The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping, Netflix’s latest true crime saga that shines a light on the troubled teen industry, has sparked renewed interest in WWASP-affiliated schools – as such, viewers are recommending this disturbing documentary next.
There’s been a lot to unpack in the Netflix series, as filmmaker Katherine Kubler seeks to expose the abuse she and her former classmates endured at the Academy at Ivy Ridge – one of many programs affiliated with WWASP (World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools).
Although the heads of the organization claimed to help reform wayward youths, as is explored in the documentary, these institutions often cause more harm than good – and make the bosses a whole lot of money along the way.
The Program is the latest to shine a light on the issues within the troubled teen industry, following on from Paris Hilton’s This is Paris and Netflix’s Hell Camp. But they certainly aren’t the first to do so, as highlighted by a new recommendation.
The Program viewers recommend this disturbing documentary next
Viewers of The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping have recommended watching Locked in Paradise next – a 2004 BBC documentary about WWASP school Tranquility Bay in Jamaica.
One took to Reddit in light of Narvin Lichfield – the brother of WWASP founder Robert “Bob” Lichfield – sharing a lengthy response to The Program. “Since Narvin is trying to deny WWASP was an abusive hell hole, here is another documentary about WWASP programs called Locked in Paradise, produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation,” they said.
“Thank you for adding this. I’m writing about this now,” replied another, while a third described how the documentary highlights the “abuse tactics” used by the organization.
Much like The Program, Locked in Paradise speaks with former students of a WWASP institution, questions the disturbing conditions and rules they were subjected to, and examines how the staff were “poorly trained.”
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Rather than the Ivy Ridge in upstate New York, the BBC’s documentary centers on Tranquility Bay in Jamaica – a residential treatment facility that operated from 1997 to 2009, when it was shut down amid child abuse allegations that came to light in public statements and lawsuits.
Despite the name of the institution, for residents, it was anything but. As per the WWASP Survivors website: “New arrivals – some as young as 12 – cannot speak without permission and are allowed only the barest of necessities.
“They are cut off from their families and they must earn privileges such as phone calls home. One of the most controversial methods of punishment used in the behavioral correction program is Observational Placement or OP.
“Children in OP lie silently on the floor in a guarded room until staff members decide they can leave. They eat, sleep, and exercise in the same room.”
Although Tranquility Bay director, Jay Kay, claimed students would only be held for up to 24 hours in OP, host Raphael Lowe speaks to former pupils who said they were there for far longer.
That includes Shannon Levy, who left the program in 2002. Speaking about OP, she explained: “They lined us up like sardines… there was no air, no ventilation. And if we had to go to the bathroom we had to leave the door open so they could sit there and watch us. I was there for eight weeks straight.”
Locked in Paradise is currently available to watch on YouTube via the link above, while The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping is streaming on Netflix – you can read our breakdown of the ending here, and check out all of the new true crime and documentaries heading to streaming this month.