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The Bertelsen Family
Roy and Agnes Bertelsen raised seven children in Highland Park, New Jersey: three born to them (Aline, Russ, and Amy), and four adopted (including the filmmaker, Phil—who is African American, his Caucasian adopted brother Tim, and two Korean American adopted siblings, Ann and John). Referring to his parents' decision to adopt across racial lines, Russ Bertelsen (the eldest son) described the Bertselsen clan as a "little United Nations." OUTSIDE LOOKING IN: Transracial Adoption in America takes an intimate look at this mixed race family through the eyes of the filmmaker as he reflects on his childhood, adolescence, and transition into adulthood. With his parents and eldest sibling, Aline, Phil tries to make sense of his particular experience growing up the only African American member of his family.
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Agnes, Phil and Roy Bertelsen |
In the film, for the first time, Phil also seeks out the black foster family who cared for him in Newark, New Jersey until the age of four. Phil returns to this household and explores the alternate family and community that both does and does not belong to him. This profile of Phil's two families/two worlds explores his conflicted feelings about his various families and their respective places in his life.
The Bertelsen/Torres/White Family
Philip White visits his Uncle Phil in Harlem, New York |
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Phil's 11-year old African American nephew, Philip White, and his 13-year-old Korean American brother Kevin were adopted as infants by Aline Bertelsen-Torres. Growing up in a predominantly white and Latino Tucson, Arizona neighborhood, they both grapple with difficult questions about fitting in and standing out. Recognizing her younger son's need for positive African American experiences and role models, Aline sends "Little Phil" to New York City to spend a few weeks with his Uncle Phil, in Harlem. This visit provides an opportunity to explore ideas of racial awareness and pride as Uncle Phil shows his nephew the highlights of Harlem. These experiences will invariably shape some of Little Phil's coming-of-age struggles and achievements as he works through his own understanding of race, family, and individuality.
Phil and Philip, uncle and nephew, provide a unique inter-generational comparison of transracial adoption's legacy in the Bertelsen family. As a trusted mentor and uncle, Bertelsen shares experiences and anecdotes with his nephew during outings and excursions that take them into traditionally black (i.e. the filmmaker's neighborhood in Harlem, New York) and traditionally white (i.e. Little Phil's home in a suburban development outside of Tucson) cultural enclaves. In the context of these often separate worlds, Phil and Philip openly discuss their mutual efforts to negotiate and feel at home in these two communities.
Walt and Ellen
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Diane with son David |
A white couple is in the process of adopting a black baby boy into their home (in a Midwestern, rural community). Working through a Chicago adoption agency specializing in transracial adoption, Walt and Ellen meet Diane—an African American woman from the South Side of Chicago who can not afford to keep her fourth son. The film captures a delicate and difficult moment - joyous for the new adoptive parents who will bring home a new son to their home that day, and painful for the birth parent who is saying goodbye to her two-month-old son. Phil follows Walt and Diane though the process of adoption—from the parenting preparation classes tailored to people adopting transracially, to the administration and paperwork of adoption, and on to the moment of introducing their new black son to their other two biological children and extended family. The filmmaker uses this experience to gain a fuller understanding of adoption today. In the process, he is prompted to ask questions about how adoption has changed since his own adoption what the future of adoption holds.
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