The Blind Side and Pleasure
The film “The Blind Side”, is a very inspirational film. This film is a story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American teenager from a broken home, taken in by the Tuohys’, a wealthy white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Michael’s presence in the Tuohy’s lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, Michael faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome.
As a football player and student, Mike works hard and, with the help of his coach and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle. The family received many things from accepting Mike. The Tuohy family received a pleasure out of adopting Michael, which could have been considered Hedonistic. The relationship between pleasure and goodness is also discussed. The Tuohy’s decision to take in Mike shows a great deal of kindness. I think the kind of pleasure the Tuohy family got out of the adoption was love and happiness.
Since when they welcomed Michael into their home, Michael brought the Tuohy family closer than they were before they had met Mike, which created more love within the family and between the Tuohy’s and Michael. An example of when Mike brought the whole family closer was when it was Thanksgiving Day. The Tuohys’ gathered around the television to watch football while eating Thanksgiving dinner but Michael went to the dinner table. When Leigh Anne realized that Michael sat down at the dinner table I think she felt this warmth inside herself, so she decided that the whole family should be eating dinner together at the dinner table.
While the Tuohy family got closer they also allowed Mike feel the feeling of love they were feeling and eventually they adopted him. By the end of the film the pleasure the Tuohys’ got out of the adoption was love and happiness because they saved a teenage boy’s life, from whatever his future might have beheld for him if they hadn’t met, whether it be from death or a terrifying lonely life. The term Hedonism refers to people whose sole pursuit in life is pleasure. John D. Rockfeller once said “I can think of nothing less pleasurable than a life devoted to pleasure. ” I personally don’t believe that one should spend their whole life pursuing pleasure because the satisfaction one receives from pleasure will be gone sooner or later, then they will find themselves running after pleasure again. But the Tuohys’ pleasure to why they adopted Mike could be Hedonistic because the pleasure of love, being loved and giving love, can result in happiness and also the pleasure of happiness; seeking happiness, could also result in happiness.
And as long as they remember the life they changed, they would be forever satisfied. The Tuohys’ had shown a great amount of pleasure and goodness. Goodness is the quality of being good and pleasure is a feeling of happy satisfaction and enjoyment. I think the relationship between pleasure and goodness in the film is that one could lead to the fulfilment of the other. An example of this from The Blind Side was when the Tuohys’ saw Michael walking down the street in a t-shirt and shorts while it was pouring rain.
After Michael talked to Leigh Anne about where he was going to stay for the night she decided that he’ll stay over at their house for the night not thinking twice about her decision. If others were in this position they wouldn’t think twice about letting him into their home, let alone even ask him where he was headed. Because Leigh Anne performed a quality of goodness that one night, it created the pleasure of love and happiness. One act of goodness lead to a pleasure being fulfilled.
In conclusion, in The Blind Side, The Tuohy family received the pleasure of love and happiness as an outcome of adopting Michael. And also the act of goodness can lead to the fulfillment of a pleasure; goodness and pleasure are interconnected. Lastly, the pleasures that the Tuohys’ seek can be considered as Hedonistic. “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around” (Leo Buscaglia) is a quote of pleasure I very much agree with.
