Is anyone else watching this? I am about four episodes in and I am finding it really disturbing. The girls are so young and unprotected. They start off joyful, talented and spontaneous, and I feel like they are being broken down as human beings. The environment is cult-like. At one point a girl mentions they only get one week off a year. Another girl says she hasn't been able to call her parents in three weeks. They seems to be living about four people to a room with very little space for their belongings. There is a scene where they talk about where they go to cry in private. Absolutely heartbreaking.
At the training centre, the feedback they get seems in the main designed to destroy confidence and create a craving to please the adults in charge. A couple of the vocal coaches seem kinder. The dance teachers are very icy. The hours are long and the training gruelling. Girls are getting injuries through overwork requiring surgery. There is some token attention to their mental health, but it seems bullshit. Those that don't make it, what will they have? It's not accredited training. There is no degree or diploma at the end of it. It is all so dysfunctional and toxic.
I put it on because I had just finished watching the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders series on Netflix which I loved. There is plenty of exploitation going on there - huge business and highly talented, hard working women who front it earning a pittance. BUT the women are older. They have finished high school. They go in with eyes wide open, and they seem to get genuine joy from the camaraderie, training and performing. I loved watching the dance sequences and found the whole series very feel good (mostly). I thought Pop Star Academy might be in a similar vein, but it is so dark and sad. Not sure I can watch any more.