MovieChat Forums > I Know My First Name Is Steven (1989) Discussion > It's a lie!!!!

It's a lie!!!!

posted 18 years ago by OliverGbyrne
74 replies | jump to latest

I have read the book and I think the movie had changed somethings to make it more dramatic for television.
In the book I had the feeling Steven actually enjoyed being molestated,it sounds horrible but I got that from the book.Ok not that he enjoyed but that Parnell had done it for so long to the poor kid that he didnt feel anything after a while.And in parts of the books Steven said himself that he felt love for Parnel(wich in my opinion makes the book more disturbing than the movie),and there his allso the fact that he didnt want to be found,he was not retarded as a teenager he knew that he was being molestaded,yet he never tryed to see if he could find a better life.I dare to say that Steven had an other motive from bringing Billy to the police,I think he was jealous that a new younger boy was taking his place.

From the book I read the story of a regular young boy that got brainwashed into becoming a sex slave and at the end totally got used to it,he even let Parnell screw his freinds/neighbour up.I felt that by age fourteen Steven was happy with this sick way of living because he simply didnt know better and once he got home he wasnt happy,he wanted to see Parnell again.

But for the movie it has been modified for us to feel sorry for Steven ,somme parts of the books were cut off and funilly it was the parts that helped me geting a bit of disliked for Steven.

I think there was far more to the story than what we see in the movie and the relationship between Parnell and Steven was not just good vs evil but was far more complex than that.

[–] bigseamus27 17 years ago

You sick POS! You are probably a paedophile, and trying rationalize your sick, twisted perversion.

[–] wildchildintn04 17 years ago

In Steven's own words from an interview:

"You should know that the first thing abductors often do is convince the child that their parents don't want them. My abductor faked phone calls to my parents. He actually told me he went to court to get legal custody. I was seven. I had nowhere else to turn. I eventually accepted the lie as reality.

"The next stage was adapting for survival. This meant doing anything to avoid punishment. I actually helped my abductor keep the secret.

"So don't expect abducted children to come up and ask for help. They're totally dependent on their abductors. And if they're being sexually abused, which is usually the case, the last thing they want is to draw attention to it.

"I trusted no one. My greatest fear was that someone would find out the truth and confront my 'father'. I didn't know what he'd do. As bad as things were, I knew it could get worse.

"To survive, abducted children must learn to lie. When people would ask me about my past, I made it up. I now assume people knew I was lying, but no one ever tried to find out why.

"Throughout the seven years, we were constantly moving. We lived in five different towns, in a dozen houses and trailer homes. The minute my abductor felt people were getting too close, we'd pack up. That kind of movement is typical of abductions. So is a child who's not enrolled in school.

"My abductor was careful and made sure I was always enrolled. If people paid attention to my relationship with my 'father' there were clues that something was wrong. It was not a normal father-son relationship. And among other things, at 13, I was taller than, and looked nothing like, my 'father'.

"You should know that most abductors are pedophiles, not psychotic killers. They don't have good relationships with adults. They start out molesting children and graduate to longer abductions. And when they murder children, often it's to get rid of the evidence.

"As is often the case, there were people involved with my abductor who knew the truth. These people could have saved me at any time, but were afraid of legal trouble. You should know that in other cases where people have come forward to save a child, they have not been prosecuted. These people often hold the power of life and death.

"Before I was grabbed, my abductor had been convicted of child molesting. Throughout my abduction, he never stopped molesting other children. Even so, after taking me from my home, abusing me for seven years and abducting another 5-year old, he served only three and one-half years in jail.

"Today, no one knows how many missing children are dead or how many now live as I did. But if you're going to help, you have to be aware of the real nature of stranger abduction and be committed to helping children. While it may be hard for you to tell an abducted child from an abused child, it's not hard to tell a child in trouble. And it's not hard to do something about it. If you know of, or suspect, there's a situation where a child is in trouble, please call the police."

