Many people view adoption as such a wonderful and great thing. People who have always wanted kids can experience parenthood and kids that don't have a "family" get a family. Adoption isn't this cookie cutter concept though. Sharon McCarthy's, The Dark Matter of Love, sheds a light on the trial that can be adoption. This documentary show the struggles one family is faced with after adopting not one, but three children from Russia. It shows the hard part of bringing someone new into an already established family.
A reoccurring theme in this documentary is the idea that adoption is an uphill battle from the beginning. This is shown to be especially true when established families are involved as well as when older adopted children. The film also emphasizes the idea of nature and nurture. The adopted children, although not from the same family, had similar tendencies due to their environment in the orphanage. But the film shows how the nurture given by the adopting family plays an extreme role in the development of the children as they grew up.
The family featured in this documentary consists of a mom, a dad, a teenage daughter, and a family dog. To engage the audience the film shows the angle and view of each member of the family so that individual members of the audience can find relatable characters. The way the mom is adjusting is different from the dad, and so on with each member of the family. The film captures this beautifully allowing audience members to "put themselves in the families shoes" so to say.
All people deal with stress in different ways and I loved how this documentary didn't sugar coat the ugly parts. Some parts were hard to watch but they also had me laughing. One very memorable humorous aspect of the movie was the language barrier between the American family and adopted children. Neither one of the parents knew Russian. The audience watches as these children curse at adults and the adults have no idea what they were saying. The comedic element to the documentary kept the tension lighter and helped to further engage the audience in the families journey. You tag along with this family as they go through this crazy journey. You feel there pain and their sadness but you also feel the accomplishments they make and smile with them as they experience the happy moments.
This documentary was very interesting to me due to my interest in mental health. Being a psychology minor I find it very interesting how your childhood impacts your life and relationships with others. The theme of nature versus nurture really resonated with me. I think it would be good for a wide audience range because of its real life situations which are relatable to people even if they haven't been through the same situations. This film would also be good for people to watch because it shows you what children need as they are growing. They need more then food and shelter, they need love and a person they can depend on. I found this film very intriguing because so many people view adoption as this beautiful and amazing time but when in reality it can potentially be hard and very stressful for everyone involved.
A reoccurring theme in this documentary is the idea that adoption is an uphill battle from the beginning. This is shown to be especially true when established families are involved as well as when older adopted children. The film also emphasizes the idea of nature and nurture. The adopted children, although not from the same family, had similar tendencies due to their environment in the orphanage. But the film shows how the nurture given by the adopting family plays an extreme role in the development of the children as they grew up.
The family featured in this documentary consists of a mom, a dad, a teenage daughter, and a family dog. To engage the audience the film shows the angle and view of each member of the family so that individual members of the audience can find relatable characters. The way the mom is adjusting is different from the dad, and so on with each member of the family. The film captures this beautifully allowing audience members to "put themselves in the families shoes" so to say.
All people deal with stress in different ways and I loved how this documentary didn't sugar coat the ugly parts. Some parts were hard to watch but they also had me laughing. One very memorable humorous aspect of the movie was the language barrier between the American family and adopted children. Neither one of the parents knew Russian. The audience watches as these children curse at adults and the adults have no idea what they were saying. The comedic element to the documentary kept the tension lighter and helped to further engage the audience in the families journey. You tag along with this family as they go through this crazy journey. You feel there pain and their sadness but you also feel the accomplishments they make and smile with them as they experience the happy moments.
This documentary was very interesting to me due to my interest in mental health. Being a psychology minor I find it very interesting how your childhood impacts your life and relationships with others. The theme of nature versus nurture really resonated with me. I think it would be good for a wide audience range because of its real life situations which are relatable to people even if they haven't been through the same situations. This film would also be good for people to watch because it shows you what children need as they are growing. They need more then food and shelter, they need love and a person they can depend on. I found this film very intriguing because so many people view adoption as this beautiful and amazing time but when in reality it can potentially be hard and very stressful for everyone involved.