I remember stumbling across bits and pieces about it before. Someone was talking about the 2008 documentary, and yeah, the title “My Fake Baby” is pretty much spot on. It’s all about the reborn doll community and the folks who are *really* into ’em.
Finding the full doc online can be a bit of a rabbit hole, tbh. I saw one source referencing Real Stories on Dailymotion, which is a place to start. Just search “My Fake Baby (Parenting Documentary) – Real Stories – Documentary Channel” and see if it’s still up. You know how stuff disappears from the internet all the time, right? Annoying.
Then there’s the Bryant Park Project thing on NPR. That might not be the *full* documentary, more like a segment or a review. Still, could be interesting background.
Honestly, the whole thing reminds me of something my parents used to talk about. They worked at this State School way back when, in the 70s. Apparently, a lot of the patients, especially the women with severe cognitive disabilities, were super attached to these baby dolls. And some psychologist (who prob thought he was *so* smart) decided they needed “age-appropriate” toys instead. Like, what even IS age-appropriate when you have cognitive disabilities? It’s just… weird to even think about replacing something that gave them comfort. I mean, the “fake babies” were probably much better then the new toys. I bet they just wanted someone to take care of and love.
Anyway, back to the documentary. It touches on some pretty deep stuff, I think. Like, what *is* real? What’s the difference between a toy and something that fills a real emotional need? And why is it “creepy” if someone finds comfort in a reborn doll, but perfectly normal to obsess over sports teams or collect porcelain figurines? I mean, everyone’s got their thing, right?
