When I first started contacting the 10,000bc tribe members, via twitter, to see if they wanted to share anything about their experience that may not have been shown or fill in any of the gaps caused by editing (that's another blog later in the week!); I wasn't expecting more than a few lines if anything.
Amazingly for both you and I some of the tribe have really came through and are keen to share their side of the story. It should have come as no surprise really given the level of interaction on social media.
Part of the deal was that they could remain anonymous, if they wished, which some did but not everyone.
So tonight I thought we would start with an easy Q & A session:
Was there anything 'Stone Age' that you were great at but it never got shown?
Yes! I was like the cordage king, I would literally make cordage all the time. One day I even sat for a few hours and made a 20ft piece of cordage which not only was I impressed but so were a few others.
I was always helping out with the wood collecting, collecting the hay cutting grass and getting my hands cut my hands open. I did go foraging and make the cordage. Trying to smoke out our furs because they’d got maggots in them!
Bobby
In my opinion, there wasn't enough shown about how we lived, day to day, ie the first cup of nettle tea we made, the daily routines we individually had, the training we received once it snowed, how we put that training into action and how we adapted to the environment we were in. I understood how it may have been seen as boring that there was too much 'living' to put in 2hrs a week. I think that more episodes would have given the viewers a better understanding of just how hard and brutal the reality was. Don't get me wrong we had some truly hilarious moments as well but these were also ignored for the more big brother-esque moments in the edits.
Mike
It's certainly been a Journey. I feel sad that my good friends Kam & Bob (Aamir) were not portrayed at their best.
Kam worked hard the whole time she was there & hardly got any air time. Bob was portrayed as lazy but his humour was tongue in cheek & he produced more cordage than anyone!
Josie
Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Our ridiculously pimpin’ tepee!! The MTV version showed briefly my "Mesolithic scaffolding" but seriously a before and after shot would be very telling. MTV should consider it for a 10000bc ‘Cribs’.
After the intervention I made so many alterations to the tepee and I'm very proud of them all. We lowered the ceiling and lined it with hides and branches to insulate it, moved and lowered the fire. We also made a new door to help retain heat.
We had a vermin problem. So I built shelves inside our tepee and rehoused all the food in thick leather containers to deter our mousy and his tasty friends.
Mike and I also made beds for the tribe. This sounds more like a case of 21st century sensitivity then it actually was. We had to get people off the floor, as we were all loosing so much heat through the ground and burning off body weight through shivering. I genuinely believe that if we had remained in the living conditions that we had experienced before these upgrades; we would have all broken much earlier. You can be hungry and cold for a long time but tiredness is the killer.
I may have had a lot of criticism for "mistakes" by the tribe. These fall at my feet as a "leader" but I don't regret anything we did on the show. Hindsight is a killer but considering the reality of the situation, I am proud of what we achieved as a tribe and I'm proud of my actions as an individual. I know whole heartedly I gave it everything I had.
Mel
In the last week we started to get excited that we were finally going home and we decided to try and "forage" any of the food crew might have, just for the excitement but also if we pulled it off it would be like a luxury we could all share. We called this "Ninja foraging"!
We managed to nick oranges etc from crew bags but we really hit the jack pot when I discovered 2 camera boxes about 150 yards outside of our camp. These were filled daily with packets of croissants and cartons of orange juice, sometimes even crisps and chocolate and potatoes!
From that day on we would wait for the crew to leave at about 7pm and take it in turns to walk, in the dark, to the boxes and take everything we could. Obviously we would leave a little in there just so it wasn't obvious what we were doing and we would have a feast!
This was a real treat as we were starving and the experience suddenly became more exciting again, as it had gotten so cold. We were like stealth Ninjas moving through the woods at night, hearing noises and freezing on the spot until we identified where it came from. It was like a computer game, everyday we would just be looking forward to the night and what we might find.
The experiment that was so poorly planned and was no longer what we signed up for. So this became something exciting that we could all have a good laugh about, whilst sticking up a finger to the production company, without them even knowing. Something we would have fits about every night.
