Last night, my wife and I and a couple of friends went to see “The Blind Side”. For one, I must confess that when I was younger, I used to be a lot more tuned to the motion picture industry. I would go see all new films on opening nights. I admit further, that the actual film was only part of the reason for going to the movies. Living in the US for so many years, the bucket of popcorn and the barrel of diet coke were important parts of the viewing experience. On a side note, I never understood the logic of letting an average person drink a half a gallon of soft drink to wash down two pounds of popcorn without a chance to get rid of it for two whole hours. In Israel, in most places, intermission is an integral part of the viewing experience, where people are allowed to go empty themselves, while getting a second chance at the concession stand…
“The Blind Side” is an amazing film. The best I’ve seen in many years. Indeed, Avatar was outstanding, but not from a straight plot, thought generating and reflection viewpoint. No special effects, no 3D, no elaborate costumes. Although I have to admit, Ms. Bullock at the age of 46 looks a hundred times better than the Sandra Bullock of twenty years ago, regardless of costume or its absence. “The Blind Side” is a story, a touching story, based on a true story. A story that makes you think of human behavior in general, and of your own in particular.
It’s a story about the extremely unfortunate, and the outstandingly fortunate, and how they meet. Lets face it. In all societies, there are the successful, wealthy, educated, handsome people. These people were given a starting point in life, which helped them advance even more, and in turn, they could get their children an even better starting point in life than the one they had. This process is endless, and it moves on from generation to generation. On the other hand, in all societies, there are the failing, poor, homeless, uneducated people, who manage to give their children an even worse starting point than the miserable one they had. On occasion, but not necessarily, crime, drugs and other behaviors are involved.
This story is about a family of the first kind meeting a representative of the other, and rather than running away to hide in their two acre home, they embrace him and do nothing but give him a better starting point. Slowly but surely the film describes how Michael Oher, who won a second chance in life, uses it successfully.
I have to admit that I wish I brought a handkerchief with me. Or Kleenex. My eyes were wet most of the time, and I could swear that some sobbing took place too. I will deny of course, so this stays between us. But why was I sobbing? I was contemplating that throughout the movie, and hours after that. I’m not sure I have the answer yet, but I have some thoughts. Am I a good person? It’s not for me to answer. Are you? What are you willing to do to better someone else’s life? Will you be willing to get a stranger under your roof, buy him clothes, feed him, invest in his or her education? Only to give someone a better chance at life? And then strikes the more universal thought: are we aware that resources are enough for everyone if they are shared in a more even way? Do we care? Do we care enough to do more than just donate money to some organizations that (at least supposedly) distribute food to the unfortunate? Is it enough?
The old saying: “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”. Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy gave Michael Oher a lot more than a fishing rod and fishing lessons. They gave him a fresh start. It was touching to see how they gave and how he accepted. But it was touching on a different level altogether. It was touching on a question I must ask myself, and I’m asking you: how far are you ready to go in order to give a complete stranger a better start? I must figure it out because I feel than the answer will somehow make me a better person. I believe strongly, that everyone who considers himself or herself fortunate, must take the time to think about this question, figure it out for themselves, and then, right away and with all determination, go execute on it. Better someone else’s life. Trust me, bettering someone’s life will better yours tenfold…
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