Talking Points: Kid Nation

Kid Nation
After reading these various authors, I have concluded that each of them when relating to the children on this show, definitely draw from the dominant discourse of our society. Each one of these authors seems to have their own opinion on the show; however, the one thing that they all seem to have in common is their perception of kids and teenagers. They all seem to expect less from these kids and assume that they will all fail. One author writes, “With nary a thong, video game, or cell phone in sight, the children on the “Kid Nation” promo appear more physically active, intellectually engaged, and (no small thing) appropriately dressed…” This comment alone captures the authors view of teenagers, he seems to be impressed that a child can dress themselves appropriately and be intellectually engaged, who is this man trying the insult, the producers/parents of these kids, or the kids themselves? The same author also refers to the show as taking children away from fast food and gadgetry, as if children these days do nothing more than enjoy McDonalds and play video games, how close-minded is this person? Another author refers to, “the tantalizing notion that children are a purer, unspoiled version of us”, almost as if that idea could be impossible. Kids are very naïve and we as adults are typically the ones to steal their innocence, let’s be realistic here. Another author writes, “The 40 Bonanza City pioneers were surprisingly adept at getting along and quite supporting”, I feel that there are definite negative undertones here. The term “surprisingly”, suggests that the children should have been swinging from trees, listening to hip-hop, while playing on the internet. Other people that have commented on this show just seemed to be so surprised that these children could act so mature, as if once you take adults out of the equation children would be lost. Our society is definitely affected by the negative discourse of the media around us. The review of these articles helps me to reflect on Hine’s piece “The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager”. I believe that Hine’s argument was that teenagers are just teenagers, a younger version of the people that we once were, and the thoughts and ideas of these writers, I feel directly fight against what Hine’s was arguing.