They Called It a Documentary — Ty and Bryn Deserved Better
Guest Blog by Glenn Simpson
A documentary about a Utah family court case involving children and a questionable treatment method. I have an opinion, and it’s been aging for 36 years like a fine bourbon.
I hope by now you’ve read Tina’s blog about the Hulu documentary, The Nightmare Upstairs: What Happened to Ty and Bryn?. I appreciate her ability to get to the heart of things from the perspective of this group’s shared experiences. While my reaction was basically the same, disgust, the experiences that lead me to that conclusion, and my writing style, are a bit different.
In the late 80’s, I was part of the law enforcement community in southern Utah. I helped cover Glen Canyon, Hole-in-the-Rock, Grand Staircase – Escalante, San Juan River, Burr Trail, Henry Mountains, etc. In total, over 3 million acres. I also shared jurisdiction with at least 8 other agencies. Coming from California, I had a rude awakening when faced with how things work in Utah. Don’t get me wrong, I love Utah. My dad was born in St. George, and I have beloved family members and friends who are LDS. However, there is very little separation of church and state there, and even less for a family with “lineage”. Strike one on the documentary for not allowing the viewer to see those connections and how off the mark some of the judicial rulings were considering that dynamic.
During my time in the desert, I distinctly remember four repetitive briefing topics. The first two were mundane, cattle rustlers, and radicalized LDS fundamentalist colonies who were threatening violence on everyone – they made national news because they were polygamists; we knew they made bombs and liked to hide in the back country.
Briefings on the third topic were more interesting because I was part of a three-letter government agency (NPS) working with another three-letter government agency (___) doing sneaky stuff. A leasing company with planes and yachts and limos and strip clubs was likely tied to low flying airplanes out of Mexico dropping packages below the canyon rim onto Lake Powell for pickup. We had Blackhawks and AWACS and code names. My job was to keep track of the party yacht on the lake. (Insert Matthew McConaughey saying “all right” here).
The documentary’s second strike for me starts with the fourth memorable briefing topic, troubled teen wilderness camps. The camps were on our radar because they were in southern Utah and using public lands. On June 27, 1990, sixteen-year-old Kristen Chase died on the Kaiparowits Plateau (Granite Staircase – Escalante) while in Steve Cartisano’s Challenger Foundation program. (Side note: This program started in 1988 and made over $3 million the first year. That’s about $8,445,139.48 today. How much do you think the alienation/reunification programs are making? Asking for a friend…)
Anyway, as far as I can tell, the troubled teen industry, Synanon, and the alienation industry run on similar experimental strategies. Ty knew who was making the 90-day no contact recommendation and where that would lead. Where the documentary failed a second time is neglecting to show what Ty saw coming which is what led to him putting up a barricade. Plus, insinuating that Ty’s therapist, who can’t defend himself, was improper without tearing into Michelle Jones’ (reunification therapist) connections to the alienation industry is insulting and, again, makes me wonder, who made that decision and why?
The third strike is Brent’s mom. Aside from narrating the story - she deserves production credit. All her interviews were carefully orchestrated, scripted, in a controlled environment. I assume these were pre-authorized questions and responses? Meanwhile, the crew is following Jessica around in the trenches taking raw footage. Then there was Brent’s final filmed statement using a teleprompter. I’m guessing his mom directed that beauty too. How many takes did he get?
Three strikes and a bunch of rotten tomatoes for this exploitive mess of a money grab.
While I managed to gather my thoughts on this documentary enough to express them, I apologize if it came out more like a rant than a blog. To lighten the mood, I’ll leave you with my recollection of the final moments of the series as one of the producers and Brent’s mom performed a duet singing a synchronized scripture rendition of Solomon’s baby.
In all seriousness, I stand with Ty, Bryn and their entire family as they recover from their experiences and face the future together.
Glenn Simpson is a retired stockbroker, Fire Captain, National Park Ranger, and Parks Administrator with over 40 years of diverse professional experience. From the start, he has worked behind the scenes alongside One Mom's Battle founder Tina Swithin. Now retired, Glenn brings that experience to a more active role in OMB's daily operations and its mission to support survivors navigating family court and post-separation abuse.
