Kid Nation: Let's Play Fair

I don't really have anything to say, I just wanted to comment because I saw that there were none, and I thought it'd be nice for you to know that you weren't just talking to yourself, someone out there read what you wrote.

Hey, I'll take pity comments any day. Thanks!

Geez Louise!!! It looks like our troop might have to start banning camera's from our Boy Scout campouts and summer camp. We don't want to make it easy for the parents to gather evidence.

Seriously, we are turning our kids into big babies thru all of this over protection. You can join the military and be shot at when you turn 18, but you are to immature to drink until you are 21. In my state, a kid can't get a part time job until they are 16. Now they are are trying to up the driving age to 18 which pretty much means you can't work until you are 18. I guess that is why we need all of the illegal aliens to fill these entry level jobs. When and where are these kids supposed to learn a little responsibility and get a few hard knocks?

I thought this show would be fun and interesting; a unique social experiment. Kids building a society-would they become less innocent and more power-hungry or would there rise natural leaders? Society as seen through a young person's eyes would reveal a lot and maybe help us, the adults, run it better. All of this I thought when I first heard about this program.

But now I say take it off the air. The producers are interested in not one of these questions. They are banking on the kids messing up or getting in trouble. They are interested in a pint-sized "Big Brother." And they probably will edit the show to portray these kids in a certain way: there will be one note characterizations and types. The show will instill base qualities in these kids: narcissism, entitlement, and unearned ego. This will be exploitation, pure and simple.

If the kids have the option to quit at any time (which I'm sure they do). No harm no foul. It'll be interesting to see the reflections of the kids parents in the eyes of children.

@John: The kids did have the option to quit at any time. (Again, I haven't seen the show, but that was part of the 5-minute trailer CBS sent.)

I still find it wrong to exploit these kids. They are working actors and should be treated as such. CBS is really screwing up with this one.

Like most reports whatever sells! Your article is indictive of the marketing of anyone for $ even CHILDREN. When have children become less valuable,without protection for entertainment, than DOGS? CBS like most media events try to downplay and point elsewhere for their lack of integrity. TIME, I can't expect you to do anything else other than downplay injury to children====it's business. It was the parents, Inspectors, Attorney General everybody's fault except CBS who plotted for months on how to exploit children in the US. The show will be edited,why was it originally Manhattan Project?Those who protest dog fights with M. Vick will want to see this mess!!!!!TURN IT OFF!!!!!!!

When has a highly edited show been EVIDENCE? Thank GOD that investigators may do their job and look beyond edited tape for evidence. There are more than 4 agencies who are willing to get beyond the lies on a screen.....

I look at it from the point of view of the child. I would have loved to have an opportunity as a child to be a part of a television show where you get to have an opportunity to do something that normally you'd never get to do.

Or... I guess I could go back to watching another Pixar-pacifier...

Yes, there is benefit on the side of CBS, but also on the side of the child.

Like I said before, if you can quit any time, who really gets hurt???

I totally agree, John. This sounds like just the thing I would have loved to do as a kid. Back then I already had the love of adventure, but had not yet developed the fear of being filmed.

The fact that they can leave at any time nails it for me. Kids change their minds more often than their clothes. As long as there wasn't any undo pressure on them to stay in, they REALLY wanted to be there.

Cut it out all of you nervous Nancy's with your child exploitation. What kid wouldn't like to "be in charge" without adult interference......although they were under adult supervision. This has been the way the Boy Scouts have operated for 100 years. They are boy led. They plan their own calendar and outings and hold elections to elect their boy leaders. This is nothing new. Now if you want to talk exploitation, boycott the Disney channel where they turn out warped kids like Lindsey Lohan and Brittney Spears all in the name of the all mighty dollar.

If they leave - they don't get their $5,000 - and no chance at the weekly $20,000. More than one interview has already alluded to the peer pressure (or to put it positively - peer support) to stay.

Beyond that - have 40 kids work (or volunteer or participate) night and day to build habitat for humanity houses, or something similar. Miss school, risk injury, be away from parents - in the name of contributing something to society and not in front of a TV camera, and I might be more inclined to look at the greater good. They 'created' a Nation - rebuilding a movie set? And this has relevant social value?

Reality or scripted - TV is about entertainment (or education with a true documentary format). These kids will just become societies fodder, now and forever, like every "participant", "contestant" before them. The biggest thing that will come out of the airing of the show will be the criticism and ridicule that is sure to follow at least some of the kids. No one will be remembering to respect their right to choose to do this show when they want to laugh at something they said or did, or dislike their comments about religion, politics, etc. The water cooler conversation probably isn't going to be about how great "Sally" handled that perplexing question and showed leadership skills and what could we all learn from that.

I think while the contract is somewhat standard for an adult "participant" in Survivor - there's something really wrong with duplicating those same conditions for children. There's a reason adults and children have different rules and laws governing them.

All of the other similar reality shows involving children didn't seperate them from their parents for at least 6 weeks. American Juniors, for gosh sakes were nicely housed, always with their parents, and by the way not a very successful show either. Those were children, and families, who were already in pursuit of being a performer, already experienced and at least a little knowledgeable about the industry. And there wasn't a 22 page liability and confidentiality contract there.

