Wednesday, February 15, 2012

The Adoption, TV, Slavery Triad

 It's becoming harder and harder to watch TV. 

There are the adoption plots: Derek McDreamy Shepherd & Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy;  Quinn and Puck on Glee; Cameron and Mitchell are working on their second same sex adoption on Modern Family; Julia on Parenthood befriends a pregnant co-worker and asks for her baby...just to name a few of the most popular.

None of these plots show adoption from the adoptee's point of view and only one is trying to show it from the mother's perspective, as a well-thought out, intelligent decsion: Susan's daughter, on Desperate Housewives, is pregnant and wants to have her baby adopted despite Susan's protestations.  The daughter is confident she has thought it out well, despite Susan suggesting she might want to wait and actually meet her child first. But she doesn't want to be a single parent like her mother was.

And then there are the actresses who in real life have adopted (Mariska Hagitay of Law & Order SVU) or are trying to (Jillian Michaels of Biggest Loser).

So, just as I was considering murdering my TV, I caught a segment on Rock Center - especially aired for black History month - called Priscilla's Roots about a man who descended from a family of slave owners who kept the most accurate account so the sale of their slaves. Seems most destroyed their records during or after the Civil War.

So this man decided to trace the history of one female slave named Priscilla who was kidnapped from Sierra leone at 10 years of age. he found all of Pricilla's descendants and one of them went back to Sierra Leone.

This is the only case of a slave who has been able to trace her roots, because having been bought like property, they had no birth certificates, no records of any kind.  Birth certificates are only for human beings, not property, although of course pedigree dogs and other animals have lineage that is traceable...just not adopted persons in most of the USA, Inc....land of the un-free.
My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet lack of liberty,
I sing of your plight;
Land where parental rights,
Are shattered day and night,
Too many mothers plight,
Can this be right?
 
My native country, thee,
Land where nothing is free,
Where once was fame;
Now abounds corporate greed,
While 99% are in need,
And the poor used to breed;
I'm filled with shame.
 

6 comments:

Lorraine Dusky said...

Yo! I agree about watching the tube these days--You didn't even mention the new smash hit, SMASH, which in the first episode has a social worker making an assessment call for an adoption. Who wants to adopt? The extremely busy lyricist of the music-writing team. She has an adolescent son but yeah! this family needs to adopt. Like, really? Even in real life that is an unlikely scenario.

I was sooo very turned off and said, Well, that's another show I don't have to watch.

Susie said...

I know what you mean about tv Mirah. I was so excited to watch the new show "Smash", since the very first commercial I saw for it. What was the very first scene about? Adoption! I could have puked. It seems to be an excellent show so far ~ minus the adoption storyline.

Robin said...

There is one bright spot in TV land. The next star of ABC's The Bachelorette will be a single (unwed) mother. She only discovered she was pregnant days after her fiance was killed in a tragic accident. Rumor has it that they weren't really engaged but that is the story ABC is going with. As we all know, it would hardly have been possible for an unwed mother to star in a television show during the BSE.

Mirah Riben said...

So I recently saw an old re-run of a "House" show back when Cutty was trying to adopt and Dr. H was trying to tell her her she'd make a lousy other. He tells her she shouldn't even love her own much less a "factory second." ! !

Anonymous said...

I STRONGLY urge you to watch "Once Upon a Time" on Sundays nights. The show is based upon an adoptee who knows that he is adopted and goes out looking for his birthmother. She eventually comesto live in the town her son is in and becomes the Sheriff of the town through a varitey of twists ans turns.

ABC has done a GREAT job of tackling the adoption plot line in my opinion..A bit sterotypical of course(The adoptive mom is portrayed as "Evil Witch", and Mr. Gold, aka Rumpelstiltskin, is who procures the boy who went looking for his birthmother FOR the "Evil Withc, who is also the mayor of the town. The word "procured" was ACTUALLY USED in the show.) but far more accurate than I have seen portrayed anywhere else. I'm sure I am biased though. There was also another plot line where Hansel and Gretel were orphans and the Sherrif went out to find their birthfather.(An issue close to her heart as she grew up in Foster care, later had a child of her own that she placed for adoption.) My description here does not do the show justice.

Mirah Riben said...

Yes, "orphans" are grist for fairy tales, aren't they?

ALSO - MUST SEE: the TRUE back story on one of the new American Idol candidates: and adoptee who was raised by a preacher and had a Rock n Roll heart. met his birthfather and discovered he was a member of a band and he has a TIGHT relationship with his birthdad who encouraged him to audition and was there with him when he was chosen as one of final 24.

RussiaToday Apr 29, 2010 on Russian Adoption Freeze

Russi Today: America television Interview 4/16/10 Regarding the Return of Artyem, 7, to Russia alone

RT: Russia-America TV Interview 3/10

Korean Birthmothers Protest to End Adoption

Motherhood, Adoption, Surrender, & Loss

Who Am I?

Bitter Winds

Adoption and Truth Video

Adoption Truth

Birthparents Never Forget