Orphan is a new and already controversial horror film scheduled to be released on July 24th by Warner Brothers. One of its producers recently interviewed me on camera here in Los Angeles for the film's forthcoming DVD and bonus documentary (Mama's Little Devils: Bad Seeds, Evil Kids and Orphan) regarding one of the film's central themes: the enigmatic nature of human evil.
First, let me make something very clear: I haven't seen the movie. So this isn't any sort of review, critique or endorsement. Nor was my interview. Rather, we discussed in broad terms the early psychological development and evolution of evil or destructive, cruel, violent behavior. Orphan is in the genre of previous cinematic tales like The Bad Seed, The Exorcist, The Omen, Village of the Damned, Children of the Corn, Lord of the Flies, The Good Son, Firestarter, The Brood, The Ring, The Innocents and other fictional dramatizations of seemingly innocent children gone haywire, wreaking havoc, mayhem and sometimes even murder in their wake. The common thread in such stories is not so much about being an orphan or adoptee or not, but rather whether children in general are capable of evil desires and deeds. And, if they engage in evil deeds, what possesses them to do so? Are they born evil, or do they become evil because of their experiences? Is it nature or nurture? Some combination of both? Or are supernatural, metaphysical, demonic or satanic forces to blame, as some movies suggest. How can evil be explained?
In this particular film, Esther is a nine-year-old girl who is adopted from an orphanage by a well-to-do couple with two children of their own. The adoption occurs in hopes of healing the gaping hole left in their hearts after a deeply traumatizing miscarriage. Upon first meeting Esther, they are both smitten by this seemingly angelic, intelligent, talented, sweet and extraordinary little girl. As suggested by the trailers, once she becomes ensconced into the bosom of the family, trouble ensues. Serious trouble. Bad behavior. Very bad. Why? In one scene included in the previews, we see Esther being cruelly teased at school by a classmate, followed by what looks like a furtive fit of violent rage in a restroom stall. Little Esther evidently has a nasty temper. She's got serious anger issues. It is often the case that such intense, primitive anger or narcissistic rage underlies various behavioral problems and other prevalent psychiatric symptoms in both children and adults.
Of course, this is a fictional Hollywood horror movie. But what is the likelihood that an adopted nine-year-old child brought into an already existing family might develop behavioral problems of some sort? Fairly significant, it seems. It is a new situation for the child, who might feel insecure and anxious about being in this unfamiliar setting, especially with other children who already have an established relationship with the parents and each other. The child may, understandably, feel like an outsider at first, and perhaps feel threatened and even experience the need to compete with the other children for attention and love. And this could happen no matter what the adopted child's background and history. But, with a child who has suffered traumatic loss of or abandonment by his or her parents, possibly compounded by neglect and/or physical, sexual or emotional abuse prior to or after this devastating loss, the likelihood of such anger-driven maladjustment increases.
According to developmental psychologist and fellow PT blogger Dr. Jean Mercer in her recent post about this film, "There are several factors that are related to developmental outcomes for adopted children. Probably the most important one is age at the time of adoption. Babies adopted within the first few months after birth are very similar to non-adopted babies in their development. Babies who are adopted toward the end of the first year are likely to show some unusual attachment behaviors at the time, but if well cared for do not show long-term effects. Later-adopted children are more likely to show mood or behavioral disorders that require professional help than non-adopted children." Dr. Mercer goes on to say: "Babies adopted at birth have little or no experience other than that with their adoptive parents, but older babies and children may have experienced neglect and abuse. In fact, it is possible that their experiences were so severe that the birth parents' parental rights were legally terminated, the children placed in foster care, and then (whether sooner or later) placed in an adoptive home. Depending on the child's experiences, the number of changes of custody, and the child's own resilience or vulnerability, children adopted under those circumstances may (or may not) be more inclined to develop emotional and behavioral disorders than the average non-adopted child." (See her entire posting, and that of another PT blogger about this movie.)
For whatever reasons, this is apparently (but only apparently) precisely what takes place in Orphan, which provides its own bizarre explanation in a surprise ending. Movies such as these beg the questions: Where does evil come from? Are some people just born evil? Does the tendency toward evil in adults begin during childhood? Are children really capable of deliberate destructiveness, malice and cruelty? Are they subject to the same dark, destructive desires as adults but simply less physically equipped to commit such evil deeds? And, if so, what are the implications regarding human nature in general? If evil is primarily a product of nurture and nature, who or what then is responsible for the disturbed, angry child, who later grows into an evil adult? Parents? Society? Genes? Biochemistry? These are tough questions. And the answers are not necessarily pretty or politically correct.
