Why I Will NOT Be Seeing the Movie “Orphan”

“It must be difficult to love an adopted child as much as your own,” states the original “Orphan” trailer. As someone who is adopted, my only response is SERIOUSLY??? People had to complain in order for Warner Bros. to realize that this was a bad idea? No one raised their hand during that board meeting and said, Hey, maybe this might be offensive?

I’m obviously not ashamed of being adopted so I have no problem mentioning it when relevant. However, EVERY time I mention it, I can depend on being asked one question. Do you know your real parents? Ughhhh. Anyone who is adopted will know EXACTLY what I’m talking about. I know that the question is not meant to be offensive, yet it somehow implies that the family I have now, on some level, is “fake.” Like I’ve been deprived a “real” family. (I have not.)

Though the question is innocent, it definitely exemplifies a stigma; a stigma that is undoubtedly supported by the “Orphan” trailer. The trailer blatantly suggests that adopted children are less lovable than one’s “own,” just as my parents are somehow not “real.” Though the trailer may not be intentionally offensive (hopefully), they undisputedly promote the idea that a family with adopted children is inferior to one with biological children.

Such a statement, especially in today’s society, is not just offensive, it’s simply wrong. Let’s face it, there is no longer one specific familial mold. Couples get divorced; children have step-parents, step-siblings, maybe even half-siblings. Some children have parents who never married in the first place. Others may have foster-parents, adoptive parents, maybe even same-sex parents….

Thus, instead of seeing this movie, I will simply rejoice in the fact that I was not adopted by people from Warner Bros., who, for whatever reason, would not have enough love for someone who doesn’t have their DNA.

Posted by:

Kiera Aaron