Survivor Cook Island????

Question

What do you think of the upcoming Survivor teams being divided by races??? There will be 4 teams divided by races - Asian/American Tribe, African/American Tribe, White Tribe and Hispanic Tribe. They said on the Early Show today that this will be the most controversial Survivor so far and that even the players have mixed reactions to the way it has been set up.
Jeff Probst does believe that certain groups will maybe have the audience rooting for them because of their ethnicity but that in the end the audience will root for the one that is the best survivor. What do you think of this set up????

Yes Paige - they just announced it on the Early Show today - and Jeff was interviewed too. The staff at the show had very mixed feelings about how its set up as well but Jeff says they were always told there was not enough ethnic diversity on the show and then when they came down to casting - this idea just sort of evolved - so we will all have so see how it plays out.
The new season airs Sept 14.

Ok the answers have slowed down and I have had a chance to read the responses - yes I have read them ALL.

When I posted this question I did not expect such a response - but mind you I guess Yahoo must have put the question up with some Header that I did not see - because that Header (which I read in a few responses) was not mine. I posted the question because I am a Survivor fan and have watched since Season 1 - I personally thought this was a new and interesting twist to the show and have always watched it rooting for who I thought was the best *Player* - who outwitted, outsmarted, and outplayed the rest of them. I will be doing that while watching this new season as well but was curious to find out what people thought and guess I did.
To me - people are people no matter what colour your skin is or where you are from - we are all the same inside.............

http://www.survivorfever.net/s13_la_times_8_26.html

Opps the link above was suppose to be at the end

So with the new Survivor I will be looking at them as individuals and who is the best and will be rooting for that person - no matter what tribe they play on in the beginning before the merge.
When they say this is a *Social Experiment*...... I also wonder if this is maybe somewhat of an experiment for the Country?? If race really didn't matter in the grand scheme of things and everyone were all treated as equals (in an ideal society) - then why all the controversy??
Maybe we haven't come as far was we think we have if a simple game show can cause this much uproar.
The link I put there is just another opinion about how survivor works for those who haven't watched the show and its from a Survivor Site.
Hope I don't get blasted for my opinions - don't want to offend anyone here and don't mean too.
May the best Survivor win the GAME.
Thanks to all that answered.

Answer 1

I think its a great idea. There are so many people in this world that have stereotyped other races, and this might just open their eyes. My mom always told me people should be judged by their actions, not their color; and that there are good people in every race and there are bad people in every race. It will let folks see that there really are jerks in every nationality, and there are hard working, caring people in every nationality.
Lets all cheer on the best group, not by their race, but by their ability to come together and kick butt in challenges, and treat each other with respect. Im looking forward to it. Just hope they all keep their clothes on.
'Maybe some of the contestants will realize they are all Americans - without the racial definition in front of it and all human beings with dreams and ideals. God blessed all Americans, no matter what color, religion or sexual preference.

Answer 2

I will have to disagree with many of you on this issue. First of all, the players will probably only be divided into the tribes for one or two episodes. It is just not interesting to have tribes of four or less. Second, isn't it clear that this will break more racial lines than make them? The person that will ultimately win this game will have to cross the ratial borders and work with people of all of the races, as five people is simply not enough to carry one all the way through the game. Sure some stereotypes will come out, but this will all die down by about the third episode and it will be revealed that it doesn't matter what race you are when you're playing survivor. Third, as for the comments that the show will probably be shut off halfway through the season, Jeff Probst is ALREADY BACK from filming this season. This isn't like Big Brother, they are already done! WHY would CBS be promoting this season if it didn't work out and huge fights erupted between the races. It has obviously been tastefully done and shown to be good TV, or they would not be trying to give it so much popularity. History of Survivor has shown that no matter what twists they try to throw at the beginning of the season, the end of the show always ends up being an unpredictable battle to the end that had nothing to do with the beginning. I think Survivor is a great show, and if you don't think so then I suggest that you watch an ENTIRE season. It may not be the best show, but it for sure is one of the best and most intense games ever invented. So now you have my opinion, you can take it or leave it, but before you make a retort I ask that you try to guess what race I am. Can you?

Answer 3

I think I've picked an interesting time to be in an "Ethnicity in the Media" class at Colorado State. I will probably bring this up to the class.

Judging from looks alone, this is a racist concept. But then again, there could be a very different meaning to this. This may be more of a social experiment.

Being seperated at first probably will cause some psychological issues, perhaps the white person team will feel under a cloud of burden that they have to play nice while one member of the team might be like "competition is competition, I'm here to win."

In fact that is something I'm going to look for in this, I will watch the first episode to see how everything plays out at first. Maybe there is something along the way where one member of each team moves to another. And what would the tribal merge be like, will race still mean anything by then or will everyone be focused on their own immunity that one guy, the strongest has to be beat?

