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To what extent does participation in sport promote character development
To what extent does participation in sport promote character development
Interaction between sports and education
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Many Hollywood produced films glorify the life of a certain person to make the given individual seem more interesting and appealing to the audience. However, in a few cases, the film actually degrades the person in hopes of telling a “rags to riches” story. This was most certainly the case in the film The Blind Side, based on the life of African-American football player, Michael Oher. The Blind Side negatively displayed and affected Michael instead of benefitting him and displaying him in a positive light. In his book, I Beat The Odds, Michael reflects on his life :
It’s crazy now, as I look back at my career and the opportunities I have, to think about how I was living just a few years ago. I had to beg for anything I needed; now I have everything I could possibly want. But before my happy ending, there was a very sad story. (Oher 3)
This quote from Michael shows how the events of his life have had an influence on him and how the Blind Side reaches its intended point.
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The film showed Michael as a player who had no experience or knowledge and needed to be taught almost everything regarding the game of football. In reality, that was not the case at all; Michael says, “I always knew how to play the game growing up .” “Oher takes particular issue with the film's depiction of him as a football novice…” (Payne), because the film made him appear as though he had never played football in his life, when in fact the game was very important to him. By the time Michael reached high school he had accumulated years of football knowledge, “I’ve been studying- really studying- the game since I was a little
African-American players are often negatively affected due to the prevalence of racism in the town. Ivory Christian, for instance, is a born-again Christian with aspirations to be a famous evangelist, but he is unable to pursue his dream due to his commitment to the football team. Because of this, the townspeople have unrealistic expectations of him and assume that he will put all his time and energy into football. Furthermore, there is a greater pressure on him to succeed...
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is an overused cliché that has been analyze by many people. The movie Finding Forrester, by James W. Ellison, shows this theme in a more analytical manner. The movie focuses on an unusual relationship between a young man, Jamal Wallace, and a famous writer, William Forrester. Jamal is expected to fail in school and only excel on his basketball career, except he excels in both and never stops trying to achieve his dreams. He is faced with several obstacles, including racial comment and stereotypes assumptions by his teachers, peers, and mentor.
Media such as movies, video games and television, in general, are all created to support some form of social context. This helps with generating popularity because people are able to relate to the form of media. In Greg Smith’s book What Media Classes Really Want to Discuss, he describes 6 different representational strategies that justifies people’s way of thinking. The trope that I will be amplifying is the white savior tactic. In addition, I will connect this strategy to the movie The Blind Side. There are clear examples throughout the film where racism and low-income cultures exist in which the white family is there to help. The Tuohy family from the movie “The Blind Side” serves as the white savior for the progression of Michael
Set in the 1950s, Michael now stays in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The scene opens with party held in Michael’s house to celebrate the communion of his son, Anthony. Inside the house, he conducts business with Nevada Senator, Pat Geary, who bluntly express his hatred towards Michael and intend to blackmails him. The second meeting is with a man named Johnny Ola, Hyman Roth’s messenger man, who sends word for the hope of future partnership with Michael. The
Michael attended the University of Mississippi, where he majored in criminal justices which was something he was genuinely interested in. He was drafted to the Carolina Panthers in 2009 and began his NFL career. As it is clear, Michael Oher had a very tough childhood. It is very impressive for someone like Michael, who came from such a rugged background, to get out and create the life he has today. However, Michael did not get where he is right now without hard work. He was determined and because of his awful past, he succeeded and found the motivation to make something better of his life. He was used to not caring about his grades and just barely passing in his classes. That all changed when playing the game he loved was on the line. He definitely got his act together when football was a threat for him. Michael realized he had to get his life in order to be able to go to college to play the game he loves, and there is no way he would have ever succeeded if it wasn’t for a past with such experiences. Now that he had opportunities and the tools to succeed, Michael was able to do whatever he wanted to and he had the chance to really
Steven Herrick’s 2001 free verse novel The Simple Gift and the 2009 film The Blind Side directed by John Lee Hancock effectively highlight the importance of stability of place, which could offer comfort, security, and validation. This is reflected both Billy and Michael who had negative experiences within their formative contexts and seek belonging elsewhere in an effort to find the comfort and security of a place, showing that connection to place is a significant factor in achieving belonging.
In the opening scene we get a sense of what Michael is like. He is driving a boat of a car across the barren desert, like he is scavenging for something. Strapped for money he stops at a somewhat abandoned gas station where he finds a bundle of twenty dollar bills out in plain view. We get the sense that he tries to be honest because he doesn’t take the money and he buys gas with the last five dollars that were in his wallet, just enough to get him to Red Rock and not any further. He then gets turned down from his job because he told the truth about his leg being injured. When he goes into the Red Rock Bar we can see the change in his life coming. He walks in from the bright daylight into the darkness of the dimly lit bar. This lighting hints to the audience that from that point on Michael is fated for disaster.
