Foster parenting in film and television

Fostering and adoption aren’t issues that are tackled by the Hollywood movie studios very often. Nor are you likely to see them crop up on your television screen. These issues are so charged that few writers and producers feel that they can really handle them comfortably. But while most filmmakers shy away, a few brave production teams decide to meet the fostering head on and tackle both sides of the story. The movies I Am Sam and Antwone Fisher and the television show The Wire are among the few productions that have really confronted the issue.



The 2001 movie I Am Sam, starring Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer and Dakota Fanning, tackles the issue of foster parenting although its focus is primarily on father Sam Dawson, a developmentally disabled man played by Sean Penn. The story focuses on Sam’s enduring struggle to raise his daughter and fight for his right to be a father to her under pressure from the authorities who wish to place her into foster care. I Am Sam reminds us that fostering is never a clear cut issue, and that there are complications and emotions both for the birth families and foster families, as well as for the children themselves.

A year later, Antwone Fisher, the directorial debut of actor Denzel Washington, also tackled the issue of fostering head on. The movie follows the story of Antwone, played by Derek Luke, who recounts his experiences to his therapist, played by Denzel Washington. Antwone is fostered as a young man but is unhappy in his foster home. As an adult he joins the navy and after many years confronts his foster family over the treatment he received from them and eventually tracks down his biological family. The movie is based on a true story, adding an extra layer of poignancy.



HBO’s critically acclaimed drama The Wire turned its focus on institutional dysfunction in Baltimore’s schools in its fourth season and in turn on the lives of the children within it. Over the course of the season we see the positive influence that Randy’s foster mother has on her boy until a vicious rumour results in her getting caught in the crossfire of a gang war. At the end of the season we witness retired police commander Bunny Colvin take Namond, the son of a notorious gangster, under his wing as he fosters him in his own home. In the relentlessly bleak world of The Wire, Namond’s story is one of the few that culminates in a happy ending.



The picture of foster parenting presented by these movies and The Wire is multi-layered and complex, reflecting both the ups and downs of the fostering experience. In some ways it is odd that it is HBO’s cynical and bleak drama that shows the true potential of a good foster home for a child in need.



Isla Campbell writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.