‘Balloon Boy’ is alive, but still not OK
It sounds nearly identical to the plot of a Disney movie: A little boy sneaks into a balloon being constructed by his science-obsessed parents, only to take off into the air for an impromptu joy ride. Little Falcon Heene was likely never on board the aircraft once it took off — instead, he was found hiding in a box in the attic of his family’s home. The joyous celebrations over a once-tragic story will continue throughout the rest of the day, but that doesn’t mean everything is truly OK with the Heene family.
America first met the Heenes during an episode of ABC’s Wife Swap, a reality show featuring off-their-rocker families who trade moms for a couple of weeks, all in the name of entertainment. The family was presented as one that “lives life on the edge” — one that loves storm-chasing so much that the parents would rather take the boys out of school to put them in harms way. Some will tell you Wife Swap changes families’ lives for the better, but, typically, it’s yet another means of encouraging the crazies of the world to go to extremes, all in the name of fame.
Although a drastically different story from the Ryan Jenkins murder case a couple months back, it once again proves that perhaps the people on our television sets should be monitored a little more closely. The Heene parents were deemed crazy enough to appear on not one but two episodes of the ABC hit — and then released back into the wild once the cameras shut off. Are they responsible enough to raise their children? Maybe. We’ll never know for sure. But someone has to question their tactics when it’s quite obvious the Heene boys are being raised to fear nothing — not even a dangerous, deadly storm.
Obviously, children do stupid things. It happens — and it’s not always the parents’ fault. But for a few hours today, America believed that little Falcon climbed aboard the balloon his father was crafting and ultimately flew to his death. Just because that didn’t turn out to be the case doesn’t mean there aren’t severe issues in the household.
This can’t be blamed on reality TV. After all, there are crazies everywhere — cameras or no cameras. But perhaps we, as viewers, should stop encouraging the insanity without also raising some serious questions. And maybe ABC should start genuinely worrying about the safety of the Wife Swap children instead of constantly attempting to up the ante when it comes to ratings.
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Now that the happy ending has occurred, I can look at the video images of that delicate balloon sailing and swirling above Colorado and think about what a grand adventure it could have been — a high-tech version of Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach.
Yes, Congress seems bizarrely uncertain that US citizens should be valued slightly above medieval peasantry. Yes, everyone knows someone who is unemployed, underemployed, or underwater mortgage-wise. And yes our popular culture is beyond satirizing. But for an hour or two, a 6-year-old boy (albeit an imaginary one) undid the tether and sailed away.
Not just an experimental weather balloon- but a UFO! The world followed a silver helium UFO because they thought a 6-year-old boy was inside, when he was in fact hiding in the garage rafters, afraid he’d get in trouble.
In response to another comment. See in context »I hear Lifetime starts shooting their “Made-For-TV” movie of Falcon on Monday.
Wow…because a family appears on a TV show you actually believe it’s appropriate to judge their worth as parent. You do know that things are “trumped up” a bit on the reality shows – which are not actually entirely reality?
? Just because the boy wasn’t in the baloon “that doesn’t mean there aren’t sever issues in the household’?
So, because you try to earn a living dishing gossip about famous people, I can say “Just because their mother doesn’t actually attack celebrities physically – only with words- that doesn’t mean there aren’t issues in the household?’
Celebrit gossip columnist are suppose to just that — not take judgmental shots at a family that they know absolutely nothing about.
Rick, I have to respectfully disagree. I stated above that we have no idea what’s going on in that household —- and who knows, maybe the Heeenes are parents of the year. But as a reality TV reporter, I’m incredibly familiar with the fact that producers tend to select the craziest of the bunch to appear on television. After all, it makes for more interesting viewing.
The Heenes would have never been chosen to appear on Wife Swap twice if they didn’t seem to be a little “off.” Same with 90 percent of the people on reality TV. My main point in the article is that, now that reality television is becoming more and more prominent, we should keep in mind that the crazy is not just limited to an hour each week —- it’s very real and can have severe consequences when the cameras aren’t rolling.
In response to another comment. See in context »I am quite familiar with who gets chosen for reality TV as I’ve actually produced it and represent, as an attorney, some of the more successful producers in the genre.
In response to another comment. See in context »But you were not writing about reality TV in this article. You were passing judgment as to what kind of parents these people are. As I don’t see that you are a family or child psychologist, I don’t see where you make an argument that you are, somehow, qualified to judge these people as individuals – or as a family.
The fact that a family might be “different” or more ‘interesting’ than another for TV purposes, doesn’t mean there is something wrong with them. And I don’t think people who have never so much as spoken to these people or been inside their home are qualified to make these judgments.
You know, a six year old child is old enough to read. How do you think he would feel if he read your piece? He is not old enough to understand that you have no understanding nor basis in medicine or fact for your judgment – he would only understand that you think there is something wrong with him. And based on what? Your understanding of the ‘class’ of people chosen to appear on television?
Not cool. And while it may have delivered a nice number of readers for you, don’t you ever wonder at what price this is appropriate?
One question I find has been on my mind…do you have kids?
