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Fame undermines therapy in reality TV's 'Brat Camp'

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Anonymous:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/ed ... edit_x.htm

Fame undermines therapy in reality TV's 'Brat Camp'

By Sarah Werthan Buttenwieser

Here's the latest premise for a reality television program: "What would you do with a teen who curses at you, breaks the law in your house and doesn't listen to anything you say?"

That's what families are facing in ABC's new reality series Brat Camp. The show follows nine teens, whisked without their knowledge to SageWalk, an intense and intensive program of tough confrontations taking place in Redmond, Ore. The hope: These facilitated experiences will turn their troubled lives around.

Therapy programs like this are extreme and controversial, yet sometimes effective. The teens come from varied backgrounds, all disturbing. One girl was molested at 11, a boy was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and another girl's adoptive parents fear that their daughter is heading toward the drug-induced coma her birth mother landed in.

The reality is that for young people struggling with issues this giant and personal, to have their depths dumped out on national TV crosses a line that we, as a society, should strenuously question.

Teenagers are not houses; they should not be submitted to national TV for an extreme human makeover. Their arduous personal journeys are not suited for reality TV's sensationalized, faux drama, with its leading teasers for each segment and its reductive labeling of participants alongside his or her name: compulsive liar, violent, self-destructive or hyperactive.

The risks for these teens ? as the show's narration intones ? are huge. Their desperate parents made a high-stakes gamble, hoping that SageWalk can ameliorate their private pain ? in this show, while the public views their personal journeys.

The wilderness school model already has to overcome a formidable breach of trust with its students, who had little or no say in whether they participated. Their parents made that call, though the kids did agree to appear on TV.

A key component of why these therapeutic programs work, though, is that the trust built within the group draws participants out of themselves. To add to the pressure of rolling cameras and national television exposure surely compromises the likelihood of that trust taking hold.

Maybe these are worthwhile risks, but the notion that such difficult, critical issues can unfold under the rubric of entertainment is unsettling.

The subject matter and the form are at painful odds with one another. While watching, I wanted to place a big private sign across my TV set. Yet the voyeuristic appeal is unmistakable. It is fascinating to observe how SageWalk's staff approaches these kids and is attuned to their emotions and needs. The program includes hiking, camping and group therapy. These professionals ? counselors and therapists who have been involved with SageWalk for years ? do not seem intent upon fame. Regardless, Brat Camp projects a strange mixture of sensationalism and promotion for SageWalk alongside its authentic, admirable process.

I'm pulling for all nine of these teens to rise above their personal demons, as well as the ones that television's notoriety might place ahead of them.

The wilderness of public opinion and reality TV celebrity awaits them, and not because they signed up for such fame. In this country, we safeguard young people through child labor laws, protective services and anonymity in the court system.

What sets Brat Camp apart from many other potentially demeaning programs meant to entertain is that it robs what is too personal from unsuspecting minors for others' consumption ? rather than solely for the teens' benefit.

Sarah Werthan Buttenwieser is a writer and mother of three in Northampton, Mass.

Antigen:

--- Quote ---On 2005-08-18 07:55:00, Anonymous wrote:

It is fascinating to observe how SageWalk's staff approaches these kids and is attuned to their emotions and needs.

--- End quote ---


I found it sickening to see how the crazy hippies project their views onto the kids then coerce them into accepting their damnation. Attuned to their emotional needs? Bullshit! They keep showing, over and over, like the planes hitting the WTO, that clip of Derek having a breakdown, crying for his mommy. If that kid doesn't strike back and kill somebody by the time he's 20, I'll be surprised!
The United States of America should have a foundation free from the influence of clergy.".
--George Washington, Revolutionary War General and U.S. President
--- End quote ---

wayeast:
A lot of armchair supporters of Brat Camp like to point out that the kids gave permission for their experience to be shown on TV.  Bull. That fourteen-year-old was calling for his mother because he'd been left alone for three days in the wilderness (we won't comfort him, but we'll televize his pain). He is not old enough or mature enough to sign that kind of contract, and any parent who would sign it for him is not fit to be trusted with children.

Thanks for posting that USA Today editorial, Antigen. It's always kind of a relief to see someone else saying it in public.

Deborah:
Yeh, he looks shell-shocked, glazed over. Speaking in monotone. He's either traumatized or medicated.

A little prodding by a therapist to shake things up is acceptable, imo. They cross the line by creating new trauma. Terrifying someone for the sole purpose of causing them to emote is abuse. It's more about the counselors need to feel 'effective', and only compounds the persons problems. What he had was not a 'breakthrough'- it was venting terror created in the moment.

Hell, Mt Wind, the one with the chronically pursed lips, which could indicate stuffed rage... commented on Derek's 'Solo' that his experience out there was like 'learning how to swim while drowning'. She went on to say that Derek hadn't shown the 'ability' to take care of himself.
Hmmm. Let's put him out anyway and see if he sinks or swims.

Is there one person that believes that he didn't blow his whistle that night because he was sure that he could tackle his 'inner demons' on his own? My guess is that he didn't perceive his terror as 'an emergency situation' worthy of their attention. No one was attacking him, no wild animal was attacking him, and based on his previous experience, he probably deduced that his terror would be perceived as inappropriate whining.

They left a 14 year old boy, who they admitted was able to take care of himself, ALONE in the desert to deal with his 'inner darkness'.

Now, not to compare the pain these kids are dealing with, but I found it interesting that Lexie draws a fair amount of empathy (sympathy?) from the staff, because her 'issue' is one society views as a more deserving victimization. Notice how they coached her through her terror in the repelling episode? But, leave the youngest among them to deal with his terror alone.

This is sick. And I can't believe the APA or some other organization hasn't stepped up to the plate to stop it.

Antigen:
Did you catch the reactions of the kids as they found out they wouldn't be going home for Christmas? I don't mean the interviews that happened sometime later. I'm talking about the immediate responses. What did you think?
To make certain that crime does not pay, the government should take it
over and try to run it

--G. Norman Collie
--- End quote ---

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