What to Do About Little Orphan Annie?Reader-to-Reader
An AF reader wrote in with the following conundrum:
"My seven-year-old's drama program is putting on the play, Annie. I find the dated story and idea of a orphan as a cartoon character to be inappropriate for our family. The program responded that they feel the play 'educates' children about adoption. Has anyone else's child been exposed to this play, by being part of a production, or just watching the movie? Have your children reacted to or identified with the characters in any way, or not? What have you done? Right now, I wake up in the mornings to my daughter singing 'It's A Hard Knock Life,' and I have to say I find it very disturbing."
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Comments
At the age of 10, my daughter was also involved in the play "Annie". I spoke to the director and asked her about the adoption-sensitive issues related to the play (word use, stereotypes, etc.) She was very open to hearing my concerns and, because she was a person touched by adoption (her spouse had been adopted), she seemed very receptive to considering a review of the script for adoption-sensitive issues. As I was involved in supporting the production, she invited my commentary when I saw the rehearsals. I'm happy to say that the situation was well-resolved. Adoption reflected in theatre can be a challenging issue, yet, it can be portrayed with sensitivity -- just ask!
Posted by: Barb Butz at 7:09am Aug 16
After I adopted my first daughter (from Russia, at age 3), I started taking her to see musicals. We saw Annie many times, and we watched the Disney staging of the musical many times. We even made the "I don't need anything but you" number one of our "themes". I would dance around the room with her in my arms, and sing that to her. she loved it, and loved joining in the choreography. Now that I have three adopted girls, I still walk around the house some days singing "Little Girls" to them! "Annie" was the reality of what some orhanages were like at that time, and in some cases, not that much different from what the children experienced in their countries of origin. I think you can make any situation work for you,and my daugther and I certainly love the musical Annie and the redeeming message at the end - that families can be made up in non-traditional ways and have happy endings. So, my advice is - let your daughter enjoy the music - they are really fun songs, after all - and talk with her about the history/experiences of those children versus her life if need be.
Posted by: Abbie Lampe at 7:15am Aug 16
Our daughter was adopted at 12 yrs old. Initially I was concerned about the word adopted in all it's forms (pet adoption, adopt a highway, etc) and it's depiction in entertainment. I've come to realize that too many people are hyper-sensitive about this issue and I think it tends to make the perception of adoptions a taboo subject. When it comes up we talk openly with our daughter about the portrayal, if it's realistic, how it makes her feel, etc. She absolutely LOVES the movie Despicable Me, even though it definitely has some issues in the way it portrays adoption and the orphanage the girls live in. She loves it precisely because she can understand the girls feelings and because it ends with them having a family... I suspect your child has no issues with the storyline. We need to lose the hyper-sensitivity to this word and use opportunities like this to open age-appropriate dialogs with our adopted children and others.
Posted by: Chris L at 7:16am Aug 16
My 9 year old, adopted from China, loves Annie. We have seen it at the theatre and on DVD. She is a confident child who understands that most adoptions are not like the one in the play. She knows that most orphanages are filled with loving adults and that most children do not end up in a wealthy family. She is able to celebrate with Annie the joy of finding a forever family and has joked about the only better family for her would have been a rich one. I believe that children, adopted or not have the ability to sort out the "movie" and reality.
Posted by: Kathy Jacks at 7:17am Aug 16
My daughter is only 3, but she's been singing "Tomorrow" almost since she could put words together and carry a tune. I, too, was hesitant to let her see the movie (I'm really picky about all adoption-theme movies), but I rented it once to test. She loved the movie and all the music! We've since bought it. As I said, my daughter is only 3, but growing up with the story should give us opportunities to talk about adoption and her own story in a (more) controlled environment. And we'll be having these discussions way before she encounters adoption stereotypes in school.
Posted by: Shawna at 7:25am Aug 16
I feel as adoptive parents we are more sensitive to adoption issues and stereotypes than our children are. All 3 of my adoptive daughters (adopted at ages 4, 7, and 11) understand what adoption is and still enjoy the movie Annie. I think as children they don't fully make the cognitive link between "Annie" and themselves. As parents, we just need to make the children aware that all adopted children have their very own special story with their very own happy ending.
