MovieChat Forums > Man vs. Wild (2006) Discussion > To all the people who say this is fake

To all the people who say this is fake

posted 15 years ago by Pat_McCabe
30 replies | jump to latest

...And go on to post threads like "How do people still watch this?" or "What a douche"

Let's get one thing straight... This show is a "how to" guide which, at the same time is entertaining. They never claimed everything in the show was 100% unscripted. They do say however, that "Bear Grylls and the crew receive support when they are in potentially life threatening situations" and "situations are presented to Bear so he can demonstrate survival techniques." Which had to be added since apparently, as demonstrated in these threads, a lot of people lack common sense and the ability to reason. Probably the same people who got upset when they found out Professional Wrestling was scripted. But if you don't think that Bear and the crew are taking risks, then you really are clueless.

As for the people who attack Bear's character or call him a "douche" ...well I can only attribute that to jealously and classlessness. He served three years in the British Special Forces, broke his back in three places and fought his way back to become the youngest Britain to climb Mount Everest at age 23. He has completed a ton of other feats. He is a family man, a father and is involved with several charities. What have you done? Don't attack someone because you are too lazy to go out and accomplish something for yourself. If you don't like your life, go out and try to change it. Hating others you are jealous of will only make you seem that much more pathetic. Good day.

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[–] P_Cornelius 15 years ago

"This show is a "how to" guide"

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Yeah, as in "how to die". How soon are you going to toss some chain over a train trestle ledge above, sight unseen, and no chance of it grapling on to anything, and then swing out over a few hundred feet?

[–] Pat_McCabe 15 years ago

Well, then you don't do it... has everyone lost the ability to think for themselves? Watch what he does, make an assessment, determine if it makes sense, proceed from there. If people are dumb enough to blindly do something for the simple fact that they saw it on TV without using any common sense... Then hey, survival of the fittest.

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[–] SubZeroMK 14 years ago

Thank you, a person of common sense and intelligence on these forums. These people are *beep* trolls and nothing else. They get off on challenging true facts just for the sake of challenging.

[–] kirby_h 15 years ago

It's a bad how to if that's the goal. He does things you really should never do in a survial or any sane situation and things that unless you have years of training like him, you wouldn't be able to do.

[–] Pat_McCabe 15 years ago

I agree. A lot of what he does is unnecessary and more for the entertainment of the audience. However, that's why I was saying you have to use common sense and be able to make your own decisions and know your limits. But he does do things that would be useful if you ever found yourself in that kind of situation. For example, when he found muddy water and used his shirt as a filter or his grass in the straw filter. Making useable strong rope. Different techniques to start a fire. I think these could all be useful things if one were ever in that situation.

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[–] Allareowned 15 years ago

That's a bit of the problem. There's good stuff mixed in. An idiot wouldn't be able to tell the difference. It's the idiots who get killed and sue.

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You will have our sausages.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] cowabunga_567 15 years ago

"It's the idiots who get killed and sue."

You can't sue someone if your dead... Besides I don't think "Bear Grylls told me to do it" is a legitimate reason to sue.

I so agree with the op.

1It is a television show. No one is going to watch a one hour program if sh*t all happens. It's entertainment, just like all other programs, with some excellent tips mixed in. Obviously an average person isn't going to go all Lara Croft on a rock face, but tips on keeping warm in snow, what you should and shouldn't eat (like in one of the deserts were things that looked like avocado, but if you eat them you get seriously ill) and lots of other things are mixed in are actually really helpful, I've learnt a lot from the show.

Yes, they might bring in a snake and plant it near by, but this is only so people can see what to do if they are in that situation. There's a low chance you'd be in that situation (half the reason they have to create it), but if you are then you know what to do.

[–] Allareowned 15 years ago

You can't sue someone if your dead... Besides I don't think "Bear Grylls told me to do it" is a legitimate reason to sue.

It was a joke, but I disagree with the second part. Their families can and I believe HAVE done so in other cases.

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You will have our sausages.

[–] cowabunga_567 15 years ago

Well they must have had a pretty good lawyer, but I still stand by my point it's not a legitimate reason to sue.

[–] biker_chick1300 15 years ago

See, now, let's get this straight. I'm not hopping on the bandwagon of “oh he sleeps in hotels”, “he's a fake”. I don't even care if it's scripted. Who really cares frankly? We heard the same cries with Survivor who knows how many times. The problem I have with his show is spelled out right there in your first paragraph “this show is a how to guide”. No. It is not. This show is for the most part designed to entertain. Not to educate. If you want the true educational value, get your butts out to the nearest place to you that offers survival courses and learn from the people who know it best. Hell, even read his books. They're a far cry better then the show could ever hope to be when it comes to providing the how to aspect. But people have difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction. This difficulty tends to be greater when the people have lesser knowledge of the environment.

