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The Blind Side

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Sociological Perspective of the Blind Side

Social problems within our society continue to arise. In an ideal world, it is appropriate to say that as individuals we all wish to live life in peace. Unfortunately, getting a whole nation to come to a consensus is nearly impossible. Social problems are controversial societal or behavioral related issues, which can affect the environment, people and social institutions (Leon-Guerrero 2013). These social problems can range from global concerns to racial issues such as discrimination and through our sociological imagination we are able to differentiate problems using our own discretion (Leon-Guerrero 2013). Choosing a movie to analyze from a sociological perspective was an interesting experience because you become aware of the many social problems that were always there and never paid attention to. The movie "The Blind Side" is a great example, which highlights the three main social problems that will be analyzed and interwoven in this paper: social class and poverty, education, and alcohol and drug abuse. "The Blind Side" is based on a true story, outlining Michael Oher’s life from an impoverished child to a successful athlete with the help of the Tuohy Family. The Tuohy family took Michael in and ended up adopting him. Michael came from a broken home, growing up in the inner city of Memphis, Tennessee with a mother who was a drug addict and an absentee father. After running away from several foster homes, Michael was fortunate enough to be accepted into a Wingate Christian school (WCS), which was a private school. The football coach needed more players and saw Michael as an asset. While enrolled at this private school the Tuohy family saw Michael in need of help and his life began to progress from there (Hancock, The Blind Side 2009). Throughout Michael’s life he struggles with poverty, being homeless and being

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