1. Abby, Bryan, Joey, Claire, Brittany
STUCK
Abby, Bryan, Joey, Claire, Brittany

2. Summary
A documentary that follows four children from different countries and their journeys to being adopted by families from other countries. The documentary showed how long and difficult the process of adopting a child from a foreign country can be. For example it costs around $28,000 and can take up to three years or longer before the child is united with their new parents. This documentary showed the harsh conditions these orphans are faced with. Such as not having enough food to eat, proper medical attention, or even enough human contact or comfort needed for mental/social development.
Setting: Current time set in the United States and showed orphanages from Haiti, Vietnam, Romania, Cambodia
The main characters were Duke and Lisa Scopa (adopting couple) and their adopted kids Erikson and Theralean. Nick and Lori(adopting couple) and their adopted son Nate. Stacy Chapman (single adopting mom) and her adopted daughter Tihun. Srey B a grown up teen who was an adopted child from Cambodia.

3. Examples of Positive Social Change
After the Haiti earthquake, senator Mary Landrow from louisiana requested that the state department get all of the orphan children from Haiti in the middle of an adoption process to receive a humanitarian patrol visa so they could be united with their new homes in the U.S. faster.
Hague adoption convention is an international agreement to safeguard intercountry adoptions. Attempt to protect the corruptness of international adoptions such as child laundering or child trafficking. Also attempts to make each country have a set party that deals with international children’s issues to make sure the child’s best interest is at the heart of every adoption.

4. ADVOCACY
The parents in the film pushed to get the rights to adopt their children by hiring lawyers and reaching out to the government as well.
First starting locally and reaching out to lawyers for assistance
Then when hiring a lawyer was not enough they reached out to their state senators to advocate for them
Putting up a great fight they pushed their way to alerting the attention of Hillary Clinton, who at the time was Secretary of State

5. COMMUNITY
The parents all struggling to bring their children home from overseas leaned on each other for support.
Various organizations raise money to help children in orphanages who are living in practically shambles

6. SERVICE
The adopting parents are doing a great service to the children by providing them with a family, shelter, love, and other basic necessities in life

7. What is outdated?
This film was released in 2013 so there is not much that is outdated, however, there are aspects of the adoption process that I felt should be adjusted based on the film.
Some people have to apply multiple times just for the approval of even beginning the adoption process
Very long process forces people to update their information and re-apply
The process is very expensive with costs that can reach extremes of over $40,000 when adopting through independent/non-profit agencies

8. Personal Connections
The most impactful part of the film was the way the adoption systems are almost identical from country to country. The living conditions for the children are the same throughout the world, and they are severely malnourished. Malnourishment and lack of affection results in low brain development and growth patterns. The process for international adoption is incredibly complex and can take years and many fiery hoops before the child can make it to their new home. In order to adopt internationally, every detail must be in order. If one detail is out of order, the adoption can be delayed for years until the issue is resolved.

9. Critiques
The film does an amazing job at showing the resilience and spirit that children have. They come from extreme circumstances, and they find amazing families and parents who love them. The film is helpful in showing how much the government determines a family’s life. It reminds the audience that just because children are technically safe in orphanages and institutions, that does not mean that they can stay there until adulthood and expect to live a happy life. Because of the sheer volume of children in orphanages, it isn’t possible for them to receive the proper amount of affection and love that is needed to grow up successfully. It’s JUST intense enough to get the message across, and it exemplifies all of the ACES pillars. The only negative part of the film is that it doesn’t mention how people can help the kids without adopting them.

10. Target Audience
Those who are passionate about orphans or human rights. The movie demonstrates everything that is wrong with the current international adoption process. It would motivate someone who was looking to have a child to consider adoption of an international child as well as to fight to fix the process.

11. What course of action does the movie encourage?
The movie encourages us to expedite the international adoption process. They are trying to raise awareness for children who are “stuck” because even though they’re adopted, they can go years without actually being claimed by the parents due to government delays. Meanwhile they sit in orphanages with no nourishment.