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There seems to be a modern fascination with the idea of man's relationship to nature, specifically in the context of survival. With the release of American movies such as "Life of Pi," "Cast Away", "The Grey," and "Alive," as well as the television program, "Survivorman," it illustrates an entertainment factor in watching the brutality of nature at the expense of a suffering human being.This poses the question to what is so interesting about witnessing such an experience? Is it enjoyable for an audience to watch an individual immersed in a scenario that they may never be rescued from, or is it a way for someone to escape from their monotonous existence into something more fantastical and enthralling?

This fascination can be extended into Stephen Crane's story, "The Open Boat," an example of the way man is depicted in relation to nature. They are in need of being rescued as they are at the whim of an unforgiving ocean. Although this story was published in the late 1800's, it is still a theme that is present in today's popular culture. Despite the knowledge that these men may face death at anytime, there is a thrill behind getting to read about such a situation.
I argue that people enjoy witnessing such stories of survival because it does allow for a certain excitement factor in a situation that we would not normally be able to encounter. The imagination of the limits that our own human nature would be pushed is a construct so unimaginable it is almost fantasy. This is uncanny because it means that we are entertained by watching the fear of others fight their own death, which does not differentiate us much from the historical Gladiator spectacles. Although these works are not as violent as such battles, it does revive the notion of watching human beings fight for their survival.

The high viewership of content relating to one's survival suggests that we seek entertainment in stories that seem just that: fictitious representations of what could really happen. Since we are constantly facing an imminent threat from nature, whether it be earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, it is interesting to see popular culture flip this dependency and instead allow characters to be victorious against all of nature's challenges. People now actually have the chance to physically embark on an experience that has always been viewed as dangerous in the form of vacations. There are a variety of destinations that one can visit in order to experience this terror of survival themselves (but of course without facing the threat of death, as the basic necessities are always provided). This demonstrates an active involvement in something that has been traditionally associated with death, which somewhat commercializes the terrifying experiences that the characters of the above works must face in order to survive.
http://www.docastaway.com/pages/adventuremode