Gayby Baby is a wonderful Film that documents the normality of these kids' everyday lives, and seeks to shed light on what it's really like being raised by same-sex parents. The film's opening credits showcased a variety of old black- and-white photos of typical nuclear families: families consisting of a mom, a dad, and children. The film choose to do this to display powerful images of the social norm for families. During the credits, there's dialogue from several people articulating some of the typical arguments for traditional marriage between men and women, and how same-sex marriage negatively affects children. Brief, factual statements, as well as opposing arguments, were mixed in with these voices before they all started clamoring over one another. This setting of the stereotypical family photos as well as the arguing voices really creates an impact for what comes after: a boy's voice and a photo of two women and their children. The sudden realization that every voice before his was an adult was eye-opening and impactful. Newell clearly meant for this to be a striking contrast from the overwhelmingly adult voices that make up the conversation of legalizing same-sex marriage and parenthood, to the children, the ones being affected most in this matter. Newell chooses to interview only the four kids to not overwhelm the film with adult voices. Her creative choice was a profound one, as often this argument over same-sex marriage and raising children is from the perspective of the adults, rather than the children. The movie brings the voices of children in same-sex marriages directly to the audience, emphasizing the importance of their voices in these debates and arguments across the world. Through each child, Newell documents that their lives are quite extraordinarily ordinary. The director's decision to follow these specific four children with different interests, personalities, and stories showcases how having same-sex parents works well with all kinds of children. Graham has two dads and struggles with reading and writing at age twelve. He talks about how his first adopted family didn't teach him to do either, and his dads mention how "all he had were vowel sounds, and hand signals" when he came to live with them at age five. His two dads are struggling to teach him so he can catch up, but they're putting in the time and effort for it because they love him. The film shows this family's struggles to teach Graham because it's a clear testament to how same-sex parents will go through the same measures to provide their child with what they need. The film also highlights how the foster care system failed to tackle this issue with Graham's inability to read and speak, and how the first parents failed to provide basic parental needs to a child. Ebony has two moms and wants to become a singer and go to a performing arts high school. Her parents support her decision and spend money on singing lessons from a private tutor, and tell her to practice constantly. Ebony notes how the school must be a "really good school for Mum to go to such extreme measures to try and get her in." Her parents are trying their hardest to give her the future that she wants, to give her every opportunity to succeed. These are measures any parents should go through for their child. The documentary shows that these same-sex parents will go to the same lengths for their child too. Gus loves wrestling, but his two moms worry that professional wrestling will give him the wrong idea of what masculinity is. The film shows how the parents regularly have disciplinary issues with Gus not following what they tell him to do. He's seen wrestling with his sister, even after they tell him not to. He ends up injuring her and himself. They discipline him and give him new rules to follow, working out their issues. While Gus continues to watch wrestling videos, he follows his parents' rules and they even take him to a wrestling match to watch. Out of the four children, Gus' life seems the most ordinary, and the film shows how same-sex parents will work through disciplinary issues together with their children just like any other parent. Matt has two moms and a father. His mom and dad divorced when he was young, and his mom met his stepmom soon after. His stepmom surprises him as she's "done so many things for him that he never thought somebody who wasn't his parent or related to him could do.". Matt's family also had the opportunity to attend a dinner with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in hopes of showing how their family is just like any other. Gillard has made statements against the legalization of same- sex marriage in Australia, and it's his parents' hopes to change that. Newell's choice in choosing this family brings in political activism and bigger political issues, but remains at the focus of the child. The family attend the dinner, and Matt comes out and speaks to some reporters about how it went, saying how he wanted to tell Gillard that "it shouldn't have been a law that two people who are in a same sex marriage can't get married." It's evident that the documentary picked this family for their political activism to show how same-sex parents are working towards their rights, and the children wants them to have those rights as well. Newell's Gayby Baby is a documentary that will become a film for the ages. While the documentary features children in Australia, its universal themes of love, acceptance, and family are a much-needed addition to the debate across the world. The film's setting in Australia does not limit its applicability to viewers from other countries, where the same debates and arguments are still raging now. It's versality is what makes it such an impactful film, anyone who wants to watch this movie can find something to personally connect to.