The Kinship Roots (Adoption) Narrative in Documentary and Animated Fantasy: Somewhere Between, Twinsters, and Kung Fu Panda

abstract:This essay contains a detailed analysis of the "Kinship Roots Narrative" (KRN), defined as a canonical returning to kin and/or roots trope used to represent adoptees. Though present throughout historical literature and folklore, the KRN is analyzed here through the lenses of genealogical bewilderment (the assumption that separation of an adoptee from their biological parents results in irreparable harm to said adoptee) and bionormativity (the cultural schema in which biological families are the gold standard). The films analyzed are the documentary Somewhere Between (2011), the documentary Twinsters (2015) and the animated children's series, Kung Fu Panda (2008–2016). An analysis of how these films adhere to the KRN (including how they represent genealogical bewilderment and bionormativity) will show how they promote biological kinship as the only way to read family and race.