August 27, 2006
Still Miles Away From The Promised Land
The concept behind the latest iteration of the Survivor series--segregating contestants on the basis of race--is one of the most repugnant ratings stunts in the history of mass media. Unfortunately, the show's producers are merely capitalizing on a disturbingly ominous cultural trend: it's acceptable to be a racist again, at least in the former CSA. For your consideration:
- Virginia Senator George Allen's bone-headed "macaca" remark directed at S.R. Sidarth, a Democratic operative who happened to be of Indian descent
- Tramm Hudson, a Florida congressional candidate, commenting that "blacks are not the greatest swimmers."
- A Baptist church in Mississippi that voted out a 12-year-boy who happened to be biracial because church leaders did not want his black relatives attending with him
- A white bus driver in Lousiana forcing black children to the back of the bus to make room for white students.
Whatever the reason, let's hope low ratings force CBS to make this season of Survivor the last. Hell, maybe the bad publicity will be sufficient to kill off the entire misbegotten genre of reality television. Except Amazing Race. That show is kind of cool.
Posted by wintermute2_0 at August 27, 2006 02:38 PM
Comments
Although I'm not exactly thrilled by the new format for the teams on Survivor, I think a lot of the criticism of it ignores the fact that in order to win the show, the contestants are going to have to play nice, because to win on Survivor you need the other contestants to vote for you. My guess is that the "storyline" of the season will go something like "wonderful person gets along with everyone, wins $1 million." Survivor, while not always what I'd call the classiest program, does have some savvy producers, and I'd be really surprised if they don't spin the race thing in a positive way in terms of the storylines on the show.
Of course, there's a reason the Amazing Race wins all the Emmys -- restraint. This season will feature a team of two Muslim-American buddies who seem to be cast in the "sympathetic favorites" role. And the producers aren't trying to turn it into a controversy to cash in.
Posted by: Ross at August 28, 2006 02:51 PM