The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping is a recently released Netflix docuseries about the troubled teen industry, specifically an institution called Academy at Ivy Ridge. The series is directed, narrated, and guided by Katherine Kubler and fellow classmates who attended Academy at Ivy Ridge. Here is my review and thoughts about the three episode series.
The series takes audiences through the experience of attending a troubled teen institution. Many scenes in the episodes take place at the Academy at Ivy Ridge as the survivors discuss their experiences. The survivors, especially Katherine, piece together their experiences in order to fully understand what they really experienced in this institution. Watching these survivors share stories, relive experiences, and sort through files in the building where they were degraded and abused is emotional to see as a viewer.
The series really focuses on the victims of the troubled teen industry and even uses security camera footage to portray the violence and poor treatment they faced. This was only one of the stylistic storytelling approaches that I found appealing about the documentary. While the series relies on first person accounts to piece together the larger story, this isn’t done in the typical documentary way. The interviewees aren’t just sitting in a chair in front of a blank background talking straight to the camera. Rather, many scenes contain someone speaking to the people right next to them, as if the camera isn’t even there. Victims relay their stories in an authentic group therapy way, rather than a reality show confessional. This made the series less overly dramatized and avoided typical documentary stereotypes that feed into the sensationalism of crime.
However, the docuseries doesn’t just recount individual narratives of experiences at troubled teen institutions, the bigger picture of the documentary focuses on family relationships, authority, and the troubled teen institution at large. Kubler documents her re-connection with her father after being no contact with him. She wants her father to really understand what she went through, as he aided in her being taken to the academy. The series also covers how the parents were conned into thinking that their children were being well taken care of and if they say otherwise, then their children are trying to manipulate them. The final episode of the series really focuses on who is behind a variety of these troubled teen programs and the institutions at large.
A final thing that stuck out to me about this documentary were the music choices throughout the series. The series included songs like “The Sound of Silence,” which made the stories in the series more haunting and eerie. Also, one of the women interviewed in the documentary sings her version of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper. The music and singing really add to the narrative of the series by adding more haunting elements.
Overall, The Program is one of the best documentaries that Netflix has to offer. It steers away from typical docuseries tropes and has an important message to share. The story is laid out for viewers in a way that is charming and straight forward, but there are also shocking elements to the story as well. I definitely recommend this three part docuseries, especially for people who are interested in learning about the troubled teen industry or scared straight programs, or people who are dedicated to youth and family advocacy.