Why Is Naked and Afraid Afraid of Not Being Naked?

Written by PTC | Published April 2, 2016

Discovery Channel's “blur editor” details the rigors of the job. In a recent article in The Hollywood Reporter, Erin Gavin – “blur editor” for the Discovery Channel’s program Naked and Afraid – detailed some of the difficulties of a job that entails sufficiently blurring naked individuals’ sexual body parts. Naked and Afraid is a Survivor-style program about contestants striving to see which of them can survive the longest in a jungle or other wilderness setting. In this, the program has a modicum of educational value and interest. But the program also requires the mixed male-and-female contestants to be completely nude throughout their experience, for absolutely no legitimate reason whatsoever…other than attracting viewers with its salacious premise. This in spite of the fact that Discovery’s president recently vowed the channel would return to its traditional mission of educating viewers, and would eschew tasteless content in the future. In the course of the article, Gavin discusses the difficulties the program’s editorial team has in making certain that not only the body parts, but resultant shadows, hints, and other potentially risque elements are adequately blurred. In the discussion about “nip slips” and “danglers,” Gavin leaves little to the imagination…yet still covers up more than the show’s cameras do. Just think how much trouble – and expense – the network could avoid, if they would simply allow the contestants to wear swimsuits. But apparently, even at Discovery Channel, being salacious tops everything…including education, expense, convenience, comfort, and producing a program the entire family can watch.