‘Alaskan Bush People’ Uses Town’s Mayor To Fight Criticism
One joke that many people have about reality television shows is that they are more fictional than some real shows. When it comes to shows like Real Housewives and The Kardashians, it is hard to differentiate between what is real and what the cast members have planned out ahead of time. The most recent reality show that has faced this criticism is Alaskan Bush People. However, The Bitbag has reported that the cast of Alaskan Bush People have a supporter in the town’s mayor.
Kenneth Skaflestad is the Mayor of Hoonah, and he showed up on a recent episode of Alaskan Bush People. His appearance was one of the things that some people wondered was fake, but the fact is that he is the real mayor and there are rumors that he was stopping by to make sure that the Brown family was registered to vote. Adding the mayor to an episode of Alaskan Bush People was a way to possibly add some realism back to a show that had taking a beating lately.
The problem with the show really started when Radar Online came out with a number of claims that really threw Alaskan Bush People into a mode of disrepute. One claim that the website published accused the show’s Brown family of never staying in Hoonah very long in the summer and vacationing a lot, which really throws their stories of living only in the wild into a turmoil.
There were even photographs that were seen that showed Rain wearing an Apple Watch, something that seems a little out of place considering how Alaskan Bush People paints the family. According to Radar Online, locals in the area say that the family leaves the bush whenever cameras aren’t rolling for more comfortable accommodations.
‘Alaskan Bush People’ Returns, Brown Family Opens Up About Criminal Case https://t.co/4lAnYwYCLu
— Ronnie J Schoenhut (@RonnieSchoenhut) June 25, 2016
Whether this is true of not, the allegations made against Alaskan Bush People has really started to hurt the show’s ratings. The show fell from a 0.7 to a 0.6 last week, ratings that make it look like fans are less interested in a show where the reality stars are not who they claim to be. Remember what happened when the cast members of Duck Dynasty ran into some media problems. That show was never the same.
The problem is that shows about eccentric people, such as those who live in the woods or wilderness, need to remain odd because that is what sells these show to fans. When the cast members become too ordinary or prove to be a little less pure, the fans answer by changing the channels.
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— Steff (@CT_Homesteader) June 23, 2016
That makes the upcoming storyline where Ami Brown sets out to see her mother for the first time in three decades such an important moment. For a show that is fighting to remain “real,” this is a moment that needs to sell itself as real life, and not just another seemingly scripted televised moment. Radar Online reports that Ami’s mother, sister, and cousin will fly to Alaska from Texas to meet again. The meeting will take place on Alaskan Bush People.
The biggest problem is that Alaskan Bush People will have to win over audiences who look at the scenes with Ami and her mother and wonder if it is real or just another written spectacle to win over fans. If, as Star Pulse reports, the Browns live in a nice Hotel when Alaskan Bush People isn’t filming, and they do not live in the wild, why should anyone believe that Ami and her mother have been estranged for over 30 years?
Alaskan Bush People airs on the Discovery channel on Friday nights at 9 p.m. ET.
[Image via Discovery Channel]
