Survivorman (the series)

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Don't forget that head shrink study in human group dynamics show called "Survivor" .:rolleyes:

Will they ever figure out to shave the magnesium off those magblocks and not just use the striker? I doubt it LMAO.

Skam
 
Ebbtide said:
Where is the show promoted as instruction as opposed to entertainment?
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When he refers to himself as a survival instructor, gives direct instruction to the viewers, and goes to great length to describe he is alone as a simulation of an actual survival situation.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
When he refers to himself as a survival instructor, gives direct instruction to the viewers, and goes to great length to describe he is alone as a simulation of an actual survival situation.

-Cliff
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OK.

I guess it is a matter of perception.
 
Howdy lads,
I just caught this weeks Survivorman show, good stuff! Being an Arizona boy the show really made me miss the desert. I know there has been a lot of pissing and moaning on this thread. Real chicken shit stuff, " Well he didn't do this" or "well he should have shown this" or "he just sucks". To me, Les shows a good mix of survival skill and primitive living skill. You could learn a few things from watching, but the show is more about being in the outdoors then telling folks go out and live like this. Just because I read an article about ice climbing in Outside magazine, doesn't mean I'm going to go out and do it. Take the show as a motivation to get out from the computer and outside. If not, there are more important things you could be doing with your online time...:jerkit:
 
phxbigdog said:
Real chicken shit stuff...
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People die because they make similar decisions, if it happened to a member of your family or a friend it is likely you wold not be so flippant with the irresponsible behavior. When I was growing up one of my friends lost a brother because he assumed the weather would go one way and it didn't. One of my cousins lost most of his fingers and toes from exposure.

It isn't a minor issue to decide to not build a shelter and hope that it doesn't rain. It isn't a minor issue to jump into a near freezing lake to gather food without an immediate way to get warm. Nor do you then proceed to eat large quantities of this unknown food which you could even be allergic to and even if you are not, this isn't likely a good idea if you have not eaten for days.

Yes you just laugh when you see idiotic behavior in a horror flick, but it is pretty clear this is fiction and not meant to be education, however it isn't the same thing to do the same in an instructional presentation.

In the same episode where he does the above, and other things which are just as bad, on many occasiosn he looks right into the camera and gives specific instruction to the viewer as in "This is how you should do this ..." then the fact that he is a "survival expert" is used in promoting the show.

-Cliff
 
Unfortunately inexperienced people believe what he is selling and do not understand much of what he does is dangerous. There is no doubt in my mind he knows his stuff but he sure as hell does not show this on the show for the most part.

If the show is labeled fiction then so be it but it isn't and it is marketed as an educational show. He should teach more and act less and be serious about his survival content.

There is some to be learned from the show but it is mixed in with dangerous and ill conceived plots and behaviors not easily disseminated by the laymen.

For a more serious and accurate look at survival take a look at Ron Hoods videos and watch survivorman for what it is, fictional entertainment not education.

For the record, nobody bitches and moans more than he does on the show let alone this thread.:rolleyes:


Skam
 
skammer said:
Unfortunately inexperienced people believe what he is selling and do not understand much of what he does is dangerous.
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This is clear if you see some of the comments on the show. I doubt Davenport will watch the show and rewrite his books, but for someone who has not been in the enviroments and has not been out in general, it may seem ok to take those risks, no negative consequences are every shown.

There is no doubt in my mind he knows his stuff ...
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I don't know, some of the things he does like eating with no water, or drinking massive amounts of water when you have no food are not so easily explained, a lot of the other times he notes the correct behavior but shrugs it off as if it can be casually ignored, this isn't something that would give me confidence in him in those aspects.

He however does friction fire build well and nicely improvises shelters of various kinds, though I would not stick fires inside wooden shelters now build a fire 100 m away from my primary shelter and then have to hike that distance with a brand to rebuild the fire there. These are all fundamental issues.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
People die because they make similar decisions, if it happened to a member of your family or a friend it is likely you wold not be so flippant with the irresponsible behavior. When I was growing up one of my friends lost a brother because he assumed the weather would go one way and it didn't. One of my cousins lost most of his fingers and toes from exposure.

It isn't a minor issue to decide to not build a shelter and hope that it doesn't rain. It isn't a minor issue to jump into a near freezing lake to gather food without an immediate way to get warm. Nor do you then proceed to eat large quantities of this unknown food which you could even be allergic to and even if you are not, this isn't likely a good idea if you have not eaten for days.

Yes you just laugh when you see idiotic behavior in a horror flick, but it is pretty clear this is fiction and not meant to be education, however it isn't the same thing to do the same in an instructional presentation.

In the same episode where he does the above, and other things which are just as bad, on many occasiosn he looks right into the camera and gives specific instruction to the viewer as in "This is how you should do this ..." then the fact that he is a "survival expert" is used in promoting the show.

-Cliff
Click to expand...

Its tv you can watch what you want, and belive what you want!:eek:
 
You can also read a book on survival and apply the same logic, simply because it is on tv does mean it is automatically fiction, there are lots of programs meant to be educational just like there are lots of books which are not.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
I don't know, some of the things he does like eating with no water, or drinking massive amounts of water when you have no food are not so easily explained, a lot of the other times he notes the correct behavior but shrugs it off as if it can be casually ignored, this isn't something that would give me confidence in him in those aspects.

He however does friction fire build well and nicely improvises shelters of various kinds, though I would not stick fires inside wooden shelters now build a fire 100 m away from my primary shelter and then have to hike that distance with a brand to rebuild the fire there. These are all fundamental issues.

-Cliff
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I am somewhat familiar with his background (not as useless as he seems to be in that show) going back 20 years and he has a lot of survival teaching experience. I think he is putting on an act of sorts for the ratings as they say. What I do not understand is why he with so much background not teach the way he has done for years in a higher education setting.:confused:
I guess money talks and the shows notoriety, marketing and commercial revenue generation is more important than its sound educational content.

Davenport has nothing to worry about.

Skam
 
skammer said:
I think he is putting on an act of sorts for the ratings as they say.
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I can understand many of his actions based on that, such as his antics after eating various bugs, playing to the shock value it would have on some and various actions to play up the danger level. But some things have no direct entertainment value and are just purely misleading. The biggest problem may simply be that if he was to acknowledge that actions in an actual survival situation would be different would break the fantasy for some who actually believe he is in one. At times though even this isn't an issue, such as when improvising, there is often no directives given while at other times he goes to great length and even cuts to scenes where he breaks and talks directly to the audience from a "relaxed" position. There is a really nice review of a survival trip with Lundin where a guy details one a training session, Lundin comes across as anything but dry and pretty much derails the arguement that you have to be misdirectional to be entertaining. And yes, he also uses a very large fixed blade for the course, which was entertaining enough considering the flak this tends to get constantly on the forums and he is even used as an arguement against it.

-Cliff
 
Cliff Stamp said:
People die because they make similar decisions, if it happened to a member of your family or a friend it is likely you wold not be so flippant with the irresponsible behavior. When I was growing up one of my friends lost a brother because he assumed the weather would go one way and it didn't. One of my cousins lost most of his fingers and toes from exposure.
-Cliff
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Sounds like you need therapy Cliff.....:jerkit:
 
phxbigdog,

You need to refrain from these kinds of posts, or you are out of here.

Do not make this mistake again.

Thread closed.
 
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