Are there really people taking it seriously?
This is clearly a darkly comic satire. The whole premise is based on the idea that kids need to be punished for being brats. And that at least the discipline they learn through this process gives them the right to despise their elders.
It's a joke. It's a flight of fantasy for all the adults who pine for more disciplined kids.
You think they intended it seriously to have last words like: "God, let me just say one more thing. You look really cool."
Come on.
The best part is that this premise, goofy as it is, is far more coherent and plausible than the one in The Hunger Games.