This was definitely more revealing than the Quiet on Set documentary. Perhaps its because I was too young to be familiar with the news covered in the film. However, it was important to see the stories unfold, understand the connections these men have to each other, and to learn just how negligent the parents were in this situation.
The admission of Michael to his crimes was scary to say the least. After hearing him go on about just how clear it was that abuse was going on, and then to find out he participated in horrible acts was very revealing of how these people think. When asked the question "Are you attracted to young boys?" he responds with "Not, particularly." That felt like a confession to me, especially after hearing him minimize the crimes of a friend while on the phone with his victim. He even says in an interview that kids can choose whether they see abuse as negative and have the option to not let it affect them, implying that abuse itself is a neutral event.
I felt sick hearing those parents describe the story of their son's abuse. From the start, the wife describe herself as "just a baby" when recounting the story of how she at 14 started dating her then 17 future husband. Clearly grooming and predator behavior is normalized in this family. Non consensually sharing his story when he doesn't have the capacity to tell it himself feels like another violation on his behalf. We don't need victim's specific stories to believe them and its irresponsible to feel entitled to people's stories.
This did give very helpful context to understanding the crimes of Brian Peck. But the film does go on to put an unnecessary responsibility on viewers to stop the abuse. There are legal and criminal proceedings that could protect kids, and viewers often don't know of abuse until its too late. There should be continued investigation on all TV networks employing child actors, from entities not associated with the networks(looking at you, Nickelodeon). I think there should also be a law that prevents children from seeing adult coworkers outside of work. Restrict the access they have to these kids, at the very least, since predators are attracted to industries where they have unmonitored access to children.
All in all the film felt important. The sharing of these stories continues to reveal patterns of abuse, and provides education for any parent who may not know what becoming a child actor really entails. The film was also helpful to understand the holes in our legal system.
The admission of Michael to his crimes was scary to say the least. After hearing him go on about just how clear it was that abuse was going on, and then to find out he participated in horrible acts was very revealing of how these people think. When asked the question "Are you attracted to young boys?" he responds with "Not, particularly." That felt like a confession to me, especially after hearing him minimize the crimes of a friend while on the phone with his victim. He even says in an interview that kids can choose whether they see abuse as negative and have the option to not let it affect them, implying that abuse itself is a neutral event.
I felt sick hearing those parents describe the story of their son's abuse. From the start, the wife describe herself as "just a baby" when recounting the story of how she at 14 started dating her then 17 future husband. Clearly grooming and predator behavior is normalized in this family. Non consensually sharing his story when he doesn't have the capacity to tell it himself feels like another violation on his behalf. We don't need victim's specific stories to believe them and its irresponsible to feel entitled to people's stories.
This did give very helpful context to understanding the crimes of Brian Peck. But the film does go on to put an unnecessary responsibility on viewers to stop the abuse. There are legal and criminal proceedings that could protect kids, and viewers often don't know of abuse until its too late. There should be continued investigation on all TV networks employing child actors, from entities not associated with the networks(looking at you, Nickelodeon). I think there should also be a law that prevents children from seeing adult coworkers outside of work. Restrict the access they have to these kids, at the very least, since predators are attracted to industries where they have unmonitored access to children.
All in all the film felt important. The sharing of these stories continues to reveal patterns of abuse, and provides education for any parent who may not know what becoming a child actor really entails. The film was also helpful to understand the holes in our legal system.