That's a Family

"You don't have to be a rat to marry a rat. You can be a rat and marry a mouse," says 9-year-old Emily, and while the analogy may be neither quite scientifically accurate nor particularly flattering, Emily's point that interracial relationships are a-ok, comes across loud and clear. Emily, whose mother is German-American and father is Chinese-American, hails from one of 50 families seen here in Oscar-winning director Debra Chasnoff's (Deadly Intentions, It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues [VL-11/97]) wonderfully inclusive overview of the multiplicity of family structures: single-parent, original parents, blended families, adoptive families, straight parents, gay parents, grandparents raising grandchildren, and more. Combining nicely animated bridging sections with mini-profiles of various families in which the children explain concepts such as "divorce," "birth mom," "gay and lesbian" and "guardian," this top notch production aimed at elementary and middle school aged kids may go a long way toward assuaging children's fears of being "different," while also--hopefully--encouraging tolerance in general. Given the fact that we're long out of The Donna Reed Show/Leave It to Beaver/Father Knows Best era (a point provocatively made in novelist Jane Smiley's interesting article "Why Do We Marry?" in the June, 2000 issue of Harper's), a program like this is more than just long overdue, it's vital. Highly recommended. Aud: E, I, J, P. (R. Pitman)