach him.

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Style

Vocabulary
The choices of words from the film is a simple, everyday language, sometimes (depends
of the context of the conversation) the chosen vocabulary is more of a street language. It
is because Touhy Family is a regular family, so the conversation is the one of the
everyday conversation from an regular family in the U.S.

So over here we have a desk, chest with drawers. Here's a night stand, a lamp, Alarm. Sean says all the pro athletes use
futons if they can't find a bed big enough. So I got you one of those 'cause frames was ugly. It's not about to let that in
my house. But I got you some nicer.

(Leigh Anne explain about the furniture to Michael. – 0.37.31)

Sean : "Forward the Light Brigade!" It's like the offense. "Charge for the guns he said." That's the end zone. "Into
the Valley of Death rode the six hundred." "Forward the Light Brigade! Was there a man dismay'd? Not tho'
the soldier knew someone had blundered."
Michael : Someone made a mistake?
Sean : Yeah, their leader, their coach.
Michael : But why would they go ahead if they knew he messed up?
Sean : "Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die: Into the Valley of Death rode the
six hundred."
Michael : They're all gonna die, aren't they?

(Sean explaining the poem “Forward the Light Brigate” to Michael for his essay writing. – 1.38.57)

Shut up? Who t’hell is you tellin’ to shut up? I will bust in a cap yo fat az. Cap yo az, drive east and pay a visit to yo
cracker az mama and her sweet little daughter.
Alton ‘the mobster’ trying to taunt Michael verbally with a street language. – 1.52.45)

Rhythm

The arrangement of phrases and sentences revolves around the character, through
dialogue and action, the characters reveal themselves. Because, it’s more of a drama kind
of movie, the sentences is rather short and the composition of the story is built upon the
reactions from a statement or question. There aren’t so many combination of word
sounds in the dialogue.

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 The Analysis of The Blind Side (Movie)

Point of View

The point of view of this movie is third person limited. The author chose this point of
view because it gives viewers the chance to explore the feelings of more than one
character,which make it more powerful. However, stays very close to the central
character, Michael and Leigh Anne. The movie presents so many scene dedicated to
them, even though don’t really dive into their personal feeling, but rather showing their
actions and reactions.

Hey. I got a just what you're looking for. Well, one thing I know about shopping is that if you don't absolutely love it in the store,
you won't wear it. The store is, were you like it best. So before you choose something think of yourself wearing it and say to
yourself: Is this me?

(Leigh Anne talking to Michael about shopping. – 0.33.31

Sean : Why are you smiling?

Leigh Anne : I don't know. I'm just happy. Really happy.
Sean : Does this happiness have anything to do with Michael?
Leigh Anne : No. It has everything to do with Michael.
Sean : Happy's good.
Leigh Anne : You know what I think we should do? We should start a charity for kids like Michael.
Sean : Okay.
Leigh Anne : Maybe fund a program at Wingate.
Sean : Sure.

(Conversation between Leigh Anne and Sean when they poured their hearts out and displaying their character. – 0.44.0)

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Character

Major Character

Michael Oher
He is an African American teenager who grew up surrounded by drugs and danger. He is
subjected to a childhood that no child should ever have to face. He does not understand
much about life, he event don’t know about cell, ocean, event tooth fairy. He respond to
evil by blocking it out completely until it eventually hits him in the face. He have a great
talent in sport especially in American Football.

Leigh Anne Tuohy

She is a mother with two children, she is extremely thoughtful and strong, she can
impact on someone’s life. She has strong minded, kind hearted, great communication
skill. Anne become the good role model of what she shared to Michael Oher, the most
important value that Anne want to share is Respect is to value the opinion and action of
your fellow peers and accept people as they are.

Minor Character

1. Denise Oher is Michael's biological mother, she addicted an alcohol and drugs.
2. Mrs. Sue is private tutor she has an objective to make sure Michael passes all
study.
3. Alton is the main gang member in Hurt Village where Michael came from. The
reason why Alton plays an important part in the book is because it shows where
Michael grew up from and represents what his life could of been like if nothing
intervenes with his life.
4. Big Tony is the family friend that helps Michael Oher enroll in Briarcrest
Christian School. Big Tony had been acting as an unofficial foster father to
Michael, and when he chose to move his own son to a private school, he took
Michael along for the ride.

