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Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 6020
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 6:41 am: | 
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What are your thoughts on this?
New 'Survivor' A Race Among Races
Probst Reveals Contestants And Controversial Tribe Change
In just a couple of weeks, the new season of "Survivor" takes 20 castaways to the Cook Islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
The cast of 'Survivor: Cook Islands' will be divided into four tribes: African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic and White.
They will be split into four tribes, but how they will do that is guaranteed to be a talking point. For the 13th installment of the series, producers have yet another controversial way to begin the game: 20 people, four tribes — each divided by race.
Jeff Probst is back as host of "Survivor: Cook islands" and spoke with The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith about the controversial new season, which premieres Sept. 14 at 8pm ET on CBS.
Smith asked Probst whether the new way of dividing the "Survivor" contestants was a good idea for a reality show.
"Well, that's probably one of the reasons it will be interesting and controversial, maybe, as you say. I know, from where I sit, I found it to be one of the freshest ideas we've had going back to the beginning of this show in season one," said Probst.
Smith asked him if this new twist was taking the reality show too far.
"I think at first glance, when you just hear the idea, it could sound like a stunt. Especially with the way reality has gone, it wouldn't be unusual. But that's not what we're doing here. The idea for this actually came from the criticism that 'Survivor' was not ethnically diverse enough," he said. "Because, for whatever reason, we've always had a low number of minority applicants apply to the show. So we set out and said, 'Let's turn this criticism into creative for the show. I think it fits in perfectly with what 'Survivor' does — it is a social experiment. And this is adding another layer to that experiment, which is taking the show to a completely different level."
How did the new players react when they were told they would be divided by race?
"The reaction was mixed. (Contestant) Yuhl wasn't sure. Yuhl was concerned we were going to turn this into something that would show stereotypes and reinforce them," Probst said. "On the other hand, you have people like Rebecca, who said, 'I don't really care how you divide it because I know that I need a certain amount of people to be on my side to help me get through this.' Ultimately, to win this game, you're voting people out that are then on the jury that have to come back and vote for you. So, the person who wins is actually going to do the best job of merging with all different ethnicities."
Smith asked Probst if he thought the tribal divides would divide the viewing audience as well.
"I think it's very likely," he said. "In fact, our original idea was simply to have the most ethnically diverse group of people on TV. It wasn't until we got to casting and started noticing this theme of ethnic pride that you're alluding to. So, yes, I think it's very natural to assume that certain groups are going to have audience members rooting for them simply because they share ethnicity. At the end of the day, I think it will come down to what it always comes down to: who do I like?"
Probst announced the new crop of castaways and the tribes that they will be divided into:
African-American Tribe:
Make-up artist, Rebecca Borman, 34, from Laurelton, N.Y.
Jazz musician and recording artist Sekou Bunch, 45, of Los Angeles
Nursing student Stephannie Favor, 35, of Columbia, S.C.
Retail salesman Nathan Gonzalez, 26, of Los Angeles
Sundra Oakley, 31, an actress from Los Angeles
Asian-American Tribe:
Nail salon manager Anh-Tuan "Cao Boi" Bui (pronounced Cowboy), 42, from Christianburg, Va.
Attorney Becky Lee, 28, of Washington, D.C.
Management consultant Yul Kwon, 31, of San Mateo, Calif.
Real estate agent Jenny Guzon-Bae, 36, of Lake Forest, Ill.
Fashion Director Brad Virata, 29, of Los Angeles
Hispanic Tribe:
Heavy metal guitarist Billy Garcia, 36, of New York
Professional volleyball player J.P. Calderon, 30, of Marina Del Rey, Calif.
Police officer Cristina Coria, 35, of Los Angeles
Waiter Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth, 25, of Venice, Calif.
Technology risk consultant Cecilia Mansilla, 29, of Oakland, Calif.
White Tribe:
Copier salesman Adam Gentry, 28, of San Diego, Calif.
Writer-producer Jonathan Penner, 44, of Los Angeles
Boxer-waitress Parvati Shallow, 23, of Los Angeles
Performer-roller girl Jessica Smith, 27, of Chico, Calif.
