Throughout the first half of the documentary, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it because it felt like they were only going to share her side of the story and push the audience to feel sorry for her. The only time I felt any sympathy for her was when she reveals her upbringing and how awful her actual parents were to her. However, this terrible childhood experience was no valid reason for her to decide that she wants to be Black. She states her case throughout the documentary about why she insists on identifying as Black - she believes race is a social construct and there is only one race, the human race. Well the second part is technically true, but ethnicity is not something you can change just cos you feel like it. The experience that comes with being a certain ethnicity - whether that be Asian, Latino, Black is unique to these communities. It's wonderful to share customs with one another and it's nice to see people of other ethnicities immerse themselves into a culture (respectfully) but to go as far as to say you will now identify as that ethnicity ? That's not how it works. The fact that she doubles down on it rather than accept that she messed up makes it easy to lose patience with her.
I was happy that we got to hear her sons explain their case and how the mess she caused affected them. I feel so bad for these young men. People really should not be attacking them for their mother's mistakes. The tweets that were sent to Isaiah when she posted that they had toured Howard University... c'mon people, your problem is with her, not him. The tweets that were directed to her newborn baby ! I hate the internet sometimes, too many terrible people that should not have access to a computer or keyboard. It's very selfish of her to have dragged these young men down with her. When they're trying to tell her how they want out and how her actions have impacted their lives, she doesn't listen and starts crying as if she's a victim. She may have been a victim to unloving, batshit insane parents, and possibly to that disgusting predator brother - but she's not the victim in the public humiliation she faced. That was a situation she created all on her own.
As my title to this review states, this documentary is actually a good view into what happens when trauma isn't properly processed or taken care of. I can see why she got so immersed into the Black/African American culture, she really wanted to distance herself as much as possible from her awful family. She got to see firsthand how her family mistreated the Black children they had adopted, so I'm sure that made her detest her "whiteness" even more. She was mistreated by her parents too, which is why she felt she related more to the Black children and eventually... the whole Black community. I believe if she looked for professional help before it got out of hand, she could've understood that she could advocate for and support the Black community as a White woman and she still would've been welcomed. Now she has to deal with the consequences of a mess that she, herself, made. I really hope that she has a wake up call someday and accepts the proper assistance to help her process her trauma. I hope her sons' lives have improved and have been able to distance themselves from the mess. I also hope that her adopted sister gets justice and that predatory brother gets what's coming to him.
I was happy that we got to hear her sons explain their case and how the mess she caused affected them. I feel so bad for these young men. People really should not be attacking them for their mother's mistakes. The tweets that were sent to Isaiah when she posted that they had toured Howard University... c'mon people, your problem is with her, not him. The tweets that were directed to her newborn baby ! I hate the internet sometimes, too many terrible people that should not have access to a computer or keyboard. It's very selfish of her to have dragged these young men down with her. When they're trying to tell her how they want out and how her actions have impacted their lives, she doesn't listen and starts crying as if she's a victim. She may have been a victim to unloving, batshit insane parents, and possibly to that disgusting predator brother - but she's not the victim in the public humiliation she faced. That was a situation she created all on her own.
As my title to this review states, this documentary is actually a good view into what happens when trauma isn't properly processed or taken care of. I can see why she got so immersed into the Black/African American culture, she really wanted to distance herself as much as possible from her awful family. She got to see firsthand how her family mistreated the Black children they had adopted, so I'm sure that made her detest her "whiteness" even more. She was mistreated by her parents too, which is why she felt she related more to the Black children and eventually... the whole Black community. I believe if she looked for professional help before it got out of hand, she could've understood that she could advocate for and support the Black community as a White woman and she still would've been welcomed. Now she has to deal with the consequences of a mess that she, herself, made. I really hope that she has a wake up call someday and accepts the proper assistance to help her process her trauma. I hope her sons' lives have improved and have been able to distance themselves from the mess. I also hope that her adopted sister gets justice and that predatory brother gets what's coming to him.