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The Analysis of The Blind Side (Movie)

5. Mrs. Boswell is Michael's science teacher. She fight Michael to allow into school
and help him learn and get his grade point average up to passing level.
6. Coach Burt Cotton is the football coach at Briarcrest Christian High School. It
is his decision to place Michael at left tackle, the position that he will eventually
go on to play for the NFL. When Michael is being wooed by various colleges to
play football for them, Coach Freeze negotiates a coaching contract for himself at
Ole Miss, should Michael choose to play there.

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Plot

Introduction/ Exposition
Michael grew up in the inner city housing projects with his mother in Memphis,
Tennessee aptly named "Hurt Village." Michael's story begins with his being homeless
and coming from a broken home with a drug-addicted mother, and an absentee father.
Because of his family circumstances, Family Services took control of his life as he was
growing up. Unfortunately, he was being bounced around in and out of foster homes,
and now as a teenager he finds himself discarded by the people he has been living with.
By a stroke of luck, and the coach's wish for a player the size of Michael, he ends up being
enrolled in a private Christian school where the Tuohy kids go. Michael is a quiet person.
He is shown to have a kind of childlike personality, because he tries to play with
kindergarten children (Rachel St. Gelais) who reject or ignore him. Michael is befriended
by S.J. Tuohy (Jae Head), the youngest Tuohy, whose connection to Michael starts the
ball rolling.

Rising Action
Mike, having no money for food, lives by scrounging half-empty containers of snacks
after school games, which Mr. Tuohy notices, after which he pays for a meal ticket for the
boy. One icy winter night, as Michael is walking down the road to the school gym, where
he has been sleeping; Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) with her husband Sean (Tim
McGraw) and children JS.J. and Collins (Lily Collins), pick Michael up and take him
home for the night. However, when he tries to leave in the morning, Leigh Anne insists
that he stay for dinner, and the children accept Michael matter-of-factly. Soon, Leigh
Anne offers him a room and bed. As she starts offering him greater and greater favours,
she begins to research Michael's records, including his career aptitude test results, where
the only positive score was on protective instincts. Leigh Anne will use that to explain
him how to play in the field. Up to that moment, he wasn't able to get the hang of the
game and its rules, and he wasn't able to understand what his role on the field was. From
that moment, Michael starts to play well and be useful to his team. At the traditional
Christmas card photograph of that year, Leigh Anne invites him to appear in the family
photo. Leigh Anne's friends Beth (Rhoda Griffs), Elaine (Eaddy Mays) and Sherry
(Ashley LeConte Campbell) meet regularly at a local expensive restaurant. The friends

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The Analysis of The Blind Side (Movie)

laugh about Leigh Anne's "project in the projects," but she cuts them off, saying that if
they don't respect what she does, she will stop seeing them. An opportunity arises for
Michael to play at university level. However, he needs his grades to improve, so the
Tuohys hire a private tuition teacher, outspoken and kind Miss Sue (Kathy Bates), who is
determined to succeed, because she, like Mrs. Tuohy, wants him to play for Ole Miss.
During their Geography lesson, she makes a remark about University of Tennessee
burying the body parts of dead people under their football field, which Michael seems to
believe blindly. While he had been leaning toward Tennessee, this event decides him
ultimately to sign on with Old Miss.
There comes a moment when Leigh Anne wants to have a face-to-face conversation with
Michael's mother (Adriane Lenox) to enable her to adopt Michael. Although she seems
unresponsive in the beginning, the mother finally wishes Michael the best. She says that
social services had branded Michael "a runner," and she forecasts that Leigh Anne will
find one day that he has run away for good without giving any previous notice. Leigh
Anne also faces some tough guys from the projects who had made ugly insinuations
about her before. They are left speechless when she threatens them and is not afraid of
them at all.

