HOLLYWOOD SURVIVAL MYTHS CAN KILL BY ALLEN MACARTNEY HOLLYWOOD loves wilderness survival movies where a star clashes with nature and wins. The Revenant is just the latest in a long string of box office successes like Castaway, Star Wars, Life of Pi, The Grey. But just because a movie star survives a fictional (or “based on a real story”) wilderness ordeal on the screen doesn’t mean anyone else could in real life. Some of these movies have episodes which make you think the script writers haven’t left Los Angeles pavement for decades, and know little or nothing about real wilderness. Let’s look at some of Hollywood’s survival myths that can kill you – all in a single recent movie. MYTH #1 | WET IS OK In this scene, the hero splashes around in an icy river in winter desperately stuffing raw fish into his mouth. He hasn’t eaten for maybe a week. The unspoken message: without food you’re going to die in the wilderness. But humans can go weeks without food. It might be very uncomfortable, but you’re hungry, not dead. However, being wet and exposed to cold winter wind can
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