I received an email this morning from the casting director of Doomsday Preppers. It Read:
“We are now casting our last set for Season 2 in September and I would love to speak with you about it. Our goal for Season 2 is to educate our viewers about preparedness and provide important prepping takeaways. This is such a great opportunity for any prepper.”
In my opinion, this show has done nothing to “educate viewers about preparedness”. In fact, I think these shows are produced for one reason; to exploit the subject of prepping. The only thing this show has managed to do, is to turn emergency preparedness into something that is ridiculed and laughed at by the mainstream media.
Take the guy who blew his thumb off while trying to be Mr. Joe Cool Prepper on last year’s show. In their attempt to “educate the public” they featured a “prepper” who blew his thumb right off his hand while demonstrating how to shoot. They tried to blame it on a misfire, but as we pointed out last year, it’s not really a misfire when your hand is in front of the gun.
And what about the Doomsday Prepper who was declared Mentally Defective, how exactly did that help the prepping community?
But keep in mind, this is exactly what the show wants. They want the extreme fringe, and if they can’t get them they will do everything they can to make those who appear on the show look crazy. I would warn anyone who is thinking about appearing on these shows to think really long and hard about what you’re getting yourself into.
Just take a look at the promo video from last year:
Do you think they’re really concerned with helping people learn about preparedness?
You are correct that such shows make preppers look a bit nutty but they are fun to watch!!
I think you should take them up on their offer to appear. If you think preppers are painted in an unflattering light, then turn that around!
they would just turn it right back around in the editing room. trying to make preppers look good on tv would be like trying to get an honest president in the white house.
I agree with you totally. It made them look a little off. I watched it to try and learn some things but it made them seem like extremists and a little nutty. I wondered the whole time though, why they would do this on national TV. Now if something happens, everyone close to them is thinking, “I know where I’m going!” making them easy targets.
Preppers make preppers look nutty. Look at the top of this website. A gas mask, caution tape… have you seen other boards and blogs? A lot of the stuff I find here is great info but I can’t share it without everyone thinking I’m nutts too. I think the show is fine. It has to be a little crazy to get people to watch. At least it gets people to think about prepping.
Agreed. Sane, rational prepping isn’t really interesting. That said they clearly are looking for extremists and, not ironically, the producers have contacted the moderators of this website and have personally contacted some of it’s more vocal members….shouldn’t that say something? Target rich environment! (but of course I’m not talking about you, reader)
The show is entertaining. It does show some interesting ideas for prepping and does an even better job of showing how people can get too carried away with it. There’s a fine line between prepping and paranoia in need of clinical help, and this show should hopefully be giving a few people a reality check. Prepping is a good safety net and practicing skills is a fun hobby, but a lot of folks get carried away with it and turn it into an obsession. All things in moderation!
I would never appear on that show. Being prepared, now more than ever, should be a closely guarded secret. That show makes most of them out to be freaks, which most are just plain smart. If they want a reality show, they should do a show on the Banksters who are resigning in droves, converting assets to precious metals, and buying up prepper wilderness properties, outfitting them with shelters and food….why?
I agree. And unfortunately you can’t turn it around because they will edit scenes and statements in any way they see fit. I’m sure things may be said out of context at times too.
On the other hand, my hubby and I have been exposed to new storage ideas and such by watching these shows, so they can be helpful.
We to have goten lots of ideas from the show, who realy gives a %^&* what people think. Opinions are like, well you know, everybody’s got one.
Judging by the promo video, I would say that yes they do seem to be making fun of the whole idea of prepping. But, if you have ever just sat at watched your local news channel when there is a tragedy or something to that effect, they tend to draw out the one tooth, crazy, most illiterate people they can find to appear in their news coverage. It is sad but true. We are facinated with the ridiculous because it is entertaining and makes us laugh or shocks us. If it were an actual educational show, it would not get half of the viewers that it does. That is how media is and since the beginning of the reality show trend it has only gotten worse. I don’t believe any true preppers would actually watch the show for any type of educational value, instead for comedic relief.
