MovieChat Forums > The Dark Matter of Love (2012) Discussion > Ever heard of adopting an American child...

Ever heard of adopting an American child?

posted 8 years ago by laurieann74
2 replies | jump to latest

There are tons of children in the United States that need a good, stable home, yet these clueless people go clear across the world to adopt children from a culture they are totally unfamiliar with. This family made a terrible mistake bringing these children into their lives all at once. They weren't prepared whatsoever. Why Russian children? Their poor daughter wasn't mentally prepared to go from being an only child to a sister of two lunatic twins then a troubled little girl. These people had good intentions, but screwed up their family. The mother looked exhausted, while the daughter looked annoyed. The dad was obnoxious too. Kids from Russia aren't used to physical affection, yet he kept hugging them like they were stuffed animals. All & all, this documentary provided the viewer into the lives of this family that made a horrible mistake in bringing these children into their lives. It's no fault of the children, but that kind of dynamic just doesn't work. Furthermore, when will American families realize that there are plenty of children/infants in our own country that need loving homes. Why Russia?

[–] Mehki_Girl 8 years ago

One year later, it seemed to have worked out.

[–] neutralneutrals 8 years ago

I agree that the idea of going abroad to adopt Russian children is an over romanticized concept that doesn't always gel with reality. It annoyed me that not even the parents made even the smallest effort to learn Russian. They're Disney employees, and therefore big into romanticism, they're idealistic and mean well, but how well do good intentions play out in the end. This family wasn't bad, but they were a bit ignorant. I also suspect that there's quite a bit that went on in the house that was not on film.

Most likely they chose Russia because the children are of the same race (42% of foster children are white). American children in foster care often have learning disabilities, and come from abusive backgrounds, which is what the family most likely wanted to (attempt) to avoid. Here's an article on racism in foster care http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dashanne-stokes/how-racism-is-hurting-our_b_8273368.html

It's a complex subject, but the situation of young Russian orphans is very different from that of children who have been in and out of foster care their entire lives in America. Foster care is an improvement on orphanages they say, but let's ask the children this.