MTV Cuts Down Rainforest for Reality TV Show
After the Viacom-owned network finished filming their new treasure-hunt themed “Real World/Road Rules Challenge” on a remote, uninhabited island in the Republic of Panama, locals returned to find their beach tattered and abused.
The television show, which premieres on September 17th, took over the neighboring, inhabited island in militant style by hiring the local police to prevent residents from accessing a public beach. As it turned out, according to local witnesses, MTV had cleared a small patch of rainforest to build a tiki-hut structure near the beach, developed an access road through the forest, and installed generators and lighting on the beach.
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Since the beach was guarded by armed officers, the locals only heard rumors of the destruction until they were able to go back to the beach after filming had finished. “I have seen the aftermath of a tornado and this was almost as bad,” read the account, written by Jmaher and Michael Drake. “A large plot of rainforest had been cleared, a pristine Caribbean beach had been trashed, and the creators had simply packed up and left. A family of what appeared to be ‘squatters’ had already moved into one of the buildings left behind.”
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At the time of the writing, MTV had not yet announced the premiere of the television show. The authors deduced that the network had been behind the commotion after finding papers with MTV’s logo among other garbage littering small village’s the streets. The nearby uninhabited island (which the show’s contestants ravaged for hidden treasure) had not been visited by the writers, so we’ll have to watch the show to see how that island fared. All this comes after MTV’s recent efforts to encourage teens to go green.
“Perhaps I have been unjustified in my criticism and, if so, I will offer my apologies whenever it becomes obvious that I have been unfair,” the lengthy piece reads, nearing conclusion. “In the meanwhile I will continue to show my irritation for what I perceive Mtv to have done to a beautiful area of rainforest and beach.”
A trailer for the upcoming television show can be found here.
Photo Credit: Joe Crawford on Flickr under Creative Commons license.
[Via: Ecorazzi]Other Posts Relating to Environmental Destruction:
- Greenpeace, Dove, Palm Oil, and the Destruction of the Rainforest
- Greenpeace claims a McVictory
- Live Greenwashing About Healthy Food: McDonald’s Lettuce-Growing Billboard
Like any business, Viacom (MTV’s parent company) is about making a profit. They are concerend about the publics acceptance of them but primarily the are down to the dollar and cents of the thing. It is a shame that what used to being a “cutting edge” of social reform, is now being the corporate tool. It’s part of the life cycle of business. You can look at 1000’s of businesses that started out as “doing the right thing”, only to finally give in to the investors and the idea of capitalism. The owners of the island should ahve out in a clause to recompense any damages from the shooting. I have worked on several films, and all of them have paid to clean up or replace damaged enviroments. So in the end I am sorry that this happened. This should get more press and MTV should be held accountable.
MTV GET OFF THE AIR!!!!!!!!
Hi I’m your video DJ I always talk like I’m wigged out on Quaalude’s I wear a stained baseball jacket everywhere I go My job is to help destroy What’s left of your imagination By feeding you endless doses Of sugar coated mindless garbage So don’t create Be sedate Be a vegetable at home And thwack on that dial If we have our way even you will believe this is the future of rock and roll How far will you go How low will you stoop To tranquilize our minds with your sugar coated swill You’ve turned rock and roll rebellion Into Pat Boone sedation Making sure nothings left of the imagination
RE: questions about uninhabited island’s locals
Sorry if it was unclear in the post, but there are two islands: one with people, and one without. It can only be assumed that the uninhabited island was trashed (based on the commercial for the show where they’re tearing it apart looking for gold because the locals do not set foot on that island.
The beach that is described is on the inhabited island where MTV set up camp to film the show. The contestants, in two teams, had to build boats to get to the other island, which is visible from the coast of the inhabited/village island.
From what it sounds like in other stories, there were people actually living on Boca del Drago Island. Either way, this is a sad, sad story and some nightmare pr for the viacom big wigs to sort out.
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/MTVdamage
Please sign the petition and hold MTV accountable
Here’s the deal. I own the property that boarders the plot that they rented to do the show. They seemed to have used my land as well (apparently without knowledge) being that the land owners said that the lagoon, where most of the night filming was done, was a part of their property. The island is not uninhabited, there are about 6000 full time residents, and like most of these shows there is a bar and rest. within a 1/2 a mile. As well “treasure island” is a bird sanctuary and completely off limits to foot traffic.
I camped on my property the night after they finished filming and walked the site in the morning…yes it was pathetic, garbage everywhere, clearcut rainforest and mangrove, mtv just upped and walked. Very little of the money they brought in went to locals as most of the builders and daily staff were brought in from the city and “local” gringos.
It is sad to see that a corp. with this kind of $ and influence behave this way in a such a time of environmental awareness.
[...]The NYC-based network just launched a global marketing push to tackle climate change with TV ads attacking those guilty of greenwashing. All of this is part of their youth-targeted climate change initiative called MTV Switch.[...]
This is insane, I have written about it on my blog as well, http://earthyfinds.blogspot.com
and I have started a petition, please sign it.
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/MTVdamage
~Hyla
MTV sucks ass. we would be better off watching John McCain lie to all Americans than to watch the horse poop that MTV produces.
Hello, that’s “Hollywood” for you. Fake as fake can be and willing to do anything, and I mean anything, to make a buck. Souless devils all of them and don’t think any differently. Take DiCaprio for instance - tells us all to get Green and drives a Prius for show; while he jet-sets coast to coast in a private jet to catch a basketball game. This guy uses up more resources in a week than an average family does in a year.
Get off the Goshdarn Celebrity obsession people and see Hollywood and all celebrities for what they are, lying money grubbing scum of the earth.