'Orphan' Movie Hits Theaters Amid Protests

By Kevin P. Donovan, Christian Post Reporter Friday, July 24, 2009

Warner Bros. is considering adding a pro-adoption message at the end of their film "Orphan" when it comes out in DVD form, following nationwide protest from adoption advocates.

In the meantime, the entertainment company is stressing that "Orphan" is a make-believe that was no intended to offend anyone.

"It is not a depiction of any real-life events or situations and has never been portrayed as anything but an entirely fictional story," Warner Bros. spokesman Scott Rowe told The Associated Press."

"Orphan," which hits theaters this weekend, centers around a couple who adopts a nine-year-old girl after the tragic loss of their unborn child. Though the girl, Esther, on the outside seems like an angelic little girl, strange and horrifying events begin to occur after the couple adopts her. The mother, Kate, tries to warn her husband, John, about Esther, but he does not believe her ... until it's possibly too late.

"Now like most horror movies, Orphan isn't exactly realistic," acknowledges Jedd Medefind, president of the Christian Alliance for Orphans and former acting director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives under President George W. Bush. "But still, stories told through film are powerful. The emotions they stir can shape the way we see the world.

"So in that regard, the movie Orphan does no favors for the boys and girls who share its name. It seems to suggest that orphans are damaged goods and that adoption could destroy your life. With all the challenges they already face, orphans deserve better. Other people deserve better as well. We need truer stories," he adds.

To educate, dispel adoption myths and prompt response to the needs of orphans, Christian Alliance for Orphans launched the Web site OrphansDeserveBetter.org , which features a petition urging Warner Bros. to add a pro-adoption message at the end of the film and to donate a portion of box office receipts to aid orphans.

A coalition of more than 50 orphan advocate and adoption organizations recently launched a national grassroots campaign centered around the Web site.