Why Alaskan Bush People's Treasure Map Find Raised Some Eyebrows

In the modern era, reality television is popular culture mainstay and continues to dominate the small screen. While some programs rely on the fact that their concept of "reality" comes from a script, others are less manufactured and attempt to beckon the viewer in with promises of real-life drama and interactions. However, the divide isn't always black and white, as some programs blend the two approaches into one for entertainment purposes. Fans are beginning to speculate if Discovery's Alaskan Bush People exposed its own use of this hybrid model, thanks to one key detail from its most recent installment.

As Alaskan Bush People's 12th season chugs along (against some fan's wishes), the Brown family recently found themselves dismantling an old cabin in the middle of the "remote" Washington wilderness, where they're now based. They set out to gather scrap and materials they could either sell or use themselves, but they got more than they bargained for. As they began to break down one of the walls, they made a remarkable discovery: Someone stored an old, worn-down set of treasure maps inside the building itself. 

Not to rain on their parade, but there are some issues with their find — specifically, whether or not they're legitimate, and if the discovery was genuine luck or planted for them when the cameras weren't rolling. 

Upon further inspection of their maps, the Brown children made note of the fact that they're dated 1897, then 1899, corrected to 1915, and reprinted in 1950. They all agreed that preservation of the maps, regardless of their importance, is a worthwhile endeavor, but fans weren't so quick to move on from the scene. 

Many took to Reddit to express their disappointment in the series, feeling that the whole scene was a lazily thrown-together stunt to entice viewership. A number of viewers picked apart the whole setup as a way to prove it was nothing more than a hoax.

One Alaskan Bush People watcher found the whole scenario quite amusing, commenting, "It was so funny watching them pull down plywood that looks no older then 6 months off the wall filled with fresh insulation to find a map that was 100 years old. I was dying from laughter." Another Reddit user cited the fresh plywood as suspicious, sarcastically chiming in with, "What a[n] amazing random find for a[n] abandoned cabin on the WA wilderness. Just a reminder for anyone who thinks this is any spec of real. It is not." 

At the end of the day, Alaskan Bush People is just another form of popular entertainment, and to create a narrative in instances where there is none, the minds behind the show have to come up with things — possibly like convoluted treasure maps — on the fly. Whether the discovery was organic or pre-planned, you can't fault the producers for trying to capture an entertaining moment, even if they could've done so just a little harder.