Maybe the underlying purpose of this is to see how we as a nation have come since the civil rights movement. Remember that it's the attitudes and personalities of the people involved that matter here, and it's their choice to either be tolerant or be ignorant. I think this is something to watch, let's try not to judge the concept before we know what it really ends up being about.

Answer 4

I think it's easy to say, if you've never been affected by racism or any other types of prejudices, that it's not a race thing! And if some of you believe that racism is not prevalent in today's society than you need a serious reality check! I don't know what the producer's motives were, but they were successful in getting everyone's attention. I've NEVER watched Survivor, but I must say I'm curious to see the direction they will take it this season. And you all that responded that you are not going watch it. Stop lying to yourselves, you will, just like every other person. Just think about the diverse audience CBS will pick up. How many blacks that never watched Survivor will watch it this time (I'm in that #)? Hispanics? Asians? I'm not really surprised that CBS would do this. Controversy breeds higher ratings! What more can a TV station ask for?? And I'm sure if someone (black, white, yellow,or brown) on the show "unintentionally" slips a racial slur it will be edited out! And why are we just singling out CBS? TV as a whole have sank to the bottom of the bottomless pit!! Moral, values, political correctness have been thrown out the window! This is a "reality" show. What type of standards do you all really have for something like this. My standards/expectations were low, I guess that's why I wasn't so disappointed! We spend to much time majoring in the minors!

Answer 5

Survivor is interesting because of the interactions between the cast. It shouldn't matter what their race or ethnicity is. Furthermore, the teams end up merging half way through the show, so it wouldn't be "segregated" for the whole show. In my business, employees often segregate themselves in the cafeteria by race, the Chinese at one table, African Americans at another etc.

If you've never watched the show, then you really shouldn't comment on what this implies. I think it will be interesting to see how these groups bond, and if alliances will hold any differently. I doubt it will make any difference to the game.

However, it certainly is getting the show a lot of attention! Some might call it shameful marketing. And perhaps that's all it is.

I'll reserve judgment until I see how it pans out, but if indeed they intentionally chose cast members that are not racist, then all this will prove is it makes no difference to the game. And if it makes not difference to the game, then great....we can enjoy watching the human dynamics - which is what "Survivor" is all about!

Answer 6

I'm not sure there's a right or wrong here. It's been a long time since the U.S. was a 'melting pot'...we're a chopped salad now, where the whole is tastier than the sum of the parts, but eat ingredient stands on it's own.

Last years Survivor was divided along gender AND age lines and I didn't hear anyone making a stink then. Like it or no, we are segmented by who we are, which includes gender, age, race, sexual orientation, religion, what we drive, whether or not we like broccolli...we're all just people.

At the end of the day (or the season) there's still only going to be one Survivor, and that fat padyday will be delivered devoid of any implication about a larger meaning about race. Furthermore, given the way people from all different walks of life seem to come together through communal suffering on the show, it make actually have a beneficial affect on race relations in this country.

Peace friends!
Big Sime

Answer 7

I suppose the PC answer would be that they should have a fifth, multi-racial group, and that if they did, that group would probably outperform the others. And if you did this hundreds of times and had a broad enough spectrum of tests, that would also be the correct answer.

But I suppose therein lies the point - Joe Louis didn't "disprove" Hitler's theories any more than Max Schmelling would have "proved" them. They were just two men, and these are just small groups of individual people.

And besides, very few people are anything close to "pure" in terms of race/ethnicity anyway. This is America - most of us are most accurately classified as mutts.

I think on one level, Americans are all racists, and on another, Americans are all non-racists, largely due to our self-interest, which means that deep down, almost none of us truly believe that an individual can be judged by his or her race. I myself make off-color remarks on occasion. But in practice I've been the opposite - when I practiced law on a large team I had my pick of paralegals and I picked the two best people for the job, one was black, the other a woman. In investing, I buy a stock that after hours of research I am sure is undervalued - a black or female CEO never enters the equation. I'm not sure I like Pepsi right now, for example - because of the growth of specialty drinks, the emphasis on healthier choices and the likelihood of further increases in corn products prices, which Pepsi will not be able to pass on. I could be wrong. Probably not though. And the color or gender of the CEO has nothing to do with it.

So, that's a "don't buy" on Pepsi (I rarely say "sell" - the whole market could go up).

As for the show, I wouldn't watch it either way - I'll be too busy watching Bloomberg.

