Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Adoption Movie Guide: Santa Clause 2
Family secrets are hard to keep.
Scott Calvin has been Santa Clause for eight years. His
teenage son Charlie knows; so do his ex-wife Laura and her husband Neil.
Remarkably, Scott, Laura, and Neil have a better-than-civil relationship.
Laura’s and Neil’s daughter Lucy thinks of Scott as “Uncle Scott,” and suspects
that he might be Santa Clause. However, family secrets are kept and Lucy isn’t
told. In fact, she’s told that it’s not true.
Scott finds himself in some trouble; he needs to get married
quickly or he will forfeit his status as Santa. Charlie is also having trouble;
he acts out through vandalism (even vandalizing his principal’s house!),
largely because of his conflicted feelings about his father’s secret identity.
This is a Disney film, though, so Scott ends up marrying
Charlie’s principal, and everyone goes away happy.
How is This Relevant
to Adoption?
Scott,
Laura, and Neil maintain contact with each other. This likely happens in
step-parent adoptions , which are one of several main types of adoption, but
ongoing contact also happens in grandparent adoptions and other open
adoptions. Family secrets are also
present in many different forms of adoption, and they’re a major theme in this
film; it’s possible that Charlie’s acting-out behaviors are due to the
discomfort he feels with keeping family secrets.
Strong Points
The
positive, collaborative relationship shared by Scott, Laura, and Neil is
exemplary. When Scott is feeling guilty for Charlie’s misbehavior, Laura
comforts him, “don’t blame yourself for Charlie. You’ve been an excellent Dad.”
Scott
and Charlie are able to talk about important things (like girls.)
Charlie
powerfully sums up the experience of living with secrets, “I don’t live a
normal life… My whole life has become about secrets and I hate it.” For
adoptive families that have encouraged children to keep secrets, this could be
a very powerful line.
By
the end of the film, Charlie is at least able to share his secret with his
principal and with his half-sister.
Challenges
Charlie’s
principal chastises Scott, “Maybe if you spent more time with your son, he’d
have fewer problems.” This sounds like conventional wisdom, but Charlie is
struggling with family secrets rather than Scott’s absence.
Weak Points
Even
though Charlie is able to share Scott’s secret identity with his half-sister
and his principal, he is still expected to keep the secret from everyone else.
Confidentiality would be a better expectation of Charlie: tell people you trust
and who you want to tell, but don’t feel like you have to tell everyone.
Santa
asks an elf to lie. A hero telling lies could be confusing to the young
children most likely to appreciate this film.
Recommendations
The
Santa Clause 2 is a good film this time of year for young kids, who will enjoy
the Christmas theme and the candy-binging reindeer. The movie’s positive
portrayal of an open family structure could be very encouraging to children in
an open relationship with their first family. The movie’s focus on family
secrets could be a way to invite a child to be freed from the perceived burden
of secrecy. It’s a good fit – as a film, and as a conversation starter – for
kids ages 6-11.
Questions for Discussion after the movie
Why
was Charlie misbehaving?
What
secrets does our family keep?
How
do you feel about keeping secrets?
Who
do you wish you could tell secrets to?
How
do you feel about the relationship between your adoptive family and your first
family?
For parents:
One character says, “Every parent’s biggest challenge is
balancing work and children.” What do you think?
What secrets have you overtly asked (or covertly expected)
your child to keep about their history and adoption? What secrets have you kept from them?
MERRY CHRISTMAS from Adoption at the Movies!
MERRY CHRISTMAS from Adoption at the Movies!
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