WATCH BOX OFFICE MOVIES FOR FREE
What Shazam! Gets Right About The Emotions Of Foster Children
Warning! The following contains SPOILERS for Shazam! Read at your own risk.
There's a lot to love about Shazam!, but amongst all the praise for its humor and action, there's one thing I loved about the DC movie above all else that isn't getting a lot of attention. Foster children play a huge part in Shazam!, and the way the film handles each child and the emotions they cope with is a supremely underrated thing this story should be getting more praise for.
I say this as a foster parent who has experienced firsthand and heard several stories from others about how harrowing the foster process can be. Much like Billy and the rest of the siblings, these kids are faced with tough situations very early in life that affects them in entirely different ways. No two kids are alike, and Shazam! shows audiences some of the various ways these kids are shaped in a way that mainstream media doesn't often show.
Take Billy, for example, who has spent a majority of his time in foster homes and running away in hopes of finding his birth mother. Billy is so convinced his mother has no way of finding him that he's leaving good and safe homes (which is not always a guarantee) and ignoring the case worker who suggests the reason she hasn't found him yet is because she's not looking.
What's most important in Shazam! is that it's explicitly clear to the audience why Billy does the things he does. He's not a foster kid acting out because he's ungrateful, misguided or a troublemaker. He legitimately believes his living situations are temporary, and that things will be alright once he finds his mother.
Of course, that's not always the case in foster care, and Billy eventually learns that his mother intentionally left him with the police because she believed he'd be better off without her. She also doesn't think it's a good time to reconnect, and it's more or less implied that she's in no rush to start a relationship with the young hero despite his efforts to find her.
What's important about this arc is that there's an acknowledgement that none of what happened is Billy's fault, which is a message all foster children need to hear regardless of their situation. Billy was affected by his mother's actions, but at the end of the day, she's the one to blame for their separation. Even if the situations aren't the same, any foster child can walk away from this film feeling that their circumstance isn't their own doing.
Another big thing Shazam! gets right about foster kids' emotions is the wide range of ways a child can react to their situation. Each of the kids ended up in the system some way, and each have been shaped by the experience and are coping with it in their own way. One scene in particular that sticks out is Darla's immediate attachment to Billy, and how quick she goes into referring to him as her brother.
The scene gets a big emotional payoff later when Billy tells Darla she doesn't have to call him 'brother,' as they aren't technically a family. Darla is immediately crushed by the statement, and it's the one scene in Shazam! where she could be described as sad. Billy tries to explain to Freddy he didn't mean it to upset her, and Freddy waves him off in an understanding manner while tending to Darla.
It's become one of my favorite scenes of the film because it shows Freddy immediately understands both sides and that no one is at fault. Freddy gets Billy's newcomer status in the family, and the fact that he still has reservations about getting so close to a group of strangers. He also understands Darla's position, and why someone rejecting her offer of inclusion into their foster family is devastating to her.
Freddy has his own problems, as he confesses later to Billy that he's absolutely jealous of his superpowers. Freddy, like most children, just wants to be seen and acknowledged for something other than what he is. No one at the school gives him a lot of acknowledgement, and the ones that do are bullies who frequently tease him for his disability and foster kid status.
Then there's Pedro, Mary and Eugene, who collectively represent another big part of foster kids and Shazam! Mary and Eugene are bright, while Pedro's math test implies he struggles in school. Their personalities are vastly different from each other, and they all seem to have been shaped differently by their varied upbringings.
Someone reading this may think "Well, they're just being portrayed like children," and that's the point. Too often does mass media portray career criminals as "foster children that bounced from home to home" or emotionally fragile kids when there's really not one box to contain them. That's not to say there aren't children who come out of foster care and become two of those prior stereotypes, but there are plenty of children who come out just like the Shazam Family.
These kids are positive role models for a group that, more often than not, is going through things the average child doesn't and shouldn't experience. Many won't complain because it's all they've known, or because they feel uncomfortable doing so in a situation where no one is entirely sure what the future holds for them.
