Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Aspen Education Group
Turn About Ranch (A Rough Guide)
idioteque:
Yeah, I replied to your IM. I'm well aware of Aspen's affiliates and franchises.
If anyone wants further, specific information please feel free to send me a private message.
Anonymous:
There is going to be an American version of Brat Camp:
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds18553.html
US 'Brat Camp' in production
Thursday, January 20 2005, 21:09 GMT -- by Neil Wilkes
http://www.sociopranos.com/forums/threa ... &posts=372
ABC is filming a US version of Channel 4's reality hit Brat Camp.
The show follows troublesome teens as they are straightened out by tough taskmasters at an American ranch.
The six-part US series is being produced by Arnold Shapiro and Allison Grodner, the duo behind the American version of Big Brother.
Brat Camp is expected to premiere later this spring.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/features/33026.html
Cruelty of teaching little blighters a lesson, Guantanamo style
IAN BELL February 09 2005
Brat Camp Channel 4, 9.00pm
What are we to do with the younger generation? How can we put a stop to their drug-smoking, their binge-drinking, their incessant exam-taking? I know: let's put them in reality TV shows.
The first surprise with Brat Camp is that it is even legal. I'm not kidding: there is some serious cruelty ? physical and mental ? in this show. Turnaround Ranch in Utah resembles nothing so much as a teenage Guantanamo whose central rule is that "the kids can only come home when the camp says they're ready, or if their parents pull them out."
We are talking about seven British youths, male and female, who have infringed no laws in the United States. We are talking about a regime designed to break them ? involving, to begin with, no running water, no electricity, no mattresses and an open-air "punishment circle". That's before the hard labour ? "the best form of therapy" ? and a forced march through the desert.
Then there's the second surprise: why are the children in this gulag rather than their parents? We met some of the latter, uniformly prosperous and middle class, affecting bafflement because they had produced a bunch of supremely obnoxious brats. "He's going to end up in the gutter, in jail or dead," said one mother, sweetly. What can you do, eh?
Surprise three was the fact that such people had placed their children in the care of a country with the largest per capita prison population in the world. To put it no higher, America doesn't have a lot to teach anyone about rehabilitation. At Turnaround, the teenagers "must ask permission for everything". At the ranch, "complaining about the food is against the rules". The forced march was inflicted, meanwhile, for "non-compliance".
This is the second series of the show, so Channel 4 cannot pretend (the usual excuse) that it is still a social experiment. You can bet, though, that lawyers were crawling all over the contracts and releases before a foot of tape was shot, just in case some smart teenager decided to sue everyone involved to hell. The fact remains that things you wouldn't get away with in a British prison, especially the system of rewards, punishments and continual psychological pressure, were offered up for our entertainment.
There will be those of the serve-em-right school happy to believe that all this is exactly what obstreperous youngsters need. They would have loved Gary, the guard ? sorry, "counsellor" ? whose job it was to teach the youths the "ways of the wild west". He started with horses. Next week, presumably, it will be vote Republican, carry big guns and deny evolution.
I can't wait for the sequel, Brat Camp Sweden, in which troubled teenagers will be given a gruelling crash-course in the history of social democracy until they learn why some countries manage to be civilised and prosperous without recourse to personal firearms, perpetual wars and vindictive penal regimes. For those who don't co-operate, the punishment will be severe: they'll be sent back to their parents.
HereToHelp05:
I was subjected to the cruel treatments of TurnAbout Ranch 2001. I'm interested in writing to a few different talk shows or news groups (Dateline, 20/20, Oprah, etc.) about my sick and twisted experience and the experiences of others.
Please, if you've been to TurnAbout Ranch in Escalante, Utah, email me. I want to talk with you and share our "survivor" stories. Even if you have no interest in participating in the news shows, I stil want to hear from you.
It's time to speak out.
Kelly
[email protected][ This Message was edited by: HereToHelp05 on 2005-08-22 21:49 ]
Anonymous:
I have to say I'm hesitant about the Oprah angle. Oprah spawned Dr. Phil and Dr. Phil loves to send kids away to abusive programs. Therefor, by proxy, Oprah must be hesitant to feature a program about this trend/epidemic/whathaveyou. I say this because she's been on longer than The Simpsons, which is a whole shitload of episodes, and there hasn't been one brought to my attention that details the horrors of "brat camps" as they are.
Also, the Barbara Walters angle. She and her daughter (used to?) own and operate a very similar program for girls, which makes that network and also the program Dateline partial. I'm not sure if the place got shut down or not, but it seems to have by my recollection.
So this is really an uphill battle. I applaud you no doubt but this is going to take a LOT of lobbying to come to fruition. It's the problem no one wants to fix.
HereToHelp05:
Hmmm... good point. That certainly puts a damper on things. Perhaps newspaper articles would be more effective than biased TV?
Kelly
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