Pre-med student Candice Woodcock, 23, of Fayetteville, N.C.
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melicious
Citizen
Username: Melicious
Post Number: 752
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 7:38 am: |
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Dear Lord!
...and some of the people they chose are so stereotypical - an Asian nail salon owner?
That's pretty danged bold!
I was "down" with the gender battle, but this...bad and wrong, as my toddler says. |
S.L.K. 2.0
Citizen
Username: Scrotisloknows
Post Number: 1890
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 8:05 am: |
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sounds new, interesting and most importantly, UN-PC...
So, that means I like the idea.... 
If the contestants don't have a problem with it, why should the viewers?
-SLK |
Brett
Citizen
Username: Bmalibashksa
Post Number: 2636
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 8:26 am: |
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I think a lot of the reality shows already do this., The last one I watched was Treasure hunters. They had an AA family, some Southies, some red necks, a Christian family, geeks, and Air Force. Dosen’t Big brother have the obligatory gay guy? Same with the Road rules?
Sure they aren’t different Races, but they were different Stereotypes. So instead of thinking that its race related, maybe it’s just breaking up some stereotypes?
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Glock 17
Citizen
Username: Glock17
Post Number: 1807
Registered: 7-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 8:37 am: |
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Actually melicious...i think they did a pretty decent job in NOT stereotyping races. |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 8150
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 9:05 am: |
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The first thought which occurred to me when I heard about this was who are they getting to try and out survive the humans? Dogs? Cats? Chickens? Martians? I can't wait until those teams come together once the game progresses to that point.
When I got further into the news story and discovered they were talking about EEO ethnic catagories, my next thought was how are they going to determine which team an individual is being placed on? Will they be doing DNA testing of the participants to make sure the highest percentage of their DNA characteristics matches those most frequently associated with a given "race"?
If you go back far enough, don't we all have a common ancestry? |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 9125
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 9:18 am: |
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What "back far enough"? I have several nieces and nephews with parents of different races. And some of their parents are different races, as well.
If one of the, say, black contestants has a mother who was, say, Dominican, but didn't identify that way and then the black team beats the Hispanic team at a task, is it cheating?
This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
Ratings must be pretty low. And yet, it's still not enough to induce me to watch it. The first season was enough. |
Parkbench87
Citizen
Username: Parkbench87
Post Number: 5299
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 9:25 am: |
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Stupid Idea, but since this is a reality show file it under the category of I don't give a Flying F*** |
melicious
Citizen
Username: Melicious
Post Number: 753
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 9:34 am: |
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glock - an ASIAN nail salon owner isn't stereotypical? i'm gonna go all out here and guess that the fashion director is gay (stereotype). how much whiter can you get than a copier salesman? an african american jazz musician seems kinda stereotypical to me, too. they may have included others on each team that aren't, but there are certainly people on each team who fit a stereotypical mold.
i didn't see treasure hunt, but i have seen other shows in which they tried to diversify the contestants - albeit in a heavy-handed way. they didn't pit contestants against each other, based on race.
on the other hand, at least their pushing the issue into the reality-show light.
joan - i would love to see them try to fit me on any team. i am a racial mish-mosh of the highest order - native american, anglo, eastern european jew, spaniard [one of the few people who could have been my own inquisitor]. hey, what about the native americans??? why no indiginous peoples? someone left the development party too soon...
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greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 9127
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 9:57 am: |
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Actually, I'd love to see an all-gay team. They'd have the best looking huts and sarongs on the island.... |
Just The Aunt
Supporter
Username: Auntof13
Post Number: 6021
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 12:06 pm: |
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I'm pretty surprised CBS is doing this. I did watch the first season, and bits and pieces of some of the others. Not sure if I'll actually wach this season. Greenie, did you know the first winner -Richard Hatch, is gay? |
Wendyn
Supporter
Username: Wendyn
Post Number: 3224
Registered: 9-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 12:24 pm: |
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So many questions...
Hispanic is a race?
Parvati Shallow is white?
There is a job market for roller girls?
