We’re all at this site for a reason: our family. No matter its shape or size, we’re here because of how important family is to us.
Unfortunately, thousands of people around the country are not so lucky. Some always feel that sharp ache of loneliness and loss. While others cling to the hope that they may one day be reunited with their family.
ABC’s new show “Find My Family,” which premiered on Monday, November 23rd, chronicles these poignant stories of loss and finding. The program aims to reunite individuals with the families they lost many years before, or with the families they perhaps never knew they had.
Each hour-long episode highlights the stories of two families searching for missing relatives. The show employs a team of researchers to locate their missing children, parents, or siblings. After the families are found and made aware that someone is searching for them, the show closes with emotional reunions held around the “Family Tree.”
I feel torn about this show. My heart leaps at first, but that feeling is immediately replaced by skepticism. So much reality TV these days is anything but. Even if “Find My Family” isn’t scripted, how do we know the emotions are real? Maybe the people in the show just made the appearance to get on TV.
Once I start thinking cynically, I can’t stop. The show suddenly seems schmaltzy at best and exploitive at worst. I get visions of the Disney-owned ABC preying on the emotions of the families they’re supposed to help, all for profit.
Yes, many of these families wouldn’t be able to locate their loved ones without the resources provided by a television network. So now in exchange for finding their families, people must sell out that reunion and have it broadcast to millions of perfect strangers. Their precious, private family moment becomes that night’s entertainment for millions of anonymous viewers. The reunion may be worth it, but is it right to exploit people like that?
I also worry for the people perhaps not seen on the screen. The series premiere of “Find My Family” features a married couple searching for the daughter they gave up when they were teenagers. I feel especially conflicted about this.
What about the adoptive families? They gave their lives, time, and most importantly, their love to their children. Now the entire country watches those children search for their biological parents, rooting for that story and forgetting the adoptive parents. How must that make the adoptive parents and families feel?
And so my suspicions continue, but then I stop and think it is worth it. Even if (and that’s a big IF) the show is fake, if just one family is able to reunite through the series, then it was all worth it. People with enough love to adopt might then have enough love for the newest members of their family. In the end, that’s what it’s about, the story of families coming together and growing.
“Find My Family” airs at 9:00 p.m. EST. We’ll just have to tune in to see if my concerns are valid, but more importantly, if my hopes for the show come to fruition.
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