When the motion picture “The Blind Side” premiered in 2009, it was warmly received and was one of the most popular movies of recent times.
Based off of the 2006 book, the film told the story of Michael Oher, a Black teenager who is taken in and eventually adopted by the Tuohys, a White family. In the film, Oher overcomes learning disabilities to become a star football who eventually becomes a professional football player.
From the time the film was released until now, Michael and the Tuohy’s story has seemed heartwarming.
However, recent events demonstrate that real life is a lot more complicated.
Oher has filed a petition in Tennessee alleging that the Tuohys did not adopt him, but in fact became his conservators when he turned eighteen, and further accuses them of cheating him out of subsequent proceeds from the “Blind Side” film.
The Tuohys have released a rebutting statement saying that Oher has received all monies due him, and in fact Oher attempted to extort $15 million from them by threatening to “plant a negative story” about them.
It seems pointless to try to glean the truth. One can conjecture that it may lie in the mean between the two versions.
Regardless of who, if anyone, is telling “the truth,” how one looks at this sad situation may be more revealing of the American mood than anything else.
To many, the story has been enriching and heartwarming.
To others, it was looked at with caution for fear that it was actually a case of predation with a side of racism.
Stories like “The Blind Side” (or how the story appeared to be) are appealing because they represent an America that many long for – one where love and decency overcomes racism and classism. A story that reflects a society that isn’t colorblind, but one that is lovingly inclusive.
However, many Black people always regarded the story with skepticism. A skepticism born from too many stories, too many situations.
Too many times when Black people have been victimized by White people who had less than altruistic motives.
Too many times when people didn’t see an opportunity to uplift, but an opportunity to fleece.
Too many times when it was easier to accept a nice story without questioning intentions or desired outcomes.
We can’t speak to Michael Oher or the Tuohy family’s hearts or motivations.
But it is obvious that whatever love was present is at best strained, if not evaporated.
If they ever were a family, it is fractured, and possibly irretrievably broken.
Here’s hoping that amid a rush to judgement and cynicism, something positive will come out of this.
It may a wish that is too much to hope for, but that was the moral of “The Blind Side.”
A moral that says there is always a reason to hope, a way to help, and the will to love.