Shazam! can be a great asset to foster families in helping kids and teens in the system tap into those complex feelings, and perhaps serve as a conversation starter into some deeper topics. It's also just a great film that can reinforce to a child in the system that they are special, and that their situation doesn't mean they're destined to become any one thing.
It's why I'm hoping that while the ending of Shazam! established Billy as a part of the Vasquez's foster family, themes relating to foster care continue in Shazam! 2. While Billy's mother didn't seem to want anything to do with him, it would be cool if they had some form of relationship down the road, however complicated that may be. There's also Billy's father who is in prison, so something could be done with him down the road as well.
Shazam! is in theaters and is doing quite well according to the first week numbers at the box office. For more on the film, check out the questions we had following the film's conclusion, and be sure to stick with CinemaBlend for the latest updates on movies, television, and pop culture.
Subscribe To How Much Solo: A Star Wars Story Should Make Over The 4-Day Weekend Updates close. Subscribe To How Much Solo: A Star Wars Story Should Make Over The 4-Day Weekend Updates.
How Much Solo: A Star Wars Story May Make Opening Weekend
If Lucasfilm and Disney did decided to create a future Star Wars movie with its classic characters using these digital clones, there would always be some sort of human element to it, with an actor brought in to carry out the heavily lifting.
The only potential issue could be scheduling. There's a pretty good chance that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is eyeing a release date of May 1, 2020, and with Star Wars: Episode IX, coming out in December of the previous year, there's a decent chance filming could be happening on the two movies around the same time.
Mark Hamill May Join Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - Movie
CinemaBlend's own Sean O'Connell recently sat down with Clint Eastwood for an exclusive interview ahead of the release of The Mule. When asked whether he preferred acting or directing, Eastwood had some fair reasons why he still pursues each but leans more toward directing these days. In his words:
New & Upcoming Clint eastwood Movie News - CINEMABLEND
Incredibles 2 is now out on DVD - and it releases on digital this Tuesday, November 6th! You know what that means - you gotta throw a viewing party! One of my highlights of this year was attending the press junket for the film in Los Angeles and interviewing the cast.
The best of Edna Mode - YouTube
The 54-year-old was left feeling 'insulted' after being asked to read for the part of Cable in Deadpool 2 by the creator Rob Liefeld. Russell Crowe - not go very well' when she tried to do
Hollywood actor Russell Crowe felt 'insulted' because of
Why Star Trek Beyond Wasn't A Box Office Hit, According To Simon Pegg As Simon Pegg, who reprised Scotty in Beyond and co-wrote the screenplay, sees it, the reason the movie failed to pick up
Simon Pegg Explains Why 'Star Trek Beyond' Disappointed at
The one in front of Captain Marvel, however, is slightly different.It functions exactly the same way, only instead of seeing our favorite Marvel heroes, we get clips of Stan Lee in all of his various MCU cameos that he's made over the years.
