Kid Nation

According to the articles that we read, people are very concerned about the show Kid Nation. Many think that it is basically a show about capitalism, the children are being used or that the situations are all staged by adults. I found this show to be extremely interesting and enjoyable because showed how children internalize the dominant idealogy of class, gender and age.

In this show, the adults impose class divisions and have leaders above the others. It is interesting to note that the children believe that leaders must yell and push people around. The creators normalize the class structure by making a completely unfair pay grade, where some get a lot of money for doing nothing and others must slave all day for pennies. There is no resistence to the inequality in jobs or amount of money, showing that our culture has made kids used to our unfair class structure. With the money, work is now extrinsically motivated, as it is now for money, not for the good of the town.

Children also internalize ideas of gender. One girl dances for cash, showing that she knows that women get paid for dancing and that money is importance. She talks about the "three moves that will get you through life." Male children also internalize the jobs only men are supposed to do, such as saying its a "man's duty" to go rabbit hunting.

Like the myspace reading by Dannah Boyd, children internalize ideas of what it means to be an adult. Because of age restrictions and the dominant discourse in the media, alcohol is for adults. The producers, not the children, put the saloon in the town, showing this is an important part of adult living. The kids take "shots" of root beer, "partying on" because they "worked hard," chugged and even dropped shots into their mugs. This goes along with Boy's article stating that this is an imitation of adulthood.

I have to say that I am really interested in seeing new episodes. I think that it is hilarious seeing children try to act like adults and to see what behaviors seem important. I guess we will see if the hype is worth it.