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Locked Up Abroad

(Rated TV-14, Reality TV, Where to watch: National Geographic Channel, DVD)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 12, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 14.

  • Is it any good?

    2.0

  • Common Sense says

    Show about foreign jails could be cautionary for older kids.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 14 and Up

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    While some of the profiled people are innocent, most of them are, in fact, guilty, which is why they ended up in jail.

  • Violence:

    In the re-enactments, there are scenes of guards swinging down to strike someone, but you don't see the actual contact. There's no graphic violence.

  • Sex:

    Prisoners are stripped and lined up naked, with hands over their privates; sometimes bare buttocks are visible.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    There's drug use -- in fact, drugs and smuggling seem to be the catalyst for the majority of the cases profiled. That said, the fact that the people profiled get into so much trouble for it could be considered a deterrent.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Locked Up Abroad

Parents need to know that this series is about the brutality of foreign prisons, most of them in the Third World. While episodes occasionally involve crimes like kidnapping, the majority involve someone involved in selling or smuggling drugs. Re-enactments include some threats of violence, but nothing graphic is shown. Prisoners are sometimes stripped naked, but it's not sexual, and nothing too sensitive is visible.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the use of re-enactments to tell a true story. Sometimes it's hard to tell the re-enacted story from the video footage of the arrest; in that case, what purpose do the re-enactments serve? Also, does this show encourage fear about other countries? The show doesn't mention the millions of tourists who don't get into trouble in these places. Would you think twice about visiting some of these countries because of what you see here?
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