The Civil Rights Era impacted the realm of sports in a great and powerful way. Throughout the mid 1900s, many minority athletes emerged through all odds and began to integrate themselves in the white dominated athletic business. These athletes endured constant hardships in order to achieve their goals and dreams; facing much racism, segregation, and violence. Minorities across the country began to look up to these sportsmen and realized that anybody could attain greatness despite the social troubles of the time. Stories depicting the struggles of minority athletes soon arose and grew popular among different cultures. These true accounts passed from generation to generation, each admiring the courage and bravery of athletes and how important they became in obtaining an equal society. Producers and directors soon found a way to revolutionize the film industry by retelling the racial discrimination that minority athletes faced. Remember the Titans, The Perfect Game, 42, and The Express are all examples of how minority athletes overcame racial adversities in order to obtain the championship. These Hollywood movies contain many inaccuracies that draw away from the true impact minority athletes had during the Civil Right Era. Although these films do depict the racial components of the time, they do not depict the accurate occurrences of the stories they try to recreate.
... model for how the entertainment and media industries depict black people must change. Despite the progress that blacks have worked toward since the days of slavery, society continues to give in to the monetary benefits of producing self-disparaging entertainment and media. It is not only up to the directors, editors, producers and writers to establish this change, but it should also be the demand of the people, or the consumer. If the images of black people in the media are improved the outlook within the community will improve as well. Not only will positive goals and achievements become more realistic for black people if the media outlets discontinue their practice of equating blacks with aggression, lawlessness and violence, but a greater good will also result for whites, which would be represented by a true autonomy and equality in American society.
the point of view of Michael. We, as the audience, are being told the story through Michael’s
In sports, there is no shortage of black success stories. Meanwhile, two black men of prominence in Odessa (who are not athletes) fell from grace. Willie Hammond Jr. (the first black city councilor and county commissioner) and Laurence Hurd (a minister and desegregation supporter) were glimmers of hope for the black community that were both snuffed out. Hammond was arrested on charges of arson conspiracy and perjury and Hurd is in prison for burglary and robbery, leaving a hole in the morale of the black community that was not repaired. These losses, combined the with negative news of black people circulated via media, made the possibility of succeeding in a white man’s world inconceivable. Yet, there is no shortage of black success stories in sports, like Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson; in every area that is not a “rich man’s sport”, black athletes dominate. To the poor children on the Southside, there is something very alluring about the “Cinderella stories” of men from poor black neighborhoods rising to prominence through sports. Based on these examples, there seem to only be two paths for a black teen to take: criminal or athlete. Many of these teens aspire to be sports stars and depend on nothing else because there is nothing else. Some may become the superstars they hope to be or they fall into ruin as Boobie Miles, Derric Evans, and Gary Edwards
In the blockbuster movie The Blind Side, director John Lee Hancock brings to light an emotionally charged and compelling story that describes how a young African American teenager perseveres through the trials, tribulations and hardships that surround his childhood. The themes of class, poverty, and also the love and nurturing of family encapsulate the film mainly through the relationship that Mrs. Tuohy and Michael Oher build during the entirety of the movie. This analysis will bring together these themes with sociological ideas seen throughout the course.
...help. The Blindside had similar characteristics of white privilege, the Sandra Bullock character appeared to be headstrong, passionate, capable, and effective while Michael Oher was perceived as emotionally stunted, and unable of helping himself. The White Savior syndrome as we have seen has the tendency to render people of colour lacking the capacity to seek change, and erasing their historical agency (Cammarota, 2011). Any progress or success is from the aid of a white individual, which suggests that escaping poverty, or ignorance, is thanks to the intelligence of the White Savior. Freire calls this “false Generosity” (1998) a white person may provide help to a person of colour yet help comes in the form of saving, the emphasis on saving instead of transforming fails to acknowledge the oppressive structure and in turn maintains white supremacy. (Cammarota, 2011).
As discussed in lecture, there are certain characteristics society attributes to certain races, which becomes apart of how Michael self identifies. Throughout the film there are examples of how the people around Michael racialize him. The first time he stays at the Tuohy residence, Leanne makes a comment to her husband about her concern of him stealing something. This highlights the stereotypes the characters associate with Michael’s race, which is something that he would have had to grow up dealing with on a daily basis (2009). The constant racialization Michael would of faced in a dominantly white society has a clear negative impact on his personal feelings about himself. Baker (2013) gives many examples of how racism, “significantly impact[s] the social and mental well being of youth by influencing their ability and willingness to trust, to form close relationships, and to be part of a social group” (p.82). This statement reflects many of the personal characteristics that can be seen in Michael’s personality throughout the film. An obvious example of this is seen in his attempt to form a relationship with the Tuohy’s. Due to the abandonment he faced as a child and his racialization, it is clear that although Michael wants to form trusting relationships, he hesitates to do so. As he becomes more comfortable and realizes the Tuohy’s do not have racicalized opinions about him, I think he is then able to form
Every year I learn more about myself. The person inside no longer takes peeks at the world outside, but screams "Look at me, see what I’ve become, watch because I am coming!" I’ve been through difficult times, but the odds are starting to lean my way; I feel ready for any challenge that may arise.