There are several things in the works at the moment that I'm looking forward to posting. Unfortunately, all of those require more polish and editing before they're fit for public consumption. Despite this, I feel the need to share something.
While poking around online, Google Adsense has shown that it's finally started tracking my online behavior. So now I'm seeing ads for adoption agencies. This is an indication that I need to review my privacy controls and settings. But more importantly, I saw an advertisement today that I find profoundly disturbing.
The phrase highlighted was "you don't have to be perfect to be a perfect parent". For the moment I'm going to ignore the issues I might take with this catch phrase and how poorly it conveys its intended message. What is important, however, was the associated image. It was a screen capture from The Odd Life of Timothy Green.The website, AdoptUSKids.org is using pop culture references in an attempt to make adoption more accessible. That makes sense and has been put to good use in many efforts to normalize ideas mass media isn't ready to embrace. It still sickens me a bit, but at least I understand it. The problem I have with this is the pop culture material being referenced.
If adoption professionals are going to use pop culture to approach people online about accepting adoption, maybe they should consider using material that accepts adoption. I'm not going to rehash the review of the film I did in August. It's not worth your time and it certainly doesn't deserve that much space in anyone's brain. But I can't help but wonder what the hell these people are thinking emblazoning on their advertisements images from a film that encourages emotionally damaging ideas about adoption. The only conclusion I can come up with is the person who thought up this ad campaign either never saw the movie, shouldn't be working in the adoption industry, or has firmly lodged their cranium into one of their own orifices.
Thank you for putting up with this rant. I hope you have a pleasant day.
Oh, that tag line alone is enough to drive me up the wall. Are they really trying to sell the idea of imperfection as acceptable to potential adoptive parents, when adoption agencies are notorious for using the exact opposite argument on expectant mothers, feeding them the idea that the adoptive parents are "better" for their children? Would they say this same thing to expectant parents considering adoption, that they don't need to be perfect to raise their own child? I'm not in the least bit bitter about my own experiences with the agency I placed my daughter through. They were very ethical, encouraged me to seek out resources to be able to parent, and offered to provide me with support no matter what my decision was, but even I have to balk at this blatant hypocrisy.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen the movie. I caught a few previews and knew it was most-likely garbage. The only review I have read on it is your own and you laid to rest every single one of my suspicions. I don't normally like to accept other's opinions without testing them for myself, but there is no way I am going to give my hard-earned money to Disney and watch, rent, purchase or download that movie.
ReplyDeleteI too, saw it referenced on the AdoptUSKids site and thought, "Really? This is an example of healthy adoption in the US today?" No. It's. Not. I can only assume the Disney Co made some sort of donation to AdoptUSKids to feature this movie during Adoption Awareness Month.
So surprised and jaded, that this inspired my first-ever comment on your blog.
Cheers to you and all you are striving to be- in your life and through this blog!
I really, really struggle with seeing Jim and Cindy Green as perfect parents. I'd guess that the agency didn't really think through all the implications of the movie (or like Meliski suggested, maybe it was product placement). Good catch, I am.
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