Mixing it up

Marina Andric

Have you ever had a gathering of companions that were more like your family? At the point when you get those individuals throughout your life, never let them go. Amity like that is uncommon nowadays, clutch them. So far in my life individuals travel every which way, I’ve realized who to keep and who to drop. In any case, it’s extraordinary, when I became friends with people that truly understood and supported me through everything. Many people, when they think of the word family, define it as a group of individuals that are closely related by blood as children, aunts, parents, etc. This is incorrect. In an excessive number of cases the individuals who love and support you the most aren’t generally blood-related. A family isn’t somebody who has a similar race, DNA, or last name as you. Family is somebody who is a major part of your life and thinks about your prosperity and joy more than anything. In the show The Umbrella Academy, episode “The end of Something” they break the racial stereotypes associated with the meaning of family.

On one day in 1989, 43 newborn children were mysteriously born to irregular, unconnected females who gave no indications of pregnancy the day preceding. Seven were adopted by a very rich man who goes by the name Sir Reginald Hargreeves. All of those kids were born with superpowers so he created the Umbrella Academy to ready his “kids” to save the world. The family consists of Luther, Klaus, Five, Vanya, Diego, Ben(ghost), Allison. The first four being white and the last three in order being Hispanic, Asian, and black. Right off the bat, this show has great diversity, they were able to include many different races in one family which we don’t usually see on an everyday basis. In this episode, the siblings are stuck in the 1960s and are trying to time travel back to the year 2019. It starts off with Vanya having to undo the mistake she made when she gave a random kid her powers. From the outset, it would seem that Vanya may need to deal with it solo. At the point when she requests help, her siblings crudely turn her down, before Klaus begins an empathetic chain response that ends with each of the six remaining next to her. Vanya then says to them “I’m scared. For the first time in my life, I don’t wanna do it alone. I want my family by my side.” It is very apparent here that even though the siblings know it was Vanya’s mistake and going out to help her would be increasing their chances of being killed by the commission (timekeepers), they still want to be there to support her and ensure her safety the entirety of the trip. It also seems like Vanya needs them to come and is depending on them to be there for her. While they’re on their mission, the commission’s Handler releases her daughter, Lila, who also has a superpower, and orders her to try to kill the Umbrella academy members. Amidst the fight, Diego tells her that “She’s (the Handler) just trying to use you.” which she replies with “You’re wrong she raised me.”. At this point, he reveals to Lila that her mother ordered someone from the commission to kill her parents and then proceeded to kidnap her and raise her. Diego continues, “She never cared about your parents. She was looking for you,”. The other siblings show up, and Diego discloses to her that The Handler took her, similarly as Reginald (their adoptive father) had taken him and the remainder of his siblings and sisters. The siblings find out she was born on the same day as them (October 1st, 1989) which explains why she has powers. Diego speaks up and says “I know that we can be your family if you just let us. Just as Lila has confidence in Diego and his siblings, The Handler comes in and doesn’t deny the charge that she’s the explanation that Lila’s family is dead, yet needs Lila to get over it, at any rate, be a cheerful family once more. She says to her “Darling blood is thicker than water, but you can drown in either my love.” In any case, Lila tells the Handler that the Hargreeves are her genuine family because they wouldn’t do the things she did to her. These actions on Lila’s part just prove that the true meaning of family has everything to do with the people that support and care for you the most.

Multiracial families weren’t always this accepted in society. Till the 1950’s transracial adoptions were viewed as strange and were vigorously disliked and disheartened by adoption organizations. Social workers and psychiatrists actualized the idea that imminent guardians already confronted various deterrents during the adoption cycle, and “race coordinating” would improve the probability of an effective adoption. It wasn’t until post-World-War II, with enormous quantities of stranded kids, that interracial reception started to ascend in the U.S. Today it isn’t uncommon to see groups of various races, foundations, and nationalities. While some planned guardians decide to embrace a kid with a similar racial foundation as their own, numerous families are more responsive to diversifying their families.

Some children that were a part of a transracial adoption may feel out of place and different compared to other kids. With the media portraying these mixed-race families, it can show these kids that their minority is equivalent to and as commendable as, single-race families and that they have equal rights and qualifications as individuals from the predominant gathering. It also proves to them that the discrimination and stereotypes aren’t right and generalizations of bias are false. The child must have the option to see it to trust it. This show is great for society because our general public rushes to pass judgments and this episode bashed family stereotypes and shows that families can come in all different shapes and sizes. It proves that family doesn’t mean blood, it’s individuals who you know and who acknowledges you; they make you feel good, sheltered, and that you and your voice matters. It’s nice seeing family being portrayed like this, especially on a show directed towards preteens.

#mixedfamily #multiracial #transracialadoption