I openly admit to being a reality television fan. My favorites are Survivor and Amazing Race, but just about any reality show will do. So when I saw commercials for this new show called “Kid Nation,” I was intrigued. 40 kids, ages 8 to 15, in a “ghost town” outside Santa Fe for 40 days, creating and living in their own little community.
It sounded interesting, but my mind immediately went to safety issues. I wondered what parent in their right mind would send their young child or teenager off to live with almost no supervision. There was supervision, wasn’t there? Or were the cameras rolling while the adults weren’t allowed to interfere? It’s not clear, and I suppose that’s part of the mystique that CBS is hoping will draw in viewers.
Questions are now being raised over whether the filming of the show violated child safety and labor laws in New Mexico, where Kid Nation was filmed. Apparently the children were required to do whatever the producers told them to do, or they would be removed from the show. That sounds like a typical reality show to me, but seems a lot more weird when it’s involving children with no parents present.
One parent has complained that the conditions were abusive. Yet the 22-page contract signed by the parents of all children disclaims all responsibility for injury and death of the children. The contract even disclaimed responsibility for any sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy if any of the children engaged in sexual activity.
There is an interesting confidentiality clause in the contract too. While confidentiality usually lasts until after all the episodes of a reality show are aired, in this case the confidentiality extends for 3 years after the show is aired. Violation of this part of the contract means a $5 million penalty. CBS also retains the rights to the children’s life stories forever. Wow.
The children were paid between $5,000 and $20,000 for their participation, but will not actually get their money until after all episodes air.
Count me out of watching that show! I didn’t like the idea when I saw it advertised and now I hate it. Bascially it sounds like the parents made the kids sell their souls for $5,000 to $20,000. I feel sorry for the kids two-fold, they have to expose themselves to whatever and NOT get to talk about it AND they have very, very STUPID parents!
Wow. Just wow.
What a breaktakingly obnoxious way to monetize “Lord of the Flies.”
The show should have been called “Lord Of The Flies”.
Minors cannot legally enter into contracts. The show may be able to exercise some control over parents who signed, they can’t possibly enforce anything related to the kids.
Regardless of contract language, they cannot waiver themselves out of negligence. If the show is found to be negligent, they will be on the hook. The true negligence seems to be parental, however.
Guess I should have read the comments first so I didn’t steal someone’s “Lord Of The Flies” reference…but it is a pretty obvious analogy for anyone who’s read it. I have to assume none of the parents had.