American Nature no longer exists? History Channel films US History in South Africa!

In 2009 The History Channel chose to shoot the majority of its seminal series about the history of America almost entirely in South Africa. For America The Story of Us, The History Channel did dramatic re-constructions for the first time ever, which were shot in and around Cape Town. In this instance Cape Town and its surrounds doubled for Utah, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Great Plains, prairies, the Rocky Mountains, the Niagara escarpment and sites of battles with the Native American Indians through the Civil War and World War II. Even the recreation of the bombing of Pearl Harbour was shot in South Africa, utilising local crew.

www.screenafrica.com...

I had a strange feeling that I knew those mountains.
Why would anyone choose a "generic landscape" over true history?
That just floors me.
Don't you feel a bit cheated?

reply to post by halfoldman


That's pretty interesting to say the least. Half, can you please provide a link to this. I'm interested to see if they have any photos that we can post here.

Thanks!

Ahh, see you added it - Thanks!

maybe they shot it there just to save money on all the traveling they would have had to do to show the real thing?

Didn't even know they shot it here.Good catch.

Don't think America has any nature left.South Africa is better than America anyway.lol So why not shoot it here.

reply to post by TortoiseKweek

I haven't seen it, only the preview.
Was looking forward to it (and now especially).
Well, I added link in my OP, and even Wikipedia admits it (see Production):
en.wikipedia.org...:_The_Story_of_Us

The series was filmed in South Africa, using mostly South African actors and with a South African directory of photography. [6] [edit]Episodes

OK, fine, our landscape is more "US" in winter than the US itself.
But what's with the male head of Mithras (with distinctive 7 rays) on the Statue of Liberty? Is it really there?
Well, in any case: the trailer (I guess they used a lot of war paint):
America: The Story of Us.

reply to post by halfoldman


the answer is ecconomics - not the claim " american nature no longer exists "

When economics is the reason it's cheaper to film on a different continent - there might be a problem (unions, licenses, etc.)

reply to post by ignorant_ape

So it exists, but only outside economics?
It is too expensive?

reply to post by halfoldman

OK, let them project US history on us for money.
But what chance do WE ever have of presenting our own history in our own landscape?
I guess nobody cares about that right now.
We don't have Hollywood, and our peoples passed in silence.

reply to post by ignorant_ape

There was no claim.
It was a question.

I'm sure that question will arise again.
It wasn't well answered.

So we have a documentary with virtually nothing on the Native Americans (local colored people - very funny), the blatant head of Mithras, and America's richest elite forms the commentary!
Mind you, many times I've walked the beaches or the slopes of Table Mountain, and I fantasized: this would be The perfect place to shoot a western film!
Oh what a laugh!

reply to post by halfoldman


I'll give it a try. This is just my best guess. I may be right, I may be wrong, but I'll try to give you the best answer I can.

Yes, there is plenty of nature left in America.

The decision to shoot in South Africa was probably based on economics in a broad sense but that may be broken down into a couple of factors. The first is cost.

South Africa has a growing film industry and make good quality films at a lower cost that many other countries.

South Africa's film industry

Local and foreign filmmakers are taking advantage of the country's diverse, unique locations – as well as low production costs and favourable exchange rate, which make it up to 40% cheaper to make a movie here than in Europe or the US and up to 20% cheaper than in Australia.

So right off the bat, the cost is cheaper and the quality is very good.

Now consider here in the US that many (if not all ) of the actual historic or natural locations they would want to film on are owned by the government in one form or another. (Jamestown, Statue of Liberty, Yellowstone Park, Hoover Dam, etc)... I imagine getting all the permits and permissions in place to allow a film crew access needed to those spots would be quite a headache here in the states.

So couple that with the cost and you may have your answer as to why South Africa was chosen.


..oh and about filming a Western there...

I suspect similar reasons were why some of Clint Eastwood's early Western's were filmed in Italy.

reply to post by Frogs

Ja, fair enough.
I'm glad people are shooting films here.
I guess we're not used to it yet.
However, especially with that propaganda piece of selective history, I wouldn't have expected it.

So let me add my own, from the Afrikaner/Boer people around 1900:

A bigger truth on history in a German Carnival parody song:
Gus Backus (1972 - remember what the Western movies were like)

More truth in a masquerade, rather than a masquerade of truth!

Am I assuming correctly that many Americans understand German?
The US had more German than Irish immigrants, and it just fell short of becoming the national language?
Well no such historical stories in this "history".
Just whites, blacks, and stereotypes behind the foliage with bows and arrows.

So we have the head of Mithras, Obama and all the top Illuminati!
For me this series is falling into full-on Conspiracy space!

Speeches by President Obama, Michael Douglas, Donald Trump?... er, a great selection of "American historians", I suppose.
America: when all it took to make it was sheer determination, or being lucky sperm!

Am I missing something in the doccie above, or did they just say America was founded on an addictive, psycho-active drug?
I kinda knew that, but I thought their tobacco was local rather than imported.

reply to post by halfoldman

Huh, sorry, but did Obama just call "America" an "experiment"?
Yes he did!
That is astounding!