[–] abbyegail0220 17 years ago

I have actually finished the book as well. If you were only 7 years old (lets get it straight that children do not start comprehending and understanding emotional relationship rights and wrongs at age 7 umm k?)

Steven was brought up for 7 years by a man that convinced him his family did not want him. He showed Steven "love" in a sick way. After 7 years of thinking your family did not want you but this other man did, of course your going to be "used to it". Especially in the decade this took place and the things we teach our children today were not enforced much back then i.e. Dont let a person touch your private parts, dont go anywhere with any stranger, try to get away from a bad person, etc...

Steven also suffered from what is known as Stockholm Syndrome

here is the definition:

The Stockholm syndrome is a psychological state in which the victims of a kidnapping, or persons detained against their free will – prisoners – develop a relationship with their captor(s). This solidarity can sometimes become a real complicity, with prisoners actually helping the captors to achieve their goals or to escape police.

Steven was a victim. An innocent CHILD with his youth and dignity stripped away at a very very young age.

[–] theeglowingplum1 17 years ago

I have just turned 30, and the stress and pain that I packed away for so long in the back of my head when I was held in the attentions of my babysitters older brother... That I have been in and out of institutions and medical facilities for the medical needs due to it.

Just like Steven I was 7 years old when John began what became a three day ordeal. I was heartbroken and very hateful toward my mother and grandparents when they figured out what was going on and moved me to a different town. John, unable to follow, I learned slowly that I was a victim and not the loved lover that he made me feel I was.

I've been in extensive therapy and what have you for the last 5 years. I was so afraid of hurting or doing anything wrong to my children when I had them that my sister adopted them. I still have nightmares, I still wet my bed, and the world is still seen through rose colored glasses...

Don't judge children. Don't pretent you understand those of us that have gone through hell. Don't pretend you like us for what happened to us. You will never understand unless you too were part of the molested youth of the late 60's to mid 80's.

[–] Evangeline1 17 years ago

It is devastating and hideous what happened to this boy. The man, the "reverand" who is so sick and twisted deserves to burn in hell. The first poster on this thread shows total lack of empathy for the 100% innocent young boy who was fed so many lies and who lived with this evil for so many years. This "reverand" robbed this boy of his life totally and utterly. To live with this man for so many years and listen to his lies for so many years obviously he would start to believe them as he was a child. This movie is utterly heart wrenching and more so as it is based on real life events and shows us the evil that exists in this world.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] fattymatty79 17 years ago

It is not uncommon for victims to feel love for their abusers. Parnell was his only source of love for seven years. Even if that love was sexual abuse, it was all he knew. He was brainwashed and abused for 7 years. Do you understand what that means?

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] skipton345 17 years ago

Pure supposition and speculation from the OP.

[–] faeez_k 17 years ago

Well, i personally think its not a lie...come on be realistic..poor kid..we would never understand what he has gone through because we were never in his shoes. It must be hard to go through all that, i mean to rob 7 years of a kids live is just sick. Just imagine what would have happen if that sick Parnell never abducted him, he could have probably been a successful engineer, doctor, policeman for all we know. If i was there, I would have killed Parnell....its insane to think that you could do that to a kid. Its just really sad. I really hope that his soul rest in peace. God Bless your soul steven.

[–] missacorah 16 years ago

If Parnell had been Stevens biological father then we wouldnt have thought it so strange that Steven stayed with him as long as he did as we'd have perhpas reasoned that Steven knew he had no place else to go and just saw this as 'his lot' and just had to put up with it to keep his head above water. The only difference is that Parnell had also stolen Steven, obviously then his lies about Stevens parents disowning him were so convincing that Steven eventually felt as if he didnt have anywhere to go and had to stay.

Maybe some of those lies stayed with Steven even when he returned home to his family and still held some resentment in his eyes.

[–] LaraCroftLegacy 16 years ago

whoa some people need help thinking a innocent little 7 year old kid enjoying being sexually abused by scum bag who took steven childhood and innocence away from him and didn't Steven grew up to be a cop?

