MovieChat Forums > Dual Survival (2010) Discussion > Naked and Afraid Guys

Naked and Afraid Guys

posted 8 years ago by rickathedj
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I'm doing my best to keep an open mind, but the previews aren't helping much. I've seen quite a few episodes of Naked and Afraid, but I don't remember them in particular. But I know that I can count on 1 hand and have fingers left over the number of people on that show I actually liked. Most of them I've seen are cocky and underskilled, at least compared to what they think of themselves.

The saga of getting my first novel on Kindle
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[–] wanton87 8 years ago

Most of them I've seen are cocky and underskilled, at least compared to what they think of themselves.

Yeah, I've noticed that these shows tend to draw a lot of these types to them ricka. But mother nature, cruel mistress that she is, usually makes short work of them. In some cases, some of them are actual survival instructors, but 5 or so days into an actual survival situation, and they're ready to fold.

I think it's an easy trap for some of these people to gain a false sense of confidence with regards to wilderness survival under the right circumstances. I gleaned the excerpt below from a book that I've had since I was a kid. The man in the example below understood full well the dangers of being cocky and overly confident.

Several years ago I went to the Woods with a Man who excelled in primitive survival skills. Starting with nothing more than his bare hands, ingenuity and bits of rock, twigs, branches and Vines, he eked out a comfortable living in the forest. He started a ﬁre faster with bow and drill than some can with matches. With bone and rock he quickly chipped out a crude knife that functioned surprisingly well. He straightened reeds and willow stems into arrows and fastened glass-sharp rock arrowheads onto the shaft with string he spun from vine. The bow he carved delicately from serviceberry wood, planing the limbs evenly with his rock knife. Before evening had shaded the forest, he had engineered a comfortable camp without the aid of civilized equipment.

I was awed and impressed. I said half seriously that he probably didn't spend much for equipment in a year-he probably just made it all himself.

He replied: “It isn't until you go without equipment that you appreciate how much it is worth. I had it easy here. The weather is warm, water is handy, and we had breakfast this morning. Not very pressing circumstances. If it was cold, or very hot, or if my leg was broken, of if I hadn't eaten in days, then it would be a real survival test. One I'm not sure I would want to try without any basic gear.”

From The Outdoorsman's Emergency Manual, by Anthony J. Acerrano, P. 20

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[–] rickathedj 8 years ago

I've heard some of them say they are survival instructors, and they DO tend to fold quickly. Reminds me of a documentary about an iron age village. They solicited for volunteers. Among them were a few tree hugger types who thought it would be all about "getting back to nature." They had no clue how much work is involved in getting back to nature, and gave up first.

But exactly what does it mean to be a survival instructor and what does it take to call yourself one? I get the feeling anyone with rudimentary outdoor skills could call themselves a survival instructor and be able to teach people who know little or nothing. Especially if they know THEIR particular locality: the woods for friction fire, wild edibles, shelter materials, etc, and of course the basics of land navigation. But that doesn't mean you could just drop them anywhere. I was never a big Cody fan, but I will give him credit for being able to adapt many of his desert skills to other environments.

As to these so called instructors... well, I've worked with Boy Scouts who have more skills than most of the Naked and Afraid people, and I helped teach them. But even so, I don't think I would dare call myself a "survival instructor." Yeah, I could give seminars on camping and hiking. I'm actually working on a series of articles for a blog on hiking and camping skills for nature photographers. Survival? I have an outline for a "just in case" kit, but to teach survival, I would feel like I needed a LOT more practical experience.

The saga of getting my first novel on Kindle
http://ricksmidnightquill.blogspot.com/

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[–] wanton87 8 years ago

Well said ricka. I have been studying survivalism since the 1980's, but I've rarely ever applied any of these techniques in an actual wilderness setting, so for me it's more of an interest or a hobby. But I wouldn't be honest if I said that I thought that I could survive for more than a short term in a challenging survival situation. Still, I am glad to have the knowledge, but hope that I never need it.

Having gone camping using modern gear, I'm simply amazed at the gear (which was often very limited in most cases) that the early explorers and mountain men were able to make use of and get by with. These early pioneers were certainly much more hardy than their modern brethren! As such, I enjoy reading old diaries and journals and am particularly interested in the primitive bushcraft of the type that Dave Canterbury teaches.

Among them were a few tree hugger types who thought it would be all about "getting back to nature." They had no clue how much work is involved in getting back to nature, and gave up first.

It was much different from what they learned in mother earth news 

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[–] Purk 8 years ago

Originally Posted by rickathedj:
But exactly what does it mean to be a survival instructor and what does it take to call yourself one?

To show someone that you call a "student" something they didn't know beforehand. That's about all it takes.

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[–] rmontro 8 years ago

I'm doing my best to keep an open mind, but the previews aren't helping much. I've seen quite a few episodes of Naked and Afraid, but I don't remember them in particular.

Naked and Afraid must be one of their popular shows, because they've been showing a lot of commercials pushing this Dual Survival show with the Naked and Afraid hosts. I don't remember them making that big of a deal out of the previous hosts.

