Harlee Buford - Supplemental Response #5

A few days ago I watched, Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, which primarily disclosed the abuse of child actors on Nickelodeon shows from the 90s onwards. The docu-series focuses a lot on Dan Schneider's inappropriate behavior with child actors, primarily sexually abusing or harassing kids, and how he often included semi-hidden sexual innuendos, jokes, and content into these kids shows. Further, the series describes how several pedophiles and registered sex offenders found their way back on kids' shows and how the hiring practices of studios do not do enough to protect children. 

SPOILER. The series exposes how Brian Peck molested Drake Bell while he was working at Nickelodeon. It was revealed that Brian had hundreds of bags containing items he took from child actors working on Nickelodeon shows, some as disturbing as little kids' underwear. 

Although I knew a lot of the abuse these child actors on these shows faced from TikTok and other videos, hearing the stories from writers, crew members, producers, and others in addition to actors' statements obviously provided a deeper level of understanding. In the media, child stars who go 'crazy' or 'insane' are often blamed for their spiral and people do not consider how deeply their fame and stardom as a child has affected them into adulthood. Although people today seem to be more empathetic and understanding of child stars who go off the rails, there is still the assumption that they are to blame. 

Overall, I think the documentary series does an excellent job of exposing the horrors child stars face in this industry and I think it is an important series for everyone to watch.

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