The Blind Side and Marginalization

Marginalization can be seen as the most harmful form of stereotyping. Marginalization is the exclusion from meaningful participation in society. This can be seen as the most dangerous form of oppression. In it's most extreme cases, marginalization can exterminate whole groups from society, something that can be seen in history books all over the world. Today however, we are not focusing on the history books, but rather the movie The Blind Side.

The Blind Side is a movie about the true life events of NFL footballer Michael Oher. The Oscar nominated movie portrayed Oher's life from the time he went to live with Tuohy's. Oher is enrolled in Wingate Christian School despite having a poor academic record. From the beginning of the movie Oher is pushed into sports because of his large stature.

This movie shows how marginalization can be portrayed in mainstream media without the viewers knowledge, this movie also shows how marginalization happens in every day life because it is based off of Michael Oher's life.

Michael Oher was always passed around through different foster homes because his mother was incapable of caring for him, he was excluded from many programs and services because of his background and color. Even when he is admitted to Wingate Christian School and taken in by the Tuohys, most of Michael's teachers were not willing to help him with his academics because they thought he wasn't worth the trouble.

In a clip from the Blind Side, Mrs. Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) is having lunch with her friends and is shocked by the way they talk about him.

In this clip one of Mrs. Tuohy's friends says "is this some sort of white guilt?", this comment pushed even further the idea that the Micheal was suffering from being excluded from their group in society.