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Kimberly Adams
Professor Sipin
English 110C
2 October 2014
The Blind Side vs. The Danger of a Single Story
Our society is so focused on stereotypes and judging others that they dont sit
down to think if its the right thing to do or not. Our society judges everybody including
people they dont know. They make assumption based off what they see and what others
say. Stereotypes are a big problem in our society. People are influenced by a single story
of a country or a person, and are no aware of many other stories that could change the
perception of them. Media, who is a big contributor to this problem, also influences
people. Stereotypes put labels about how a person should act or live according to their
sex, race, personality, and other facts. We should learn not to judge and prejudge about
people because of what we think they should be like, and should change our point of
view about the stereotypes that are deeply rooted in our society. Stereotypes create a
misconception of how people are and how they live in other cultures, religions, or
countries. This misconception could cause problems such as discrimination. This is a big
problem in our multicultural society.
In the movie The Blind Side, many people, because of his appearance, judge the
main character Michael Oher or Big Mike and where he came from. They make
assumptions of him even though they dont know him and are just meeting him for the
first time. People assume that because he is a big, black teen that has to be a thug and a
criminal. When in reality he is a nice teen who has had a bad childhood and has been

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caught in some bad circumstances and situations. People only saw a stereotype when they
looked at him, they didnt see who he really was. The saw what they wanted to see and
what they though he was like. They made assumptions about him based on a single story.
In The Danger of a Single Story the author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie talks
about the danger of only hearing part of a story. She talks about the danger of listening to
stereotypes, making assumption of people, and power over others. It is impossible to
talk about the single story without talking about power. Power is the ability not just to tell
the story of another person, but to make it the definitive story of that person. (Adichie)
People make assumptions others based off of one thing whether it be a book, movie or
something they saw on television. It would never have occurred to me to think that just
because I had read a novel in which a character was a serial killer that he was somehow
representative of all Americans. (Adichie) Why would people think just because they
read that in a book saying that this person did this or was like this and assume that in
reality everybody of that culture or race is the same way? The single story creates
stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are
incomplete. They make one story become the only story. (Adichie) Not all stories are
single stories though, you just have to know which ones to listen to and make sure to
keep an open mind and never base your opinions off of a single story. Stories matter.
Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can
also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but
stories can also repair that broken dignity. (Adichie)
Our society needs to stop judging a book by its cover and look more in depth. We
as the new generation should do something to avoid this problem. We can start changing

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our perception of stereotypes. They need to stop listening to stereotypes and making
judgments about people and cultures based off them. We should learn to respect and
understand other cultures, religions, and countries. This could avoid many problems such
as discrimination. And more importantly we should teach newer generations to respect
each other regardless of their differences. With all of this we can change our perception
of the stereotypes that are deeply rooted in our society and make of this a better society.
When we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about
any place, we regain a kind of paradise. (Adichie)

Bibliography

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Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The Danger of a
Single Story." TED. TED, Oct. 2009. Web. 1 Oct. 2014.
The Blind Side. Dir. John Lee Hancock. Perf. Sandra Bullock and Quinton Aaron.
Warner Bros. Pictures, 2009. DVD.