Posted by: Amber at 7:48am Aug 16
My son watched a "modern day" adaptation of the play and in it....the character mentioned..."oh and you will get $10,000 from Bill Clinton" to adopt your child..insinuating that you get paid to adopt.It is offensive to the whole adoption community.
Posted by: Lisa at 7:57am Aug 16
I think "entertainment" involving adoption should be explained just like any other "entertainment." It is not reality, just as any other musical, play, written fiction, or TV program is not reality. There is no harm in enjoying it, but it is not real. By the way, both of my daughters-by adoption- enjoyed the movie version(they are both grown now) when they were younger. We also talked about the fact that it does seem to capture some very nice feelings involved with adoption, loving someone not related to you biologically, making a new family, etc., even if some of it is not like real life.
Posted by: Judith Herzog at 8:14am Aug 16
My niece was in the production of Annie this spring. It was a particularly difficult time for me because our second adoption was falling apart due to Kazkahstan halting their program. I took my 3 year old son who is adoped with me, yet I think he was too young to get it. He was just excited to see his cousin on stage. When they sang "It's a Hard Not Life" I started to picture all the kids pictures I had seen, who were stuck due to buracracy and I began to sobb uncontrolably. For me it touched a nerve of frustration with children being trapped in the system. Yes it is outdated, but it is a classic and not supposed to be modern. Unfortunately, it is still an issue that kids are subjected to institutional life.
Posted by: Karon at 9:07am Aug 16
I would agree that my husband and I are more sensitive to adoption language, use, and protrayals than our 8 yo daughter. We approach this by talking with her about adoption language and issues starting with the idea that many people don't know the whole story about adoption. We're trying to build a sense of consideration for those who use insensitive language or descriptions and that they need us to teach them. It's much better than having a negative turn into shame for the adopted one. So far it's been working. This year my daughter taught her 2nd grade class about adoption in her words, by choice, with no negative feelings or worries at all.
Posted by: Marjorie Cooperman at 9:30am Aug 16
My husband took our adopted daughter to see a stage production when she was about 5. she loved it. I had to buy the soundtrack and movie. I'm sure at that time she didn't even connect the dots about it. Now she is 7 and I asked her how she felt about being about an orphan. She said she loved it and thought it was cool that Annie was adopted just like her! I think it's a fun musical, and if my daughter gets confused or has questions, she will come to me and we'll discuss it. Beware though, the songs can be stuck in your head forever.
Posted by: Tina at 10:11am Aug 16
My 2 daughters (11,6) and my son (3) all enjoy watching the movie often. We stop it and talk about the different scenes and what they mean and how it makes them feel. They are totally comfortable with it and they understand that it is a movie and that it is dramatized. They know that some parts are realistic and some are not. I believe if you communicate well with your children and preview the movies that you allow them to watch, you can fast forward through the parts that are offensive and use the parts that can teach a valuable lesson to focus on, that you will provide a good balance of educating them properly. This would apply with any movie (or play) that you allow them to view or participate in.
Posted by: Tina at 10:17am Aug 16
I'm an adoptee and as a child Annie was my absolute favourite movie! My mom has endless photos of me singing "dumb dog, why are you following me?" to our puppy. I can tell you what I like about it as an adult. 1- It portrays the longing Annie has for her biological parents which is very healthy and something I never talked about. 2- The characters were so funny, pretty, tough, resilient. I wasn't an orphan but as someone given up for adoption I loved identifying with these "cool girls" in my young head. Adoptees are often seen as defective, to me if these girls were given up and they were bright and strong then there was nothing wrong with me either. 3- She finds her forever family. I cry every time. The have so much love that I think it reaffirmed me finding my Mom. (In a much less Hollywood manner). Jessa www.labellevie-j.com
Posted by: jessa at 10:31am Aug 16
My 11 yo (adopted at birth) recently played Miss Hannigan in a local production od Annie. We talked about the whole adoption theme, and Annie's feeling of need to find her "real" parents. M daughter;s reaction was :She would be so much better off if she just let herself get adopted". And that was the end of it. Her only concern was the other children who were not adopted. She hoped that Mr. Warbucks came to his senses and adopted them all. Overall, we had a much harder time with the play Beauty and the Beast, where she played Belle. Belle closeness with her father was very sad for my daughter, as we lost her dad (my husband) suddenly 3 years ago. That was a loss she understood.