Camps - boy scouts or otherwise - have very specific rules and guidelines that are in place to protect everyone. Camps have a very high level of scruitiny placed on them, and perhaps CBS would have passed all of those standards, but they didn't expose themselves to that risk because they just did things in secret.

I kind of think it doesn't really matter how we categorize this, or what ever hits the airwaves -- it crossed lines never crossed before, and for no good reason. For $$, controversy, and "entertainment" value. How sad.

I agree with everything you wrote and have been waiting for a critic to agree with me since the outcry began; there may be some legitimate questions, but most of the reaction has been ridiculously out of proportion, with people being too quick to be too judgmental.

I'm so tired of reality TV, I could puke. Does anyone even watch that sh*t anymore? Seems like another new, stupid show pops up every other week. If it wasn't football season, I'd cancel my cable! ...and this one is "Children of the Corn" all over again? Oh puh-leeze. It was bad enough the first time.

To insist that you need to see it before you judge it is logic fraught with peril. Exploitation is exploitation. You don't need to watch it to see it. Get it?

I agree that kids face risk in everyday life, but I think we should all be concerned about the fact that the producers apparently went out of their way to make sure these kids were not protected as well as they should have been. You have to wonder why....

I used to work in the film industry and any normal TV show or film that uses minors on camera has to abide by state child labor laws at the very least and actors' union rules at best: limiting the number of hours the child can be on camera, requiring them to have a few hours' tutoring by a licensed teacher on days when their normal school is in session, minimum rest and play time, etc. This show reportedly did not follow those rules. Why? Clearly to save money (longer shooting days) and to push the kids as far as they could for creative reasons. That's morally icky at best.

To the person above who compared it to the Boy Scouts - um, I think there's a LITTLE more stress involved when you know everything that happens to you, including any embarrassing moment or decision to quit, will be shown on TV for all your friends to see. (and on DVD forever!)

Being told what to do and being paid money for it IS work, and the child labor laws were put into place because we as a society decided that parents could not be put in the position of having to choose between money or their child's health, comfort and safety.

The only reason this show could be made was because of a loophole in the New Mexico laws, which has now been closed. And CBS still defends the show - even though lawmakers have told them they can never use children this way ever again. If that isn't exploitation, I don't know what is.

HKTailor,

I was going to argue your point with you until I ran my mouse over your name. When I saw that you have a website called Eddie Hong Kong Tailor, I knew immediately that it didn't sound like a place I'd care to go.

That being said, I bet you wish I'd take a look before I judge your site as unworthy.

@HKT: I think you'd be right if so much of the criticism of the show weren't based in assumptions about what the show itself and its reception would be like. (See above: they're looking for a pint-sized Big Brother, the kids will be edited to look bad and subject to ridicule, etc.)

If one wants to argue that casting children as TV entertainers in general, or reality-TV subjects in specific, is *inherently* exploitative, fine. In which case one should apply the same criticism to the other shows I've mentioned. People made much the same criticism of Michael Apted's 7 Up. (That was a documentary with higher ambitions, but "exploitation is exploitation," right?) But much of the Kid Nation criticism rests on the assumption that the show will be cutthroat, cruel, Lord of the Flies, etc., with no apparent basis other than that's "what we all know" about reality TV. For those kinds of assessments, yes, I do think one needs to see the show.

Again, in that sense, the prejudging reminds me of what we've seen over and over again with the likes of Amish in the City, Welcome to the Neighborhood, The Joe Schmo Show and so forth. Now, Kid Nation could end up looking as horrible as people have predicted, but I'm reserving judgment.

Remember all the hub bub about the racially divided tribes on Survivor that turned out to be much ado about nothing? Same thing here. Once the show airs, people will find that reality does not match their preconceived notions. I'm betting the show ends up a hit.

@Keith: Or, that it ends up proving so wholesome and uplifting that the rubberneckers lose interest and it bombs. I'm not really sure how that would play out.

The Kid Nation show reminds me of another social experiment, a real one where most of the adults were killed off to allow for the education of the children uncorrupted by the previous culture. In this case, the idea is supposedly "to see what happens." The idea of a group of kids left to fend for themselves without adult supervision is monstrous. The comparison to summer camp is bogus since there is adult supervision at camp. Also no contract can relieve the relevant parties of liability if they can be shown to be negligent.

how can my children get on the show

In addition to exploiting children for profit, CBS has the kids reciting a "Pledge of Allegiance" with no mention of God to a red flag that looks a whole lot like the communist flag of China on the CBS website. In spite of the "No adults" hyperbole, I'm quite sure that it was a CBS adult who came up with the red flag and plege for the kids. This program is a fraud and opens the door to yet more child exploitation by media moguls.

Child Exploitation? I guess so were Leave It To Beaver, The Brady Bunch and The Partride Family?
Danny Bonaduce... is that you? Once you let go of the fact that this is TV and TV is often meant to ENTERTAIN US, the show does offer up some very interesting concepts about peer pressure & work to earn. Yes Greg, all things that our tykes will face in the big bad real world. My 7 yr old son & I loved it. It sure beats watching another episode of Pokemon!