Category talk:General
From BearWiki
--Laylo 16:29, 4 August 2007 (CDT)== It's Not Just the Hotels (A Small Rant) ==
. . . that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Here’s my thing:
I’ve been a critic of this show (a “hater,” if you prefer) on the Discovery MvW forum since October 2006. I initially joined this forum after witnessing some truly horrible survival advice. I wondered if I was the ONLY one with concerns. I quickly DISCOVERED (pardon the pun) that I was not the only one by a wide margin with concerns about the horrible survival advice about the show.
I also quickly discovered that there was a devoted fan base (“rabid,” if you prefer, or even True Believer) that was eager to defend Bear and MvW.
Soon thereafter, it became obvious that the devoted fans had no interest in hearing that the show had horrible survival advice. I quickly abandoned the pedagogical approach (before any of you fans misinterpret this term, let me define it: The Latin-derived word for pedagogy, education, is nowadays used in the English-speaking world to refer to the whole context of instruction, learning, and the actual operations involved with that, although both words have roughly the same original meaning. In the English-speaking world the term pedagogy refers to the science or theory of educating.), and instead focused on the use of satire.
Because of the critics, Discovery changed SOME of their misleading advertising of Bear and the show. Because Discovery advertised that Bear was in the French Foreign Legion (referred to as FFL hereafter), fans cited this as a credential. Bear was never in the FFL. Bear did a documentary ABOUT the FFL and briefly participated in FFL STYLE training. Thankfully, Discovery has discontinued advertising this “credential.” Same for his black belt credential.
It was frequently pointed out that this show is advertised as a DOCUMENTARY when in fact it is ACTION-ADVENTURE
It was again pointed out that the survival advice was horrible.
And it was pointed out that many of the scenes seemed staged and that safety gear was used.
The fans believed none of this.
They insisted that the show was a documentary of one man’s journey through the wilderness, with a small adept camera crew that struggled to keep up with him. That Bear was in mortal danger and all the scenes happened spontaneously with no editing.
The first major piece of evidence against this view was the HIDDEN PFD.
The fans insisted that there was no PFD, that the critics were all haters. Bear would never do ANYTHING like that. Look at his credentials – he wouldn’t NEED to do anything like that. Bear could do no wrong.
Then he was confronted about it, and acknowledged it – he DID wear a hidden PFD. But the only reason he did so was because the SAFETY PEOPLE made him do it.
The same fans who said Bear would NEVER do anything like that now said, “Well, he HAD to – besides, do you want him to DIE? He admitted it; what more do you want from him?”
The critics pointed out several more inaccuracies and poor editing in the show. I posted several times about BEHIND THE SCENES transcripts suggesting each episode was scripted, story-boarded, shot and reshot, and heavily edited. I was roundly insulted and again accused of being a “hater.” Bear would NEVER participate in anything like that.
I (among others) joked that Bear slept in the crew tent at night, and later joked that he slept in an RV on the set of the shoot, and ate at the catering truck with the rest of the production crew. Again I was insulted, called a “hater,” and was told that Bear would never do ANYTHING like that.
Fast forward to present.
The truth (confirmed by Discovery) is far more extensive than ANYTHING the critics suggested, even jokingly. Even when these allegations are confirmed, the fans still deny them.
He sleeps in hotel rooms
He eats meals in hotels
Each episode is scripted well ahead of time
Dramatic elements are deliberately added to each episode
His unrealistic STUNTS are carefully crafted with safety gear hidden (usually) from the shot (not to mention the STUNTS are horrible survival advice – really, they are)
He is never in particular danger because of the safety gear
This show and its host are a laughing stock in the outdoors community.
Bear’s reputation, not to mention Discovery, et al., is seriously compromised.
All the episodes have been pulled for editing to make them “MORE TRANSPARENT” (e.g. less deceptive and misleading).
All the “realistic” and “practical” survival skills fans touted are nothing more than dramatic stunts to get ratings.
And despite all these things, he’s still being defended. The fans cry now is, “Even though it’s all fake, we still enjoy it. Bear is still the Survival King.”
And here’s where I get to the meat of my rant:
Bear has safety gear and a small army of people around him to perform his outrageous STUNTS. They are done for ratings, with no practical application. They are DANGEROUS, and will make a survival situation WORSE, not better. And that is NEVER mentioned in the show. Viewers are under the impression that these are helpful skills, and they are not. It’s irresponsible on the part of Diverse, Discovery, AND Bear to suggest their use is safe. Bear, Diverse, Discovery, et al. NEVER mentioned, other than an obscure online chat transcript that he was wearing a PFD, or that it’s a BAD IDEA to follow his advice.
My point?
Yes, he stayed in hotels. That’s bad. The reason cited for him doing so on one occasion was that he was HYPOTHERMIC. The King of Survival, following his own advice, followed by a small army of production folks, was HYPOTHERMIC. That’s because of his HORRIBLE survival advice.
