ON "PRIMETIME: WHAT WOULD YOU DO?," FRIDAY, MAY 13
When a teenage boy is emotionally abusive to his girlfriend at a park, will anyone intervene? Will diners at a restaurant stop a scam? Some cases seem to cry out for action - while others seem to present a choice. What would YOU do? Using hidden cameras, "What Would You Do?" establishes everyday scenarios and then captures people's reactions. Whether people are compelled to act or mind their own business, John Qui�ones reports on their split-second and often surprising decision-making process. "Primetime: What Would You Do?" airs FRIDAY, MAY 13 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.
This week's scenarios include:
· Tiger Mom: Recently there has been a lot of public debate around Amy Chua and her book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. The issue of tough Chinese parenting has hit such a raw nerve in the U.S. that the author has even received death threats. Will anyone at a restaurant intervene when they witness a strict Asian "Tiger Mom" - who is being tough on her daughter?
Video preview: http://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo/video/tiger-mom-13565085
· Pregnancy Scam: A pregnant teenage girl waits at a diner for the arrival of the adoptive parents for her soon-to-be born child. The couple arrives and the pregnant teen tells them everything they want to hear, that they will be great parents for her unborn child. She thanks them for the money they gave her, and then asks for more. Before leaving, the couple complies. Shortly thereafter, another couple joins the pregnant teen. Couple no. 2 is as excited as the first couple, believing that they will in fact be the parents of the teen's soon-to-be born child. The pregnant teen asks them, too, for money to cover her expenses, assuring them that the unborn child will be theirs. Will any on-lookers stop this scam in progress?
· Buy me Condoms/Plan B: A teenage boy asks pharmacy customers to buy condoms for him, explaining that the pharmacist behind the counter is a family friend and he's too embarrassed to buy the condoms for himself because of his strict, conservative upbringing. "WWYD" then changes things up with a teenage girl asking customers to buy Plan B for her, under similar circumstances. Will anyone help the teens out?
· Black Teen Couple Fighting: One of the first "WWYD" scenarios involved a couple fighting in the park in a domestic violence situation. Almost six years later, we returned to the same park to see how people would react to a teen-dating violence scenario. This time the young boyfriend will be emotionally abusive to his girlfriend and the fight will escalate to the threat of physical harm. Will anyone intervene? Will appearances play a role?
"Primetime: What Would You Do?" has won awards from the Chicago International Television Festival, and the Avon Foundation's 2006 Voice of Change award for exposing "injustice and wrongdoing against women and bringing the message of domestic violence to the mainstream." The Columbia Journalism Review has called the program "a Candid Camera of Ethics."
David Sloan is executive producer and Danielle Baum Rossen is the senior broadcast producer of "What Would You Do?"
|