Abducted out of Reality

Abducted in Plain Sight is the most recent documentary to become the victim of the internet. We’ve all seen the memes involving the old man in the colourful check shirt that gave the kidnapper a handjob.

Yes, you read that right. And if you’re already wondering what the hell you’re reading that is the feeling I felt when reading about the new Netflix phenomenon; Abducted in Plain Sight. So I thought I’d give it a try.

The documentary features the Broberg family who all tell the story of how eldest daughter, Jan Broberg was kidnapped twice by neighbour and family friend, Robert Berchtold.

Upon completing it I had one thought and one thought only. What the f*** did I just watch?

That’s an hour and a half of complete madness that I’ll never be able to get back. And yet it had me completely gripped. I had to see it through and watch it to the end.

Maybe it was the fact that I was fascinated how one man could brainwash an entire family. Or maybe I was bewildered at how one man could get away with so much with the family seemingly letting him.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no parenting expert but surely taking two weeks to report your daughter missing for the second time is outrageous? What normal, loving parent would wait that long? I know for a fact if it was me, my mum would’ve reported me to the police within hours of me going missing.

And don’t even get me started on trying to think of a reason as to why you would drop the charges against a man who had kidnapped your child. To me, it doesn’t make any sense. But as I said, I’m no parenting expert.

If you haven’t seen it yet you’re probably feeling very confused but trust me it’s even more confusing to watch. It completely blows your mind in every way but I guarantee you won’t turn it off and decide to watch something else. It somehow pulls you in despite everything about it being completely bonkers.

However, there is a method to the madness that comes through watching it, and that is that it genuinely scares you. The interviews that are featured along with the reconstructions make you realise that it’s unsettling, to know that one man can do so much damage to one family for such a long time. And its disturbing to think that it actually happened and families can sometimes find themselves in similar situations everyday.

There are thousands of young children who are (excuse the pun), abducted in plain sight everyday, and there are thousands of young children who are abused and brainwashed by people they think they can trust. Jan Broberg was one of those children and thankfully, she was one of the lucky ones.

So yes, Abducted in Plain Sight was one of the most insane and at times frustrating, things I’ve ever watched but it did give me the awareness that I never knew I needed.