The ‘Orphan‘ has only been out a week and a half and it’s already getting ridiculed by adoption groups who are now urging people to boycott the horror film.
The ‘Orphan’ is about a a little girl named Esther who is adopted by a wealthy family who is eager to give her a nice home. The family, at first, think that Esther is a withdrawn child who is just too wise beyond her years, but soon she starts wreaking havoc on her adopted family in chilling scenarios.
Many adoption groups find the film offensive, particularly because it discourages adoption of older children who are most in need of a home:
[Via Fox New Pop Tart]
Warner Bros. new horror flick “Orphan” may be causing its audience to scream, but it is also causing a squeal from a growing number of national adoption groups and organizations who are urging Americans to boycott the flick which is centered on an evil adopted child.
Leading philanthropist and founder of Children Uniting Nations which supports foster youth, Daphna Ziman, is one of the many who are outraged and joining the charge to promote a socially responsible solution.
“Although we recognize the film is fiction, the response we have had from adoption groups and potential adoptive parents has been overwhelming,” Ziman told Tarts. “When a major corporation sensationalizes on an area that affects our nation’s most needy children without responsible messaging it is unconscionable. Warner Bros needs to be socially conscientious of the children they are potentially harming and put a disclaimer on the film and a public service announcement educating viewers on the plight of children living in protective custody through no fault of their own.”
Advocacy groups believe that the film may feed into any possible pre existing doubt and prevent parents from adopting. Although Warner Bros is yet to meet Ziman’s request for a meeting with executives to add the disclaimer, the studio has reportedly removed a highly criticized line from the film where the orphan Esther says, “It must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own.”
“’Orphan’ is a work of fiction; it is not a depiction of any real-life events or situations and has never been portrayed as anything but an entirely fictional story,” a rep for Warner Bros told Tarts in response. “We apologize if we appeared insensitive with the initial trailer as it’s never our intent to offend anyone with our products.”
I think this whole boycott thing is ridiculous. If someone really wants to adopt, I’m pretty sure there is nothing, not even a movie, that is going to change their mind. How many scary movie are out there about wicked children? Lots, like The Omen or The Good Son, and you don’t see our population dwindling because of those horror movies. So why would people who see this movie just stop wanting to adopt? Crazy.
