August 29, 2006
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TUESDAY POLITICSReality
shows have never been my cup of tea, especially ones that emphasize
physical attributes, so except for the first season’s splash I’ve paid
less than no attention to Survivor, but now they’ve gone and done
something political for sure. As far as I can make out, they got
desperate for ratings and used a Donald Trump idea rejection to split
the contestants into teams by race. This quote lifted out of a news article
gives some clues as to how controversial that decision is. I’ll be
interested to see what, if any, are the repercussions. Oh and here’s a nifty map of the scene of the crime.“The
black tribe consists of a jazz musician (the gangsta rapper was voted
off the island long before the cameras began rolling), a salesman, an
actress, a nursing student and a makeup artist.
The white tribe
fields a crew that includes a copier salesman, a waitress who boxes, a
roller girl, a writer and a pre-med student. It’s interesting that in
their own minds, they’re already the front-runners.
The Hispanic
tribe has the most interesting lineup, by far: a heavy metal guitarist,
a cop, a technology risk consultant, a waiter and a volleyball player.
Rush Limbaugh predicts that they’ll win because “they’ll do things
other people won’t do” and because “blacks can’t swim.”
Of course, if they do win, it will freak out America and lead to calls for even stricter immigration controls at the border.
The
Asian tribe is represented by a management consultant, a nail salon
manager, a real estate agent, a fashion director and a lawyer who
graduated from Pitt law school. Are they capable of doing the ruthless
things necessary to win “Survivor” even though such tactics would
embarrass their families forever? We’ll see.”
Deep Thought:
“The first time I ever tried to milk a cow at Grandpa’s farm, I didn’t
even know which end of the cow to milk! Then I guess I got even dumber,
because the next time I couldn’t even find the barn. Then the last
time, I just went out in the woods and lived, with no clothes.”
Today I am grateful for: Paper money
Guess the Movie:
“I know I’ve made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you
my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I’ve still
got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want
to help you.” Answer: 2001: A Space Odyssey,
1968.
Winner: RedHairedCelt. 
An Environmental Disaster Emerges on Lebanon Coast
Tons of heavy fuel oil, spilled into the sea during the battle with Israel, foul Lebanon — may reach Syria, Turkey
by Christopher Allbritton (Rest of article here.)
Comments (26)
I noticed that too and am not sure how I feel. I just hope it doesn’t result in any violence.
I’m not sure how I feel about this either. It’s a real slippery slope.
Yeah…seems they are going to take on one of the issues others have rejected. Seems they will market anything to make a reality buck these days. I’m kinda tired of the whole thing…my reality is quite enough!
controversial or not people are now watching what was a show with severely declining ratings. For them this was not politics it was money. And incredibly wise…
2001: A Space Odyssey. Interesting movie.
I don’t watch reality shows because they’re not reality. Besides, I’m too busy writing my own stories!
2001 wins it!
And I love your take on reality shows.
Is it really any more embarrassing than last season when they divided them up by gender and age? The older women couldn’t really compete all that well in the physical challenges. After the tribes are pitted against themselves when they have to vote someone out, and then merge, it will be game as usual, I suspect. It may surprise us in a good way.
I like strawberry14′s positive outlook. When I first heard this, I thought it was just plain stupid. I think I still feel that way. Just dumb. Not insulting. Not significant. Just dumb.
“Race” is a myth. Any conclusions drawn from this show will be meaningless. I just hope people realize that. In any case, I won’t be watching.
good job survivor.
i never thought it would actually make someone think
Thanks for stopping by.
M
Hah. Crazy television. They’ll stop at nothing, eh?
My opinion is that I really don’t think it’s that bad that they did this. They’ve separated people on shows like this by age and gender before so who cares if they separate them by race? It doesn’t mean anything anyway. And anyone who tries to conclude something socially significant from a reality show is an idiot anyway.
interesting comments you’ve gotten on this topic!! I have been a Survivor junkie from season 1…..yes, I admit it!! I think the whole uproar is pretty funny…..every season they have sorted folks out by different groupings and by the 3rd or 4th week they start merging “tribes”……I have yet to see a season where ethnic groups haven’t bonded together…..this actually will be the most diverse group yet….it’s usually mostly white folks playing the game…….and I was actually more offended last year when it was split to start by gender and age …. it ended up being what I thought was the best season yet. Who knows…….I can’t help but think the people the most upset have never watched the show to start with!
Wish they’d call it by some other name – - – survivors don’t have television crews and mentors with them.
I think TV is really stretching in order to get ratings. I watched Survivor the first couple seasons, but only once in a while now. But I must admit that I will be curious—at first anyway—to see how this goes. I can say that I hope they will rise above the race issue, but because of the way they like to choose controversial contestants, I doubt that will happen. I find it very sad!!
By doing this they ensure top ratings again. Thanks for subbing, come by and say hi ever so often.
Hi there! Thanks for stopping by my site!
Come on over again sometime!!!
Carrie
I think it’s gross. Michael Wilbon over in the Washington Post had a chat where this came up, and someone raised the point that people used to enjoy race-based competition. It was soo exciting to watch a white boxer take on a black boxer. We’re so beyond that, and this insults all of us. Also, there are way too few minorities on television. This is what we get? Gee, thanks, Hollywood.
I don’t like the survivor race division idea at all. We don’t need that sort of thing at all.
RYC: Thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy reading my posts = )
I keep yearning for the day when we forget all about race divisions. So this idea somewhat appals me. But it doesn’t seem worth making a fuss over. Yep, it’s about ratings. I don’t watch these shows, anyway.
Thank you so much for that information.
I actually like Survivor but it is getting old…. if you want to see a show to really rag on, watch “Pants Off Dance Off” I have a link to its website on my blog.
*sparkle
I believe I have already seen this on Mind of Mencia on comedy central. He called it the stereotype olympics.
I really like the set up of your posts! Especially the “I’m grateful” part.
This post is precisely why I do not watch television. Reality shows mainly. Except I did watch wife swap and found it quite amusing. Have a great day!
I lost interest in survivor a long time ago…but i think this is just a cheesy attempt to secure ratings..
I am actually thrilled about this season’s Survivor … and examples like the excerpt from the article ar the reason why. People don’t like to talk about race in America (especially white people). We like to believe racism ended a long time ago: “race isn’t a problem.” To believe otherwise would challenge our naive myth of the “land of opportunity” where anyone can live the American dream.
No doubt there are potential concerns and problems with this idea … but in my opinion, it’s going to force some people to talk about race and it’s going to underscore the reality of racial divisions in this country … many will turn away and ignore it … many will allow the show to reinforce (or betray) their ignorance–like Rush Limbaugh … but if it forces a few more people (again, especially white folks) to think more seriously about the ongoing problem of race and our responsibility in fixing it, then i say “bravo”
Thanks for dropping by my site …