#3 Michael Oher, despite his poverty and homelessness, never joined a gang,
nor did he get involved in criminal activity. Why? What, in your opinion,
stopped him from taking that path?
(I am answering this
question on why Michael didn’t go down an unsafe path before he met the
Tuohy’s)
Michael was born into a world where he was essentially worthless.
His predicted future consisted of popping pills behind an abandoned Laundromat
and drowning himself in cheap alcohol until the inevitable happened,
death. Somehow though, he was able pull himself out of the void that was his
future and stray away from illegal substances. Now, it couldn’t have been easy
for him to avoid the temptations of a quick escape through unlabeled pills, but
he did. Every school he went to treated him as a burden and in his career
aptitude test, he only excelled in protective instincts. Now, with the
childhood Michael had, it’s not unlikely to be expected that he had built up
walls. This was evident when he first came to Wingate Christian School and
refrained away from communication with his peers and teachers. His childhood had consisted of playing hide and seek in a house that bled out
eviction slips and unpaid electricity bill, so it makes sense that he would
build up walls to protect himself and the people he loved. Throughout the
movie, Michael often had vivid flashbacks to his childhood from being torn away
from his mother that came to him in his darkest moments. We can assume that he
was permanently scarred by issues that occurred when he was a child and these
memories could’ve echoed his future instincts to protect himself and the ones
he loved to not fall into or repeat the same path his early family had. I
believe that he never involved himself in drug and alcohol use because of the
flashbacks to his childhood. I believe he was followed by a fear of what might
happen to him if he followed down a path similar to his mothers.
Referring
back to the point of Michael’s antisocial behaviour, throughout the story, he
was often very shy and didn’t open up to anyone besides the ones he truly knew.
This could be related to trauma that occurred during his childhood when he was
ripped away from his Mother. This could’ve developed a fear of loving and
trusting anyone because of how they could easily be taken away from you. His
wishes to be alone might have also been a reason he didn’t want to join a gang.
Now, for arguments sake, if Michael wasn’t scared of trusting someone and he
wanted to join a gang to feel a sense of belonging, maybe be couldn’t because
it re-fuelled painful memories of his youth. He had been hurt before and
besides lending his heart to trust again, perhaps he was afraid that joining a
gang could replay events from his past that he was trying to forget.
Now,
my final reason for why Michael never engaged in illegal activity is the
disorganization in his life. Michael jumped from school to school and never had
a system of organization in his life. His future was as blank as a white wall
because of the state of untidiness his life was in. He couldn’t tell whether
the next day he would be sleeping under the same roof as the night before. He
never had a sense of security in his life. This point brings me to the
Laundromat, where he ran to after his Father had died. Obviously shaken by it,
he sat in the Laundromat watching clothing in the machines swim by. His
Father’s death closed any doors he could’ve imagined on a normal family life.
Perhaps he never joined a gang because he craved something more stable than
that and the washing machine scene, where he watched the same sock roll around
and around the machine represented the need for stability in his life. Maybe he
didn’t escape to drugs and escaped to washing machines so he could imagine what
life would be like if you knew exactly what was going to happen when everything
was routine. Maybe the only reasons Michael ever strayed away from a dark path
was because of a need for reassurance, reassurance that everything would get
better. Reassurance, that like a laundry machine represents, would happen.
#4 In what ways does Michael’s story give you hope for yourself?
Truth
be told, Michael’s story does not give me any hope at all. I regret what I am
about to post, and I could throw together a paragraph on how Michael’s success
in football is leading me towards a path of self righteousness, but in all
honesty, this story acts as nothing more to me than something you read on a
cold Winter’s day when you run out of Chicken
Noodle Soup for the Soul books to read. I could throw together some essay
on how this story is leading me to try harder on school, but as I’m typing
this, I literally have episodes of Gossip
Girl playing on the other half of my screen. I’m regretting what I am about to say since it’s
notable that you, Ms. Kilgour, really enjoyed this movie, but the only thing
that makes me feel the least bit energized and excited for my future is a Spice
Girls song. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love a success story more than anyone, I
mean I’ve based hundreds of my own personal autobiography’s off of the movie Forrest Gump, but the only part of
Michael’s story that gives me hope is that my fashion decisions might be better
than at least one person. Yes, it was very moving that he created an amazing
future for himself and worked hard not only physically but mentally so he could
get accepted into a good university, but everyday in school some guidance
counselor shoves a flyer in your face on how you can be the next success story.
Everyday you read about what amazing people have accomplished, and it’s not
that I have a cloud of jealousy surrounding me that can’t see the significance
of Michael’s accomplishments, but it feels a little repetitive. The only thing
these stories and movies help me with is how I can exaggerate my
accomplishments to sound somewhat notable on future University applications.
Saying this, I don’t not care for
his accomplishments, I think Michael Oher is an amazing individual, but his
story doesn’t really leave an impact on me. I understand that what Michael
accomplished was not only due to the Tuohy’s and his educators, but the only
thing that this story inspires me to do and gives me hope than I can make
friends that will help me in the future to succeed.
I hope honesty doesn’t mean I fail.
(not that you would mark biasedly, you’re a
lovely and kind teacher)
#6 Who do you think is the hero of this film? Justify your answer.
I
believe that the hero of this story is Leigh-Anne. Michael, without Leigh-Anne,
was likely to just turn out to be like many of this community: A forgotten face
except for a 2-line article written about his death on a low-budget newspaper.
It is horrible to say, but Michael would be nothing without Leigh-Anne. She fed
him, clothed him, loved him, and shaped him into a world-class, successful,
friendly athlete and friend. She brought him into her heart and saved him from
a possible future of popping pills and dreaming of what could’ve been. She
acted as a true motherly figure, she was pushy, but not overbearing and even
though she and Michael are so different, she learnt to love him and understand
him. Now, saying this, what Leigh-Anne did to Michael to turn him into the man
he is today follows as:
- · Never judged him for what he couldn’t control. She didn’t stick up her nose at him for coming for a poverty-ridden family and for his race. She accepted him and slowly began to introduce him into people that helped him open up his heart: S.J. was a great example as he and Michael quickly formed a strong bond. The bond formed between him and S.J. helped Michael escape from his fears of abandonment (see #3) and truly care for someone (i.e. saving S.J. from an airbag).
- · Believed in him. She understood that he wasn’t well-read or well-educated and he would have trouble feeling comfortable in a new environment, but she took her time to show that he had a chance to become someone great not only with her love when she came to all his football games but also her trust, which she displayed in him when she bought him a car, and her effort to better his skills and not his personality through tutoring and getting him read for University (educationally wise) and through understanding him as a person. This was displayed when she encouraged him to tackle others on an opposing team not to hurt them, but to protect his team, his family. It was evident she didn’t change his loving personality when in a game, after tackling someone, Michael helped them up to show that it wasn’t personal.
- · Loved him. She opened up heart to him and showed him what a real family could be through family meals such as Thanksgiving and letting him into her family. She grew to love him and even had to cover up her tears when she sent him off to University and Michael grew to love her and was proud to call the Tuohy’s his family. She did so much not only physically to get him into a University but showed him that he could love and others would always love him. She became his Mother, someone who would love him, read stories to him, and nurture him into an amazing person.
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