Family Collage: The Blind Side

A VISUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE FAMILY

DEPICTED IN THE BLIND SIDE (2009)
KAYLA MURCHISON

The Tuohy Family

Leigh Anne Tuohy (Mother):

Leigh Anne plays the role of wife, mother, and decision maker for
the Tuohy family. She is an interior designer that is strongwilled, independent, and a representation of a Southern
Momma. She forms a strong bond with her adopted son Michael
early on in the plot as she assumes the role of his mother and
attempts to make the troubled life he has faced easier.

Sean Tuohy (Father):

Sean plays the role of husband and father. Compared to Leigh

Anne, his character is much more reserved and easy going. He is
a wealthy business man who often acts as the constant figure in
the family. His role seldom changes and he is constantly there to
pull Leigh Anne back down to earth.

Collins Tuohy (Daughter)

Collins is the biological daughter of Leigh Anne and Sean, a

popular cheerleader in high school. As a teenager in a high school
located in the Southern U.S., she faces some ridicule when it is
known that her parents have adopted a black teen; however, her
role changes in the family as she overcomes the initial struggle
and welcomes Michael as her brother.

The Tuohy Family

S.J Tuohy (Son):

S.J. is the youngest member of the Tuohy family, a very

outspoken, happy kid who accepts Michael from the beginning.
His role does not change very much throughout the film because
he acted as a sibling to Michael since the beginning. He helps
Michael train for football and helps him in the decision of which
college to attend.

Michael Oher (Adopted Son):

Michael Oher is black teenage male who finds himself living on a

friends couch due to the drug habits of his mother. When he is
enrolled into the religious high school that the Tuohys attend by
his friends father and then forced to find somewhere else to live,
he is found and taken in by the Tuohys. He bonds with the
family and becomes one of their own when he is adopted and
tutored in order to reach his aspiration of playing college
football.

The Tuohy family was

originally a two parent
biological family, the
most common form of
families. However,
through the adoption of
Michael they became a
form of a blended
family.
The adoption was
spontaneous and fast,
but included the aspects
typically found in a
more common adoption
process: the matching
of personal
characteristics and an
open style of
connections across
racial and religions
lines.

The media culture appears to have a singular,

idealized view of the family, vividly depicted in
media holiday advertising- a middle class, bloodrelated family with smiling parents and
grandparents, eating a traditional turkey dinner.
In reality, this image represents only one family,
and a life experienced by a small segment of
people. (4)

Roles
Within families, roles are established, grown into, grown through, discussed,
negotiated, worked on, accepted and rejected. (168)
The Tuohy family acted as a unit when they adopted Michael, all taking on new

role functions to help his transition, such as:

Providing basic resources

Providing for individual development, nurturing, and support

Although they acted as a whole, individual members played different roles.

Leigh Anne was very much the protector of Michael and the rest of her family,
as well as the decision maker. In return for their role functions, Michael also
provided for individual development of his family.

Roles Continued
Kinship Maintenance was a large part of Michaels joining of the Tuohy family.

Michael felt very strongly connected to his biological mother, and as though he
needed to take care of her.

In an attempt to make Michaels transition easier and perform maintenance to the relationship between
Michael and his birth mother, Leigh Anne visits her and discusses the adoption. She makes sure that his
birth mother knows he is safe and being taken care of.

The Tuohys struggle to become an open family is very apparent. They have

somewhat flexible boundaries but struggle not to use censorship, force, or

coercion to guide Michael

This is especially true in the very important and difficult decision Michael has to make about what college
to play football for.

Cohesion
The Tuohy family begins the movie (before meeting Michael) as a

connected family; however, they became a very connected family who

strove for emotional closeness, joint involvement, and individuality
after the adoption.
They Tuohys started the film very structured, with set roles and rules.
With the changes they experienced they became more flexible when
faced with bringing Michael into the family and learning of his past.

The Tuohy family is

guided by certain family
themes they all hold
true, which are tested
and intensified with the
addition of Michael:
We have a

responsibility for those

less fortunate then us
You can always

depend on your family

We are survivors

These themes were

tested in their attempt
to help Michael succeed
in not only football and
school, but also as an
individual and in life.

A theme may be viewed as a pattern of feelings,

motives, fantasies, and conventionalized
understanding grouped around a particular locus
of concern (42)
The Tuohys began as a family very closed off from the
outside world. Their new relationships with Michael and the
past experiences he brings with him open their eyes to more
of the world around them and the ways in which others live.

Relational Maintenance
Marital Maintenance:
Leigh Anne and Sean often use positivity, openness, and
sharing tasks regarding the responsibilities of being parents
and the large decisions made that affect the family
Rituals:
The most noteworthy ritual throughout the movie is the
attendance of the childrens sporting events or school
activities.
The Tuohy family made plans before the end of the movie to
attend all of Michaels football games at Mississippi
University.
Relationship Currencies:
Leigh Anne & Sean:

Michael:

Positive verbal statements, listening, gifts (for example, a truck for

Michael)
Self disclosure: the voluntary self-revealing of information
(especially to Leigh Anne) and physical protection for his family
members/team mates

S.J.: (for Michael)

Time, favors in preparing Michael for football, positive verbal

statements

Conflict

Meanings and Messages: Communication involves the negotiation of shared

meanings; if they are not held in common, confusion or misunderstanding is
likely to occur.

A primary task of the Tuohy family changed to meaning making and the
development of shared meanings when Michael entered the family. There were many
messages that were misinterpreted due to uncommon meanings. For example:

When Leigh Anne was taking Michael to buy new clothing, he was hesitant to trust her and felt
as if she was taking him away from his life. He protested by stating that he had clothes at his
home, until they used relational currencies to compromise. Over time the family developed
shared meanings.

Conflict Continued
Conflicts in families stem from many issues and are handled in many different
ways. Change may trigger uneasiness and conflict. A new family member . . .
all have impact within the family system. (233)
A major conflict in the film was Michaels decision of what college to go to, and

the question of whether the Tuohys pressured him to attend the school they
did

To overcome this conflict, which was mainly between Leigh Anne and Michael, the family
used strategies like listening, managing the physical environment, and making it known that
each family member has control over their individual choices.

Family Change Throughout the Film

We see the Tuohys move from one stage of the family life cycle (families with
adolescents) to another throughout the film (launching their first childMichael- into the world).

Because they have younger children, Leigh Anne and Sean did not face negotiation of
the martial system as a dyad but had to realign relationships with Michael and the
children remaining at home

Communication between people not only reflects their environment but

depends on their experiences and which stage they are at in the life cycle . . .
Each stage enables the person to make more sense of a greater variety of
experiences in more adequate ways.

References
BROMMEL, BYLUND, AND GALVIN, KATHLEEN.
FAMILY COMMUNICATION: COHESION AND CHANGE.
BOSTON, MA: PEARSON EDUCATION, 2004. PRINT.
THE BLIND SIDE. IMDB. IMBD.COM, INC., WEB. 20
NOV. 2009.