Xinjiang Kazak Herdsmen Summer Migration (Photo : Getty Images)
Leonardo DiCaprio’s fight with a bear in “The Revenant” won for him a Best Actor award and made many Chinese moviegoers interested in wilderness survival. It was a well-deserved acting award because there was no real bear that the actor fought with.
However, real wilderness experiences cannot be fixed with camera tricks the way Hollywood is very good at. Even for Chinese reality shows like “Divas Hit the Road,” contestants need to show their ability to survive in rough environment, but many reality show stars lack even the basic skill of pitching a tent, reported Global Ties.
Other lacking basic skills include locating water sources, finding basic compass directions and beginning a fire without matches. The reason behind the skills lack is that camping out in the wilderness is not very common in China which lacks natural camping sites, especially in major cities.
Because of that limitation, many viewers instead watch survival reality shows such as Bear Grylls’ program aired by Shanghai TV where stars join him for wilderness adventures. The challenges include having the reality stars drink their urine or eat something yucky like worms.
If Grylls could convince reality stars to do those things in front of the camera, it is because he has set the example. In his previous show “Man VS Wild,” the host has been shown eating bugs or rotting innards of dead animals.
“The Revenant” is released in China by the Bona Film Group, China Film Group and Alpha Pictures. It grossed $33 million on its first three days of release in China where the censors cut less than two minutes from the movie, Variety reported.
