We finally saw Blind Side last night. It was a sweet-enough movie and enjoyable. But the ending really bugged me. Not the ending in which Michael goes off to college, but the very, very ending, in which the mother’s voice-over talks about the tragedy of another boy from the hood who showed great athletic promise but who dropped out and ended up dead of gang violence or whatever, and the camera showed newspaper clippings about the kid. She was comparing what happened to that kid with what happened to her own Michael.
What bugged me was the implication that it was such a tragic waste that an athletically kid was lost because no one cared to take him in.
But what about the athletically non-gifted kids, eh? Is potential athletic talent the indicator of whether a kid is worth being rescued by a wealthy woman with time on her hands? I couldn’t help thinking about how this story would have been different if Michael hadn’t happened to be talented (and large) and the woman hadn’t happened to be rich. I’m just saying.
I do have to say that I've always liked Sandra Bullock, and I especially enjoyed the character she created here. I wish I had the guts this woman had--the sassiness, the lack of fear of others. I wish I were less timid.
2 comments:
I felt the same way. On the one hand, I was glad the mom was able to use her resources to help someone and that she was able to really see beyond stereotypes and prejudices. At the same time, as you point out, we have to be careful about valuing people just because they seem 'special' in some way. All people are important, even the not-so-obviously talented ones.
For once, I have no strong opinion about this. :)
Except, I do really relate to wanting to be bold. I do seem to have circumstances constantly popping up in my life (including a current situation) that require me to be very assertive, and I hate it. As I've complained before, it's no fun having an independent/opinionated mind but a conformist personality.
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