Guest Author - Marci Ann Peterson
Okay, I admit I am not a reality TV fan. I have tried to watch a few of the more popular reality TV shows that friends and family have recommended and I usually don’t make it through the first episode. With that being said I decided to check out the more controversial show Kid Nation.
Let me preface this all by saying that I have nothing against any of the kids on the show, all are cute and have risen to the challenge of creating a running and working Bonanza City. What I disagree with is the TV station using them to make more money. My philosophy is if an adult wants to be on a reality show to be exploited they are big enough to make their own decisions, but to get a group of kids together and exploit them, now that is just wrong, in my opinion.
With no adult supervision, these 40 kids are going to try where adults in the past have failed to make Bonanza City run. Okay, let’s get real, no adult supervision? Get real! Who is working all the cameras, and the equipment? At least that is the networks defense when questioned. The network keeps saying that the kids are more supervised than they would have been at a summer camp. But are the cameramen really going to step in and help ease the emotions that arise in these children ages 8-15? Heck no! That’s not good TV. And emotions are what makes the ratings soar. Instead they are going to film it, the homesickness, the fights, disagreements, and hurt feelings that arise. In essence they are exploiting these kids to make a few extra bucks!
How many of the kids actually truly understood what was going to be expected of them and all the consequences that go along with participating in this experiment? I doubt very many. I’m sure that most thought it was going to be a fun way to spend their summer, not exactly the hard work and disagreements that they are now dealing with. Yes, they do have the option at every town meeting to choose to go home, as the youngest participant Jimmy age 8 chose to do, despite the peer pressure to stay. Would you in all honesty on national TV with everyone watching quit and go home? Probably not, you would stick it out just to show everyone you could.
If that isn’t enough add in the fact that the social ladder was decided by a challenge amongst the four teams, or districts as they are called in Bonanza City. Each district has jobs to do where the pay scale is decided by where you are on the social ladder, not how much you do. You have the Laborers who are pretty much doing most of the hard physically labor like hauling water from the pump into the city, doing the laundry, and so forth, who end up being paid the least $0.10. Next up are the cooks whose job it is to prepare the three meals a day for 40 kids, they will get paid $0.25. Then comes the merchants, who are the store owners, places packed with candy, toys, and soda that can be bought with their earnings, they will receive $0.50. And then at the top are those who don’t have to do anything the elite members of the town, who earn $1.00 for just living there.
With all that being said there are good qualities about the show as well, it does teach team work and problem solving skills. It also teaches kindness, hard work, as well as working out your problems without running to mom and dad.
This is one show that I am glad I watched the first episode so I can honestly say that I did not enjoy it and will not be watching it again. For those of you who did enjoy it, you are not alone; many people will be tuning in every Wednesday to CBS to see what happens next!
