“Kid Nation” goes wrong, exposes pitfalls of reality TV
CURRY CHANDLER
Staff Writer
Ready to see what life is like in “Kid Nation?” It’s not a new country, but one of the latest reality show offerings that will be gracing the screens of conscientious, Patriotic media-consumers across the country courtesy of CBS on Sept. 19. And in keeping with the trend of the ceaseless barrage of “reality programming,” it is vapid, pointless and probably guilty of violating child labor laws. Now available in HD.
Perhaps some are lucky enough to have completely avoided any of the show’s promos or print ads, the premise is that 40 children, ranging in age from 8 to 15, are left to their own machinations in a New Mexico ghost town for six weeks with the goal of creating and sustaining a “idealized” society free from interference by meddling adults. “Scooby Doo” hasn’t aired on CBS for 30 years, but something about this setup smacks of nostalgia. Show creator Tom Forman said the goal is for “kids to succeed where adults have failed.”
Is this where life in The New American Century has led us? Depositing pre-adolescents in the desert for the sake of entertaining the masses, but with the somewhat sadistic hope that they might develop a system of living and governing that is better than what we’re presently enjoying in this country? Yes; indeed it is.
The vague back-story provided on the network’s official Web site for “Kid Nation” gives the impression that the shooting location was once a functioning 19th Century mining town, but it looks more like an abandoned set from a B-movie Western. With a solid setup, noble intentions and a busload of adorable kids, CBS should have been primed to ride off into the sunset with this gem.
In May, Variety writer Brian Lowry criticized the show’s exploitation of children. He also wrote about the suspension-of-disbelief required to accept that the stars of “Kid Nation” are fending for themselves and not surrounded by cameras and crew members. Then there is also the matter of the waiver signed by the parents of the young participants, a copy of which was obtained by The Smoking Gun. The form waives the network’s liability for emotional distress, HIV, pregnancy and death, among others, according to the Smoking Gun Web site.
In July, Television Week reported that the kids were working 14-hour days performing various tribulations for the cameras and unaided by child labor law restrictions, citing sources in the New Mexico Department of Labor. Interestingly enough, show producers “completed filming before a new state law limiting the hours children can work on movie sets took effect in June,” according to Daily Press.
One of the kids’ parent has apparently filed a complaint with the New Mexico officials alleging (all the show’s participants agreed to a stiff confidentiality clause included in the aforementioned waiver) that during filming a girl suffered grease burns while cooking and a number of the children needed medical attention after accidentally drinking bleach. Of course, efforts along this line could be more akin to CBS stoking the flames of moral controversy hoping to incite a ratings frenzy fueled by the public’s hunger for kid-maiming in full-color HDTV, rather than the intrepid investigative efforts of child-rights activists.
Nonetheless, Hollywood guilds are using the “Kid Nation” controversy as a rallying point to bring attention to issues in reality TV production.
“To me, this is the sweatshop of the entertainment industry,” said Jeff Hermanson, assistant executive director of Writers Guild of America, West, in the Aug. 29 Los Angeles Times.
The WGA is especially interested in the publicity surrounding “Kid Nation” accusations because the guild has been vying to unionize the producers who concoct storylines for reality shows during filming and post-production. The knee-jerk outrage reaction inherent in matters of child abuse claims have suddenly provided a boost for the guild’s efforts media profile.
TVweek.com quoted Patric Verrone, president of the Writer’s Guild of America, describing the working conditions at the center of the controversy.
“They don’t get paid overtime, they violate consecutive days of work [rules], they don’t get meal breaks,” Verrone said. “We’ve been saying that for two years now. It’s unfortunate that this kind of business model is now treating kids the same way they’ve been treating adults.”
Hear that, America? Hard-working citizens such as yourselves have been slaving away under sub-standard conditions to provide you with the glut of mindless, vapid reality-programming that you know and love so well. Suddenly those “Simple Life” marathons seem more guilty a pleasure, don’t they?
Hermanson’s sweatshop analogy is perfect: cheap, inferior product being turned out quickly under poor conditions for immediate consumption by the indiscriminate masses. That sums up the philosophy of reality TV programming and pervasiveness perfectly.
Interviews for the second installment in the “Kid Nation” franchise are under way now.
09-06-2007