Billy Berger on Naked and Afraid?

[Wiley]

Saw the episode last night. The bayou is a hard place to survive for 21 days, with or without clothes. Moral of this whole thing I learned that if your in the swamp, and your camp floods, don't wait a week and hope it gets better while you get trench foot. Seek higher ground where your life will be easier. I understand that the little bit of dry land y'all suffered on for a couple weeks seemed appealing because it was the only land you could see, but once its clear that this tiny patch of mud will not sustain you, move somewhere else. Once significant dry land was found, ya'll came across that tasty looking nutria. If that had been found a week or two earlier, there probably would have been chances at several nutria. Nutria guts are probably good for crawfish bait, and even baiting more nutria, life would have been so much less miserable for the two of you.

The whole naked thing doesn't really shock me, I don't find it that sensational. Just makes "the game" harder. The producers probably felt like it would draw more attention to the show, I would have watched the show with the people wearing clothes, it's hard enough to survive with so little for 21 days with clothes on, without you are simply more exposed to the elements and bugs.

[huntertrapper]

I like your "style" Dharma. I'm guessing you don't partake in this American fad of television either? I find it makes peoples zombies. Obviously we both are using a computer. But my argument with a computer is you can use it for so much and that you have control on the actually usable information that you take in. This advertisement thing on television to convince people to buy buy buy and rush rush rush money money money is sickening. I think if more people turned off that plastic idiot box we'd have more poets and creators and true artists  and way more people not stuck to a single lane.

[Dharma]

Huntertrapper, yes, I got rid of the TV 16 years ago and haven't missed it. You are correct that our society has devolved as a result of it. Instead of true artists, we now have "celebrities" whose often tragic antics and pratfalls are allegedly something we're supposed to follow with earnestness. This is why several magazines are devoted to covering these peoples' lives. Which, to be sure, is a complex form of societal voyeurism that also appears in "reality" TV. Though, also, many "reality" TV shows are nothing more than the Roman gladiatorials dusted off and made all shiny and new again.

I heard of a reality TV show called "Temptation Island" and investigated this unwholesome parade of societal flotsam. The theme of this show was committed couples were sent to an island where each mate would be separated and tempted to cheat by members of the opposite sex. It should be remembered that if the people hired to "tempt" these people know they must do so for the show, they are nothing more than courtesans. When cheating happened, it was filmed and shown to the person's mate who then would be emboldened to cheat in retaliation. Well, firstly, anyone who would appear on such a show does not value their relationship. This show alleges it will strengthen the relationship and test their commitment. However, this is like saying world peace can be strengthened by giving every country in the world access to several nuclear weapons plus delivery vehicles. But the truth is, this is a sickness where the viewers are enjoying watching the suffering and heartache of the people on the show as the basis of human emotional experience---loving relationships---is dragged through the mud on national television to entertain others. How is this "entertainment"? These are things that people should not wish to see. Infidelity, in heavily traditional cultures, is not something taken so lightly. It is a serious offense and, in some cultures, punishable by death. But here is our culture saying this is something to not only promote, but entertain ourselves with. It's a modern form of dogfighting or bear-bull baiting. This is sad beyond belief. And they call it "reality" TV. This goes entirely too far and TV has gone well the acceptable limits of what belongs in a morally healthy society.

We do not have to travel to Saudi Arabia to see that shows such as "Temptation Island" have no place in a society that wishes to preserve the cornerstone of societal cohesiveness. Even here, infidelity often results in violence. California has a waiting period on firearms purchases to allegedly curtail such "crimes of passion". Yet, here is a show that encourages the very act that can result in violence. It would be like having a show where people go steal just to see if they get caught or how they get away with it. Excuse me and call me a sentimentalist, but what happened to shows like "The Waltons" that reinforced family values at least to some extent? And people that watch shows such as Temptation Island need to question their own desire to watch this pabulum. Truly, if one wishes to see if their relationship is strong, then live that relationship and work on it together. Turning off the TV and talking is a start.

[Dharma]

It should also be remembered that the idea behind Roman gladiatorials was to pit two or more armed men against each other to see who would win. TV reality shows are using this same formula where the threat of death or injury supposedly exists. People will say they want to see the resourcefulness of the people on the show, but this is the same as what the Romans did. They would pit a secutor against a retarii and so forth to see if the guy with the net and trident was resourceful enough to overcome the armored guy with the shield and sword. How would he do it? If we are to say we are better than the Romans, then we need to call reality TV what it really is. But we're not feeding people to the lions? Really? We do, we just label it something else or do it figuratively and call it "entertainment". And, actually, this is what the Romans called it, too. The Roman arena where these combats took place was their television. And history tells us what happened to their society over time.

[Mohawk13]

Well stated Dharma..I Myself ditched the TV last year. Have more time to worry about My life and Live reality, as opposed to viewing someone else s...And I miss the Walton's!!!!

[JEB]

If I remember right I saw Billy with a spear with a glass arrowhead on the end of it.  There was no mention of it during the show and that is something you have thought that would have been of some interest. You know finding a piece of glass in the swamp, making a point for a weapon to harvest food. I Pm'ed Billy and asked him where the glass came from but got no response.  I imagine the 2 x 4 burning in the fire in one of the photo's he posted was found floating in the swamp somewhere.

[bubbles]

The more I watch the show, the more I like it over other survival shows, because they let the people make mistakes, and quite often, they don't make it the full time. Seen a lot of contestants end up in the hospital for drinking contaminated water, eating unidentified mushrooms, or getting various tropical diseases.  Its definitely a bit sensationalized, but goes to show that its really hard to survive 21 days like that.