What happened to the Jewish Tribe?
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melicious
Citizen
Username: Melicious
Post Number: 758
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 12:32 pm: |
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1) only to producers
2) I smell hippie parents
3) please note her performer/roller girl duel employement description
4) the 39-day starvation experience of Survivor is too reminiscent
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greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 9133
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 12:33 pm: |
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Gee, he was? |
Parkbench87
Citizen
Username: Parkbench87
Post Number: 5305
Registered: 7-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 12:40 pm: |
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Hatch was gay? Next thing you know we'll find out that Rock Hudson was also gay.
Anyway my money is on the Hispanic Tribe!!!! |
argon_smythe
Citizen
Username: Argon_smythe
Post Number: 908
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 1:27 pm: |
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Personally, I'm tired of manufactured faux "controversies" and of entertainment being "news."
Then again I don't consider television to be entertainment.
Oh maybe something better going on on another thread... click...
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Buttercup
Citizen
Username: Buttercup
Post Number: 114
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 4:14 pm: |
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Typical Hollywood sleaze. Next they'll pit "normal" people against those with down syndrome. |
Mayor McCheese
Supporter
Username: Mayor_mccheese
Post Number: 2192
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 4:20 pm: |
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Buttercup, I would pay to watch that. |
Mayor McCheese
Supporter
Username: Mayor_mccheese
Post Number: 2193
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 4:21 pm: |
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And I don't like the way you used the word normal. |
Buttercup
Citizen
Username: Buttercup
Post Number: 116
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 4:25 pm: |
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That's why I put it in quotes! Stop goading me, Cheddar-pickle-ketchup and beef buns! |
hch
Citizen
Username: Hch
Post Number: 364
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 4:36 pm: |
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Survivor has officially "jumped the shark." This is TV slang for when a show pulls a desperate stunt to improve ratings, referring to when Fonzie jumped over a shark on waterskies in Happy Days.
Whether it's PC or not, it will probably make for good TV. |
SO Ref
Citizen
Username: So_refugee
Post Number: 2128
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 4:41 pm: |
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Wendyn - the Jewish Tribe is producing the show. |
happyman
Citizen
Username: Happyman
Post Number: 464
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 5:46 pm: |
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SAD! TV stinks. |
argon_smythe
Citizen
Username: Argon_smythe
Post Number: 916
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, August 24, 2006 - 11:13 pm: |
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I always said Happy Days jumped the shark when Fonzie pulled that stunt. Now this. What's next?
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us2inFL
Citizen
Username: Us2innj
Post Number: 1497
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 5:36 am: |
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(....umm Argon, that is where the expression, website and now TV Guide owned magazine originated. If you always said it, you need to contact John Hyne and TV Guide, who recently bought the copyright for over a million dollars.)
I think the idea might prove interesting.
Check out the CBS.com website for Survivor. There are pictures of the 20 contestants across the top of the screen, but the first black contestant isn't until picture 14. (Me thinks someone is sending those subliminal messages.)
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melicious
Citizen
Username: Melicious
Post Number: 763
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 9:01 am: |
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Now see, I thought the end of any show was when someone had the "ratings desparation baby."
Maybe they could have the first survivor baby... |
Hank Zona
Supporter
Username: Hankzona
Post Number: 6138
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 9:16 am: |
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Ive never ever seen Survivor...Im guessing this will not make me break my streak. |
Project 37
Citizen
Username: Project37
Post Number: 313
Registered: 3-2006
| | Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 9:40 am: |
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So basically, a past-its-prime entertainment property pulled an obnoxious stunt to garner attention and make itself "relevant" again...
...and it worked! |
Mama Cloudy
Citizen
Username: Mamacloudy
Post Number: 35
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 10:35 am: |
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Melicious, I think the first Survivor baby is in the making. About over a year ago Survivor alumns Amber Brkich and Rob Mariano got married in a multi-million dollar wedding aired on (where else?) CBS!
That said, I think these "controversies" are nothing more than empty ratings efforts with no social science relevance. It's entertainment and nothing more. What you see in a reality show is a tenth of the material recorded -- edited to tell a story, create personalities and fabricate drama.
