Analysis of The Blind Side

Discuss whether you see Michael Oher as a victim or a hero. In the film the Blind Side, I see the protagonist, Michael Oher, as a victim rather than a hero. "Big Mike"had a difficult past; he lived in a poor part of Memphis, Tennessee where drugs, alcohol, and gang violence was prevalent in his everyday life. Raised in a disconnected family, he had many siblings andwas raised by his mom who struggled with drug addiction. Michael had a very rough childhood being in and out of foster homes and had no one to love him unconditionally until he found the Tuohys. He was discriminated upon by his peers because of his colour and lack of education, and if none of his teachers gave him a chance then this story could have ended very differently. Luckily the Tuohys, although living in southern United States in a wealthy neighbourhood and social circle, took him in and cared for him when most would simply overlook a large African American kid on the side of the road in the rain. Allin all, Michael Oher was more victim than hero in this film, simply because of his unfortunate circumstances.
Who do you think is the hero of this film? Mrs. Leigh-Anne Tuohy was the hero of the film the Blind Side. When she first saw Michael in need onthe side of the road in the rain, she immediately knew she had to help him while her husband and children overlooked him. She took him in, made him dinner and a place to stay, and although at first she might have thought it was temporary and Michael did too, Mrs. Tuohy grew to love him. She was at all of his football games, helping him out and always knew all the right things to say to Michael when he needed guidance. When her friends laughed and joked about her decisions to take in a needy black boy, she defended him and did not in any way regret her actions. Even her closest friends criticizing her couldn't make her change her mind. She stayed strong when Michael needed her and ran a family through all the drama, therefore Mrs. Tuohy the definite hero of the film. 
This film is based on true events. The Tuohys were criticized by people who thought that they must have been using Michael Oher for some other purpose. Were they? What was theirmotivation?When the Tuohys first took in Michael, they simply did it from the good of their hearts and did not seek any compensation from anyone for their good deed. Once they started to notice his athletic abilities, they helped him out in any way they could, meaning they watched all of his football games, trained him up and motivated him as much as they could. These actions, in my opinion, were the Tuohys being good Christians, not trying to use Michael in any way. Once the offers to play football in university started flowing in, the Tuohys probably subconsciously pushed him towards The University of Mississippi, because this was both of the Tuohy parents alma maters. To me, they didn't do this on purpose in any way or use Michael in any way because the first night when they took in Michael, there was no way they could predict he would be getting athletic scholarships for football in less than a year.