There have been many, many commentators quick to criticize the new CBS “reality show” Kid Nation; while much of their criticism is unfounded even more borders on the ridiculous.
General criticism’s have been based on CBS’s promo: “Forty kids with no parents, no teachers . . . anywhere.” This has led to charges ranging from “irresponsible” to “child abuse” to “slavery” and those charges were (and are) based on nothing more than the mental picture of 40 kids running around unsupervised ala “Lord of the Flies.”
What nonsense! How does anyone in their right mind imagine that a major television network would EVER allow that? Of course they wouldn’t and didn’t! There were no parents or teachers, that’s true but there were medical professionals constantly on the scene and a production crew that was continually on the watch for any situation that would lead to allegations of abuse or a lawsuit after the production wrapped.
The kids, you can be sure, had a great time because they actually were in charge of many aspects of their lives while the show was being filmed — you can be sure that they didn’t have absolute freedom but they had the freedom to make and implement many decisions involving their daily life. The only kids that wouldn’t enjoy that are the kids that have strict and neurotic parents who don’t allow their children to have more than limited freedom and who don’t feel that kids are capable of making decisions — those are the kids that weren’t at Kid Nation anyway.
The most hysterical charge I’ve heard against CBS was on yesterday’s Michael Medved radio show. He painted a picture of the living conditions, asking his listeners how they would like having their 8-year old sleeping in the same room with older kids that weren’t related or even close friends. He continued into a station break with the accusation that CBS’s motive was “sexual titillation.” Wow! If those sleeping conditions, conditions very similar to every summer camp, caused Mr. Medved to be sexually titillated, me thinks that Mr. Medved has a very disturbing problem. Perhaps he was molested at a summer camp as a child? Well those things do happen but they are very less likely to happen in a place run by a mult-million-dollar corporation that is very aware of the legal and public-relations consequences of something like that.
The kids on Kid Nation were safer than they would be at any summer camp and as safe as they would have been if 40 sets of parents were standing on the side-lines making it all but impossible to produce the series.
If I didn’t work nights or if I had a TIVO type device to record Kid Nation I’d watch it for sure! It’s not gong to be great television and I don’t think the ratings will be sky-high but it’s worth a look just because it’s unique. I’m sure I’ll catch highlights on the news or entire segments on YouTube.
How about you? Are you going to give Kid Nation a look-see?
News Links:
International Herald Tribune: CBS backs ‘Kid Nation’ despite outcry
Chicago Tribune: What were ‘Kid Nation’ parents thinking?
From the Blogs
Mixed Media: Let’s Give Kid Nation a Chance
Ed Martin’s Watercoller TV: Advertisers are the First to See Kid Nation!
News and commentary by: Whymrhymer can also be found at the My View from the Center and at The American Chronicle Family of Journals
2 users commented in " Kid Nation: Irresponsible Charges of Irresponsible Conduct "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackYes, the parents are to blame for allowing their children to be on this show. Yes, the producers are to blame for putting the children in questionable situations. But when you think about it, ALL OF US are to blame for this show even happening. Why do you think reality TV shows get high ratings? BECAUSE PEOPLE WATCH THEM. (By the same token, I ask: Why did Vanilla Ice sell millions of crummy records? BECAUSE PEOPLE BOUGHT THEM.) CBS and the producers of “Kid Nation” did the show because reality shows are popular, and audiences always want to be surprised with new shows that are of this nature. The lowst common denominator has ruled for seven years on this aspect; how else to explain why “Big Brother” keeps coming back? So, if you don’t agree with what “Kid Nation” is all about, or whether you think the parents and/or producers are to blame for this abomination disguised as entertainment, I have one piece of advice: DON’T WATCH THE SHOW. If enough people simply turn to another station — or, better still, turn off the TV completely and read a book instead — you’ll be sending a message to CBS that says, “We don’t care. We aren’t going to waste our time with this hoo-hah. You’ve given us too much garbage TV, and we’re not going to take it anymore.” And if the ratings are low because people aren’t watching, then “Kid Nation” — much like this past summer’s turkey “Pirate Master” — will go away.
For one Thing Everyone who is anyone wants Kid Nation Back and if only we could figure out how to get it back or something similiar! And the people act like there were NO adults there if so u would be implying that little kids were running around with extremely high tech and expensive cameras filming the kids, obviously not. And Im sure if there was something wrong the CAMERA MEN or maybe the HOST or the doctors and nurses they had less than a mile away would have helped them! If not then u have no reason to cancel the show but u have a reason to fire the people that filmed it! People act like It was complete Torchure To go get water from a spicket or to clean or cook or work for that matter! I think that show also taught us that The Reason Kids are lazy these days isnt because of the kids it is because of the adults who think its complete abuse to make them work. I would kill to be on that show if only someone could get it back on the air!
Leave A Reply