SCARED SILENT {OPRAH WINFREY SPECIAL} (TV)
Summary
In this special documentary, hosted by Oprah Winfrey, child abusers and their victims relate their stories. Winfrey begins the program by revealing the horrors of her own childhood. In the first segment, a young lady who was sexually abused by her father for a decade recalls her family's attempts to appear perfect, "dates" she had with her father, her constant sadness during childhood, the day she learned her father was also molesting her sister, and her mother's swift separation of her husband from their daughters. The father describes his mind-set when he first began molesting his eldest daughter, the way he silenced his daughters, how he felt when his family left, and the sexual abuse he experienced as a child. His wife comments on her own dysfunctional childhood and her feeling that something was amiss; at the end of the segment, the father and eldest daughter speak for the first time in three years. Then, Winfrey reveals statistics about sex offenders, followed by a segment on a fifteen-year-old sex offender in a rehabilitation center called Waypoint. In a group meeting, the teenager reveals how she abused her seven-year-old cousin, how her brother molested her with objects, the physical problems she incurred, her lies to her mother about the situation, and her realization that she was perpetuating the cycle of abuse. Jonathan Ross, director of Waypoint, discusses motivations behind sexual abuse and why victims often become offenders. After this segment, two siblings in their fifties talk about the physical abuse in their childhood. The sister, Jill, traces the abuse in their family over 130 years, and then recalls the night she killed her three-year-old son. Signe Nestingen, Jill's former therapist, talks about the recurrence of abuse generation after generation. Next, a man named George explains why he speaks publicly about abuse, commenting on the history of abuse in his family, the repercussions of negative messages on children, and the duties of parenting. Then, a man named Brian details how he sexually, physically, and mentally abused his daughter; his daughter recalls his threats, which kept her quiet; and her mother, Roseanne, recalls the day she walked in on her husband and daughter fondling each other. Brian explains how glad he is that he eventually got help, and the family therapist, Barbara Duncan, notes how far a child will go to keep a family intact. Then, a twenty-two-year-old mother of three explains how she lost custody of her daughter after breaking the child's leg, and recalls how she worked at her parenting skills to get her child back. Her psychotherapist, Maricela Grun, notes that often, a parent needs to be taught the difference between discipline and abuse. Grun also emphasizes the importance of a child abuser knowing that someone believes he or she can change. As the program concludes, each person interviewed offers advice to those who may be in need of help. Includes commercials.
(This program contains explicit adult language.)
(Network affiliation varies; this program was also telecast on Friday, September 4, 1992, at 10:00 PM on CBS, NBC, and PBS simultaneously.)
Cataloging of this program was made possible by The Marc Haas and Helen Hotze Haas Foundation, 1997.
This program is closed-captioned.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 6, 1992 Sunday 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:50
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:27809
- GENRE: Talk/Interviews; Specials
- SUBJECT HEADING: Child abuse; Specials; Youth
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1992
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Mr. Saturday Night" (feature film)
- TV - Commercials - "World of Discovery: Cougar: Ghost of the Rockies" (home video)
- TV - Commercials - Benadryl allergy relief medication
- TV - Commercials - Chlor-Trimeton allergy relief medication
- TV - Commercials - Glade Plug-In deodorizers
- TV - Commercials - Playtex lingerie
- TV - Commercials - Rolaids antacid
- TV - Commercials - Sprint phone service
- TV - Commercials - Tylenol pain relief medication
- TV - Commercials - Ultra Slim Fast diet drinks
- TV - PSA - "1-800-For-A-Child"
- TV - PSA - "United Negro College Fund"
- TV - Promos - "Barbara Walters Special"
- TV - Promos - "Going to Extremes"
CREDITS
- Arnold Shapiro … Executive Producer, Writer
- Brenda Reiswerg … Producer
- Melissa Jo Peltier … Director, Writer
- Amy Bailey … Researcher
- Sharlene Case … Researcher
- Reed Grinsell … Researcher
- Beth Herman … Researcher
- Terry Murphy … Researcher
- Donna Shore … Researcher
- John Massari … Music by
- Oprah Winfrey … Host
- Barbara Duncan … Guest
- Maricela Grun … Guest
- Signe Nestingen … Guest
- Jonathan Ross … Guest