Spoilers -- I'm usually skeptical of claims of racism,

Because:

1) the Black Social Workers' Association would have condemned the movie.
2) it would have been considered a slap at Black people for not adopting their own orphans.


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Think cynical thoughts.

i don't think it had anything to do with racism. Personally, i think Fred needed to get his act together and work on his relationships with his family and himself before he could bring another person into the mix.

It shouldn't matter what color the family that adopted Slam would turn out to be. As long as they would love and care for him, it's just not a big issue.

The boy was happy at the end, you can't ask for better than that.

The Goblin...



http://www.myspace.com/officiallyginanicole

I think the Fred/Slam relationship was more based upon Fred being a surrogate big brother to Slam, since he was estranged from his real younger brother. I don't think it would have really worked with him as his father.

That being said, it did seem kind of odd that they made a point of showing Slam with "his own people" so to speak. It's a shame because the movie made a point at the end with Willie and Charlene to say that love comes in all shapes and sizes.

ii:iv

funny that THAT strikes you as racist, when it was actually not.

What's more racist is that a kid was the butt-end of racial humor in a mainstream feel-good movie. "here's your wallet back" and "turn your hat around, you don't have a video coming out tomorrow"

That and the only other black guy had to be the DJ.


WOW. This movie is crap.

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We've lost Gorgeous George.

Normally I'm pretty open to a lot of films. But this one managed to offend me not once, but TWICE. Yes, the whole "Aw, look, he got a black family for christmas" scene stuck out like a sore thumb- what got me even more were all the children opening presents to the tune of "O Holy Night."
THIS is the "spirit" of Christmas? Good old American consumerism prevails again. Blech. This trite, confused movie gets a negative one rating in my book.

[deleted]

Wasn't there some study that showed it is better for orphans to live with the same race family as themselves. I remember hearing something about that, but I couldn't find anything on it in my few minutes searching the web. Maybe someone else has more time to do some research on this.

BOYCOTT SHAMPOO! DEMAND REAL POO!

There truly is no pleasing some people. If Slam had been adopted by Fred, then you'd have people saying that the movie states black adults can't be good parents, and only a white man can raise a black child. Actually that seems far more racist. White man looks out for black man, because black man can't watch out for himself. It's not progressive, it's patronizing.

Really though, I imagine it'd be pretty awakward for poor Slam if he was adopted by Fred. The kid would come home everyday and have no black relatives to relate to. All races are equal, don't get me wrong, but there's no denying different cultures. Plus, Fred didn't seem ready to have any kids at that point in his life, like others said. The family he wound up with seemed loving, which is what matters.