Naked and Afraid is the best reality show on television
Discoveryās challenge to survivalists isnāt about titillation as the title suggestions, itās about putting real people in real danger and marveling at the results
There is something about every competitive reality show on television that makes the viewer wonder how they would tackle the same experience. When we watch Survivor, we wonder how we would deal on a deserted island with a bunch of backstabbing schemers. We dream about getting cast on The Amazing Race and try to ascertain just how we would squabble with our loved one while trotting the globe. We hold our hairbrushes like microphones in front of the bathroom mirror like itās our turn to audition on The Voice. That is what makes these shows so compelling ā but that never happens when watching Naked and Afraid.
The Discovery show started its fourth season on Sunday night. For those who have never watched it before, the show lives up to its title, plopping two survivalists, one male and one female, in the wilderness for 21 days with no clothing: no shoes, socks, undergarments, or hair ties. They get a bag (mostly used for screening their genitals from the sun and the camera) and one item, usually a machete or flint or some other essential item of their choosing (one industrious guy brought a roll of duct tape, which really can be used for anything). The environments are everywhere from mountainous forests of the Himalayas and arid deserts of Madagascar to the Louisiana bayou or the Nicaraguan jungle.
The crazy thing is, these people arenāt even contestants. There is no prize for making it through the three weeks, and many people donāt. They are merely awarded the bragging rights of having made it through the challenge and ended up with the dinner party story of a lifetime. Itās absolutely crazy to me that these people ask for this type of punishment. I never watch Naked and Afraid thinking I want to give this challenge a whirl. I usually question the sanity of the participants, especially when they get sick and decide to suffer through it in the wilderness.
What makes the show great is that we get a chance to marvel at what seems like superhuman abilities. People fight through hunger, inclement weather and the torture of being stuck with only one other person (a stranger at that!) for 21 days. Itās less akin to Survivor and more like Project Runway or Top Chef, where we are in awe of peopleās abilities to make a dress out of corn stalks or cook a gourmet meal using only ingredients found in a vending machine.
The participantsā experiences are dramatically real. Many so-called reality shows are more scripted than an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Even Discoveryās own bait-and-switch Eaten Alive turned out to be nothing more than an elaborate lie. There is no faking Naked and Afraid. These people either make it or they donāt. Although there are producers and cameras around, contestants are mostly left to fend for themselves. The crew and producers are allowed to help in the event of eminent danger (like a bear attack) otherwise they donāt talk to or engage with the contestants.
Refuse to be naked and refuse to be afraid?
When a man gets a fierce sunburn over his entire body, including his most sensitive bits, he has to figure out how to endure on his own. Two contestants in the bayou both got trenchfoot from living in the water, but no help arrived. Yes, some people have been shipped out due to drinking contaminated water or contracting some strange illness only found in extreme atmospheres, but these people are out there with literally nothing shielding them from the harm of nature. We get to watch from the comfort of our home hoping that we would never have to engage in such an ordeal but strangely happy to know that, with the right skills and mental fortitude, it is possible to stay alive.
The nudity is a bit of a gimmick, but there is no sexual nature to it at all, especially once you see how lacking clothing makes these people suffer even more. Naked and Afraid is like a ritual, each episode unfolding in practically the same way. Yes the people and the locations might change but like House Hunters, the never-ending background noise in so many American living rooms, each one is pretty much interchangeable with the other and easily enjoyed without any previous knowledge or context.
This show takes the outrageousness of other reality genres, but applies it to celebrate human strength and fortitude rather than exploiting the frailty and narcissism of those that just want to be noticed. Naked and Afraid takes extremists and tests if they have what it takes to survive 21 days. It puts the real back in reality television, even if there is no way in hell you could ever imagine yourself huddling in the middle of the night hoping howler monkeys donāt attack. Naked.