MovieChat Forums > North America (2013) Discussion > Tom Selleck's narration is ruining this

Tom Selleck's narration is ruining this

posted 11 years ago by RagingR2
4 replies | jump to latest

From the first episode I found the narration of this series slightly irritating.
Excuse my European point of view, but after watching numerous other nature series (mostly by David Attenborough) I was really disappointed with the level of ignorance and misplaced pseudo-nationalism here. Granted, officially the series is about North America as a continent and not about the USA as a country, but everytime the narrator said " 'Murica..." I couldn't help but feel the narrator wanted to convey his pride of the U.S.A.
'Muricans are tough, and so are it's animals -- or something like that.
I really felt disgusted how they managed to turn an otherwise beautiful nature series into what felt like right wing propaganda 101. How do you turn footage of a rodent gathering flowers to survive winter into a piece of rightwing propaganda? Watch "North America", and Tom Selleck will show you!

Halfway through the second episode I found myself thinking: seriously, if that guy is going to mention "only the strongest/toughest" one more time, I think I'm gonna break something.

After a quick Google search I found that the series is narrated by Tom Selleck, who in completely unrelated news is a rightwing NRA-member, and I found myself thinking: sjeesh.... why the heck am I not surprised?

Not only do his cheesy oneliners give you an atmosphere of misplaced nationalism that really doesn't belong in a series about a subject so politically neutral as 'wildlife'; it is also filled with blatant lies.
"Only the toughest survive." ...? and
"Only the strongest deserve the right to call 'Murica HOME." ...?
Apparently someone did an excellent job at misunderstanding how nature works, and raping Charles Darwin's "survival of the fittest" at the same time. For those of you who don't know: FYI, that is NOT what "survival of the fittest" means, or in any case not how modern day biologists would explain evolution or the way competition and survival in nature work. Not EVERYTHING in nature is about strength, toughness, physical power, or even absurd notions such as "courage".

Because the way the narrator 'personifies' animals with human character traits is another thing that started to irritate me more and more. Seriously, couldn't they have found a narrator who could bring a little more scientific neutrality into this? This kind of human projection on a 'tough' animal of your liking, is the kind of propaganda that would put the USSR to shame. The fact that the USA has chosen the bald eagle as it's symbol, does NOT mean that the bald eagle also chose America as it's home because it liked that particular country's "tough guy" image. But that is the kind of *beep* thing that you constantly get the feeling Tom Selleck wants to make you believe.

Newsflash: countries that America counts as part of the "Axis of Evil" are ALSO home to supposedly 'tough' animals like mountain goats, eagles, bears, etc. But Tom Selleck wants you to believe that the 'magnificent' continent of North America is the only place where these "champions of nature" live, and so much as makes the claim that North America is the toughest natural environment on earth, which creates the toughest animals anywhere. While I think that claim is highly debatable, most of all I think: what a disgusting way to turn a nature show into a schoolyard 'toughness' contest.

The imagery is beautiful, and the things you see are of course value-free; they are actual things that are happening in nature, simply captured on film for us to see. But the narrator does a perfect job of showing how a little narration can steer this value-free content into a certain direction. His narration force you into a stunningly one-dimensional understanding of nature. And that may be the greatest flaw of all in this series that would otherwise be a beautiful and educational show.

[–] caseya21 10 years ago

Oh boy this is a new low, a scripted narration is somehow the narrators fault and because he has beliefs different than you it is ruining this particular program.

Do you really think he was brought in because he was part of the nra or for any other political reason ? No it was solely because of his voice.

He isn't even credited as a writer, 99% chance he was handed a script and asked to read it with a director nearby to make subtle requests/changes. If you want to blame anyone blame the writer who wrote it or the director who directed it.

I actually feel sad for you, not being able to take off your political/idealogical hat when attempting to be entertained. You are destined for a disappointing sad life were posting ramblings like this is a priority of yours.

[–] indiajermyn 10 years ago

I have to agree. As a non-American, this documentary was absolutely cringe-worthy to watch. Not only was the narration bizarrely and arguably inappropriately patriotic, but I came out the other end none the wiser for having watched it. I suspect they went over-budget on the cinematography (which is spectacular) and didn't have enough money left over to pay scientists for any actual information. The narration that resulted was sub par to say the least. There was very little actual information and the narration only served to describe the events taking place on screen. It was so state-the-obvious I could have done it myself.

However, I wouldn't blame Selleck for the poor quality narration. Without a doubt someone was paid specifically to write that script, which perhaps makes its failure to educate in any sense all the worse.

[–] prolab-74-119935 10 years ago

Tom Selleck's narration didn't ruin the show. The writers and directors did.
Mr Selleck was the paid announcer and was hired because of his regional twang. Good for US markets.
Hardly the voice for world wide distribution, his narration could have been replaced with that of a less regional voice actor.

[–] leonardpl-698-221894 9 years ago

The writing is ruining it, and to be fair, I did not expect Tom Selleck to sound as true and enthusiastic as David Attenborough to narrate a wildlife documentary, knowing both guys background, I think it's unfair to even start compare them.

The problem when you've watched and heard David Attenborough enthusiasm through his whole Life series... ( before and beyond ) Every other wildlife documentary become a bit dull.

The only one I could compare who share the same contagious enthusiasm and knowledge as Attenborough, was Carl Sagan's Cosmos. That's the only one I can compare to Sir Attenborough's achievements and works.

I am Canadian, and I could deal with the U.S. like American "approach" to the writing, lines like "... beyond lies a land of riches and opportunity." were almost as funny as listening to Grand Theft Auto in-game radio. Made me smile, Tom is not bad, he is MAGNUM! to me, and that mustache, yeah, the mustache is all that David Attenborough will NEVER achieve. Gotta give that one to Tom!