Thanks to my IPad and Amazon, my pre-ordered book "I Beat the Odds" arrived as promised on Tuesday, February 8th. After viewing the film The Blind Side and reading Michael Lewis' The Blind Side, I was anxious to finally hear Michael Oher's side of this amazing story. I harbor deep feelings about sport films, so it was not uncommon for me to do further research on the accuracy of the story that was told on the movie screen. It is critically important that we begin to become more interested in the complete story when supporting movies that protray real stories.
I have to disagree with Joy Behar, as she stated on the The View that "The movie was pretty accurate". I argue that as surface level as movies come, this movie was only accurate in accordance with that form. If you were inspired or even simply found the story compelling, you MUST read I Beat the Odds to obtain the full accuracy of Michael Oher's story. It is clear, from his own words, that the movie painted the picture of the "Great White Hope" storyline that is so common in films sharing the success stories of African American men, especially athletes. If I was not a Sandra Bullock fan, I probably would have bypassed this movie as I suspected that the African Americans in the film would be painted as "The bad guys". Unfortunately, I was correct with the exception of the single tender moment that was shared between the movie portral of Leanne and Michael's mother.
As I am in the process of writing a book review that compares the 3 difference versions of Michael Oher's story, I will not use this space to share those thoughts. I did want use this vehicle to encourage those who watched the film, plan to watch the film, or simply find this an interesting story to take the time to read the Michael Oher version.
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