The Program:Cons, Cults and Kidnapping
There have been a slew of documentaries recently about the troubled teen industry, but this is the first that was made by survivors of one particularly bad institution. This industry feeds off of the idea that parents have made the mistake of coddling their children and some 'tough love' will turn their lives around. Who knows if this method could work in the hands of experts? The problem is that most people who start these kinds of programs have no educational qualifications, and they hire people with no educational qualifications because it is cheaper. They charge much more than traditional private schools because of this 'special' program-it's a scam. Not only that, the lack of outside supervision makes these places rife with abuse. And for what? A damaged beyond repair relationship with parents and, in this case, a phoney high school diploma. Yeah, the diploma from the school feature in this documentary was not recognized by the State of New York, so the people who did graduate could not use this "qualification" to attend further education. The tone of the series is a lot more personal than what is usually presented on Netflix, it reminds me of some of the best work of Michael Moore, like Bowling for Columbine. It is one of those documentaries that makes you more knowledgeable about the world after you watch it.
Comments
Post a Comment