I can already imagine the requisite racial and cultural stereotypes that will surface this season... |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 8165
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 10:39 am: |
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Maybe not. They will have to wait for the ratings to come in.
I know about the old adage that there is no bad publicity but if viewers stop watching after the first episode or two or if there is a backlash, the program could lose what momentum it has left. |
argon_smythe
Citizen
Username: Argon_smythe
Post Number: 920
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 12:07 pm: |
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People aren't going to stop watching this train wreck. The only ones who aren't watching are the ones who don't watch. The rest can't take their eyes off the screen.
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Phenixrising
Citizen
Username: Phenixrising
Post Number: 1873
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 12:11 pm: |
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It's called… "we'll do anything for the ratings! This is being covered by the media, blogs et al and even MOL is talking 
Race-based ratings
(Aug 25, 2006)
In the world of entertainment television -- a world where the only thing that really matters is ratings -- the name of the game, literally, is survival. And what show could possibly be more interested in the topic than the CBS reality show called Survivor?
Survivor, which made its debut in 2000, typically pits teams of randomly selected participants against each other -- on remote, exotic islands -- in a season-long battle for skill-testing supremacy. The first year, the series finale drew 60 million viewers; this past season, Survivor averaged 17 million viewers per show, still strong but starting to slide a bit.
This fall, faced with the prospect of tougher Thursday competition from rival network ABC, CBS has tweaked Survivor a bit. The four teams -- the show calls them "tribes" -- will no longer be selected at random; instead, they will be built along racial lines -- blacks, Asian-Americans, Hispanics and whites -- with survival, presumably, going to the fittest, or perhaps the most telegenic.
Interesting. As our society becomes more multi-racial and integrated, Survivor wants to capitalize -- and build TV ratings -- on our differences. It wants some office water-cooler buzz. And it wants the ratings -- and the heightened advertising revenue -- that come with it. That's the essence of TV survival.
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greenthumb
Citizen
Username: Green_thumb
Post Number: 72
Registered: 5-2006
| | Posted on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 7:21 pm: |
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And next season's sequel will be "religious" tribes -- Muslims, Jews, Christians and atheists -- or is that too close to reality? |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 8185
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, August 26, 2006 - 7:28 pm: |
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It would be too hard to distinguish those tribes visually. More likely will see a tall tribe, a short tribe, an obese tribe and a skinny tribe. |
greenetree
Supporter
Username: Greenetree
Post Number: 9167
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, August 26, 2006 - 8:26 pm: |
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This is a pet peeve of mine - why should I have to choose a "body type" when I am not just one particular type.
This is the time of year that all the magazines are doing "How to Dress for Your Body Type" articles. Supposedly, we've come a long way from just the skinny girls. But the categories are always along the lines of: petite, tall, narrow, curvy. What if, like me, you are petite and curvy?
It's hard enough for me to figure out what pants I should wear, much less what tribe I should be in.....
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Debby
Citizen
Username: Debby
Post Number: 2394
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, August 26, 2006 - 8:38 pm: |
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That's easy...you're in the gay, white, curvy, petite, Jewish tribe.
(Now where do we put GMF?) |
Jersey_Boy
Citizen
Username: Jersey_boy
Post Number: 1717
Registered: 1-2006
| | Posted on Saturday, August 26, 2006 - 11:41 pm: |
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This may actually give people a chance to forget the stereotypes. Each tribe will have someone who is a leader, someone who is lazy, someone who is hard to get along with... someone who is unathletic.
Once one sees the diversity WITHIN a Racial group, the generalizations no longer apply.
Of course, I'll be rooting for the team with the best content of character, not based on the color of their skin.
Oops, I mean, I won't watch that crap!
J.B. |
Joan
Supporter
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 8189
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, August 27, 2006 - 6:24 am: |
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Greenetree: Debby is right. You would have at least five different tribes to qualify for.
The point is, given this kind of distinction between tribes, we would all have several different tribes we would qualify to enter, often several in a single set of episodes. The distinctions proposed for this year's season are at best artificial. |
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