The Blind Side

In the documentary named “Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People” Dr. Jack Shaheen analyzes how Hollywood show Arabs in movies in stereotyped way for years. In most of the movies even in cartoons Arabs are depicted as rich, stupid or as savage, undeveloped, terrorist people who should be fight against or who need help. So with these kinds of movies they show all Arab people in these stereotyped features and introduce them like that to the whole world without thinking the effects it may cause. However Arabs are not the only ethnic group that Hollywood stereotypes and introduces wrong. There are also lots of movies which represents  other groups like native Americans, African Americans or Jews as people who are placed in the characteristics like “other, different, uncivilized, helpless etc.”. An example of these kinds of movies is “The Blind Side” which is an semi-biographical drama film. Actually its basic topic and message is very similar to other movies , it’s about the white people who help an African American teenager and change his life but the difference is the movie is based on the real life of Michael Lewis who is a famous American football player. The main character of the movie, Michael Lewis who is a silent, invisible teenager grew up in different families in bad conditions. One day Leigh Anne who is white, wealthy, Southern mother see Michael waiting on the road in cold so she doesn’t want to leave him there and she invited him to her house. In the continue of the movie Michael becomes a member of the family, becomes best friend with their son SJ, he ameliorates his grades, joins the football team and becomes a very successful player and he goes to college to play football. So basically this family changes his life. There were lots of critics about the depiction of the race in this movie because again we see the classical Hollywood theme which shows an “other person” who is helpless and different from the wealthy family and the saving, helping theme of the wealthy, white family. The thing that may differ this movie from the others that the movie is based on a real story so it shows that this family really wanted to help this person. On the other hand I think using this real story to make this kind of movie is also shows the message of Hollywood about other groups which they discriminate. So according to this movie and other movies which give the same message, people who are defined as others are always in bad conditions because they are undeveloped and they need help of the white, wealthy ,developed person. These given messages manipulate people about other people who are different from them and shape the society as they want.