The Blind Side , the infamous 2009 film starring Sandra Bullock as a determined white woman dead set on changing a young Black football player’s life, has gone down as one of the most egregious instances of “white savior” syndrome. But if you’ve watched the movie, you might want more of an explanation as to what went down. Here’s a brief overview of what happened. The real-life story of ‘The Blind Side’ The film is supposed to be based on the real-life story of former NFL star Michael Oher, who grew up in poverty and was rescued by the Tuohys, a rich family in Tennessee led by its matriarch, Leigh Anne Tuohy (Bullock) and her husband Sean (Tim McGraw). The Tuohys connect with Oher ( Quinton Aaron ) after learning more about his home life–his mother Denise (Adriane Lenox) is a drug addict and he doesn’t have any relationship with his father; in fact, he doesn’t even know who his father is. He’s also failing out of high school, with most of his teachers, save for his science teacher,...
