New Survivor...ooooo controversial!

abbeysmama · by **abbeysmama** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 12:33 pm

Have y'all heard?

Next season's Survivor is a little...controversial.
The tribes aren't being divided by sex or age but...

wait for it...

RACE!

Yep. I kid you not. Whites vs. Blacks vs. Asians vs. Hispanics.

Yowza!

I figured that maybe the locale would be the Gaza Strip...but apparently it is the Cook Islands.

What do you think about this?

Beccak · by **Beccak** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 12:39 pm

I think that its ridiculous! I haven't watched Survivor for probably the last 4 seasons. I think that viewership (is that even a word?) has gone down and they are hoping that this is going to bring it up again because its such a controversial move. Yeah, lets segregate people by the colour of their skin...great idea (LOTS of sarcasm).

Jinxx · by **Jinxx** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:05 pm

Actually it doesnt bother me, hopefully the contestants knew before hand as to not be surprised. Have watched that show over the years and its always been interesting to see the personalities.

oztilson · by **oztilson** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:12 pm

they have to find some way to keep people watching

I'm sure you'll enjoy every minute ABM!

kattnipp · by **kattnipp** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:14 pm

I read they didn't start out with this concept but did recieve lots of feed back on lack of minorities so they planned to have more this season and as things went on it was the direction they decided to go. Not sure how true it is but in the end I think it will still come down to who can scam the best. And yes it will cause lots of extra drama because of the race issue
Annette

madiola · by **madiola** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:37 pm

I don;t think its a big deal. THey are all playing a game with the same rules and same stakes. Whats the diff between race or gender? If race really doesnt matter then it technically shoudl be no different right?

by **LoriB** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:41 pm

I don't have a problem with it. Like madiola said, age, race, gender it's all the same as far as I can see. I think it's always an interesting sociological experiment and I love watching it. And, it's always interesting to see people's reactions to it as well.
Boy, I'd love to write a thesis on Survivor.
Can't wait for the new season.

Loki · by **Loki** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:01 pm

Not saying there is anything "wrong" with this in particular, but each time we do something like this we send the statement that racial separation is okay, and that we support it by watching it.

At this point in the 21st century, should we even be acknowledging this way of thinking? By the way, that is a rhetorical question.

Just food for thought.

Princess Stinkbutt · by **Princess Stinkbutt** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:16 pm

madiola wrote:I don;t think its a big deal. THey are all playing a game with the same rules and same stakes. Whats the diff between race or gender? If race really doesnt matter then it technically shoudl be no different right?

I agree with Mads!!Loki wrote: we send the statement that racial separation is okay..Well when they had boy/girl then the same can be said..I think they WANt us to get all rilled up..Your still either a male or female whether your white black or whatever you can still SUCK or ROCK at the game regardless of your skin colour..I look white but my Dad is First Nations..what the hell team would I be on? LMAO the Whirst team? lol..white/first get it sorry..I just find it all so humurous we are playing right into there concept..I don't even watch the show so whateva..just funny

janet_xo3 · by **janet_xo3** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:04 pm

I don't like that the show is segregated by race. I hate after all the years of people fighting for equality that (I feel) it is undermined for a cheap shot at ratings. I get that it is reality TV, but worry some one will watch and take it seriously or actually think one race is superior when only one person/race can win in the end. My family won't be watching this year.

by **LoriB** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:29 pm

Here's an interesting excerpt from an article on the Survivor Fever site.

But why group them together? Says Probst, who is also a producer, "I'd be more worried about criticism if we grouped together one Asian-American, one African-American, one Caucasian and one Hispanic. Then you're saying, 'Get along.' Now we're saying we're gonna start this game without any constraints of society. It's an equal playing field. There's no reason you'd be voted out because you're a minority.

Interesting concept.

by **LoriB** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:43 pm

Sorry, just had to include another excerpt. I think there is a flipside to consider in this. I can totally understand the initial reaction being that this is racial segregation and that's wrong. But I think there are other ways of looking at it. Like this excerpt is saying, perhaps this will show that race doesn't matter, in the end they're just all people trying to survive and win the show.

What tribal "Survivor" has a real chance of showing us is how much race isn't an issue when it comes to the bare necessities of living on an island for 39 days; how much race is an issue when talk show hosts want to artificially spice up their debates; and that teamwork, communication and trust are the foundation of great teams, not skin color.

The tribal switch is also interesting because it's mass-marketing genius. With specialized narrowcasting geared to ever-smaller pockets of viewers (apparently it's OK to have channels for gays or Cambodians or golfing fanatics, as long as they don't compete on the same show), CBS is trying to create a program appealing to the widest amount of people, especially viewers who have grown weary of the same-ol' same-ol'. They will tune in to root for (or even against) their "race." Take that, World Cup!

Any stupid game show that can get tens of millions of people to talk about serious issues that affect us all (especially if we're uncomfortable bringing it up) should be praised, not scorned. Unless, of course, a white male wins the million bucks, then looks into the camera during the live finale and mumbles something about a master race.

It's interesting that we automatically feel that this is segregation rather than a chance to show that race doesn't matter. I suppose it's the way we've been socialized. Racial issues are an uncomfortable topic at best and this is putting it right in our face and asking us to face our own personal biases (because we all have them, admit it or not) and see past them. Maybe the show will show us just how similar we all are when it comes down to it. Maybe it will highlight differences as well but in a positive way. Because different races although similar in many ways are also different in many ways.

by **guest** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:58 pm

Maybe we don't need to think about it as racial segregation? Maybe we could think of it as having pride in your race and saying "let's show 'em that we are a strong competetive people and that all those streotypes are wrong".

I admit, my jaw dropped when I first heard it, but in going with their plan to be more racially diverse...why not seperate them and let them show that each team will have the good and the bad, the weak and the strong, the smart and the Boston Rob :wink:

and that although it will be "let's show them the _____'s are better" at first...it will end up showing that we're all the same.

Either way - I'm stoked for any new season of Survivor.

greeeneyedwhwoman · by **greeeneyedwhwoman** on Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:34 pm

At first I have to admit that I was a bit taken aback.....but then I said to myself "why are you reacting this way" and really, its no different than separating men from women......they will all merge at some point. I'll be watching will like/dislike players based on their character and personallity, just like I always do.

As a white woman married to a black man with bi racial children, a cambodian cousin, a native/hispanic cousin........I have no issue with it at all. :-D

abbeysmama · by **abbeysmama** on Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:53 am

LOL! I'm glad to hear it greeneyedwhwoman!

Did you all do Psych 101? Did you ever hear about that classic experiment where a classroom or control group was made to separate by eye-color, hair color etc. for an extended period?
The groups inevitably and quite violently started to stereotype one another to the point of absurdity. Its the us-against-them thing, and it doesn't seem to matter how insignificant their differences were.

In Survivor, which is an all out competition, I anticipate alot of stupid things being said by otherwise civilized people. It could get pretty inflamatory. And very interesting!

I'm a reality tv slut from way back. I have reservations about the appropriateness of all of this, but I'll definitely be watching.