Vox Sentences - The Blind Side has its own blind spot

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Good afternoon! How are you? It’s Izzie Ramirez, and here’s what you need to know today.

Spotlight: The Blind Side controversy, briefly explained

In other news: Recovery efforts for the Maui wildfires are underway, Ron DeSantis and Gavin Newsom will debate each other, and an Iowa school district uses AI to ban books.

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Was The Blind Side’s white savior narrative built on a lie? 

Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Not all feel-good stories end well. Former NFL player Michael Oher — whose story of being adopted out of homelessness by a white family and becoming an NFL starter was the subject of the Oscar-winning film The Blind Side — has alleged that the crux of the story is a lie. 

The lowdown: Oher alleges that the Tuohy family, who he believed adopted him decades ago, has exploited his name and story for years to enrich themselves. He filed a 14-page petition in Tennessee's Shelby County earlier this week, alleging that:

• He was tricked into a conservatorship, a legal agreement that gave the Tuohys authority to use his name in business deals less than three months after he turned 18.
• The family made millions of dollars from the popular book and the 2009 film without giving him equivalent or fair earnings. There are conflicting reports on how much each family member makes.

• He unknowingly signed away the rights to his life story when he was 16. 

Oher’s petition is not a lawsuit. It’s asking for the probate court to end the conservatorship and bar the family from using Oher’s name and likeness. It also seeks an accounting of all the money the Tuohys have made since starting the conservatorship in 2004 and to pay Oher his share of the earnings, in addition to damages. A petition allows for a faster turnaround on document discovery, compared to years of going to court.

The Tuohy family responded yesterday that they have always been “upfront” about the conservatorship and allege that Oher’s efforts are part of a larger shakedown.

The takeaway: I spoke with race and policy reporter Fabiola Cineas about what the allegations mean for Oher, the Tuohys, and the complicated white savior narrative around the film.

“The Tuohy reputation rests on their philanthropy, so it's jarring that the man at the center of their sainthood now alleges — after so many years — that this shiny image of the Tuohys is a lie,” Fabiola said. 

The stakes: The case is resurfacing many existing controversies around The Blind Side back into the national conversation.

While the film was initially well-received upon its release, many critics later pointed out how it erased the nuances of a Black kid’s story of resilience and capitalized on viewers’ comfort with white charity and Black suffering. 

The new allegations may radically change how audiences and filmmakers think about these types of “white savior” stories going forward. “It looks like we are only going to view these films with even greater skepticism, and hopefully screenwriters will be influenced to think more critically about these stories,” Fabiola said. “These films need more nuance because life is far more complex than they let on.”

Read Fabiola’s full explainer on the controversy and the stakes here.

📣   As back-to-school season ramps up, what are the biggest questions you have around education, from setting up your grade schooler for success to the cost of college tuition? Let us know by filling out this form.

How Atlanta prosecutor Fani Willis took on Donald Trump

David Walter Banks / The Washington Post via Getty Images

Trump’s latest indictment for alleged attempts to steal the election in the state of Georgia might be the trickiest for him to escape. Here’s what you need to know:

• The judge focused on racketeering charges through the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO). [Vox]
  
  
• It’s not the first time Willis used RICO. She recently went after rapper Young Thug and 35 Atlanta educators for suspected standardized test cheating. [The Appeal]
  
  
• RICO is an interesting strategy, with an increasingly large scope. While initially used to target the Mafia, it also has a racist history. [The Drift]

• The 9 things everyone should know about the Maui wildfires, including how to help. Climate reporter Benji Jones breaks down the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century, how it happened, and how recovery efforts are going.
  
  

• The first Republican debate for the 2024 election is a week from now. But Gavin Newsom and Ron DeSantis are doing one of their own — for the attention, writes politics reporter Li Zhou.
  
  
• High-profile trials tend to raise unique legal questions. Trump’s four indictments are no different, but the current hyper-politicized court environment adds new tensions, argues Supreme Courts reporter Ian Millhiser. 
  
  

• Would you like some “girl dinner” after your “hot girl walk”? Culture reporter Rebecca Jennings explains the repackaging of womanhood on social media and how the public has become better marketers than traditional gatekeepers ever could be.

• Yet another library censorship nightmare: Iowa is using ChatGPT to decide which books to ban. A local school district compiled a master booklist and is asking AI whether a book contains a “description or depiction of a sex act.” [Popular Science]
  
  

• Even the US government thinks ICE detentions are “barbaric” and “negligent,” according to an internal report commissioned by the Department of Homeland Security. There are 1,600 pages depicting the cruel, inhumane ways the US treats non-citizens. [NPR]
  
  
• Noticed a credit card surcharge on your dinner out at a restaurant? As inflation and high credit card fees continue to hurt restaurants’ bottom lines, they’ve started charging customers more. [New York Times]
  
  
• Extreme water stress is faced by 25 countries, which are home to a quarter of the world’s population. A lack of water could affect food production, economic growth, and health. [The Guardian]

🎧 Listen: The Rio Grande buoy controversy, explained by The Weeds.

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