Reality TV for Tykes
October 9, 2007

In the never-ending effort to come up with something different to put on the glass screen, this fall CBS is taking a new approach to their immensely popular Survivor formula. Take 40 kids and drop them off at a "ghost town" in the midst of the desert for 40 days and nights, and see what happens.

Titled Kid Nation, the series has been attracting publicity prior to its premiere a couple of weeks ago (it airs on Wednesday nights), but the buzz hasn't been positive. First, TV critics didn't receive screeners for the program (a rare happening in the television industry). Second, advocates for children's rights say the producers are exploiting their young subjects by not having adequate adult supervision and asking them to work 14 hours per day. (The show was filmed in New Mexico, and one newspaper report asserts that producers found a loophole in the state's child labor laws.)

Still more fury has focused on reports of a girl being burned by grease while cooking and two boys accidentally drinking bleach. But not to worry. These issues and more are covered in a contract the kid's parents needed to sign that exempted CBS from every liability imaginable -- including unexpected pregnancy and AIDS.

In the entertainment biz, any publicity is good publicity, and the reports have no doubt created a curiosity that will have many people tuning into to see if this show will add up to Lord of the Flies meets Survivor.

While I don't have any evidence (aside from newspaper stories) to validate the noted concerns, after watching a couple of episodes, I too am amazed that parents would be willing to sign over six weeks of their child's life to a production crew.

The kids live within a social order whereby they are divided into four teams of ten kids each, with each group identified by a color and -- more importantly -- a career path. Based on a physical challenge every few days, those who lose become "cooks" and "laborers" (the latter being the lowest of the low) while "merchants" and the "upper class" are at the top of the social ladder. The only way to change your destiny is to win the contest and bump one of the other teams into the outhouse cleaning position.

To add fuel to the premise, each week the "Town Council" (comprised of one child from each team) selects which contestant will receive a $20,000 gold star, based on their value to the community. It's a process that is bound to bring about more competition and (the element the cameras really love) contention.

While even the premise itself sounds rife with potential for abuse and exploitation, I must admit that during the second episode of Kid Nation there were some little surprises that may indicate these kids can demonstrate something adults don't get.

After the Green Team was once again relegated to clean-up duty after losing the day's challenge, members of the upper class Blue Team offered to pitch-in and help with some of their dismal chores. In other situations, one young man (ages appear to range from 8 to 15) demonstrated skills with butchering and cleaning chickens, allowing the entire group to get a decent meal, while another boy figured out how to unfreeze the water pump (an effort that earned him the coveted star).

These were positive outcomes by which it briefly appeared the kids were willing to work together to beat the system they were being put into (and I'm sure the producers, knowing they need to buck the controversy, were thrilled at this positive outcome).

But by week three, things were not as rosy. From an adult perspective, I began feeling a little uncomfortable finding even an ounce of entertainment within a concept where the high points of drama are a little eight-year-old tearfully wishing he was home with his parents while an older teen, who a week before was heroically preparing a chicken dinner, cusses up a storm (with bleeps and obscured mouths so we can only guess what words were uttered) after being turned down for the star.

Even if this were a group of guinea pigs, let alone children, I would say, "Stop the madness!" In short, I believe this plan has some serious ethical concerns.

One report says the kids do get $5,000 for their discomfort, although the same report says they forfeit the payment should they decide to buckle and go home early. Either way, it's a tiny fee in return for weeks of prime-time programming that is hoping to attract million dollar advertising contracts.

However, I suspect the real price being paid by these young survivors may not always be evident on camera. Think about what you would do for forty days in a desert town? The program condenses a few of these sunrise-to-sunset periods into 48 minutes of programming, but what about the other 3.99 days that elapse during an episode? Assuming there are no video games hidden behind the root beer saloon counter and someone hasn't smuggled in an iPod, what was keeping these children occupied? I'm hoping at least the parents received some answers to those questions.

Of course while we should be concerned about the 40 kids who were subjected to this experiment, even more of an issue is what this program is teaching to the thousands of young people who are watching. From what I've seen so far, it reinforces bullying and "biggest is best" philosophies that so many school playgrounds are trying to overcome. Unless there are some unexpected moments of surprising introspection during the upcoming weeks of Kid Nation, this TV show is nothing less than a weekly cockfight without kid gloves.

Rod Gustafson

Besides writing this column for the Parents Television Council, Rod Gustafson authors Parent Previews® - a newspaper and Internet column (published in association with movies.com) that reviews movies from a parent's perspective. He's also the film critic for a major Canadian TV station, various radio stations and serves on the executive of the Alberta Association for Media Awareness. Finally, his most important role is being the father to four wonderful children and husband to his beautiful wife (and co-worker) Donna.

Parenting and the Media by Rod Gustafson

The Parents Television Council - www.parentstv.org

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