Posted by: Kate at 11:47am Aug 16
A five year old was placed with us and was extremely freaked out by the idea of adoption.She thought she was going to be sent away to an orphanage and then brought back once the adoption was finalized. That said, we love Annie and try to appreciate it for what it is. I always tell my girls that there are many stories in adoption and this is one.
Posted by: Erika at 12:39pm Aug 16
Annie rocks! The truth is, we could argue that any "dated" play can be insensitive - to adoption, certainly to race (watch any Shirly Temple movies lately?), often to gender. Are we going to deprive ourselves of any "entertainment" that is not up to 2010 levels of sensitivity? I explain to my children that attitudes and language evolve, and this is one reason why we should all work to be sensitive. I have heard my children explain to other kids, "Hey, isn't it crazy that this is the way it USED to be? Now it is better to..."
Posted by: Pamela at 1:16pm Aug 16
My daughter saw it when my niece, who was also adopted, was actually in the play. The story doesn't portray our adoption, or even come close to our adoption story, so we did not sweat the over the top references. We were prepared to discuss how the play was make believe, but it never came up. We can't shelter our kids from stuff like this, so we deal with it head on and talk about any uncomfortable issues as they arise.
Posted by: Lori Dashewich at 3:27pm Aug 16
"Annie" is an extremely popular musical, I think every elementary school in our community has put it on. The children absolutely LOVE the music in it! Last year my 9 year old sang "It's a hard knock life" constantly. This year she is singing the "Maybe" song. We talked briefly about this was how many orphanages were run in the olden days (when her daddy was a baby). She loves the happy ending where Annie gets adopted and brings all the girls to the celebration at the Warbucks mansion. She sees the musical as a story not as reality. She sees more of her actual orphanage experience in books like, "When You Were Born in China". My older daughter would be horrified if I spoke out and objected to the musical, because she dreads the idea of being singled out. She states clearly that it is a musical and not the way an orphanage would actually be run.
Posted by: Jane Blannin-bruleigh at 7:53pm Aug 16
My 10 year old son and I were both, just two months ago, in the local community theatre production of "Annie" and had a blast. (He was one of the dog catchers and danced and sang with me as one of the homeless people in the Hooverville scene). He first saw the 1982 movie four or five years ago and, despite the "real parents" and other old-fashioned references, he's always enjoyed it. His grandma, my mom, sang the theme song live, every week on _the_ "Little Orphan Annie" program in 1931, broadcast from the NBC Blue studios in Chicago. Mom was 12 at the time. My son and I have discussed the old-fashioned terminology and he understands that 1933 (when the stage/movie production is set) was a very different time than now and not only were fashions very different, but attitudes toward adoption, children and families were also very different. With my mom's wonderful input, having lived through that time, our whole experience - movie and stage productions - turned into a history and social studies lesson. As I say, we had a blast - and learned a lot, too!
Posted by: Elyse Chapman at 10:48pm Aug 16
I have issues with Annie, but I really had issues with the movie that came out over the summer "Despicable Me" that put the "orphans" in cardboard boxes if they didn't sell enough cookies for the orphanage and that they were sent back to the orphanage.......my 5 year old had a few questions "Did I sell cookies in Russia". He knows that they are stories, but there is just so much running thru his head.
Posted by: margaret at 10:15am Aug 18
I didn't even give it a second thought when we first watched Annie. Amazingly my 3 year surprised me and looked at me and said, "mom, I'm adoption just like Annie". Obviously, I don't think she quite understood what adoption actually was but we talk about it and based on my conversations with people who were adopted they tell me their best advice is to always talk about it---it should never be a secret. We keep an open dialogue and only then I believe the so-called adoption taboo will go away. Don't treat it as if its something to be ashamed of. Families are formed in many different ways.
