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High School Confidential

(Rated TV-14, Reality TV, Starring Wendy K. Gray, Where to watch: WE)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 14.

  • Is it any good?

    4.0

  • Common Sense says

    Frank, groundbreaking docu about teens' trials.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 14 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    While not all of the girls' choices are good ones, the series offers a realistic look at how they empower themselves and overcome the various challenges they face in high school, from anorexia to teen pregnancy. Twelve of the young women are Caucasian; one is African-American, and one is Asian.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Some of the teens exhibit some belligerent behavior (usually as the result of being intoxicated). Issues like cutting and teen suicide are also addressed.

  • Sex:

    Includes discussions about underage sex, including conversations about keeping and losing virginity. Three of the girls get pregnant during their high school years; issues surrounding options for pregnant teens are discussed. Some kissing and "making out" between teen boys and girls.

  • Language:

    Audible language includes words like "bitch" stronger words are bleeped.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Teens are shown drinking beer and hard alcohol. There are also some brief images of lighting a marijuana pipe and smoking joints.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About High School Confidential

Parents need to know that this frank documentary series -- which follows 14 teen girls through four years of high school -- includes footage of underage drinking, drug use, and sexual behavior that ranges from hugging and kissing to more advanced sexual activities (though no nudity or actual sex acts are shown). Anorexia, suicide, cutting, and teen pregnancy are also discussed. It's heavy stuff, but it's all presented within the context of showing the challenges that teen girls can potentially face in high school -- and how they can empower themselves to both survive and overcome them.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the struggles that kids face during high school. Are the challenges that teen girls face different from those that boys have to deal with? Parents: How are these pressures different from when you were in high school? Teens: Do you think your parents understand what you deal with every day? Families can also discuss why they think these girls agreed to participate in this project. Do you think they knew what they were in for? Would you do something similar? What do you think some of the challenges were in making this series over a four-year period? Is it ethical to show things like underage drinking or drug use, even if it is "reality"?
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