MovieChat Forums > Dude, You're Screwed (2013) Discussion > C'mon... Why fake it?

C'mon... Why fake it?

posted 9 years ago by Airman87
2 replies | jump to latest

They "kidnap" their friends, which the capture is all too cheesy and unrealistic...then somehow hold them hostage with a bag over their head while they travel internationally. So we believe they go through TSA/Customs with a hostage and bag over their head (which TSA/Customs has to visually ID you), then they get on a plane flight where they announce the location over the PA system several times, but the guy still has no idea where he is. Or they go through TSA X-Ray machines with knives strapped to their bodies. Ya, that's believable. 

And somehow in every episode the rescue to safety coincidentally happens moments before their 'competitors' intercept them just as the deadline expires.

Why not just make it a formal challenge if it's supposed to be a 'competition' after all?

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When logic and science aren't on your side, you always lose.

[–] neerood 9 years ago

Agree.

The challenge locations and conditions are impressive on their own. Drop a guy in a desert for 100 hours, that's a physical challenge no matter what.

But the fake kidnappings, the fake not knowing what country he flew to, the fake Inventory items, the fake "live" video feed to the fake monitoring tent, to the fake threatening locals, to the fake animal attacks, it's all designed to appeal to people who have excess gullibility and almost no intelligence.

All this fakery makes one wonder if the actual challenge itself is similarly faked.

And besides, even if we are to believe the aging overweight SEALs are enduring 100 hours of struggle, isn't it like a million times more impressive that a camera man is doing the same, except carrying 100 pounds of additional gear and doing his job the whole time?

I mean seriously, if these older guys are doing a hard core nature walk, then just cover that without lies and fakery. It's impressive enough. Show us that you are rotating camera crews per union rules, that your insurance carrier demands you know at all times the exact location and physical state of your performer, that the performer knows where they are and the inherent (true) risks of the region. That would still be impressive. Unless the challenge itself is hoaxed, a la Bear Grills.

[–] Airman87 9 years ago

Discovery just needs to realize people want to see survival and wilderness exploration that is raw and unedited. That is what people want. How else did Les Stroud's show survive for so long, when it was such a simple format? Because the core topic is what people cared about.

All this fakery makes one wonder if the actual challenge itself is similarly faked.

I've only watched like four episodes, but all four I saw the 'competitor' finished and was rescued in time with only minutes to spare...which leads me to believe it's completely fake.

I think the "contest" story line is just a [bad] guise the creators picked to try and make viewers think it's not just another survival show - which is ironic, because the survival show aspect is the one thing that most viewers will actually watch for.

isn't it like a million times more impressive that a camera man is doing the same, except carrying 100 pounds of additional gear and doing his job the whole time?

I agree with this. I suppose we're led to believe the cameraman has access to food and water they brought, and maybe sleeping provisions like a small tent, but there was one instance in particular that was interesting: I believe it was the Mt. Kilimanjaro episode, where at the very end, Matt did his extreme endurance running for like a dozen miles. I wonder how the cameraman was able to keep-up with all that gear? Even without the gear, he must be an incredible specimen himself to do a half marathon run.

_______
When logic and science aren't on your side, you always lose.