MovieChat Forums > Deep in My Heart (1999) Discussion > What Were They Thinking?

What Were They Thinking?

posted 9 years ago by rosemei
4 replies | jump to latest

What were Annalise and the social worker thinking? Barbara may have been biracial, but for all appearances she was a black girl who had been raised since birth in a black family. (Yes, I know the right term now is African-American, but it wasn't back then.) Did anybody stop to think about it before she was shipped off to the Midwest to live with the nice white couple, or did they just assume because she was biracial she could just adapt and everything would be fine? It said it all when she responded to Annalise telling her she was "half-white" by asking which half of her was white. I have no problem with racial mixing, my niece has two daughters I adore who are biracial. But Barbara never asked to be a test-case for mixed adoption, she was forced to leave the only mother she had ever known to be stuck in a world where she didn't fit and ran away from it as soon as she could. I can't help thinking the pregnancy was no accident, she wanted a way to marry Don and knew Annalise would have no way to argue against it if she was pregnant and Don was "doing the right thing by her." Or maybe she expected Annalise to kick her out over the baby (you know that happened back then) and then she would be out of the whole mess others has made of her life.

[–] Manna-Fest 8 years ago

(Yes, I know the right term now is African-American, but it wasn't back then.)

Um, the term "black" is still generally used today. Don't you hear the term used all the time? "Black people this" and "black people that"? It hasn't gone extinct. African-American was just added on. I personally hate it. The blacks of today are not from Africa, so it doesn't make any sense. White people aren't "European-American" as their ancestry comes from there.

But in regards to everything else you said, I agree. It doesn't make sense they went to use her white-side as an advantage to put her with white people. Back in the 1960s too? Who the hell would have even been CARING that this black-looking girl was half-white? So the social worker's actions surprised me. I don't really put any blame on Annalise and her husband here. I doubt they asked for a black or mulatto child, so this would all be the social worker's doing. But at least Annalise and her husband were accepting towards her. Barbara was selfish to not give her a chance for all those years she's been under her care, even after Annalise even went about her way to move somewhere so she wasn't the stranger to the neighborhood. Perhaps Barbara being with Don and getting pregnant by him was a way for her to attempt to get out of Annalise's care. It didn't make sense why Barbara felt Annalise hated her when all Annalise did was show care and support for her. Barbara clearly wanted nothing to do with her.

[–] rosemei 8 years ago

The thing I recall was when Annalise's husband left and Annalise is telling Barbara that it wasn't because of her. My impression was Barbara didn't believe her and that damaged her ability to trust Annalise after that. And then Annalise had to go to work and was going back to school to get her degree. I'm sure she tried to make time for Barbara, but I bet there were plenty of times when she was trying to study or concentrate of her work and Barbara felt ignored. So she went from Corrine, who she remembered as being the "perfect" mother who was always there for her, to Annalise who was too busy to notice she wasn't making any friends, even after they moved to the mixed neighborhood. As for thinking Annalise hated her, I assume from the "she's not here" during the graduation scene that Barbara did send Annalise an invitation and when she didn't show up, which may have been for any reason from the invite getting lost in the mail to being out-of-town on business that day, Barbara believed Annalise wanted nothing to do with her or her baby anymore.

[–] Manna-Fest 8 years ago

Yeah, I guess all that makes sense especially with Annalise being busy and then not being at the graduation and coming to see her. But with her working and going school, Barbara could easily understand she was trying to make a living for them both. She was single and was not a foster mother receiving income so she had to be out the house. But as for her not wanting anything to do with Annalise, there's all that stuff about how the black kids acted towards Barbara when she was seen with Annalise, so she would feel embarrassed by her and isolate from her further. I can understand THAT.

Something else I thought was odd is, the movie shows all of Barbara's mothers being at that reunion at the end, but yet the source articles on the real life story only says Corinne was there. It doesn't mention Annalise at all. Here is one of them: http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20142144,00.html. I came across another one telling the story and it doesn't mention Annalise either.

[–] rosemei 8 years ago

Barbara could easily understand she was trying to make a living for them both. She was single and was not a foster mother receiving income so she had to be out the house.

Well, I could get Barbara understanding that later in life, but I'm not sure she would at the age of 7. Was Barbara aware of the fact that Corrine was being paid by the state to care for her and the other foster children? Because if she wasn't aware of the fact, how was she supposed to understand Annalise needing to go out and work? Corrine has no husband and doesn't work outside the home, while caring for Barbara, her own children and other foster babies. There's always enough money, even for things like the bicycle she bought Barbara. It would probably be confusing to her that Annalise, who only has Barbara to care for, can't manage without getting a job.

One thing. I'm not aware of how the system works for this, but could Annalise have just gone on welfare for awhile after her husband left so she didn't need to go out and work? I'm not suggesting permanently, but maybe just the first year or two until Barbara was a little older. Maybe if Annalise had found a way to be home more in the beginning, she and Barbara would have had a chance to bond.And then when Barbabra was a little older and felt more secure, she could then get a job and go back to school.