Quote:
Originally Posted by jekylljuice
Surely that would count as segregation. 
I can think of two instances within the show in which IFs have been adopted by adults for their own purposes, both of which had negative outcomes. The first, of course, was Kip Snip's adoption of Bloo in "the Sweet Stench of Success" (Kip had tricked Bloo into signing the adoption papers; nonetheless, his initial offer was to adopt Bloo). The second occurs in "Emancipation Complication", when Mac's principal purchases Wilt, with apparently little more intention than to use him as a flag pole (and was presumably one of many adults who took advantage of the opportunity for inexpensive labour). In Kip's case I guess the legality of it is highly questionable, and given that the latter example occurred during Lil Lincoln's extremely shady reign it's by no means representative of standard Foster's protocol. Either way, I would hope that they're not totally opposed to the concept of childless adults adopting IFs, because I'm sure that there are many responsible adults out there who lead lonely existences and could certainly use the companionship of an imaginary friend - why would they have any less right to one than a lonely child? That said, the fact that most kids are persuaded to give up their IFs when they reach a certain age strongly implies that having an IF companion is widely regarded as a "kid's thing", to be put away with the Barbies and the G.I. Joes. I can see a couple who chose to adopt an IF and raise it as a child facing a whole load of social stigma. Anyone seen AI: Artificial Intelligence? I haven't since it first came out, but from what I remember the troubles faced by the robots in that movie might not be terribly different to what an IF might face if used as an alternative to a real child. I don't know, maybe it's not such a good example.
Naturally, I agree that we're never likely to receive answers to these questions, but it's still fun to think about them. |
Some really good points there, though I do not regard either Kip Snip's trickery in "Sweet Stench of Success" or the actions of Lil' Lincoln in "Emancipation Complication" as "adoptions". Kip tricked Bloo into signing what Bloo thought was a business contract, then told him it was adoption papers, but in every case where a legitimate adoption was carried out at Foster's, it was in the presence of either Mr. Herriman or Frankie, and frequently, both, and they, too, had to sign papers. In the case of Lil' Lincoln, he clearly SOLD the Imaginary Friends for a profit to anyone who was willing to pay, without regard as to who was buying them or for what purpose.
There certainly is a case to be made for adults adopting IF's as friends or surrogate family members, or live-in care-takers. That would certainly apply especially to older people, who might not have any living relatives and who are lonely and just need someone around to help them out. Such a person would need a friend just as much as would a lonely child. You've made a good point, though, that apparently, there is still a stigma against a person still having an Imaginary Friend, whether or not that person created the IF in question. Yes, some adults still have theirs; Madame Foster and the guy at the bowling alley come to mind, and Jordan Michaels certainly had no qualms against HIS Imaginary Friend residing with him as family, either. In a way, had Wilt decided to go live with his creator, and had the two of them mutually agreed to go public, it would have done a lot to remove some of that stigma against adults having Imaginary Friends, since if a guy of Jordan's status, both in terms of celebrity and financial situation, can publically admit to having an Imaginary Friend, it must be a cool thing. I can see how Wilt would not wish for his relationship to a celebrity to be known, though, since that would cause many people to try and adopt him for that reason alone, like owning a car once driven by a movie star or something, and most of those people would probably not be very compatable.
pitbulllady