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?
If you do go on the show and/or provide the answers to their detailed preshow questionnaire you can throw OPSEC right out the window.
I would not go on that show. It’s bad enough my close family has blabbed about my self-sufficient lifestyle and my back-ups to their friends. All I need is everyone else knowing too. If you want to keep it, keep it secret.
I AGREE THE SHOW MAKES PREPPERS LOOK LIKE NUT JOBS. THE ONE GOOD THING ABOUT THE SHOW IS IT IS BRING THE NEED TO PREP TO ALOT OF PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF WHO UNTIL I SAW THE SHOW NEVER GAVE IT A THOUGHT. I QUICKLY REALIZED THE SHOW WAS NOT A GOOD SOURCE OF EDUCATIONAL INFO BUT IT DID GET ME STARTED.
The aim of these so-called reality shows is exploitation and shock value. However, some people have been able to apply things that are shown to their real, less extreme lives. The hoarder shows, for example, have helped many seek help “before it gets that bad”. I hope the prepper shows will do the same for those who can see past the shock value.
I know of two people who appeared on shows. They received no money. Their aim was to try to educate others and show that most preppers are not “extreme”. After the editing, they came out looking crazy too. Mr. Sarti had his problem with being declared “mentally defective” BEFORE the show was made. He informed the producers and they used him anyways. I believe they used him BECAUSE of this not in spite of it.
I don’t see myself giving up opsec for this entertainment genre. But, I do understand why some would do so.
havnt any of these morons herd of op sec
I rec’d same email. and a survey..was okay with it until they asked me how many guns I had and then asked me send in pictures of my stocks and guns, Don’t think so..
After going through these posts, I can understand why offgridsurvival.com was contacted; what I would be more concerned with is some of these others that have identified “They contacted me” or “I got that email too.”
So, if National Geographic contacted you for their Doomsday Preppers show, unless you actually contacted them first, I would be more worried as to how they identified YOU as a prepper.
Who’s customer list had been sold and to whom?
Which vendor has an association to Nat Geo or through Columbia Journalist Review (cjr.org – parent company)?
Did you purchase a number of specific books from one of their publishers that would categorize you as a prepper?
Did one of the blogs I post to sell their list?
Did I reveal personal information on a post that they found?
Just a thought????
After the doctor took away one preppers guns, another shoots off his thumb, and yet other had his generator stolen, why would anyone want to have anything to do with his show! Blatant arrogance of the producers did not impress me to watch it again.
I don’t get it. With the guy that blew his thumb off they blamed it on a ‘misfire’, which actually makes him seem less ridiculous. The guy that got his guns taken from him was declared mentally defective after the show already aired, so how is that the show’s fault?
I wouldn’t expect they were actually interested (primarily) in education about prepping, but your arguments don’t make sense.
People need to wake up to reality (the real reality not reality TV). We have disturbed kids shooting up schools and people stepping on each others throats to get ahead. There doesn’t need to be an apocalypse. We are doing a well enough job destroying ourselves without help. If people don’t start using that mound of fat between their ears more often we will slowly spiral lower and lower. I am just glad we have evolved to the point that mass hysteria doesn’t ensue when doomsayers screams that the sky is falling. SEE—> Orson Welles “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast.