The opening scenes of “Unseen Housewives,” a short video produced by nonprofit Unchained at Last alongside agency partner Area 23, may feel familiar. With its images of sunny suburban streets and waterfront mansions, they could be the opening credits of a popular reality series — say, one with similar verbiage in its title.
But the tagline to the fictional series (“twice the drama, half the age”) suggests darker territory ahead.
To shine a light on the enduring abuses of child marriage, Unchained at Last — a survivor-led nonprofit organization focused on forced and child marriage in the United States — collaborated with Area 23 on the video. It follows several child brides, all portrayed by actors, describing their decidedly unglamorous lives.
The reality that these girls face is more common than many Americans may realize. The Unchained at Last website notes that child marriage remains legal in 43 states. That unbelievable statistic informs Area 23’s attempt to create a culturally relevant video that breaks through the digital noise.
“One of the things that is central to American culture is TV shows and especially reality shows,” said Area 23 creative director Bruno Guimaraes. “The idea comes from the necessity of making Americans take a look at all the injustices that are happening here. People think that this is a foreign problem, but it’s not. It’s here and it’s connected to this culture.”
While stressing that the video isn’t based on any specific reality show, Area 23 SVP, group creative director Andy Gerchak said that the premise isn’t very far removed from reality.
“There’s been a gradual escalation over the past 15 years or so of the absurdity of the premises of reality shows. To some extent, you almost wouldn’t be surprised if this was a real show,” he explained.
Fraidy Reiss, the founder/executive director of Unchained at Last, said the approach immediately struck a chord.
“My initial reaction was that is brilliant,” she recalled. “There’s something so compelling about tying it to reality TV and driving it home in a way that makes it a commentary on our whole society. It sends a powerful message about what we’ve all come to accept.”
This is not Unchained at Last’s first educational effort, nor its first attempt to shock audiences into paying attention. A previous effort showcased protests with girls and young women wearing wedding dresses, set to a reading of the poem “The Girls You Have Destroyed.”
“I would say we have tried everything we can think of to raise awareness of child marriage in the United States, and we have so far not succeeded,” Reiss said. “Every time we get a lot of media attention and people say, ‘Oh my goodness.’ And then the next day they forget that they ever saw it, and not enough people are reached.”
To assure that this effort does not meet the same fate, Unchained at Last and Area 23 premiered the video earlier this month at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The two organizations are also planning screenings for legislators in different states. Reiss specifically points to California, one of the 43 states where child marriage remains legal.
The Unchained website attempts to extend the reach of its message with recordings of the real-life girls portrayed in the video. In the clips, they share some of the horrific realities of their lives as child brides.
“There’s no fiction here,” Gerchak stressed. “This is more real than most reality television.”
For all the darkness of the video, Reiss remains exceedingly optimistic about the task at hand.
“There are some human rights abuses that we all agree are terrible and heartbreaking, but there’s no simple solution to them. Child marriage in the United States is not one of those,” she said. “We can end it not only in our lifetime, but this year. All we need is to stand together and let our legislators know we will not back down until they pass simple common-sense legislation to move the marriage to age 18, with no exceptions, in all 50 states.”
