green

Tonight I brought my mom to see  Babies. Babies is a Focus Features film which is a documentary style movie about the birth and first year of life for four babies across the world. We get an inside view of a babies life in Nambibia, Japan, America and Mongolia.

Let me just say I’ve been really excited to see this movie since I first heard about it. As a mom myself I often times wonder about the way things are done in other Countries. I know that in America we are worriers. I know that we have rules and regulations that other Countries think are insane. America has their own way of doing things and no one can tell us anything. We are a Country of convenience and conformity.

I’m an American. Maybe this is why I was so put off with the choice of family used to represent the American baby. Hattie was born to parents who are quite “frunchy” so to speak. Very granola and green with a simple lifestyle . They cloth diapered Hattie from day one. They partook in baby wearing Hattie nearly every where they went. Hattie participated in playgroups to celebrate our mother earth. Hattie seems to be living a very fun life.

What Hattie didn’t seem to have was the typical “American” necessities. Hattie did not have a ton of toys, Hattie did not have a stroller, Hattie did not have stressed out worryied parents. Again, Hattie still seemed to get by fine day to day. Hattie was a flat out happy baby.

Why does this bother me you might be wondering? This bothers me because it is not the “norm” for our Country. It isn’t the typical American families behavior. This is a skewed version of how a baby is raised in America.

Don’t misunderstand. I cloth diaper Spencer, not every day, but we own an entire “stash” of cloth. I have two forms of baby wearing devices and used them both for Spencer. Therefore I am in no way judging Hattie’s parents. On the contrary I applaud them for living a more relaxed less chaotic life. Hattie will probably be a happy child with respect for others and her surrounding. But again, that is not the majority of our Country.

If you are going to choose one family to represent us, I believe it should be someone from the majority. A family in America who uses convenience items, where both parents have to work (I never noticed either of Hattie’s parents working) where schedules are an important part of our day and finally, where the need to surround our children with every toy on the market is all but required to fit in with The Joneses.

This is America. When I was leaving the theatre I said out loud something along the lines of “I’m really put off by the representation of the American baby” and a lady in front of me turned around and said “Did the granola thing bother you too, that just isn’t typical here.” After that another young father chimed in to say “That was insane, do you know anyone who raises their child that way in America?”

Well yes, the truth is I do. But they are an exception, not the rule. This left me wondering if the people raising their babies in these other Countries were a realistic representation. And maybe they weren’t, and I guess that is fine. Because the point behind the movie was to show that we are all human, we are born and we grow. It is our surroundings that shape so much of who we are. Yet somehow I walked away with a bad taste in my mouth of who is being represented as “us” in America, and apparently I wasn’t alone.

Babies is a fun and educational documentary. However I do not recommend it to anyone who has to pay $10.50 to see it. I say wait for DVD or possibly even television. It had a TLC Documentary feeling to me that I couldn’t shake.

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