Talking Points: Kid Nation

Talking Points: “Kid Nation”

I’m getting a “Kid Nation” overload today, as I just finished writing a choice assignment about the show. However I will try my best to find a different aspect of the show to focus on right now. One article that I connected with was the one written by Nancy McDermott, “Kid Nation: it’s not exactly William Golding”. She discusses the overblown criticism of the show, including the argument that it violated child labor and abuse laws. Personally, I think that the very notion of this is ridiculous. So what if the pioneers of “Kid Nation” had to do a little bit of hard labor in order to survive? Many adults would probably argue that the work, which included cleaning outhouses, preparing meals and hauling water, was good for the pioneers’ overall sense of work ethic. Throughout their experience on the show, the pioneers of “Kid Nation” became more confident in their own abilities as human beings and their ability to live without the constant hovering of mom and dad.

According to the article by McDermott, many parents of the pioneers' parents were criticized and labeled as unfit parents for allowing their children to be on the show. This goes along with one of McDermott’s main points, that parents today are over protective and everything concerning their children is blown way out of proportion. I admire the parents that allowed their children to be one the show. I feel that their intentions were pure, simply wanting their children to have an experience that McDermott compares to overnight summer-camp. A chance to have once in a life time experiences, meet other kids from around the country, and hopefully learn skills to help them in the future. Unlike Megan Daum’s view of the parents’ intentions, I do not feel that they were in it to make their children into mini-celebrities.

One question that I have is what would have happened if the pioneers were really left to their own devices. I understand that a production crew, medical staff, etc have to be present for safety reason, just as on “Survivor”. What if the pioneers were given handheld cameras to document their experiences, and the journal, dictating the direction of each show was removed, would the audience have a purer view of who kids and teens really are? Would we be able to see how they react to certain situations, without the watchful eye of adults present? What would happen? I understand that many of you probably haven’t watched the series and might not be able to answer, but for those of you who have, what do you think would happen? Would it make for a better show? Thoughts?