So I just got finished watching the latest installment of Kid Nation. For those of you who might still be unaware of this show, it is a reality show that puts 40 kids (8-15 years old) on an old abandoned wild-west type city in New Mexico and films them as they attempt to create a working civilization. They deal with topics such as religion, trash, entertainment (or lack thereof), health care, and other topics. Every episode the kids compete for their jobs, which are assigned via a hierarchy (from upper class to the laborers) and get paid money that they can use to purchase goods in town. In addition, there are other elements of the show including bullies, drama queens (looking at you Taylor), and kids who are competing for the Gold Star.
Ah yes, the Gold Star, how could I forget. The Gold Star is a prize given out by the town council, four group leaders, to a kid who has been working extra hard and has benefited the town. This star is supposedly solid gold, or at least worth it’s weight in it. It’s worth $20,000. While not everyone who has received it necessarily earned it, it is clear that many of the children are not affluent and could really use the money for college. So that’s a nice heart-touching aspect.
The show raised lots of red-flags about it’s ethics, which is what made me first notice it. Controversy centered around if it was okay to profit from children. Granted, the reason I watched was because I wanted to see what they made the kids do. I can’t say I’m a reality fan, but every once in a while I get suckered it. I watched the first Survivor, a couple seasos of The Apprentice, and recently was infatuated with The Pickup Artist on VH1. In addition, being in my young-twenties, I couldn’t escape childhood without watching some Real World, Road Rules, and the 20 spin-off competition shows (P.S. Wes from Austin Real World is the best character ever).
Notice that I use the word character. Because Reality TV is only limited reality. It is highly edited and in many cases though to be scripted. On Kid Nation, not only is the direction of the show determined by the”journal” that the town council reads (it suggests them to do things, like clean up the city’s trash problem), but many of the kids confessions to the camera seem rehearsed and practiced. On The Real World, apparently they flow alcohol to the people on the like it’s a river. I guess it makes it more entertaining.
In any case, I don’t see too many bad things about Kid Nation. The kids are there by their choice and can leave at any time. I think CBS agrees, as they have already setup Kid Nation 2 ready for production (maybe they’ll have to push it forward due to the Writers’ Strike). Well there are some ethical loops; in order to make the show work, they registered the kids as being at “camp” to get around child labor laws, a loophole that New Mexico has since closed. Kid Nation 2 will thus apparently be airing in Guatemala or somewhere else in Central America.
If I were a kid, then I think I’d like to be on this show. Of course it’s easy for me to say that now, but it seems like it would have been a lot of fun, and I’m pretty sure it would have been something I would have been down for when I was 12 years old. Oh well, I didn’t get that opportunity, so all I can do is watch. Maybe I’ll have to try my hand at The Amazing Race, as that seems like a show I think I would both enjoy to watch and would even be successful in competing on.
I shouldn’t watch this crap, and neither should you. But we may not have a choice due to the Hollywood Writer’s Strike.
Have you seen this show? What are your feelings about the ethics behind it? Would you have wanted to be on the show when you were a kid? Would you let your kids on the show?