Captain Marvel's Stan Lee Tribute Is Perfect @yournerdside #
When Mark Hamill announced that he would be the voice of Chucky in the Child's Play remake, countless people across the globe let their opinions on the casting be known. Now, Tom Holland, the
Original Child's Play director responds to Mark Hamill's
Iron Man (Tony Stark) vs Captain America (Steve Rogers) & Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier - Final Battle - Fight Scene - Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Avengers: Endgame: Iron Man & Captain America's relationship
Now under Blumhouse Productions with McFarlane as writer and director of the upcoming Spawn reboot, however, the new movie should conjure up some truly entertaining frights. That's especially true now that special effects legend and Walking Dead special effects makeup artist Greg Nicotero and his KNB Group have signed on to work on the
'The Walking Dead' producer Greg Nicotero joins Jamie Foxx on
Save for Marvel's tiniest duo, Ant-Man and the Wasp was totally free from Earth's Mightiest Heroes. And for good reason, as Peyton Reed always viewed his 2018 sequel as a "standalone
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: 6 Astonishing Cameos You Almost
The film's main foe is Erik Killmonger, an exiled son of wakanda played by Michael B Jordan. Many fans have compared Killmonger to Loki, a popular villain from previous marvel movies. http
How Michael B. Jordan Created Marvel's Most 'Complicated'
best movie streaming sites 2018
cold war movie streaming
movie streaming nz
zovioz.com unlimited movie streaming
worst witch movie streaming
exodus movie streaming
split movie streaming
movie streaming legal
movie streaming free trial
new movie streaming
movie streaming ipad
what is the best movie streaming
movie i don't know how she does it streaming
rampage full movie streaming
movie streaming ubuntu
movie streaming sites indonesia
yellow submarine movie streaming
xbox one movie streaming sites
danur 2 full movie streaming
sing movie streaming
movie streaming quebec
krampus movie streaming
movie streaming hardwarezone
movie streaming online reddit
online hollywood movie streaming
how do movie streaming sites work
that was then this is now movie streaming
clue movie streaming
does apple have a movie streaming service
veere di wedding full movie streaming
youtube free movie streaming
how big is a streaming movie
movie streaming ninja
xbox one movie streaming sites 2019
movie streaming database
best free movie streaming websites
movie zone streaming
movie streaming quora
the best movie streaming app
movie streaming no sign up
how does movie streaming work
www.free movie streaming
movie streaming movies
best worst movie documentary streaming
movie streaming canada
resolution movie streaming
what streaming movie should i watch tonight
where can i find a movie streaming
best sites for movie streaming reddit
movie streaming zgemma
qube movie streaming
yes free movie streaming
elf movie streaming netflix
best free movie streaming sites 2018
hd movie streaming
does disney have a movie streaming service
uncle drew movie streaming
movie streaming vf
movie streaming like showbox
that thing you do full movie streaming
movie streaming library
moonlight movie streaming
movie streaming theme wordpress
harry potter movie streaming
youtube movie streaming service
koki koki cilik full movie streaming
xbox movie streaming
movie streaming new releases
kedarnath movie streaming partner
x deal full movie streaming
the worst movie ever streaming
it movie streaming free
chef movie streaming
yts movie streaming
top 10 movie streaming sites
justice league full movie streaming
movie streaming xyz
reddit movie streaming
movie streaming ios
movie streaming apps for pc
airplane movie streaming
movie streaming meaning
movie streaming philippines
mobile movie streaming
the kid who would be king full movie streaming
cars movie streaming
does google have a movie streaming service
where is vice movie streaming
movie streaming website template
movie streaming raspberry pi
movie streaming pc
best movie streaming app
movie streaming sites uk
can't buy me love movie streaming
movie streaming malaysia
get out movie streaming
us movie streaming
us movie streaming free
movie streaming laws
#filmizle #blacksuccess #melanin #watchuswork #Filma24 #americanflag #watchswag #melaninmagic #slay #watchenthusiasts #CASAMXhostales #Qesh #Filma #watchcandy #watchcrazy #netflix #WatchUsRise #watchfamily #blackenterprise #watchmvmt #filmlover #getsome #watchwomen #netflixturkiye #blavity #Seriale #FreeMovies #hostales #murica #watchluxus #Filmametitrashqip #moviesstreaming #filmography #watchquiz #movietime #WatchMovies #watchful #watchnerds #saladetv #watchtattoo #blacktech #HostalCASAMXalameda #sandrabullock #funnytime #watchalert #firecrackers #Movies #TvSeries #blackqueen #watchobsessed #SomosTuConexi #watchblogger #TVSHow #4thofjuly #blackking #Zgerdhiu #america #birdbox #WatchRoss #socialstreaming #watchos4 #tvroomdesign #watchpornid #fourthofjuly #filmyorumu #independenceday #filmtavsiyesi #watchestyle #Serialemetitrashqip #blackiflix #movieaddict #blacksocialmedia #watchmaniac #watchmovies #merica #watchbrandname
0 comments:
Post a Comment