A new ultimate thrill: kidnapping for kicks

Would you intentionally submit to being bound and gagged, ripped from your home, and kidnapped? Would you enjoy experiencing a kidnapping in what you were assured was a controlled environment simply to face your fear? Are you willing and able to pay for such an experience, at say $1500?

I would think that most people would answer "no." However, for some wealthy, thrill-seeking New Yorkers the logical answer is not "no," but "to whom should I make out the check?" For a small fee, the fantasies of kidnapping, public humiliation, and extreme terror are just some of the startling possibilities offered for your wish-fulfillment.

In conjunction with alternative artist Brock Enright, 25 people have experienced real-life fear-inducing situations. Enright's artistic exploits include the videotaping and photographing of kidnappings and racier fare. His art demands working with the "victim" to establish the perfect ultra-thrill ride. After several meetings and some light surveillance, Enright knows every detail of his victim's weekly schedule, in addition to a number of personally horrifying situations. The money ensures that he can tailor the situation to suit individual needs, aided by an assembled team of hand-picked "kidnappers." Precautions and scenarios are built exactingly; in the end, wealthy horror-seekers are attacked without warning at an unidentified time and place.

Perfection! No actual risk, just the intense sensation of danger and the accompanying adrenaline rush. For some, it is just that bittersweet rush that moves them towards their wallet; others bring more sexual fantasies to light, while still others succumb to some survivalist scenario. Nearly everyone desires to be "roughed up a bit."

Ok, so what? Multitudes of people have engaged in countless foolhardy and perilous activities. People pay for bungee jumping, extreme sports, and climbing Mount Everest -- with and without oxygen. People's readiness to shell out cash to experience something out of the ordinary keeps the entertainment industry and amusement parks thriving. Kidnapping seems like the next, if slightly less logical, step. And, it is safe. Enright's videotaping ensures that no harm befalls the victim. Videotaping also keeps the whole arrangement legal; technically, the pseudo-kidnappings infringe on no existing laws.

Legal or not, that does not mean that the NYPD endorses it. Law enforcement officials bashed the idea of getting kidnapped for kicks, calling it "twisted." According to The New York Post, one officer argued that the practice plays right into S&M; and domination fantasies. An NYPD spokesperson maintains that incidents like this are likely to desensitize people to violence when confronted with actually horrifying situations.

But this is an issue more damaging than the "desensitization to violence" phrase can convey. The phrase also refers to the countless acts of violence children see on TV everyday; "Desensitization to violence" is a virtually meaningless catch phrase in today's numb world. The excessive violence has created many censorship groups, who now exist solely to discourage the mass media from depicting violence on television, in movies, or music. However, these groups are also saturating the media with the repeated "desensitization to violence" phrase, claiming that gory moves provoke the desensitization. However, even the most enthralling action movie leaves the customer in the theater.

Enright's artistic expression is way over the top. If this phenomenon becomes cheaper, and in time more widespread, mommy might have to explain why it's okay that daddy was just kidnapped. Or, your professor may take a leave of absence to free up time to be abducted.

Perhaps it means that art is taken to a grander, more pervasive scale; that other artists can likewise benefit, and that many more people will have engaged their lunatic kick. With competition, a brave new world is clearly in store. For the time being though, Enright holds a monopoly on this experience. With growing popularity, his prices can raise -- basic supply and demand at work. The kidnappings costs a minimum of $500 to follow through with -- that is, if you visit his gallery, he is an artist after all -- but most people fantasies cost $1500. Wouldn't the money be better spent in a charity or in their children's college fund? Unquestionably; however, Enright's consumers are typically young, childless and wealthy. Future concerns will not stop them from their fantasies, as sick and disturbing as they may seem. They can worry about all that after they have been kidnapped, and for the time being they contact Enright.

At the very least, it really says something about these people's lives. How boring is your life if you need to be abducted to feel something? That's quite depraved, and also just plain sad. Join a team, find a hobby; get a life! These customers are willing and able to pay handsomely for wish-fulfillment. Clearly, when the Enright-fashioned fantasies go to those extremes his consumers are also going in the face of logic. I don't think logic or practicality enters into the equation whatsoever, and this defiance of common sense is what keeps Enright in business. But who thinks that this is necessarily a good thing?

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