Yeah, they do kind of make all preppers look a bit on the fringe and outside the norm. I wouldn’t go on the show, but then again, everyone is different. I do agree that it’s entertaining though, so is Doomsday Bunkers. ;)
Those that choose to be on the show i’m sure make money off it. there taking the risk of showing the world all there stuff, seems more to me like there proud to share there crazyness. But i know for a fact there making money off it & that is helping them buy more crap to squirrel away. Its an entertaining show & those that choose to share there prepping on it more power to them.
I love watching those people make idiots out of themselves.
I disagree. I am a beginning prepper have only been doing it for a little over a year. And yes, some of the things on the show are ridiculous or exploiting, but I have gotten a lot of good tips and learned quite a bit from watching.
I has showed you what not to do to prepare for for anything.Just the fact the show is called “preppers” makes my laugh. As Dark Helmet asked in Spaceballs, “Why are you always Preparing? Just go!” When I was young in grade school we learned survival in the 80s. What to do if the the Russians attacked. What to do incase of a Disaster? What to do incase the Bomb was dropped. We didn’t “prepare” to learn a damn thing, we just learned. I’m always ready, I have enough supplies for generators,
food,water and medical. Constituency Plans a-zz, in place, just incase. and by in place I mean functional. I can support 20 families, comfortably for 2 solid years. Plus grow their own food. In the end it all boils down to those who can, do. Those who can’t,”Prep.”
They contacted me. When I answered their questions about bunkers and guns, I said, “CLASSIFIED”. They were really interested in bunkers and guns. I refused to answer. Obviously, I won’t be on the show. They said if I changed my mind to contact them. I told them when they change their mind and what to show what prepping really is about to contact me.
One of our local preppers GI Jim, who owns a military surplus store, agreed to be on Doomsday Preppers. He was going to talk about bugging out in the woods. His plan was to teach some woods skills. GI Jim ended up cancelling in the middle of the project. They had no intention of showing his skills. Instead they kept trying to get him to admit that he had illegal weapons and was not doing things on the up and up.
How soon thy forget about Katrina and that Tsunami. I like being on the ‘fringe’. Let them be cannon fodder. Idiots.
I agree, it’s exploitation. If the true intent of the show was to show “how to be a prepper” you would have segments: water purification, canning/preserving, how to pack a bug out bag, what vehicle would suit your needs best when the SHTF, shelters, basic first aid, etc. Maybe we should come up with our own show! Different interviews with companies that make freeze dried foods, different types of preppers…Not exploiting what most people would view as wack-jobs!
p.s. I received the same e-mail from the t.v. show
No one is going to remember these people and where they live/prep 5 minutes after the show ends, hell they won’t remember 5 minutes into the show.
Reality shows are designed to be exploitational. People seem to love shows about other people who seem crazy/stupid/obscene/etc. More importantly the networks can sell advertising on those shows.
Shows that have experts instructing people on viable strategies and techniques are not watched and therefore don’t draw advertisers. Even HGTV shows exploit the subject – they are either totally clueless or made to seem that way until the hosts of the show come in and transform them and their house/wardrobe/whatever.
I do a better job prepping for winter here in the Colorado Rocky Mountains than some of the folks on that show. There is no education involved and that is sad because there is a need for education, not hype.
Although I’ve only seen the show a few times, I have to admit it did make me take an interest in prepping and start looking into it. However, I’ve always wanted to do this.. I just never realized anyone else was doing it. {I thought I was just a weird person…. not that this is dispelled yet, lol} I don’t know that it provided any education whatsoever, but it did get me to thinking in the right direction. {at least made me aware that there was a community out there}
Having said that though, I would never appear on the show and wouldn’t recommend anyone else did either for many of the reasons indicated above.
There is a very real need for proper education. We try to do some on our site and would never want to go on a show like that. I have never watched it.
Unfortunately some peppers feel a sense of responsibility to the blinded mass thus some are willing to expose it all in hopes to awaken some. Little do the preppers realize that the blinded masses watch shows like this to reaffirm their normalcy and preppers are the real nutcases.
This country is on the downward slide, most everyone feels it but a few of are doing anything about it but as long as there is a TV Camera with 5 minutes of fame there will always be someone to step in front of it and allow himself / herself to look stupid to the blinded masses.