The Blind Side - Orders Of Truth
Quick Thoughts: The Blind Side (2009)
A black teenager with athletic potential finds a home with a white family.
The Blind Side is an ok melodrama entire subsumed in unbearably uncomfortable dissonance. Whilst this presents a true story about trust, it is a quintessential example of a cinematic 'white saviour' story - slightly self-consciously so. The melodrama can be consumed unconsciously and a debate ignored, but there is an incredibly pertinent conflict between these two perspectives. Does The Blind Side pander to the narcissism of 'white people,' or does it subvert this by telling a true story?
I understand the argument for both sides and I have no definite conclusion to make. It appears one can never have the tools and means of answering this definitively - any person adamant on either argument appears naive as there are two truths juxtaposed in this film; on the one hand, truth concerning American history, on the other, the truth of an athlete's biography. The melodramatic presentation of both of these truths problematises the situation further. Alas, one can only risk appearing naive in taking sides here, in positioning one truth over another.
It seems evident to me that cinematic functions - especially those pertaining to photogénie and lyrosophy - require a moral process of stacking truths in a hierarchy. To understand this, one must consider pornography. Beauty, or photogénie, exists in pornographic contexts, which is to say that there is a reference to truth that one can witness even in libidinous stories of violence and sexuality. Libido is, indeed, a force narrative has always struggled to contain and process. The force of life and will, but simultaneously a source of amorality and evil, libido is troublesome. It has a tendency to present inert or impractical truths. The sight of pornography is often a truthful one; it represents human capacities ruthlessly, yet, in artistic contexts, with some moral edge. How are we to use pornographic truths? I cannot guess. However, from pornography of all places, it becomes self-evident that truth is a pervasive element of art that must be interfaced with by the spectator. That is to say, again, a spectator must judge and rank truths in accordance to their usefulness and moral character.
This is a process in much demand in The Blind Side. Alas, this film, whilst not particularly pornographic (there is an argument that the narcissistic gaze it potentially satisfies is fetishistic and sadistic in a highly subtle way), is not easily dealt with. Presented by The Blind Side is one of the most difficult demands of film criticism; moral judgement and structuralisation. Often, this is a process that does not find itself particularly heated and moral pondering and espousing a particularly free (albeit sometimes dubious) practice. But, with The Blind Side, the process is not just heated, but particularly onerous. I then leave things with you. Have you seen The Blind Side? How do you morally judge the film and rank the truths it presents?
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The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy - Power As Goodness
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On The Impression Of Reality In The Cinema
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
A black teenager with athletic potential finds a home with a white family.
The Blind Side is an ok melodrama entire subsumed in unbearably uncomfortable dissonance. Whilst this presents a true story about trust, it is a quintessential example of a cinematic 'white saviour' story - slightly self-consciously so. The melodrama can be consumed unconsciously and a debate ignored, but there is an incredibly pertinent conflict between these two perspectives. Does The Blind Side pander to the narcissism of 'white people,' or does it subvert this by telling a true story?
I understand the argument for both sides and I have no definite conclusion to make. It appears one can never have the tools and means of answering this definitively - any person adamant on either argument appears naive as there are two truths juxtaposed in this film; on the one hand, truth concerning American history, on the other, the truth of an athlete's biography. The melodramatic presentation of both of these truths problematises the situation further. Alas, one can only risk appearing naive in taking sides here, in positioning one truth over another.
It seems evident to me that cinematic functions - especially those pertaining to photogénie and lyrosophy - require a moral process of stacking truths in a hierarchy. To understand this, one must consider pornography. Beauty, or photogénie, exists in pornographic contexts, which is to say that there is a reference to truth that one can witness even in libidinous stories of violence and sexuality. Libido is, indeed, a force narrative has always struggled to contain and process. The force of life and will, but simultaneously a source of amorality and evil, libido is troublesome. It has a tendency to present inert or impractical truths. The sight of pornography is often a truthful one; it represents human capacities ruthlessly, yet, in artistic contexts, with some moral edge. How are we to use pornographic truths? I cannot guess. However, from pornography of all places, it becomes self-evident that truth is a pervasive element of art that must be interfaced with by the spectator. That is to say, again, a spectator must judge and rank truths in accordance to their usefulness and moral character.
This is a process in much demand in The Blind Side. Alas, this film, whilst not particularly pornographic (there is an argument that the narcissistic gaze it potentially satisfies is fetishistic and sadistic in a highly subtle way), is not easily dealt with. Presented by The Blind Side is one of the most difficult demands of film criticism; moral judgement and structuralisation. Often, this is a process that does not find itself particularly heated and moral pondering and espousing a particularly free (albeit sometimes dubious) practice. But, with The Blind Side, the process is not just heated, but particularly onerous. I then leave things with you. Have you seen The Blind Side? How do you morally judge the film and rank the truths it presents?
Previous post:
The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy - Power As Goodness
Next post:
On The Impression Of Reality In The Cinema
More from me:
amazon.com/author/danielslack