I tend to think of Reality TV as “posed”, but with enough hours of footage, some truth of character has to emerge.
The “science” here is barely past da Vinci- but this has the smell of social sciences about it if you watched Twitter trending yesterday.
In response to another comment. See in context »Please don’t call them “science-obsessed”- unless you went to one of those schools that calls psychology a science…
I just wanted to say, I totally called the ending. I was talking with one of my neighbors, an hour after the story broke, but before we knew about the basket being gone, when everyone thought he was still up. I said “I’ll bet he untied it, accidentally or not, got scared, and is hiding somewhere. They’re gonna find him sitting in a closet or hiding under a bed, something like that, and then, we can stop worrying.” Called it.
Why are you so quick to defend these parents and/or criticize someone for their opinion?
Here are two adults who, if their story is true, chose to hold press conferences and appear on CNN hours after they feared their 6-year-old son was possibly dead in a runaway weather balloon accident. Then, a day later, they release a family video of the balloon release.
If I was in their shoes, it would seem like some good, quiet family was in order. Not taking questions from a television reporter.
Mind you, these people had already agreed to appear on two episodes of Wife Swap.
To the outsider, these people have labeled themselves as attention-hungry thrill seekers who don’t exercise the greatest judgment when it comes to their children. Did you read the Denver Post story where the admit to taking their sons with them on weather-chasing missions, one that included a close call with a tornado??? You don’t have to be a child or family psychologist to understand that’s a poor decision. And I’d be willing to bet that wasn’t the only time they’ve put their children in harm’s way. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Actually in Journalism smoke is smoke and fire is fire or there is smoke and fire. It is about facts not supposition. You gather facts to use as evidence to support your facts. It is not about guessing.
In response to another comment. See in context »I’m neither defending nor condemning these people. I don’t know them but I do know how you can make anyone look good or bad on television – depending on what you have in mind. The thing is that you don’t know them either so what’s with all the judging based on what? One hundred two minute pieces on TV that all say the same thing? . I think we’d all be a lot better off worrying about our own families rather than spending so much time and bandwidth judging others when we can’t possibly know what we are talking about.
The local police investigating this haven’t formed an opinion as of yet but, already this post and your comment have judged these people.
As for putting children in harm’s way, I wonder how many people who are criticizing have talked on the phone, put on their makeup, texted a message or whatever while driving with their children in their car? I promise you that this is more threatening to a kid than what you are criticizing these people for doing.
I’m not saying that they are right — I’m saying we all have enough to do in our own homes and with our own families to keep us busy without judging everyone else’s.
This is nothing but people cashing in – for whatever benefit there is for themselves- on the lives of others. It’s become the norm and it is just plain wrong.
In response to another comment. See in context »Seems like reader envy to me, Rick U.
I doubt most pop culture commenters personally know the people they write about.
Makeup, texting, etc. in cars is a weak argument by the way – how can you promise that’s more dangerous than chasing an unpredictable storm? And let me add, an unnecessary risk to a normal person or child?
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] the years as an ‘amateur scientist’ has not only succeeded in getting his family on Wife Swap twice, but he also made a hysterical rap video with his kids based on their Wife Swap experience. Oh and [...]
What a bunch of friggin nonsense. I watched the breathless CNN broadcast with an expert trying to make sense of the faulty reporting from the network, who kept repeating that it was a hot air balloon which the expert had to keep correcting, a one point when the expert asked for more details on the size of the balloon they said seven feet in diameter, to which the expert said it would be impossible to reach that height with a kid abroad, then immediately said it was twenty feet wide. Once they saw the hatch open…Sanchez screams the kid fell out, the parents are devastated, how does he know this, because he has children too. They said the helicopter was shooting holes in the hot air balloon the get it down, then they were not doing that…then when the small craft landed…the kid’s body must be in the woods somewhere and they have hundreds out looking…actually the cops, a bit smarter after getting the facts were searching the house. Then when the kid was safe and THE STORY HAD A HAPPY ENDING AND WAS OVER…it didn’t take them five minutes to start screaming hoax, publicity stunt, bad parents and trotting out anyone who somehow developed a natural psychology from birth to weigh in. The worse bit of journalism I have seen and heard in a long time and there is plenty of crap out there. The story is over but it lead every morning show with absolute horseshit. Are there more important things to talk about…tune in to BBC America…more news and less mindless banter.
“I am quite familiar with who gets chosen for reality TV as I’ve actually produced it and represent, as an attorney, some of the more successful producers in the genre.”
Rick, then you must understand that the second these people voluntarily put themselves on TV, hold press conferences, etc., they open themsevles up for public scrutiny. They decisions they’ve made makes them (hopefully only temporarily) public figures. You can’t sit here and tell people not to pass judgement after what they’ve done. I do agree with you that people should also worry about their own households, but the Heenes have provided great examples of what NOT to do as a parents. My biggest concern is how this will affect the children, who are innocent players in all of this. Whether its me responding to comments, Whitney posting blogs or John Doe at the water cooler at work, the Heenes CHOSE to put themselves in this position and deserve this kind of criticism.