People are not dumb for taking this information for truth. It's naive to say they are. If they honestly have no previous knowledge to work on, they will assume that what they are being told is fact. These are, after all, the professionals doing these things. I imagine the normal person wouldn't try climbing down cliffs like he does, or swinging on vines in a survival situation, but swimming down rapids with no safety, walking down rivers in the water, walking the edge of the ocean before the tide comes in (a local would be familiar with the times, a tripper may not, and a rookie may not think to look into the timing of when high and low occur). Yes. I could see people doing those. Because they don't know that it isn't what you should do. They don't know the risks. And they won't know until someone either teaches it to them or they find out the hard way.

If they could market this as the entertaining show it is, and not the survival show it isn't, I would personally be rather satisfied.

[–] Pat_McCabe 15 years ago

So you're saying in no way does this show guide you on how to do anything? I disagree (making shelter, rope, fire, where to look for water, how to clean dirty water, etc). And it's not meant for the leisure traveler or someone looking for an adventure. As he states again and again on his show... "This technique should only be used as a last resort" or "This should only be done if you are absolutely desperate" which I take to mean, if you are in a situation where if you do nothing are going to die anyway. Not go for a hike and try this. And yes, people who see this on TV and run out and do it and die, are dumb. Just like the people who watched Beavis and Butt-head and burnt their house down. Just like the people who watched the movie The Program and laid down in the middle of the highway and died. Just like the people who listened to a 50 cent album and bought a gun and shot themselves. Just like the people who read The Catcher in the Rye and went out and murdered people. People need to start taking accountability for themselves and start thinking for themselves. I'm tired of all the excuses for the dumb, lazy, fat, jobless pieces of crap that are starting to take over. Survival of the fittest!

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[–] chucksteak 15 years ago

Except that many of his "examples" of making shelter, rope, fire, where to look for water, how to clean dirty water, etc are wrong. When it comes to fire, I believe EVERY friction fire he "showed" how to make was faked and/or done with impropper or incorrect technique.

If Bear is as good as his fans say he is why can't he even use the proper technique and actually get a friction fire going?

Things that make you go hmmmmm.

[–] xdrjx 15 years ago

"If they honestly have no previous knowledge to work on, they will assume that what they are being told is fact"

If you blindly believe anything what TV tells you these days then you are an idiot.

OT: I like this show very much, even though I now I would still die in any of those situations.

[–] kmorrison1 15 years ago

This is NOT a "how to" show. It is entertainment, plain and simple.

[–] matzec 15 years ago

I suggest that you watch this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT6Bh3A0Fu0
Not only is it staged but also fake. Here, he uses a rope while supposedly descending on a vine. Good luck with these survival techniques.

[–] acstrelecky 14 years ago

Completely agree. I call this show "entertaining" non-fiction. It's entertainment!

Go fück yourself, you fücking child!

[–] Porkleaker 14 years ago

"how to" get yourself killed. He takes unnecessary risks to achieve 1 goal, escape. That isn't survival. I seriously pity anyone who winds up in a survival situation with only what Bear "taught" them. If you know what you're doing, you don't wind up in situations like this idiot does, simple as that. Watch something else like Survivorman or Ray Mears, then you'll actually learn something of value. This show is strictly for entertainment purposes only.

[–] willtell-2 14 years ago

It's entertainment, not real..

They really need to rename this show 50 people vs wild considering the giant number of cameramen, experts on the area, and people there just to carry things for him and protect him...

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[–] christhegangsta 14 years ago

Well said. Bear is truly an inspiration - the reason he was elected for Chief Scout I guess! :)

I've heard so many positive comments from people who had previously no interest in adventure or survival shows and are genuinely entertained and captivated by Bear's antics. Is that not the sign of a decent ambassador as an amiable and genuine person who explicitly warns viewers of the dangers involved? He doesn't claim to posses bushcraft skills which is an entirely different discipline, he provides quick tips and rich entertainment. I dont think he cares for haters at all. Who does? lol

[–] andrewdish 14 years ago

Why are some saying it is strictley entertainment and others saying opposite. Why can't it be both. Basically at the beginning of the show they explain that some is real and some is fake. By the way, when he climbs rock faces he never suggests that you will have to do the same to survive, he only states that it will be faster for him to get where he wants to go by climbing it, he has also stated the he is a master climber, not an amatuer. In the Siberian episode when he dove into icy cold water and swam under the ice. Now, he really did do that!, I don't care if he hopped into a motorhome after the take to warm up. he really did it and that is all that matters, when he eats bugs and snakes, he is really doing that. So therefore what he does on screen is real, even if he choses to eat a big mac after.if you go on youtube and watch the clip of Bear on Letterman, he doesn't deny that none of it is staged, but that many times he has put himself in danger. Even when the guy is honest with us, thay still bash him. I admit, if the cast tried to deny that none of it is setup, then for sure i would feel mislead, but they havn't, so either except it for what is is or don't watch.