My family lives in Alaska, also known as Alaskan Bush People, is a reality show premiered and broadcast on Discovery Channel since 2014. The series tells the adventures and experiences of the nine members of the Brown family, who show the particular way of life familiar in the cold and inhospitable settings of Alaska.
This family has to cope with freezing temperatures, animals and a lack of interaction with other people. The clan, led by Bill Brown and his wife Ami, have taken it upon themselves to raise their children so that they are able to adapt to the harsh conditions of Alaska.
This adaptation of children has been achieved by parents through the teaching of survival techniques and the use of natural resources.
The recordings of this production were made in the towns of Hoonah and Chichagof Island, where it is believed that they are currently settled.
Argument
As noted above, the series exposes Bill and Ami Brown's daily life, along with their five sons and two daughters, in the icy and hostile lands of Alaska. In the process, their peculiar way of life and family dynamics are shown, in a context in which they are far from civilization.
According to the series, the Brown family is capable of hunting, fishing and building shelters to protect themselves from the cold and wild animals. They even developed a dialect to be able to communicate with each other.
Although the premise stems from how this group of people is able to survive in this particular type of environment, it should be noted that this was due to a series of important moments in the lives of Bill and Ami.
In fact, it is said that Bill was born into a wealthy family; however, he lost his mother, father and sister in a plane crash at age 16.
As a result of this, he later decided to tour the country. After a while he met Ami, who was also in a more or less similar situation.
From there both made the decision to marry, leave civilization and fully immerse themselves in the wild.
As time passed, Ami took charge of her children's education by teaching them basic lessons and also everything concerning survival techniques. This produced that each member was able to develop a specific role within the clan.
Characters
-Bill Brown, patriarch of the family.
-Ami Brown, mother.
-Matt (Matthew) Brown, eldest son.
-Joshua (Bam Bam) Brown, son.
-Solomon (Bear) Brown, son.
-Gabriel (Gabe) Brown, Jr.
-Noah Brown, son.
-Amora Jean (Birdy, also called Snowbird) Brown, daughter.
-Merry Christmas (Rain or Rainy) Brown, daughter.
Seasons
-1st season, with five episodes, released in May 2014.
-2nd season, with nine episodes, released in December 2014.
-3rd season, with eleven episodes, released in May 2015.
-4th season, with ten episodes, released in November 2015.
-5th season, with thirteen episodes, released in April 2016.
-6th season, with thirteen episodes, released in December 2016.
-7th season, with thirteen episodes, released in June 2017.
Regarding the 8th season, although the recordings were made in December 2017, its premiere was lengthened due to the rumors and criticism that revolve around the program.
Curiosities
Some curious facts about this family can be highlighted:
-As noted above, Bill Brown was born into a wealthy family from Texas, who owned a limousine company. After the death of his parents and sister, he took up a series of small jobs in his hometown and New Mexico.
-Bill is also the author of the book One wave at a time, and is believed to have done several such writings.
-Ami married Bill Brown when she was only 15 years old. Currently this union would be illegal in several states.
-Both Ami and Bill are believed to suffer from a number of health complications that could keep them away from wildlife in Alaska and force them to stay in contact with health centers.
-Since the premiere of the program, rumors of Matt's problems with alcohol emerged. This fact was confirmed during his confession to his younger brother, Gabe.
-One of the aspects that are most criticized in the series is the lack of representation of the native communities in Alaska, being one of the places where it is more common to see different ethnicities and races.
-It was discovered that Bill Brown had married at age 16 to a woman a year older, and from whose union two children were born.
-It is believed that the relationship between Bill and Ami's family is a bit sordid, since some relatives of Ami have stated that the patriarch was rather in charge of separating and isolating her for more than 30 years.
-After various rumors, it is believed that Bam Bam got involved, and even married, one of the producers of the show.
Real or fake?
Almost from the beginning of the broadcasts, curiosity about this family and the veracity of the facts that are shown in front of the cameras was aroused.
In light of this, a Facebook page called Alaskan Bush People exposed was created, where anonymous sources and other members of the Alaskan community share information about what is behind the Browns. The following facts have been exposed, which seem to indicate that the show is fake:
-It is believed that the family does not live in the so-called Wolf Pack (a place supposedly built by them), but rather they reside in rented houses in Los Angeles and Colorado.
-They are involved in accusations of fraud, because they hid important information in the tax return. In fact, an agreement would have been reached for Bill and Bam Bam to serve time in prison, so that other members were not imprisoned.
-The rumor persists that the reality show is based on Bill Brown's book, One Wave a at Time, which was published in 2007.
-Although images of the family living in the middle of the forest and with limited resources are shown, the children know how to handle electronic devices and technology in general, so this has served to generate suspicion in some viewers.
However, despite rumors, comments, and alleged evidence, the series remains one of the most popular to date.
References
- Alaskan Bush People. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved: May 6, 2018. In Wikipedia at en.wikipedia.org.
- Discovery's New Series Follows a Remarkable Family Off the Beaten Path and Into the Wild Alaskan Wilderness. (2014). In The Futon Critic. Retrieved: May 6, 2018. In The Futon Critic of thefutoncritic.com.
- My family lives in Alaska. In DMax. Retrieved: May 6, 2018. In DMax of es.dpay.com.
- My family lives in Alaska, the hunter series that sweeps Discovery Max. (2016). In Jara y Sedal Magazine. Retrieved: May 6, 2018 in revistajaraysedal.es.
- Saylor, Donn. The Alaskan Bush People Aren't Exactly Telling You The Whole Truth About Their Identity. (sf). In Ranker. Retrieved: May 6, 2018. In Ranker de ranker.com.
- The untold truth of the Alaskan Bush People. (sf). In Looper. Retrieved: May 6, 2018. In Looper at looper.com.
- White, Tiffany. The Browns Are Returning to the 'Bush,' but Fans Aren't Happy About It. (2018). In In Touch. Retrieved: May 6, 2018. In In Touch of intouchweekly.com.