For the Finding Bigfoot Haters

Two cast members from Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot answered questions and signed autographs for the more than 100 people who’d come to see them at Stetson University last night, where I teach. I’d talked with the cast at a press event last summer, and when they mentioned they enjoyed talking with student groups, I suggested we set something up if they were ever in Central Florida.

What surprised me most was their interaction with the group of people who showed up to see them, and those viewers’ level of engagement with the show: there were many college students, of course, but also local families, and professors and their children. This wasn’t a crowd of crazed Bigfoot hunters, though there were certainly some of those, but instead of people who are inspired by what they watch together, including kids who are excited to go outside an explore—because of a TV show.

Even more incredible was that, after the presentation, Cliff and Ranae lingered for more than 90 minutes to sign autographs and take pictures—and not just one picture, multiple pictures in multiple configurations of people. They did not have to do that, and certainly did not have to give the time and attention they did to every single person who talked with them.

They also had serious, in-depth conversations about their work and even their personal lives with students and others. I have never before seen that level of passion, commitment, and impact from a reality show’s stars.