Blind Side family feud reignites a cultural debate

A ineligible conflict betwixt a retired American shot subordinate and the household who helped rise him has reignited statement astir the 2009 Hollywood movie that dramatised their story.

It has besides pulled the film's pb actress, Sandra Bullock, into the controversy.

The Blind Side tells the communicative of a struggling achromatic teen surviving successful foster attraction who goes to assemblage and becomes a prima jock with a achromatic family's help.

But present a tribunal filing alleges that the rags-to-riches communicative is built connected lies.

This week, erstwhile NFL subordinate Michael Oher, whom The Blind Side is based on, filed a petition seeking to extremity his narration with the Tuohys, the household who took him in.

Mr Oher, present 37, alleges helium was ne'er compensated for the movie and "received nothing" for a communicative "that would not person existed without him". The film-makers person truthful acold not commented.

He besides accused the Tuohy household of lying astir adopting him and tricking him into signing a conservatorship erstwhile helium was 18 - a process that did not legally marque him a subordinate of the family, but did springiness the Tuohys ineligible power implicit his finances.

The household called those allegations "hurtful and absurd". They person dismissed the thought that they reaped immense profits from the movie and branded the ineligible enactment a "shakedown".

The Blind Side took much than $300m (£237m) astatine the planetary container bureau and millions much successful location video sales.

Mr Oher's claims person revived longstanding disapproval that the movie feeds into a antagonistic "white saviour" communicative - erstwhile a cardinal achromatic quality saves a non-white quality from unfortunate circumstances.

Bullock won an Academy Award for her relation playing parent Leigh Anne Tuohy successful the blockbuster. Some critics person called for her to instrumentality her Oscar, arguing her relation played into an objectionable narrative.

"You mightiness fto Sandra Bullock disconnected the hook astir The Blind Side, but not me," Ola Ojewumi, a nationalist talker and author, wrote connected the societal media level X, formerly known arsenic Twitter.

Bullock herself has not commented, but others person travel to her defence, including her co-star Quinton Aaron, who played Mr Oher successful the film.

"Saying worldly similar she needs to relinquish her rubric doesn't marque immoderate sense," Mr Aaron told TMZ Sports this week.

"She gave a superb show and that shouldn't beryllium tarnished for thing that had thing to bash with her."

TV and movie professional Richard Roeper said: "It is wholly misguided and unfair to delegate blasted to her for the caller and profoundly disturbing allegations astir the real-life story."

The BBC has reached retired to Bullock's squad for comment.

The Blind Side is acold from the archetypal movie to beryllium criticised for pushing a "white saviour" narrative.

Samantha Sheppard, a movie prof astatine Cornell University, told the BBC the trope dates backmost to 1915 with the movie Birth of a Nation, "a communicative astir the necessity of achromatic radical to prevention the country".

The "white saviour" communicative has besides been seen successful sports genre films similar Glory Road successful 2006, the 2013 movie astir shot subordinate Jackie Robinson, 42, and the 2016 Jesse Owens movie Race, she said.

"What we spot with these kinds of films is that adjacent stories astir achromatic lives are not truly astir achromatic people," she said, "they are astir the benevolence and the righteousness of achromatic paternalistic forces."

In 2010, histrion Vanessa Williams spoke to writer Barbara Walters astir The Blind Side, saying: "It brings up a taxable for achromatic folks, that, OK, here's different achromatic household that saves the day… different achromatic communicative that needs a achromatic idiosyncratic to travel successful and assistance them up."

"Can you sanction a movie wherever achromatic radical saved achromatic people?" Williams asked.

Prof Sheppard notes that portrayals of contention successful movie person made strides successful caller years, led by much filmmakers of colour.

Directors similar Tyler Perry and Jordan Peele are "telling overmuch much dimensional stories astir achromatic lives, wherever they don't centralise achromatic people".

The renewed taste statement implicit The Blind Side underscores however dated a movie erstwhile acclaimed arsenic a feel-good classical present seems to many.

But for movie fans, the Oher-Tuohy ineligible feud genuinely is the extremity of the happily ever after.