If HE can’t stay safe following his advice, how can his viewers?
THAT’S what makes his staying in hotels so bad. Not as much that he stayed in a hotel (when he claimed to be sleeping in the boonies – THAT’S just misleading and deceptive), but that he had to do so for health and safety reasons BECAUSE OF FOLLOWING HIS OWN BAD ADVICE.
OK, off my soapbox.
[edit] How many died/got wounded after watching all the "good advice"?
How many died/got wounded after watching all the "good advice"? Maybe an idea to make something out of the following information.
http://survival.com/IVB/index.php?showtopic=14243
"I can't watch the show. It is so full of dangerous and stupid information that it makes me ill. It is as if Bear (or the writers) are trying to re-invent survival skills. I can do the long version of why drinking urine is bad but I won't. There are many accounts of situations where guys took different paths in life rafts and on ground. Those who drank urine and saltwater died. Those who just suffered the dehydration, lived. FWIW you can drink urine and live if you are well hydrated as the wastes are diluted.
I'm well and truly embarrassed that I had anything to do with this show (the first episode) but count myself lucky that I stepped away when I did. The producers, the actors, the network should all be held accountable when deaths occur. There is at least one that I know of now. I can tell you from personal experience, I spent enough time with him, that Bear knows shit about survival skills.
In some way I might be responsible for the shift from truth to stupidity. When we filmed the first episode I suggested eating the raw fish (taken from my own video), then I suggested we take a flank steak, make a paste of flour, sugar and butter, then cover the meat with the paste and add meal worms so he could act like he was eating a nasty raw bear kill found alongside the river. Closeups of the maggots crawling in the slime and him eating it made it look real. Of course they passed it off as the real thing. We did similar things with bugs and worms.... It's all fake, made for shock.... just like the show.
Absolutely worthless crap.
Ron"
[edit] Another BS
I first watched the show about a year ago when I was visiting American cousins of mine (I am French) who live in Michigan. I'm not the kind of guy who watches much TV. The reason my cousins thought I might be interested in this particular show is because the it claims the host is a former French Foreign legionnaire. I happen to be one myself. I had some troubles with the law as a young man and I decided to enroll in the Foreign Legion when I was 19. I served around the world for 27 years. Retired 6 years ago. I immediately got suspicious, because the guy doesn't look anything like my fellow legionnaires (well, he could be an exception, but it's hard to believe). We're not exactly a friendly preppy looking bunch. And I found very weird that a legionnaire would turn his experience into a TV show. Then I watched the show and I didn't know if I should laugh or cry. The whole thing is loaded with crap. The Foreign Legion's missions can be very dangerous (we usually are sent off to do the job no regular soldier would do) but we don't wander around the wilderness in search of dead fish or rotten meat! I'll give you an example of the kind of things we do. In May 1978, in Zaire, a group of about 4000 Katangese rebels took hostage (by circling the city) about 3000 Westerners (mostly European families). All of the attempts of the "regular" army to break the siege and free the hostages failed. Finally, the French president decided to have legionnaires (500 of us) randomly parachuted over the city. They dropped us only 700 feet in the air. Some of us landed right in the arms of the rebels. They were massacred with machetes. Most of us survived. We worked in single-man units. In less than 30 hours, we liberated the hostages, captured all the rebels and seized their weapons. I don't think Bear Grylls was part of the expedition. I'll give you yet a better idea of the kind of men who work in the lower ranks of the Legion. When a guy first enrolls in the Legion, his peers integrate him through a rather tough hazing session. A frequent hazing task consists in running in zig-zag though a 300 meters long field in which land mines are hidden (but you can see them if you look closely. This is how to save your limbs). Not to boast, but it takes some guts to do that. It's not in the reach of every "tough dude".
Anyhow. When I returned to France, I made some phone calls to buddies of mine who still serve in the Legion, and they have no record of a "Bear Grylls". Then again, he could have served under a different name, but I doubt it. The rules were changed some years ago. You can no longer enroll under a fake name (although you have the option to change your original identity when you retire from the Legion). This guy is too young to have gone though the old system (when "Mickey Mous", "Moby Dick" and "Jean Dupont" were common names in the Legion). Another possibility is that Bear Grylls is only a stage name... To me, this guy is a total phony. And it infuriates me to know that his deceives the viewers by wrongly using the name of the Foreign Legion. I am glad to have found this site. At least I'm not the only one who knows Bear Gryls plays people for fools.
I am going back to the US next month to visit my American cousins. I hope they won't have any more such lousy programs to show me !
Cordially,
Dédé Kerampran -- Switzerland
PS: Sorry for my rusty English. My mother was American and she taught me English when I was a kid. However, in my 27 years in the Legion, I almost quit completely using English. Now that I'm retired, I've been trying to recover what I once knew.
