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Kicked Out: From Care to Chaos

This BBC Three documentary follows Rebecca Southworth, a filmmaker from Manchester, who "revisits her own painful history and meets others like her" (Lapping, n.d.) who have "spent time in care"(Lapping, n.d.). 

The programme was commissioned by the BBC and was aired "on BBC Three from Thursday, April 6" (Abbit, 2017) this year. The subject matter of the piece fits BBC Three's remit perfectly because they want to "stimulate strong emotion and provoke reaction" (bbc.co.uk, n.d.) to their target audience of  "16-34 year olds" (bbc.co.uk, n.d.). Also, this programme appeals to its intended audience successfully by using colloquial and informal language while still "[speaking] to [the] audience with intelligence and on a level" (bbc.co.uk, n.d.). The documentary hits exactly what BBC Three are looking for when commissioning programmes because they are looking for factual programmes that look at "parts of society that are underserved" (bbc.co.uk, n.d.) and that is exactly the tone of the piece Rebecca brings across so well by showing stories of young people trapped in a broken system.

This eye-opening documentary explores a number of different people's stories about their time in care either current or past and how it has affected their lives. Rebecca meets a "sex worker, young men living on the streets and a 17 year old girl with a string of convictions" (Lapping, n.d.). 

Throughout the programme, Rebecca's past is revealed to us as she "confronts her past" (Lapping, n.d.) and we see her filming others and their stories. One particular story that gives a narrative to the documentary is one about a girl called Coral. Coral is currently in care, at the time of filming, and we see and hear about her experiences. At one point we see Rebecca answer a phone call from Coral who is in trouble with her care worker and she is "just standing at a bus stop" (BATAR UoS, 2017) and Rebecca asks who is looking after her and Coral's rely is "nobody" (BATAR UoS, 2017). 

Stories such as Coral's and the others in the documentary are relatable for those that have been in care, are in care or know somebody in care and this is why it appeals to the intended audience because the stories are real and they can relate to these situations where "life is tough when you leave care" (Lapping, n.d.).

References

Lapping, B. (n.d.). Kicked Out:From Care To Chaos, BBC3 | News | Blakeway North. Retrieved 17 October, 2017, from, http://www.blakewaynorth.co.uk/news/kicked-outfrom-care-to-choas 

Abbit, B. (2017). Inspiring young women who went from care to university. Retrieved 17 October, 2017, from, http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/going-from-care-to-university-12831015 

Bbc.co.uk. (n.d.). BBC - BBC Three - Commissioning. Retrieved 17 October, 2017, from, http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/tv/articles/bbc-three 

BATAR UoS. (2017). Kicked Out: From Care To Chaos. Retrieved 17 October, 2017, from, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRrUrgrFwsk&feature=youtu.be. 
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