“Kid Nation” is the newest CBS reality show to air this fall. In a sort of “Lord of the Flies Redux” theme, 40 kids ranging in age from age 8-15 are left on the Bonanza Ranch in New Mexico to create an adult-free society, governed by and for kids. The reward: $5,000 and the hope of winning the weekly “gold star”, worth $20,000. The star is awarded each week to one of the kids.

Even though viewers are led to believe there is no adult supervision, there was a skeleton crew on the set during production, but none of them were parents.

When I first heard about this show, I thought it was insane. My brief foray into the underbelly of reality shows this summer, both real and unreal, hasn’t changed that opinion. As a parent, I cannot imagine sending my child off with a producer, psychologist, cameramen and various others into the wilds of New Mexico to set up a “society” as some sort of prime time showcase.

There are so many things wrong with this that I barely know where to start, so I guess I’ll start with what’s right about it. I think it’s good that the kids had to wrestle with the idea of forming a government and deal with the natural leadership struggles that arise as part of that process. I’m sure they learned much about the art of leadership and the art of following. I think it’s good that they had an opportunity to learn how to deal with the realities of daily life without the usual comforts. The preview below shows brief vignettes of the environment they were dealing with…hauling water, bringing it up from the well, cooking, cleaning, dividing responsibility…all of that is good. Some have objected to the series on the basis that they missed a month of school. That’s the least of my objections, because I’m sure the life and practical lessons they learned were worth the entire year, much less a month.

What bothers me most about this is the whole idea of a parent allowing their kid to go off to New Mexico by themselves with relative strangers for the promise of profit and fame. Here’s the call posted on RealityWanted.net for Kid Nation, Season 2.

CBS is currently casting the second season of their amazing new series – “Kid Nation”. Casting Directors are looking for exceptional, outgoing and enthusiastic kids who would be interested in a unique learning experience and the adventure of a lifetime. If that describes your child and he or she is between the ages of 8 and 15 apply now below.

So instead of sending Johnnie and Janie off to auditions for commercials, parents are sending them to auditions to spend over a month at “summer camp” (more on that in a minute) with no parental supervision and indeed, very little adult supervision at all.

Brian Lowry at Variety Magazine snarls about parents who would allow this:

After a preview of “Kid Nation” — CBS’ upcoming reality show that weds “Survivor” with “The Lord of the Flies” by setting up 40 kids age 8 to 15 in their own isolated community — one viewer spoke for most everybody in the room when she muttered, “Who the hell would let their kids do that?” Well, stage moms, for starters, along with pageant pushers and those who eat bugs and endure various forms of abuse themselves to enjoy a few minutes of fame — though here, their questionable judgment oozes over onto the next generation.

Although these kids learned many life lessons in the process of their time at the Bonanza Ranch, one that they did not learn was the lesson of “reasonable pay for reasonable work”. In fact, the show was able to skirt child labor laws (including 14-hour work days for the duration) by producing it in New Mexico, which had a now-closed loophole which allowed producers to characterize the production as a “summer camp”.

It would be unfair to bash the parents of these kids without bashing the inevitable hordes of viewers who are likely to make this show a hit, young and old alike. After all, if the show had no viewers there would be no motivation to exploit children in the name of entertainment, however willing they may be. But there will be viewers, and those viewers are open to taking large doses of reality TV, even clamoring for it. The RealityWanted.com website has 12 pages of listings for contestants and casting calls for reality television. It’s a big, huge profitable business. If this show is a success, I predict spinoffs and clones, all grinding those big bucks back to the production companies and networks clamoring for more.

When we get tired of seeing kids at their ‘meanest and best’, what will we watch next? Dogs? Here are some listings for upcoming shows. Which ones would you watch?

• ARE YOU ON THE BRINK OF A BREAK-UP?
• Casting for Couples 45-60 Years Old
  TV Production company seeks adventurous baby-boomers.
• MTV CASTING CALL: “PARENTAL CONTROL”

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