Live Free or Die
By Melissa Camacho,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Docuseries offers peek into living-off-the-land subculture.
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Live Free or Die
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What's the Story?
LIVE FREE OR DIE is a docuseries about five individuals who are choosing to leave modern life behind in exchange for a primitive and natural lifestyle. It features Colbert, a former financial analyst and expert trapper who left a suburban lifestyle for the Georgia wetlands after divorcing and going bankrupt; Gabriel, who lives a nomadic life between California's mountains and coast; and Thorn, a former school teacher who is building a life in a remote area of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Also living in the mountains are Tony and Amelia, who work hard to maintain their minimalist Appalachian home by working the land and foraging for food. They all abide by a code that rejects the conveniences of modern civilization and willingly struggle to find food, earn money for basic expenses, and cope with a lot of discomforts to live a life that they consider to be truly free. Throughout each episode, information is given about the modern way foods and other resources are processed and controlled.
Is It Any Good?
Live Free or Die explores a lifestyle trend called "rewilding," which is the purposeful attempt of humans to "undomesticate" themselves and return to the wild. It highlights the various challenges the folks who choose this life face every day, including surviving the elements with minimal supplies, finding enough protein to sustain them every day, and battling illness and infection without the help of modern medicine. Fighting off predators also is a concern.
Some may find some of the things they do to survive, including cooking and eating road kill that's a few days old and using large rocks to smash pack rats to eat for breakfast, a little disturbing. But other viewers will admire the different ways in which these individuals choose to live by this code, no matter how difficult it becomes. Regardless of what you may feel about their efforts, the show offers an interesting look at the lives of some unique people.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what the "rewilding" lifestyle is about. Are reality TV shows that feature individuals living outside of the mainstream making this trend more popular? Do you think they accurately portray the benefits and risks involved with living this way?
What do people gain when they choose to reject their modern lives? What do they lose? Could you or your family become undomesticated (and be happy about it)?
TV Details
- Premiere date: September 30, 2014
- Network: National Geographic Channel
- Genre: Reality TV
- Topics: Science and Nature
- TV rating: TV-PG
- Last updated: October 14, 2022
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