Hotel for Dogs...has anyone seen this movie?

Has anyone seen this movie? My son and hubby went to see it this weekend and all he could talk about is that there were some bad foster parents in it that treated their kids badly. My hubby talked about how funny and cute the movie was but all J would say was that the movie was sad. Will he always "see" just one side of things? Meaning in the future if watching a movie or show that has "foster kids" or adopted kids in it - will that be all he gets out of the movie or will he be able to one day "look past" this and enjoy the other parts of movies as well?

I am not asking if he will "get over" the fact that he is adopted. I am only asking this as this is all he wanted to talk about that was in the movie?
Additional Details
Monkeykitty83 - yes you are correct - we just finalized in November of 08 - and he has lived with us almost three years.

cantstopLinnyG

I have not seen the movie, but I think your son's reaction is normal.
It can be compared to anyone's reaction to any movie that may have a theme or subject that they have a personal connection with.

Take for instance, "An American Tale". I remember taking my girls to see it, along with my a Mom. While the kids didnt really get any particular "meaning" out of it, other than Feivle was a cute mouse who got lost, My Mom saw the movie through an American immigrant's eyes, and I saw the movie through an adoptee's eyes. The song "Somewhere Out There" KILLED me, lol.

My a dad is a veteran, so he sees war flicks as patriotic, and I see them as, well, "guy" flicks. His perspective will always be different than mine, because he lived the experience.

Perhaps the movie was triggering for him, especially since everything is so fresh in his mind. Good opening for dialougue for the both of you.

He will at some point "get" other parts of movies, but even at the age of, ahem....40 something, I still see everything with a touch of loss. I see the good parts, too, though.

kateiskate

I haven't seen it but I can tell you from my experience as an adopted person that if I see adoption being portrayed as something it is not by hollywood screenwriters and directors who know nothing about it and have not bothered to research what adoption really is I will be leaving the theater talking about it. One of the reasons I would talk about it and bring it up would really be to make sure that people are really aware that the movie was totally inaccurate so that people don't continue to hold stereotypes about adoption as truth.

I did want to see hotel for dogs...now I don't know....
Thanks for the warning!

monkeykitty83

From what I've seen/heard, that depends a lot on personality and the specifics of the movie reference. How much people extrapolate things to their own past or present situation depends a lot on the individual. And of course, depending on how something is presented in a specific film, it may or may not strike any particular personal chord.

He may always pick those things out right away, or he may later not focus on it as much... though I suspect he'll always notice.

If I recall your situation rightly, there are two things that probably contribute the the fixation right now.

1.) I believe you finalized relatively recently? So the foster child experience is still very fresh for him, and is one of the major reference points of his life thus far. I think that would tend to make him connect more, and be more interested in those aspects.

2.) Kids of a certain age tend not to be great at seeing the big picture. As they become more mentally and emotionally mature, they usually become less focused on single details and more likely to see the whole. This strikes me as developmentally normal for a young kid.

All that said, I still think his personality, future experiences, and interests will affect how much he picks this stuff out, as will how these issues are presented in any particular film. I'd be shocked if he ever stops noticing altogether, though there may come a point where he stops commenting, and when he'll also see the broader aspects of the movie as whole.

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