DarkAlessa now the end of day and Iam the Reaper:silent hill

[–] cboggs68 15 years ago

actually Steven died in 1985 in a motorcycle accident and I think that the OP is sick to say that Steven enjoyed the abuse or was indifferent, You clearly have never been in a situation like Steven was in...b/c if you were then you'd never spew the filth you wrote

[–] rottinghotty 14 years ago

its probably been said but goddamn you are so wrong.

first of all - no kid could "enjoy" what he went through, the word you want is "endure", he probably became so conditioned to the abuse he emotionally switched off, its been known to happen and it can even cause multiple personality disorder is some kids

second - look up Stockholm´Syndrome, where abducters can feel love and sympathy for their abuctors, it could be an explaination, not to mention the fact he was lied to and brainwashed from 7 years of age, he really believed that Parnell had legal custody of him and if he tried to get help he would be sent to a boys home or back to Parnell.

third - the point you make of him possibly being jealous of Timmy (not Billy) is so stupid, that might be one of the most ignorant things i have read in IMDB, and thats saying alot. did it occur to you that Steven saw himself in Timmy, saw the scared, tired and sad young boy who just wanted his parents and his home, and maybe Steven decided that enough was enough. Maybe he decided no one else should have to go through what he had so he rescued him.

fourth - he didn't 'let' Parnell do anything to anyone, Parnell did as he pleased and i'm sure as bad as Steven felt, there was nothing he could do, and he might have even feel guilty relief that Parnell was focused on his friends and not him, which i'm sure would have haunted him.

fifth - you ignorant excuse for a human, how dare you say the movie was changed to feel sympathy for Steven? what do you feel other than sympathy? fair enough he might not be someone you would choose for a friend but do you think he deserved that wretched 7 years of abuse away from his family? do you think that he was a bad person? should we hate him for being very confused, emotionally fragile and unable to cope well after said years of trauma? if thats what you think then, then you are a messed up sick person and i feel sorry for you and anyone who chooses to call you friend or family. you have issues.

Steven was abducted at 7 years of age by a career manipultor and molester, lied to, brainwashed, abused, used and when faced with seeing it happen to another young boy did a very brave and heroic act.

For you, or anyone, to suggest he went along with any of it for enjoyment shows you have very little understanding of anything. i pity you

you can't spell slaughter without laughter

[–] charlimcbean 14 years ago

I've not read through all of these posts so I apologise if I'm repeating anything that's already been said.

I just wanted to put my two cents in and say that there is no rule book for how to react/behave in response to being abused. It's very common that people who've been abused feel two conflicting sets of emotions about the abuse/their abuser - (1) negative and (2) 'positive' (for want of a better word). These confusing feelings link in to the fact that abuse is a conflict in itself - a caregiver/adult who should know better/authority figure (types of abusers) isn't supposed to abuse children and children certainly wouldn't expect them to. And, as I think someone else has mentioned, read up on Stockholm Syndrome.

Hmmmm puzzler. Bit of a puzzle.

[–] babybates 13 years ago

Just watched this film for the first time this week. I had tears in my eyes during the final scene in the movie when Steven is talking to his Mother. I tried to think of my seven-year-old self and how I would have felt if that happened to me. I would have felt just like that little boy: When are they coming to get me? When you're seven, you would be scared, confused and embarasssed. As those first couple of days went by, you would start to believe that maybe your parents didn't care about you. Since most little kids think their parents can do ANYTHING, you would wonder why they couldn't find you...if they really wanted to. He was told that his father had died. I can't even imagine a stranger telling me that (in a very casual manner). You would feel totally helpless and you would have no control over anything. Ultimately, you would learn how to get along and how to keep abuse to a minimum the best you can. It was amazing, in a way, that he was able to rescue Timmy White. He saw his own young self in that little boy and he overcame his fear and subsequent inertia to put an end to the abuse. That was his motivation. He was so downtrodden for so many years that he lacked the ability to do it for himself.
But seeing his own innocence in Timmy was motivating. He was definitely a hero and I'm sorry he had such a sad short life.