Posted by: Julie at 7:33am Aug 25
One of my favorite themes from Annie is that a family can be created by people who love each other and are not bioligically related. I have more of a problem with films that portray a child trying to find his "real" parents and not ever being happy until that happens. One, for example, August Rush, in which a birthmother is told that her baby is dead, and her father is allowed to forge adoption papers for the baby. When older, the child is offered many opportunities to be adopted, but denies them, instead searching for his "real" family. Also, the theme that the child inherited a gift for music from his bioligical parents, and through this gift coupled with divine intervation, he is able to find them. This is strange and offensive to me. In contrast, Annie is a celebration of love conquering all the difficulties of adoption. As a school teacher who used the music of Annie in the classroom, and as an adoptive parent, I was particularly aware of children in the class who were adopted. I chose to discuss these issues openly and used the opportunity to teach about adoption. I think the adopted children appreciated it and it made them feel special. It gave them a chance to share their own adoption stories and talk about how they were different than Annie's story.
Posted by: Amy at 8:20am Oct 6
My son was adopted from China at 2 yrs old, and he got Annie the movie as a Christmas present from a friend when he was 3. It was his favorite movie for about 5 months, and I cannot tell you how many times he watched it. He was most fascinated with Annie running from the Bad Man on the train tracks, and the helicopter rescue.... we had to talk that one through as he was so afraid Annie would get run over by a train. So much for adoption issues... He does very much identify with Annie being in an orphanage, and points out he was in an orphanage too, and also with her having a dog (he has a large one). And he identified with Annie being adopted and having nice parents afterwards. He saw it as very positive, and was very impressed by how strong a character Annie was: that she faces down the bigger boys who are picking on the dog for instance. Annie remains (at nearly 5 yrs old) one of his favorite movies, and we have also watched Oliver! the film. These are fictionalized romanticized versions of life with over the top characters (the Bad Men really are very bad... I am more worried about nightmares) set in historical periods... I don't find I have issues with them, and they allow my son to relate to children in an orphanage (which doesn't happen to children in North America, but certainly does elsewhere in the world including China), their dramas, and eventual resolution of being adopted "forever, right Mommy?" into loving families. I welcome the opportunity for dialogue and exploration of adoption. Note his current fave movie is Beethoven, as we have a Saint Bernard, and really, it certainly isn't any more realistic re Saints than the other two are about adoption, and it gives us a chance to laugh at the exaggerations, rather than get angry at the unfair portrayals (Beethoven really is the Jim Carrey of Saint Bernards).
Posted by: Leanne at 8:47am Oct 6
I will admit to being sensitive to this topic as well, especially since my daughter has red-curly hair. I wasn't even sure what to think when her bm suggested she be Annie for Halloween. My daughter is still too young right now for the movie or play, but I am so glad that this topic was discussed. I couldn't agree more with a lot of the things said and I think this will help me handle this when it comes up later.
Posted by: Deborah at 10:19am Oct 6
Annie is pretty dated. Surely there are better, modern plays that kids can participate in? I was less concerned about my daughter's reaction to the play than her classmates stereotypes of our child and our family.
Posted by: Heather at 5:44pm Oct 6
My daughter saw The Rescuers last summer at age 5 going on 6. She insisted on seeing it again and again. Definitely made the connection. I think that any movie about adoption can serve to bring up issues we can talk about. Now at age 7 I notice my daughter makes little shrines on her desk in her room with a book at the center and all of her treasures around it. The book changes regularly - but it is ALWAYS a kids' book about adoption. To me that says it all: our kids are looking for information, models, ideas and anything that can help them make sense of their lives. Movies and books are a big help!
Posted by: Brenda at 12:28am Oct 7
I really feel like many a-parents have their heads in the sand. When a child is small, a show like Annie, etc., can seem cute and/or meaningless. But we have to think about the long term and what these things are going to mean at a subconscious or cultural level and be proactive. I don't care if Annie is popular or not. Heck, I loved "Little Black Sambo" when I was a kid, but it's no longer published in its original form for some very good reasons ... just because Annie was deemed "harmless" for those of us raised in the 60s and 70s, doesn't mean we can't (and shouldn't) do better now.
Posted by: Kim at 9:26am Oct 9
PLEASE!! Let's not treat adoption as if it is a bad thing. Little orphan Annie gets adopted and so did our children. Why are we trying to "hide" all of this from them. This is a geat little musical. Guess what, there are children living with their bio parents who live in horrible conditions too. Should non-adopted children not learn about child abuse?
Posted by: Lisa at 10:39am Oct 10
What happened to her or him
Posted by: Adria at 1:44pm Dec 22
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