Climax
Many universities want Michael to play on their teams. S.J. talks to the coaches, and
leads the negotiations on Michael's behalf-- and his own. When Michael gets his grades
high enough, he must make a decision, and he does. He chooses the university where
Sean had played for, and where Leigh Anne had been a cheerleader. That causes
Investigator Granger (Sharon Morris) to move onto the matter before Michael arrives
there. She questions him as though they were holding interrogatory preceding at a police
station. She thinks that the Tuohys and Miss Sue are using Michael to benefit Ole Miss,
their alma mater.

Falling Action
Michael runs away before the interview is over, and goes to find his birth mother. The
leader of the tough guys welcomes him back to Hurt Village, offers him a beer, and
insinuates that Michael has had sexual relations with Leigh Anne or her daughter. This
rouses Michael's protective instincts, as the gang leader threatens to go after the two
ladies himself. Michael shoves him into a wall, knocking his gun aside.

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Resolution
After thinking and questioning Leigh Ann on the matter, Michael realizes that the
Tuohys are now his family, and tells Granger that that's the reason for him to choose that
Ole Miss. The film ends saying that he'll succeed and become a professional player later
on. S.J in see leading the players onto the game field with Michael before all local games.

Setting

Time and Place

Time: 1994-1998
Place: All of the story took place at Memphis, Tennessee.

The school is Briarcrest Christian School, Shelby County, Tennessee, in Memphis.

Hurt Village is a run-down federal housing project in Memphis. Denise Oher, Michael's
mother, lives there.

Social Setting:

"The Blind Side" describes the struggle of a Black man to become part of the White
society. Michael grew up in the inner city housing projects with his mother in Memphis,
Tennessee aptly named "Hurt Village." Michael's story begins with his being homeless
and coming from a broken home with a drug-addicted mother, and an absentee father.
Because of his family circumstances, Family Services took control of his life as he was
growing up.

Michael Oher shows the audience how a black man experiences mistreatment and
discrimination from his white community which is the common trend of American
mainstream. For many years, Michael has lived with different foster families, but ends
up leaving them. He feels that he does not fit because of the different family situations,
status, and lifestyle. However, Michael is not just a common individual, he has a unique
character that leads him to popularity. The film tries to express the situation that
happens when a Black American becomes part of a White American family. The conflict
of the story is, "Will Michael fit into his new found home?"

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The Analysis of The Blind Side (Movie)

The Blind Side plays off of “The Culture of Poverty Theory” in order to elicit emotion as
well. In contrast to the Type-A, powerful, commanding upper-class white woman played
by Sandra Bullock, we are shown Michael’s mother, who represents unsympathetically a
fairly pure stereotype of a poor single black mother. According to the film, she has a
dozen children, and whenever she is mentioned she is depicted as a drug abuser. In
contrast to the white mother who defies stereotypes and exerts her individuality by going
against what her friends expect of her, the black mother is a stereotype. Although the
film tries indifferently to criticize some of Leigh Anne Touhy’s friends for thinking Leigh
Anne’s decision to help Michael was not wise, it still puts the focus on Leigh Anne.

This is what happened to Michael. He faces discrimination inside his own classroom.
Even his teacher demonstrates the differences of how a White teacher interacts with a
Black student like him. It is a form of stereotype that the media continues to express
towards its audience.

But then, Michael is a successful black person gains sympathy among whites, who then
can prove their own color-blindness, but only insofar as they implicitly distance
successful black individuals whom they like from blackness as a whole.

Conflict

Man vs. Society

In The Blind Side, the social-conflict approach fits very well. For example, society is a
system of social inequalities based on class and race. It operates to benefit some
categories of people and harm others. Everyone shown in the movie who has a powerful
status is caucasion (except for the NCAA officer, though she was in the larger city). Also,
powerful people all tend to be wealthy, such as the Tuohy's. The stark contrast between
power between races is seen when one compares the Tuohy's and Michael's mother. You
are able to see both the extreme wealth of some and the severe poor of others. In this
case, the wealthy are rich and the poor are mostly minorities.Thus, conflicts do arise

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when the powerful try to exert their well over the poor. Change isn't covered in this
movie but was potentially happening at the time.

Man vs. self

The story describes about the struggle within Michael Oher. It shows about the progress
from a shy, unwanted, unlovable and doesn’t believe if there is any good thing inside of
him to a successful person who is confident, strong and loving person. The story tells us
about Michael Oher who has overcome his own struggle.