We took it in turns to go ninja foraging to the boxes in the last 6 nights just for the pure excitement. We even started doing it during the day right under the crews noses.
We would pretend we were going into the woods to use the toilet and wander out of sight of the crew, then up and around to the other side where the boxes were kept, crawling on the floor like mission impossible! I can't explain the excitement we got from it.
We did at one time think that maybe crew had night cameras and might be filming this whole thing without us knowing because we couldn't believe they hadn't caught us out. This is also confirmed what we already knew, that there was no one watching over us and guarding us at night.
This for me was the ultimate joy of the experiment and we thrived!!! Might not of been on 10000bc terms but we made the most of our environment that had been drilled into our heads from the beginning by clint so we did exactly what he said and took advantage of environment!
People might read this and think "you cheated" but that's not the case, we had savoured our rations and were ration rich! We were just playing a waiting game to go home, we knew we had done it so we needed something to keep us entertained. Spencer (Head of Production) even advised us: "It's fun when rules are broken,rules are made to be broken. Good luck! "
Anon
What disappointed you the most about the whole experience?
The lack of organisation from the production company was shocking. Had I have known what I was signing up for I probably wouldn't have done it.
When I got home I experienced exhaustion and panic attacks; and that was from only being there one week. I was promised a call from the Psyche Team, but as with most things they promised nothing came to fruition.
Kym
I'm not at all disappointed about the experience. It was well-rounded and whilst it wasn't the adventure I had expected, it was still an adventure I'll cherish.
In fact I hope to be doing this again! In the summer this year a group of 20 individuals and myself will be taking to the Scottish highlands to try this purest style of camping again. Needless to say I'm already making fish traps!
Mel
The editing disappointed me the most as it hasn’t shown a fair and equal amount of air time for each participant.
It also didn't show the experience itself just a farce that was shown to be the entertainment show we were told it would not be. It seemed to be more like the next Big Brother much more than a show about a social experiment to see how modern day people can survive.
There was so much put in that was not needed, as had nothing to do with how we were all coping within the experience itself!
Bobby
From a personal view point I was disappointed in some of the people that were picked to do the 'experiment', they clearly were not right for this type of thing yet they were put in. I know they put some of them in knowing full well they would quit early. What I don't think they realised was just how draining it would be, for the rest of us, to wake up everyday to the news someone else was giving up.
I was also shocked by the ratio of northerners and southerners, I did at times feel out of place, would it have been different if there had only been 3 from the south and the rest from the north?
Mike
What were you able to take away from the experience that has made a difference to your life?
The experience has had a great impact on me, I now mainly eat a lot cleaner than I did, I am more judgemental of our throw away society and I've come to realise that our steps towards modern society have contradicted Darwin's theory, it's not survival of the fittest anymore, our society is now made up of what I would consider, fat, lazy, non aspiring entities which aren't so much human beings but human wastings
Mike
I managed to take quite a lot of personal things away from the show. I have more tolerance for other people, more patience and understanding. I try not to be so cut throat and forward. Sometimes its best to keep your gob shut!
Bobby
Nothing that has benefited me. I've made some great friends, but at the sacrifice of being ripped apart on social media. I think the production team should have given us some media training.
Kym
I don't feel like a different person after this experience. I expected to be different but I don't think it's changed me. In fact it feels like it may not have really happened at all.
Life upon my return has continued on as normal. I'm back doing the job I adore and seeing people I love. The two months in Bulgaria seems like a story I was told or a dream I had. I guess I’m saddened by this, as it feels like it may fade to nothing.
I miss the people, the forest and the little world we had made for ourselves. I was privileged to share this very surreal experience with some lovely people.
Mel
I love the stories about hunting the production team's food. I can't imagine how bad it would be to be hungry seeing other people stuffing themselves with food. And steeling food from other groups/species is just what would have happened.
ReplyDeleteI'm interesting in the cordage. I gather that deer sinew and grass were used. I think I also saw something like blackberry vines Was anything else used.