I was pretty shocked when I found out about reality TV show Survivor’s newest concept: segregate contestants by race and let them battle it out.
Now, thank Goddess: a NYC group (among others) has responded, damning the idea.
The article (from yahoo) ends:
Probst also claimed that, controversial as the premise was turning out to be, the idea to divide its cast was well intentioned.
“The idea for this actually came from the criticism that Survivor was not ethnically diverse enough, because for whatever reason, we always have a low number of minority applicants apply for the show,” Probst said.
So in response to criticism that the show was (which it is - hence, probably part of the reason for the low number of applicants of color) too pasty-faced, CBS decides to encourage “diversity” by segregation. Um, number one: tokenism? Duh. Number two: segregation went out fifty years ago.
Inadvertently or not, the producers of Survivor do appear to have contributed to the cause of racial unity. Thanks to the division, all ethnicities seem to have united–in their opposition to the show.
What the hell were you thinking, CBS?! But then again, they got us talking, didn’t they? And though I’m sure some people will call for a boycott of the show (if, in fact, CBS sees nothing wrong with airing the season), I’m also sure this will pique some people’s interest.
I can just imagine certain factions rooting for certain tribes.
(Too bad they didn’t think to add a Deaf — and multicolored — tribe. I wonder what stereotype Rush would have come up for that one.)
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Why not write the letter to the “Survivor” producer about getting deaf contestants pit against hearing contestants????
I am kinda piqued to watch this upcoming Survivor broadcast with “race-theme” contest. At least, we need to look at ourselves real hard who and what we are all about.
I would be not really surprised to see some racial slurs toward each camp. What an entertainment is all about!
I probably end up rooting for the “African American” camp if they resort to intergity and worthy character. Or I would cheer for my own race. Who knows?
We, white people ought to stop apologizing for being white. We could not help being white, but we have to go for the real racial equality. Not just a token!
This “segeretated” Survivor show would teach us few things about ourselves who and what we are all about.
Anyone remmy the classic 50s film - “The Defiant One” with Tony Curtis and Sidney Poiter? It is about two escaped prisoners chained to each other, then fought for their own survival.
Hollywood haven’t made any social messages in latest films. We need more of them. We don’t need to whitewash any harsh messages for sake of political correctness.
RLM
Hey RLM, lighten up. Do you really have to write long comments on every single post? It’s getting annoying.
I get your message, ChillPill. I am not really good at the one-liner or punchline. Many thanks for pointing out this subject. I truly appreciate it very much.
Is race a taboo in our society that we cannot EVEN discuss or categorize people by race? Race is a distinct characteristic that defines us all. To deny this is patently absurd.
I think this is an intriguing concept and there is nothing wrong with doing this as long as there is no malicious intent. As long as the contestants are okay with it, then we shouldn’t have any quarrel with it.
I think the reaction out there is indicative of a typical liberal knee-jerk response. Some of us do not want to discuss race at all because it would reveal their own personal prejudices. Are we all too scared to confront ourselves?
Agreed, Christian.
And to deny people the opportunity to participate in something that others find appalling is… UnAmerican.
Christian and JT - ulp. Good points. Thank you for posting.
To answer Christian’s question, are we too scared? I admit I am. But not because I don’t want to deal with my own prejudices. I struggle with those everyday. It’s that I don’t want to risk seeing others’ too.
While I’m grateful you reminded us that we need to stay open to self-examination, I still say we’re risking some serious regression.
We already did some serious regression when they first introduced Jerry Springer to TV. :)
i have faith in the Survivor producers to have strict rules on respect and such for everyone on the show. in fact, it was said somewhere that the producers made sure each of their players were not racist. and IF there were problems, i’m sure the producers took actions to fix them.
after all, there wasn’t a lot of complaints when Survivor had the men vs women teams few seasons ago, nor when they had separate tribes of young and old last season.
i, for one, am looking forward to this season. :)
Interesting subject. I think you’re all correct. Why should we feel reluctant to discuss race? I think it’s because….*chuckles* I noticed that I hesitated in finishing this particular sentence because I wanted to ensure that my answers were presented carefully without being misinterpreted. It’s interesting that I become quickly wary when I want to discuss race because I don’t want to end up looking like a fool by making an ignorant remark. I guess I probably answered my own question :) I wonder if that describe how many others feel?
Well, here goes. I think in our country where the minority is becoming the majority, we will witness more racial discrimination and segregation among the races in the future. Why? I have heard and read that many people today feel that diversity and multiculturalism is being shoved down their throats and they have no choice but to swallow it, you know? In defense, they become more ethnocentric by fighting to preserve their own cultures and values from being assimilated. So that may partially explain Allison’s claim that we may be “regressing.” I think this is something that is not easily discussed because it may be against what America stands for – well, wait a minute. How do you define American culture, anyway? I hate when I shoot off to several directions at once.
Sorry for wandering off the point. Basically, I think the concept of the show –which race will “survive to become the fittest” – is another twist to endure the dying reality-TV phenomenon. So there.
I read this last week and have not been able to get it out of my mind ever since:
“I’m predicting that America will no longer be one nation but more like the Roman Empire–a conglomerate of races and cultures held together by a regime. The country I grew up in was culturally united, even if it was racially divided. We spoke the same language, had the same faith, laughed at the same comedians. We were one nationality. We’re ceasing to be that when you have hundreds of thousands of people who want to retain their own culture, their own language, their own loyalty. What do we have in common that makes us fellow Americans? Is it simply citizenship? Or is it blood, soil, history and heroes?”
To find out who said this, visit:
http://www.time.com/time/magaz.....98,00.html
So, with September 11th coming up… how can we truly define ourselves as one America? And in a smaller retrospect, how can our deaf/hh community ever truly unite?
Pat Buchanan makes Bill O’Wiley look liberal by comparison.
Thanks for the link - Buchanan has a point there and even though it may not be the direction that we want to go, but it’s probably inevitable.
I don’t plan to watch the show since I’m anti-reality-TV, but I’m curious if & how these different races would excel over the others. For example, would we witness one race being more athletic or more intelligent than the other races? Of course, I may be overgeneralizing here, but I know that there are some research, probably not concrete, that certain races possess higher levels of intelligence - whether it’s emotional, academic, or physical - over the others. Wonder if that was on the minds of the producers?
i seriously doubt that. each group (whether it be race, sexual orientation, gender, age, etc. etc.) has their athletes, performers, intellectuals. they also have their couch potatoes, backstabbers, and plain boring people.
it’s silly to judge a group of race based on survivor- and shouldn’t be attempted. especially when it’s only five people from each “race” making the whole research concept impossible (you need a lot more than 5 to represent a group of thousands).
i’m now thinking twice about this whole season, cuz the general public WILL analyze and make conclusions based on the groups’ performances. although, i’m still gonna watch it cuz i’m a die-hard survivor fan. w00t.