Answer 8

There's a notion that in 2006 that the all knowing, all powerful, spreading democracy and equality to the rest of the world, United States, is supposed to be color blind. We don't always do as we teach. Just by the response to this the show , I would infer that we are not a color blind and civilized as we would like to think we are. Was surviving the hell during post hurricane Katrina the pre-casting call for the African-American team? Is this how the producers came up with this idea? Secondly, I see African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic American and then White-Americans. Why is it not European-American? White is a color not ethnicity. It is not tied to any land or historic value. The only people who truly came from here are what we call Native Americans. And why don't they have a team on the show? Whether we realize it our not, different races compete everyday for money. Next time you fill out an application for a job, scholarship,grant money or bank loan. There is a box to mark for RACE! Hopefully, this thing won't be over analyzed, and won't be blown all out of proportion. It is only reality TV, and we all know how "real" it is. Well, let's see how this works out. May the best person win!

Answer 9

Think of this a different way- if you're willing to give the benefit of the doubt, isn't the underlying message that all ethnic groups can be considered equal competitors? The way they set it up may inevitably point out the prejudices in others (the competitors, viewers) but as long as the producers of the show are above-board and fair in their structure for the competitions, isn't that VERY equal and race-neutral? Just setting up the teams ethnically doesn't show any prejudice whatsoever... just runs the risk of exposing America's dirty little secret- that WE the people can often be racist, even passively. The problem isn't that the producers are being racist (they haven't proven that yet)- the problem is they will likely expose US as being that way.

If there are slurs by competitors, or viewers, then how is that the fault of the Producers of the show? They have some control in editing, but at the same time, we want them to present a truthful story. Provided they stay above that sort of editorial partiality and only show the story from one perspective (and I almost guarantee they will, or risk a lawsuit or bad PR), then its really the competitors and viewers prejudices which will be exposed. If they chose competitors based on personality traits and prejudices to CREATE conflict, that would be terribly predatory. But just dividing the teams along ethnic lines doesn't show prejudice. If anything, it will expose prejudices for what they are- ignorant assumptions without merit, made by people who somehow feel inferior and need to justify their own superiority. And ultimately, proven unfounded by fair competition. And, likely, any personal prejudices by the competitors are going to affect their own ability to survive when faced with merging tribes at the end of the show. Ultimately, the message will probably be that prejudice is NOT rewarded, and working with others of different backgrounds and crossing those kind of boundaries IS rewarded. With a million bucks. Someone who is racist will NOT win.

It isn't the prejudices of the producers that are showing in the furor over team selection- its the fear that our own prejudices as a society are going to be exposed. Racism shouldn't be a dirty little secret- it should be open to discussion and brought into the light. If WE choose to watch it that way, that's exactly what this season of Survivor could do. The division along ethnic lines doesn't make this racist; how we all react to it will actually MAKE this a racial issue... or hopefully, not.

What makes this racist is the perception of the audience that the teams are somehow UNFAIR because they are racially divided. If we all assumed racial equality, its just another way to divide teams. A politically correct (and actually very racist) view would be to divide the teams equally- one of each ethnicity on the team. That "hides" our racism by being "fair"... every team is STUCK with a white guy, or BLESSED by an asian... that somehow makes it fair... and also implies an inequality amongst the races that means a team of racially similar people would somehow be at an advantage, or DISadvantage. How racist is that???

Answer 10

This goes both ways in good and bad. Yes. it's good to have diversity, but why diverse them in races. You could've done male and female. Plus there will be more tension between races then sexes. Example, what is people get too competitive and offend the other tribe. This can be a T.V. show then turn into a racial profiling war. And I guess they have forgotten about Native Americans, if they really want every race in this lovely America. Now some of you think some of us are overreacting. How will you feel if someone offended your race in anyway? This might not hurt you at all. But others have different ranges of sensitivity. And the first thing you say "don't watch it". This still may hurt others, knowing the fact that it's still on. Besides splitting them in different races, just split them with different races in each group for variety. Simple. Now this new idea will affect the ratings. Yes it will boost, because ppl are rooting for their race. Blah Blah. Then down the hill it will go when someone get offended. Lastly, what does this show prooves "Who race is better and dominates the other?" That's what it basically prooving. And get this straight we are all one race HUMAN BEINGS!!!!!!!!!! so no need to divide us. << just mix the lovely melting pot in each group. Simple peachy keen

Answer 11

Personally, as an African American I stopped watching survivor because of several reasons, but mainly because there wasn't enough diversity. This upcoming season may be interesting enough for me to give it a shot again. I don't think that using this type of format will cause too much concern as long as the game is played fairly and the network doesn't key on certain groups not getting along and then trying to make everything look racially motivated. No doubt there will be people who dislike one another, but don't just show an argument between a white and black person when earlier 2 white people were arguing with each other and it was edited out. Either way, I think it will be interesting.