Still a Champion of the Seas or just the latest Sellout?

[lexvil]

Did it ever stand for that? I know that that is what they wanted you to think that they stood for, but the truth was always to produce a TV Show that brought customers in front of their TVs in order to buy the junk that their advertisers wanted to sell. I don't want to think of the damage done by dynamiting sharks in one of their earlier TV Shows, or the senseless coral reef distruction in their searching for treasure TV Show. Cousteau was a whore who learned to give the customer exactly what he/she wanted to see.
After 20+ years of TV Shows, in the later 70`s, Cousteau discovered that there was a market for ecological shows, and he then jumped into that niche market too.
Untill he died, Cousteau was a showman, who had learned at a very early age that the best way to keep his pockets full of change and bed full of interesting women was to give the customer something that he/she had never seen before - kind of like the circus barker out front of the "fat lady's" tent.

Michael

Wow, harsh and accurate.

 

[KathyV]

Did it ever stand for that? I know that that is what they wanted you to think that they stood for, but the truth was always to produce a TV Show that brought customers in front of their TVs in order to buy the junk that their advertisers wanted to sell. I don't want to think of the damage done by dynamiting sharks in one of their earlier TV Shows, or the senseless coral reef distruction in their searching for treasure TV Show. Cousteau was a whore who learned to give the customer exactly what he/she wanted to see.
After 20+ years of TV Shows, in the later 70`s, Cousteau discovered that there was a market for ecological shows, and he then jumped into that niche market too.
Untill he died, Cousteau was a showman, who had learned at a very early age that the best way to keep his pockets full of change and bed full of interesting women was to give the customer something that he/she had never seen before - kind of like the circus barker out front of the "fat lady's" tent.

Michael

Wow, harsh and accurate.

The second half of the 20th Century was a dynamic period of environmental awakening and evolution for many of us. I have a degree in Environmental Science that I received in the 1970s. It was my second BS degree and I only got it because I already had the basic science requirements completed and I didn't need to add on too many classes to get it.

I have never worked as an environmentalist, but ecology was a new and interesting field back then. It was fueled by Rachel Carson's landmark book "The Silent Spring" and galvanized by photographs of the Earth taken by the Apollo 8 Astronauts. That was the first time humans had actually seen images of their beautiful planet hanging, like a shining blue ball in space. The moon was a dead gray rock but the Earth was beautiful and vital. I don't think that younger people today can understand what a momentous and eye-opening event that was for us older folks.

I think that Jacques Cousteau started out as a profit-seeking showman, but as he explored and studied the seas he evolved into a true, avid, environmentalist. He applied his abilities as a showman and used them to educate many people around the world about our beautiful, complex, and fragile seas - and therefore we owe him a lot, IMO.

 

[kelemvor]

Did it ever stand for that? I know that that is what they wanted you to think that they stood for, but the truth was always to produce a TV Show that brought customers in front of their TVs in order to buy the junk that their advertisers wanted to sell. I don't want to think of the damage done by dynamiting sharks in one of their earlier TV Shows, or the senseless coral reef distruction in their searching for treasure TV Show. Cousteau was a whore who learned to give the customer exactly what he/she wanted to see.
After 20+ years of TV Shows, in the later 70`s, Cousteau discovered that there was a market for ecological shows, and he then jumped into that niche market too.
Untill he died, Cousteau was a showman, who had learned at a very early age that the best way to keep his pockets full of change and bed full of interesting women was to give the customer something that he/she had never seen before - kind of like the circus barker out front of the "fat lady's" tent.

Michael

Exactly what I was thinking. Fortunately, you beat me to it. The guy might have popularized diving, but he was a true environmental disaster.

 

[dlofting]

Jean-Michel Cousteau writes a regular piece in Diver magazine. His position in those articles is definitely at odds with what is in the posted column. Of course this is only one side of the story and one person's opinion. Everyone, but particularly someone with the environmental record of Jean-Michel, deserves a chance to explain their position. I'll wait to hear from him. It's also important to keep in mind that he is not his father.

 

[Doctorfish]

I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Cousteau made beautiful TV shows and movies but at a high price. If you go back and look at them on You Tube, you will be shocked by the wanton destruction in the name of "ecology". I still recall one episode when they were senselessly killing sharks because they were " the enemy of the diver ". I also seem to recall dynamite used to get the Calypso into the Blue Hole.

 

[kelemvor]

I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Cousteau made beautiful TV shows and movies but at a high price. If you go back and look at them on You Tube, you will be shocked by the wanton destruction in the name of "ecology". I still recall one episode when they were senselessly killing sharks because they were " the enemy of the diver ". I also seem to recall dynamite used to get the Calypso into the Blue Hole.

There's another where he drops dynamite on the reef so he can take a census of the dead fish that float up... ugly stuff.

 

[scubadada]

Jean-Michel Cousteau writes a regular piece in Diver magazine. His position in those articles is definitely at odds with what is in the posted column. Of course this is only one side of the story and one person's opinion. Everyone, but particularly someone with the environmental record of Jean-Michel, deserves a chance to explain their position. I'll wait to hear from him. It's also important to keep in mind that he is not his father.

Yes, I've been reading his pieces in Diver for years. He is also a Contributing Editor and on the Advisory Board. I would like to hear his side on this topic

 

[caydiver]

It’s probably the gas mix they are offering. That said it would be nice to hear why the change. It just seems very inappropriate that it comes with a lucrative contract at the same time.

 

[kelemvor]

Here's the one I was talking about. A warning before you click play, it can be hard to watch if you actually give a hoot about the sea critters.

 

[martincohn]

Follow the $$

Its always about the $$