I've seen a few episodes of Naked and Afraid, but I was never able to get into it. Like you said, I didn't find any of the people interesting, and the nudity seemed like an unnecessary distracting gimmick.

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[–] luckylovezombie 8 years ago

I can't say that I like them on Dual Survival. Some of their interactions seemed forced. Their disagreements seemed forced. I don't know... the whole time I was watching this episode, something was screaming 'fake' in the back of my head...

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[–] rickathedj 8 years ago

I think it sometimes screams fake because they adhere to strongly to the premise of the show. That being two guy who were lost while engaging in a particular activity. For example last night, they had a dune buggy mishap. EJ immediately wants to start hoofin' it. I tend to agree with Jeff that it would be better to stay with the vehicle for a time and try to signal for help. As he said, the vehicle would be much easier to spot than two people walking. So I thought that first argument was a bit silly. I think that at times they shouldn't try so hard to pretend their situation is real. We KNOW its all planned, so the suggestion that "help was on the way as they speak" was annoying.

I also rolled my eyes a bit when they threw out the distance of 50 miles. At 50 miles it wouldn't make a difference if the fires were 50 feet or 5 feet apart. Of course if someone saw the smoke and went to investigate, at some point they'd get close enough to see that it was indeed 3 separate fires and that it was in fact a signal for rescue.

I did like the fact that they didn't play the water purification game. If they were in that situation, they needed hydration right away. As someone once pointed out in another episode, dehydration can kill you quickly. If you do drink tainted water, its going to take a little time to hit. That time just might be enough to bring rescue. THEN you can worry about the repercussions of the water you drank to save your life and keep you going.

The saga of getting my first novel on Kindle
http://ricksmidnightquill.blogspot.com/

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[–] Arbuckle_T_Boone 8 years ago

I thought this last episode was more entertaining than the previous few although the previous few didn't set the bar very high.

I think it sometimes screams fake because they adhere to strongly to the premise of the show. That being two guy who were lost while engaging in a particular activity. For example last night, they had a dune buggy mishap. EJ immediately wants to start hoofin' it. I tend to agree with Jeff that it would be better to stay with the vehicle for a time and try to signal for help.

It was just arguing for the sake of arguing. The producers always seem to want to play up the "opposing survival tactics".

I did like the fact that they didn't play the water purification game. If they were in that situation, they needed hydration right away. As someone once pointed out in another episode, dehydration can kill you quickly. If you do drink tainted water, its going to take a little time to hit. That time just might be enough to bring rescue. THEN you can worry about the repercussions of the water you drank to save your life and keep you going.

I agree. If you have something to purify water in and you're not in bad situation in regards to hydration then of course you purify the water. They weren't in that position.

I thought eating the fish raw was stupid and clearly done for shock value much like Joe's first episode when he drank his own piss. If this type of stuff is coming from a producer they need to be fired. There was a fire already burning a few steps away why eat it raw?

I was disappointed with their time management in this one. Why did they wait till the next day to strip the dune buggy for parts? They could have done that the evening before and gotten everything packed in order to get a super early start the following morning and avoid some of the heat.

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[–] scottisthemainevent 8 years ago

I hate these guys. For this show to work you should be rooting for them to survive. I want them to fail.
The show used to be great because you would see a level of skill that most do not have. Early seasons with Codi's fire making ability and Dave's incredible trapping skills. Dave even killed a gator single handed which is more impressive than two people killing an already tied down pig.
Matt's shelters are the greatest I have ever seen, compare this to the first week which involved digging a hole and this weeks shelter which was so week that rain was getting in when they tried to do the fire.

Finally, I don't need to see two guys praying. If that is what they believe in then great but it does not need to be shown every week.

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[–] rmontro 8 years ago

I don't know what it is, ever since they've switched to these Naked and Afraid guys, I can barely keep interest in this show. And I have always enjoyed it. Maybe it's one too many host changes, I don't know, but these guys are boring me. Are there any plans to change hosts again, like maybe give Josh and Grady another go?

I've been far more interested in Matt Graham's new show, Live Free or Die.

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[–] rickathedj 8 years ago

They aren't my favorite hosts, but I like them better than I liked Bill and Joe. The only problem I'm having with this show is that they are re-using the same tricks and scenarios. If they use a broken light bulb to start a fire one more time I might have to scream.

I'm enjoying Matt on Live Free or Die, but he is only 1/4 of the show. I wish they would give him his own show where he does more actual demonstrations of survival techniques.

The saga of getting my first novel on Kindle
http://ricksmidnightquill.blogspot.com/

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[–] ethelroberta 8 years ago

I rather liked Jeff on Naked and Afraid, but not EJ so much. The show seems flat somehow, almost as if they're reading their lines. In Dying of Thirst, the duo are climbing a steep mesa & Jeff says how really windy it is, yet his hat stays firmly on & clothes aren't flapping. Yet I keep watching. Matt has been terrific on every show; glad to see him on Live Free or Die.

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