An Update on Our Family

Directed by Rachel Mason, this provocative three-part docuseries explores the complex world of family vlogging – a popular and potentially lucrative phenomenon in which parents post a steady stream of lifestyle videos on their social media channels to be consumed by loyal subscribers. In 2017, Myka and James Stauffer, known for their honest and revealing YouTube channel chronicling the highs and lows of parenting young kids, adopt two-and-a-half-year-old Huxley from China, documenting the entire process for their followers. But as Huxley becomes an audience driver for their channel, the boy’s sudden disappearance from the Stauffers’ videos sparks a whirlwind of online speculation about his whereabouts. Weaving together insights from fellow vloggers and YouTube footage of the Stauffers, An Update on Our Family raises salient questions about privacy on the internet, the nuances of trans-national adoption, and the unregulated industry of monetizing one’s family.