Survivor: Cook Islands

[tarawhipped]

Okay, so the 13th installment of Survivor is premiering on Thursday, September 14th, and is generating a lot of buzz for it's newest twist. Each of the 4 teams of 5 contestants is composed of a different racial/ethnic group: African American, Asian American, Caucasian, and Hispanic. Several New York City officials, among others, are protesting the groupings as divisive, and bound to promote negative sterotypes.

I'm curious to see how others feel about this. My first reaction was that this is actually a good thing, since there will be more minorities represented than ever before. Also, until the merges occur, there won't be any question of "picking off the [insert minority here]." Of course, that thought was quickly followed up with a "the guys will just go back to trying to pick off the women," but since women have won just as much as men, that's probably my knee-jerk reaction to the inevitible boys-club alliance wrangling that irks me even if it's not always successful.

It's all about the ratings, of course, and what's better for ratings than a nice juicy controversy several weeks before showtime? I have to admit it's working though. I haven't been interested in Survivor since halfway through the 4th season, but I'll be tuning in.

-Cam

[seurat]

First off, I should say that I haven't watched Survivor regularly since the second series, and have seen only a few minutes each of the recent ones. So I wouldn't be watching this anyway. No, the new formula doesn't tempt me. It doesn't make me angry either, since it is so obviously a cheap ploy to get ratings. Which is what Burnett is paid to do, after all. So where's the harm?

Well, I just read Andrew Ryan's column on this in the Globe and Mail a few minutes ago, and this is how he ends up "But the real danger of Burnett's gimmick is that it could potentially usher in other unthinkable TV contests down the line. Gays against straights? Jews taking on ChrIstians? Rich versus poor? The door has been opened." That about covers it for me. The whole thing reminds of the SF that I used to read as a kid that predicted various horrible futures that awaited us if we took the wrong path. This is exactly the kind of show that I can see being watched in one of those precautionary stories. It doesn't give me a good feeling to see it being played out now for real. Just my two cents.

[tarawhipped]

Very valid point about "what's next?" seurat, and not something that occurred to me. I agree that it could get out of hand, though I for one would love to see a gay versus straight Survivor. The biggest problem would be in the 'casting,' since the producers obviously have control over who is on the show, and can either purposefully or unconsciously pick people who promote stereotypes. I lost interest due to the proliferation of people who you know the producers picked because they'd create drama and controversey.

I think that the main reason it doesn't bother me in this instance is because the show has always gotten flack for the lack of minorities on the show, and those who have participated have often felt ganged up on. With the initial tribes, that obviously won't be an issue. Whether or not people stay true to their initial groups or form new alliances after the various merges is what I'm interested in seeing.

Whatever happens, I'll be rooting for the cute chick, as always.
-Cam

[seurat]

Oh, even though I rarely watch I always hope the cute girl wins, that goes without saying. Of course they seem to pick a lot of annoying jerks among the male contestants anyway. (And a fair number of the females as well for that matter, which is one of the big reasons I stopped watching.)

If I had a little more faith in the people who run this show I would agree that a gay versus straight show could be fun and potentially a positive thing. But with this crew running the show I can't see it going well. I hope I'm wrong about this Survivor and that it turns out to be worth watching..