Hollywood Boulevard, Photo by David Diliff (CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported)
The television network Investigation Discovery (ID) is running a documentary series on child abuse in Hollywood. Titled Quiet on Set – The Dark Side of Kids TV, the series is both engrossing and disturbing [1][2].
Dating back to Jackie Coogan and Judy Garland, the abuse of child actors is nothing new. Both federal and state laws now limit the hours children may work, require that they receive education on set, and protect their earnings [3].
But there are, also, subtle pressures on children to conform with the demands made of them, in the interest of advancing their careers.
Quiet on Set focuses on the toxic environment producer, Dan Schneider, fostered at Nickelodeon, the first cable channel for children — an environment in which his bullying and sexism were the rule, sexual allusions in children’s programming were standard, and three different pedophiles flourished [4][5].
For some of the children who experienced all this the results were devastating. The insidious nature of grooming is clearly illustrated by the series, and should serve as a warning to parents everywhere [6].
Noted for helping to create, write, and/or produce such shows as All That, Drake & Josh, The Amanda Show, and iCarly, Schneider received accolades and awards for his work.
Though more than once investigated for gender discrimination and the negative environment on set, Schneider did not part ways with Nickelodeon until after the #MeToo Movement gained momentum. He continues to work in television today.
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[1] Identification Discovery (ID), “Quiet on the Set – The Dark Side of Kids TV”, https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/show/quiet-on-set-the-dark-side-of-kids-tv-investigation-discovery-atve-us.
[2] Entertainment Weekly, “Pedophiles on set, sexism in the writers’ room: Everything said about Nickelodeon on Quiet on Set” by Wesley Stenzel, 3/18/24, https://ew.com/quiet-on-set-dark-side-of-kids-tv-docuseries-everything-said-about-nickelodeon-8610143.
[3] Backstage, “Child Actor Labor Laws, Explained” by Joe Guerra, 2/22/24, https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/child-actor-laws-76778/.
[4] Wikipedia, “Dan Schneider”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Schneider.
[5] Wikipedia, “Nickelodeon”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelodeon.
[6] National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), “Grooming”, https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-is-child-abuse/types-of-abuse/grooming/.
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ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse 
I have added this show to my list. It is an important issue that must be covered in prayer.
💔
PEDOPHILIA IS A GLOBAL PANDEMIC.
And indicator of the degeneration of the species.
Tragically, mankind has been degenerate since the Fall. Pedophilia is just one illustration of that.
one more
This is another one of those that everybody seems to know but nobody knows the extent or the details.
There are times, I think, people doubt the evidence of their own senses. That may be because they have a vested interest (for instance, in the success of a show) or because such evil is unfathomable, even when they are confronted with it.
I think the latter is more prevalent. Our brain just doesn’t want to come to grips with it.
Du hast wieder ein sehr sensibles Thema aufgegriffen. Was man erfährt, ist nur die Spitze eines Eisberges.
Ich fürchte, du hast recht, Marie. So oft bleibt Missbrauch verborgen. LG, A. ❤
Anna, I wish we had discovery channel. I went in to Netflix to see if it was there and it was not. What a wonderful eye-opening documentary and I would love to see it too. I have often wondered why so many actors end up killing themselves and drinking and drugging. Perhaps this is one of those reasons. Thank you for sharing this my friend. Sending you my love and appreciation for writing this wonderful pieces of information so that others can become aware. Love Joni
I am deeply grateful that this subject touches your heart, Joni. If you’re interested, you can watch the series online at: https://www.investigationdiscovery.com/show/quiet-on-set-the-dark-side-of-kids-tv-investigation-discovery-atve-us. There is a related video on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45oy-9mZ-vc.
I do think our young people remain at risk from early sexualization. There is no question that child abuse can lead to later self-destructive behavior.
With love,
A.
Thank you for the links Anna. I of course agree with what you say about early sexualization, absolutely. Sending you appreciation and my love always. Anna ❤️
And then there’s the other form of child abuse in Hollywood: infants and toddlers used in negatively hyper-melodramatic movie scenes that can potentially result in harm to their very malleable psyche, perhaps even PTSD trauma.
Long before reading Sigmund Freud’s theories or those of any other academic regarding very early life trauma, I began cringing at how producers and directors of negatively melodramatic scenes — let alone the willing parents of the undoubtedly extremely upset infants and toddlers used — can comfortably conclude that no psychological harm would come to their infant/toddler actors, regardless of their screaming in bewilderment.
Anyway, it’s doubtful many viewers are entertained by an infant or toddler being used in such film scenes and potentially traumatized. I certainly am repulsed by it.
Contemporary research reveals that, since it cannot fight or flight, a baby stuck in a crib on its back hearing parental discord in the next room can only “move into a third neurological state, known as a ‘freeze’ state … This freeze state is a trauma state” (Childhood Disrupted, pg.123).
If allowed to continue unhindered, it causes the brain to improperly develop. It can be the starting point towards a childhood, adolescence and adulthood in which the brain uncontrollably releases potentially damaging levels of inflammation-promoting stress hormones and chemicals, even in non-stressful daily routines.
Also known is that the unpredictability of a stressor, and not the intensity, does the most harm. When the stressor “is completely predictable, even if it is more traumatic — such as giving a [laboratory] rat a regularly scheduled foot shock accompanied by a sharp, loud sound — the stress does not create these exact same [negative] brain changes” (pg. 42)…[See, https://fgsjr2015.wordpress.com/2024/03/30/my-thoughts-on-using-infants-and-toddlers-in-certain-movies/ for full post.]
Very insightful.
Thanx.
Perhaps a simple question is being overlooked in all of this: what possesses a parent to want their child to participate in these shows? Is it the promise of fame or fortune for their child, or is it something deeper? Is it a case of the parent vicariously living out a childhood dream of their own through the child?
Honestly, there are more than enough horror stories floating around about child abuse on the set of a movie that one wonders why a parent thinks it will be different for their child. I guess the glitter of Hollywood is more powerful than I thought.
I wholeheartedly agree, Ron.