Tuesday, February 2, 2016
My Identity Adoption Short Review
In My Identity, Ashley Wolford shares the journey she went
through to create herself. Ashley is a young, Native American woman. My
Identity is the latest short film from foster care-focused filmmaker Yasmin
Mistry, and is a beautiful and powerful retelling of Ashley’s story. After
growing up with an absent father and a drug-addicted mother, Ashley was placed
in Kinship Care – a foster care placement with her relatives. Even then, Ashley
did not immediately find stability, as she was moved from home to home and was
ultimately separated from her brother. Even in adulthood, she was estranged
from her brother when he refused to accept her conversion to Islam. In spite of
this, Ashley has managed to thrive, and although she grieves some of the lost
relationships in her life, she maintains a sense of positivity and reaches out
to help others.
The Adoption / Foster
Connection
Ashley spent much of her childhood in kinship care, which is
foster care placement with relatives. She was separated from her brother, and
worked with around 30 caseworkers. She also expressed an understanding that
many Native American children in foster care do not have access to their
culture.
Strong Points
Ashley maintains a desire for positivity in spite of the
challenges and pain she has experienced.
Challenges and Weak
Points
No concerns with this one. It would be interesting to
revisit Ashley in a decade or so to see what her identity looks like in the
future. A second-edition ten years later would perhaps be even more valuable,
but as it is, it’s already insightful.
Recommendations
My Identity is a very short film that seems most likely to
appeal to teens and adults. It would be valuable viewing for prospective foster
and adoptive parents who are considering taking placement of grade-school or
older kids. The film would also be helpful to any prospective parents as it
could help them consider the place of culture in the life of their future
children; Ashley’s point about Native children not having access to their
culture is an important and clearly-stated fact.
Questions for
Discussion
What elements make up your identity? How did they each shape
you as you formed your identity?
How do you feel about Ashley’s statement that Native
children in foster care are often not able to be connected to their culture? Apply
this to other cultures a well. Is it a big deal? If so, what can foster parents
do to rectify this?
Catch the trailer here; http://www.fostercarefilm.com/my-identity
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I would strongly love to watch this. Can someone send me the link? Or let me know how I can watch?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your interest. You can view the trailer at fostercarefilm.com/myidentity and check out our upcoming screening schedule at fostercarefilm.com/events. Email us at info@fostercarefilm.com if you have any questions.
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