Cruel Instruction Review
By Meg Appelgate
Summary
Cruel Instruction tells the story of 16-year-old Kayla Adams whose mother, Karen, is advised by the school’s counselor to send Kayla to get treatment at a youth residential treatment center after she gets expelled from school. Kayla arrives at the Utah facility on the same day as her roommate Amanda, a treatment program veteran who knows exactly what the girls were in for. Led by headmistress Miss Connie, the staff uses draconian methods including force-feeding medications, arbitrary punishments, solitary confinement, verbal and physical abuse to keep the students in line. After being pushed to their limits and stripped of their lifelines, including any ability to freely communicate with the outside world, the two young women must band together to survive and fight to expose the abuse before it’s too late.
Cruel Instruction is based on a real story of two Provo Canyon School Survivors, Ashley J DeBoer and Courtney Konopasek.
Provo Canyon School was also featured in Paris Hilton’s documentary, This is Paris.
Review
While some amazing documentaries exist that do a great job of highlighting the punitive nature of programs and facilities within the Troubled Teen Industry, I think that a scripted series or movie has been needed for a long time!
Cruel Instruction allowed its viewers to get an accurate sense of the daily fear, learned helplessness, and turmoil that youth in these facilities have to endure to survive. As a survivor of two programs myself, I couldn’t help but feel transported back to my youth as I watched and simultaneously experienced it with them. The movie instills in its viewers a feeling of desperation and yearning to help save them, and that is what we need.
We need more people to feel desperate to save the young people who are in these types of programs at this second.
We need more people to join in the fight against the Troubled Teen Industry.
Thank you, Lifetime, for focusing on such an incredibly important topic. Thank you to the incredible actors and crew that so accurately portrayed the struggles youth go through while institutionalized. Most of all, thank you to the brave Provo Canyon survivors that this movie is based on, Ashley J DeBoer and Courtney Konopasek!
Provo Canyon School Survivor Quotes on Cruel Instruction
“I felt like I was back at Provo Canyon School. Finally, there is a movie others can watch so they can understand what it was like for us at Provo Canyon School and other TTI programs.”– Jeremy Whiteley, Provo Canyon School Survivor
“It was very jarring to hear terms like ‘dial 9’ on TV. While no one can understand what it was truly like to be in one of these places, this movie got it pretty spot on in terms of Provo Canyon School.” – Katherine McNamara, Provo Canyon School Survivor
“This lifetime movie gave me chills with its accuracy in several scenes. From the invasive and uncomfortable intake process to the brutal takedown of a kid by numerous staff. I went to the facility this movie is based on and I know of some of the incidents in the movie that did happen. I’m glad Lifetime was able to include those moments so more parents can get an idea of what happens behind the closed doors.” – Leah Dermody, Provo Canyon School Survivor
“It was a shock to the system, hearing some of these phrases that were lifted straight out of my time at Provo Canyon School. Though it omitted some of the worst parts of the TTI experience (quite understandable) Cruel Instruction gave an accurate portrayal of what life in that environment is like. Absolutely nothing in the movie was fabricated, these are things that are happening every day to children and teens in facilities across this country, from the physical abuse to the emotional gaslighting to the sometimes deadly medical neglect. I hope that the movie will play a role in spurring us to action, to ensure no child or teenager ever has to suffer trauma at the hands of these facilities again.” – Ryan Skolnick, Provo Canyon School Survivor
“It was validating to see our abuse portrayed live on screen, though they still couldn’t show the full extent and horror, or it wouldn’t be allowed on cable TV. Hearing terms like Dial 9 and Obs made me feel like I couldn’t breathe, and memories flooded back. Obs was made less frightening than the true version. I am so proud and thankful for fellow survivors speaking out, including one who attended while I was there. The conversations were many mirror images of ones I myself had with staff, including after a hanging myself and being forced to take a chair and being called attention seeking. I think this will be a great tool to spread awareness to those who need it most, parents who might one day try and send their children to one of these evil places. To me this was one of the most accurate portrayals so far, and while extremely emotional/triggering for survivors, especially of PCS itself, I think it is an important story to be told so hopefully no other child goes through the trauma we were forced to endure for sometimes years.” – Sasha Oates, Provo Canyon School Survivor
Cruel Intentions is available for streaming replay on Lifetime TV and Prime Video.
If you have the time to do so, please send some love to the crew of this film by filling out a review, following their social media, and leaving a kind comment.
Cruel Instruction on IMDB
Lifetime TV on Instagram
Cynthia Baily on Instagram
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Meghan Grant on Instagram
If you would like to to help in the fight against institutional child abuse, please consider donating or volunteering with Unsilenced.
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