Multimedia
- Harsher in Hindsight: In 2023, Michael Oher filed a lawsuit against the Tuohy family
for deceiving him into signing a conservatorship under the guise of adoption papers, effectively allowing the Tuohys to make millions off of Michael via merchandising and movie deals while he received nothing. While the story has always faced criticism for its perceived White Savior narrative, the revelation that said "saviors" were exploiting him made it even more uncomfortable.
The Blind Side movie
- Anvilicious: The film really beats it over your head just how sad, pathetic and helpless Michael Oher is and how just and righteous the Tuohy family is for taking pity on him and bettering his life. What was intended as a message against prejudice and in favor of helping out the needing comes off as condescending at best, and with an article in which Oher reveals that the Tuohy family did in fact exploit him, it looks even worse.
- Alternative Character Interpretation:
- The NCAA agent is right, and the Tuohys are exploiting Oher in order to make sure he plays for their favorite college football team. This article lends a lot of credence to that theory.
- The scene where Kathy Bates lies to Oher about bodies being under the field at Neyland Stadium is disturbing on multiple levels, not least for the way it recalls the Stepin Fetchit, minstrel show-era cowardly black servant stereotype.
- The NCAA agent is right, and the Tuohys are exploiting Oher in order to make sure he plays for their favorite college football team. This article
- Ensemble Dark Horse: SJ. If the training montage doesn't do it for you, the college auditions sure will.
- Hilarious in Hindsight:
- Sandra Bullock was adopting a baby from New Orleans, who turned out to be an African-American boy named Louis, after Louis Armstrong. Made slightly less hilarious since she's divorcing her husband.
- Michael Oher himself switched to right tackle for much of his NFL career, meaning he never had to protect the blind side again. On the flip side, he would later switch back to left tackle for the Carolina Panthers, fittingly ending his football career protecting the blind side.
- The Drug Dealer played by IronE Singleton, better known as T-Dog from The Walking Dead, tells Mike that, "ain't nobody gonna bite you."
- All the lines about how the Tuohys didn't want Michael to play for Tennessee become this after he signed with the Tennessee Titans.
- Hype Backlash: After it won Sandra Bullock an Oscar, audiences started seeing the movie in a bit harsher light, claiming that it won largely because of White Guilt, that the idea of a contemporary White Man's Burden film is uncomfortable, and questioning some of the plot points and acting as being narmy. This article is likely to cause this even more.
- Oher himself would claim that the movie led to unrealistic expectations about his abilities; hinting that had it not come out he possibly wouldn't have to deal with being considered a bust.
- Oher himself would claim that the movie led to unrealistic expectations about his abilities; hinting that had it not come out he possibly wouldn't have to deal with being considered a bust
- It Was His Sled: Michael succeeds at escaping poverty and reaching the NFL. Being a starter on a Super Bowl champion team will pretty much spoil even non-sports fans.
- Narm: "Michael scored in the 98th percentile in protective instincts." It's supposed to come off as an example of her knowing what's best for Oher and standing up to the coach, but it comes across as awkward and prone to Fridge Logic (what kind of standardized test measures "protective instincts"?!).
- Retroactive Recognition: The Gang leader played by IronE Singleton is best known known as T-Dog from The Walking Dead.
- Sweetness Aversion: Scenes of Oher with the Tuohys lean towards this. Talk of Oher protecting his family especially leans towards this; his protective instincts are treated like The Power of Friendship.