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The Analysis of The Blind Side (Movie)

Figurative Language

Hyperbole:
Players are in position, linemen are frozen. (0.00.36)
He was a basketball star at Ole Miss, point guard, now he owns like a million Taco Bells.
(0.15.21)

Simile:
Then, like a traffic accident, staff begins to randomly collide. (0.00.47)
You want me to throw him out on the street like some dog? (0.11.52)
… feet as quick as a hiccup. (0.02.43)
You just looked teeny-tiny next to him. Right? Like Jessica Lange and King Kong.
(0.46.56)
He's like an onion, you have to peel him back a layer at a time.(0.56.27)
Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane.(1.09.48)
It's full of knowledge, like a file cabinet with maps. (1.28.57)

Metaphore:
You know, his mama's on the crack pipe. (0.07.12)
Well, the big kid's been here for a month, he's still not cutting in my class. (0.13.33)
The Quesadilla saved our ass. (0.19.55)
Oh, that's Big Mike, man. Oh, Big Mike is in the house! (0.30.50)
I thought of hanging around here today. (0.46.23)
Well, I'd have it in shape in two days. (0.57.51)

Onomatopoeia:
you wanna shuck-shuck the blocker. (0.51.45)

Symbolism:
This kid, he acts like he doesn't want to hit anyone. He's Ferdinand the Bull. (0.52.41)
Eyes forward, SJ! Sticks and stones. (1.13.47)

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Extrinsic Elements

The Book, The Blind Side: Evolution of the Game

The book's title, "The Blind Side," refers specifically to a right-handed quarterback's left
side, which is vulnerable to the current breed of monster pass-rushers like former New
York Giants great Lawrence Taylor, who once said, "If I hit the guy right, I'll hit a nerve
and he'll feel electrocuted; he'll forget for a few seconds that he's on a football field."
Lewis's narrative, in fact, begins with Taylor's rise to stardom in the mid-1980s as a
response to the new passing-dominated offenses created by San Francisco 49ers head
coach Bill Walsh. The player best positioned to blindside pass-rushers is the offensive
left tackle, and to be successful he must be not only remarkably strong but also agile.
Oher was both, and thus hugely attractive to major college recruiters.

The Author of The Book: Michael Monroe Lewis

Michael Lewis is a notable author and his best works are the bussiness and e
specially sport theme books. Includes The Blind Side: The Evolution of the Game,
Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, and Coach: Lessons of the Game of
Life. Lewis became a full-time journalist, going on to pen more than a dozen nonfiction
books and numerous magazine articles, with business and sports serving as his frequent
subject matter. He earned a reputation for taking complex topics, particularly those
involving the financial industry, and making them easier-to-understand, character-driven
narratives. Also he is friends with the real Sean Toughy in the college.

The Director of the Film: John Lee Hancock

Hancock was born in Longview, Texas. His father, John Lee, Sr. played college football
for Baylor University and had a brief run with the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL.
Brothers Joe and Kevin also played college football (at Vanderbilt and Baylor,

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The Analysis of The Blind Side (Movie)

respectively), with Kevin playing professionally for the Indianapolis Colts. His
background in American Football really affects the color of the film. It really has the
drama, but also has the groove of sports.

The life story of Michael Jerome Oher

All of the events on the film was happen in real life. Even the script for sure did some
alteration for a dramatic angle of the story. Before the book and the film at 2009, the
story of Michael Jerome Oher was published at New York Times in Sept 24, 2006
entitled “The Ballad of The Big Mike” and it touch many hearts.

The football culture in the U.S.

American football also plays a significant role in American culture. The Super Bowl is
considered a de facto national holiday, and in parts of the country like Texas, the sport
has been compared to a religion. Football is also linked to other holidays; New Year's
Day is traditionally the date for several college football bowl games, including the Rose
Bowl. However, if New Year's Day is on a Sunday, the bowl games are moved to another
date to not conflict with the typical NFL Sunday schedule. Thanksgiving football is an
American tradition, hosting many high school, college, and professional games. That is
why cultural background in this movie is so high, because football cleary represents the
culture in the US.

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