Surviving survivalism

So we've been watching some episodes of Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel, which (if you haven't seen it) involves a former member of the British special forces (Bear Grylls) parachuting into remote terrains and having to survive and find his way to civilization using only a knife and a canteen (and occasionally parts from his parachute).

Ostensibly the show is designed to give the viewer tips on how to survive should one ever be lost in a jungle or on a mountain or in a desert by seeing what an expert does in such a scenario. (The commercials for it specifically mention how this might save your life.) Bear narrates much of the show directly into the camera while he's in the middle of his mission (not merely providing it during voice-overs), explaining what he's doing as he's doing it.

He provides everything from basic techniques (try and find a river as a source of water and as something to follow) to last-resort tips (such as--I kid you not--if you happen to be lost in the wilds of Africa using fresh elephant dung as a source of hydration by drinking the moisture from it). (The show is not for the easily disturbed.)

Often he'll allude to how hikers or tourists have perished in these situations by making mistakes that one with his knowledge would not make, clearly intended to support the advice he is giving.

So, really, the show is an excuse for an adrenaline junkie to not let all the impressive knowledge he has gained go to waste. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, entertainment-wise.)

If you are fascinated by this sort of thing and fancy yourself an adventurer, it should serve to tell you why you should just stay at home (or at least stay at a Holiday Inn Express, according to their ads); if you are someone who really deserves to be in such a scenario, you probably already know what he's telling. Thus, it is clearly intended to make for compelling television as we watch him put himself in dangerous situations (on purpose) more as a cautionary tale for arrogant tourists than as a travel brochure.

I am reminded that I am a city boy who needs to stay in the areas of the wild that really aren't that wild. Paying attention to all the examples he cites of what caused people to die when being out in these remote areas without preparation can be boiled down to one thing: stupidity.

However, I must admit that as I watch it that there's a certain level to which I cannot give myself over and get completely caught up in watching him eat bugs and scale mountain sides with his bare hands.

Mostly it comes down to this thought: Sure, he's finding his own food and building fires with sticks and avoiding animals, but the film crew that's following him is covering the same terrain and having to do so while carrying cameras and booms and whatnot; I'm a bit more impressed with that, frankly.

Also, to get all the shots that end up in the cut of the show that gets aired, to get the numerous angles, either have him do certain things multiple times or have him wait around while they set up several cameras to shoot him from different vantage points.

It's a show that will definitely help average people who happens to be out in the wilderness with a camera crew to survive until the producers fetch them.

And ultimately I cannot be too worried about his survival, no matter how dangerous the way it's edited makes it out to be, because I know he survived. It's not so much that they wouldn't air the show if he died (because if the ratings were good they would) but that he must have survived to do the voice-overs in post-production.

For me it reinforces my appreciation of civilization. There is much about cities I do not like, but the survival skills I possess (such as being overly analytical) are better suited for that environment. It's how I have lasted this long.

There is a reason I do not have my own show. I have no illusions about why that is.

[This entire post was composed while watching episodes.]