What were they thinking?
Last weekend, the ABC news magazine show 20/20 ran a promotional spot for an upcoming segment called “Be My Baby.” “Barbara [Walters] will bring you what might be called the ultimate reality show,” co-anchor John Stossel proclaimed. “As you watch, a pregnant teenager will decide which of five couples gets her baby.”
It was utterly repulsive, and gave the impression that ABC was running some sort of depraved contest with a baby as the grand prize. The network was flooded with calls from horrified viewers and quickly backtracked, saying that the segment isn’t really what the promo said it is, but rather a thoughtful examination of open adoption. Nevertheless, the spot was hurriedly (and wisely) replaced with a considerably more restrained one.
As anyone who has ever adopted a child knows, adoption is not a game. It is not a competition. It does not have winners and losers. Rather, it is a very personal process which makes would-be parents look deep within themselves and determine whether or not they really want to have children. Our son was adopted, so I speak from personal experience.
For her part, Walters should have known this, as her daughter was adopted as well. The fact that she did not object to this promo (she is, after all, the show’s main talent; it seems highly unlikely that it would not have been run by her) speaks volumes about her judgment.
Of course, this is not to say that adoption is a taboo subject. The Discovery Health Channel’s show Adoption Stories profiles families and their children via adoption, going through the process from start to finish, and does so with respect and good taste. ABC could learn a thing or two from it.
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