I heard this on the radio today then I found it here.
What do people think.
Quote:
Fueled by critics who slammed its lack of diversity, CBS's Survivor has unveiled a new twist for its upcoming season: Contestants will be divided by ethnicity.
When it premieres Sept. 14, Survivor: Cook Islands will feature 20 castaways divided into four tribes: black, white, Asian and Latino.
"We're going to take some heat for it," says creator and executive producer Mark Burnett of the twist, which was announced Wednesday morning. "But it's a great cast."
For a show entering its 13th season with steady ratings but ebbing buzz, the decision could be a shot in the arm if it once again generates Survivor water-cooler chatter.
"Some people will think this is controversial. Others will think, 'What's the big deal?' " host Jeff Probst tells PEOPLE. "Either way, it's going to be very interesting."
Along with the usual real-estate agents and struggling actors, the cast of characters competing for the $1 million purse includes a heavy-metal guitarist, a female police officer who has been shot in the line of duty, a Vietnam War refugee who manages a nail salon and a gay fashion director for a denim company.
The segregated Survivor grew from an effort to diversify a show that has featured primarily white contestants (and winners – only two of the 12 winners have been minorities). "We've taken a lot of flack," says Burnett.
But Probst says the main reason for the Emmy-winning show's largely white complexion was a dearth of minority applicants. "Most of the people who apply are white," he says. "That's just a fact."
In response, the Survivor casting team scouted for a more diverse group of players everywhere from the Internet to audition tapes for another CBS show, The Amazing Race.
Until the tribes merge later in the season, the four teams will battle each other and, perhaps, racial stereotypes. "There are going to be people looking for stereotypes: Will this tribe be smarter than this tribe, or will this tribe be faster than this tribe?" says Probst. "That's why I think it's fun. But five people on a tribe do not represent an entire ethnic group."
Set in New Zealand's Cook Islands, the location of the famous mutiny on the HMS Bounty, this season features a pirate theme, including Tribal Councils held on an elaborate shipwreck set built into the rocky coastline of a local island.
Whether one ethnicity ends up plundering – or walking the plank – "This is a game that starts very even," says Probst. "Everybody starts the same way with the same materials and the same chance: a 1-in-20 shot at a million bucks."
They are trying to stir up controversy. It's wrong on any level to separate by race. Thats why we still see people as different because we are so separate. Once we come together and see that people all the same despite different cultures then it will be easier to get along. I say this from experience. I didn't encounter racial diversity until college. The only opinions i had of different races are what i saw on tv, in the movies. I really didn't know how to act. I kept myself separate. One day the guys on my dorm room floor invited me to eat with them and not wanting to come across as a snob i accepted. Not knowing how to act intially i just listened to their conversations. Once i saw that, even though our skin was a different color, our life experiences were the same. I discovered different music, food, and cultures because my mind was open to try to understand someone who looked different from me. I feel it's made me a better person. Now we take a step back with this bullshit. Let's teach our kids it's okay to separate by race, they do it on tv. What are they trying to find who the master race is? It wouldn't matter who won, it's still going to cause problems. Imagine the conversations that would take place in an office, in a school. "Hey, the *insert race* group won, they were better. Now in a office or school that's going to cause unnecessary tension because someone will fire back with a different opinion because their race has been insulted. "Oh you're trying to say *insert race* is a better race?" Can you see where this will lead? It will happen because the human race is stupid that way. When i look at someone i try not to look at them as a white person, as a black person, they are human. That's way i want people look at me, i'm just a man.
The disturbing thing is reality show sheep will still watch therefore they accomplish their goal,ratings. Racism disguised to look like entertainment. I've always felt *reality* shows are insult to human intelligence. Throw a camera on someone and call it entertainment. Oh. look a cooking show, a fat guy getting married, a house full of bad kids..etc. Give me a break. Throw a tv camera in a room and call it reality and now it's entertainment? What's next? Let's film a post office.Look at that guy, he's on the edge, oh no he's going for the rifle . The fucked up part is people would watch hoping for that too. Until people decide to stop watching this shit, they're going to keep feeding it to you.
Let me apologize in advance for the rant but i am truly disturbed by the fact that bullshit like this is being passed off as entertainment and i had to get that off my chest. I know it's just a tv show but the idiot box has major control over the mindless and the stupid. Propaganda can be a very powerful thing and this is saying racial separation is okay, it's all in fun. It's never okay on ANY level and that bothers me.
@Fazlez1
Where are you from or where did you grow up.
I knew someone would ask I live in Chicago which is considered to be the most racially segregated city in the US. I grew up on the south side and went to school on the west side which were (is) primarily black. There are certain parts of the city that are unsafe for people of different races. On the west side in certain places white people would be attacked because they're "out of their element" For me if i go in certain places i may be jumped or have the police called because i'm somewhere i shouldn't be. It's not as bad as it used to be when i was younger but still you can see and feel the dividing lines.
My High school had over 2000 students and there were at the time 2 white students. I knew one of them because no one would talk to him and he was in my class. I was considered smart so i was kind of an outcast myself so i befriended him. Because of this i've seen it done to a person of a different race and know how much it hurts. No girls would go out with him because he was white even though as people got to know him you couldn't help but like him. Peer pressure is a nasty bitch.
The college i went to was the Unversity of Illinois in Champaign which is a very good school. It was at the time 35000 students of which only maybe 1000 were black. The only way i got in was through the EOP program; Equal Opportunities Program. In other words they needed black students. Our grades weren't as good in high school so we had special classes that moved a little bit slower. In the dorms all of the black students ate at one table and i made the mistake of eating with the guys on my dorm floor first who were all white (with the exception of my roommate, go figure). By doing that i was now an outcast with the black students because i ate with white people. I was considered an "Oreo" black on the outside but white on the inside.
I could go on but i probably given out too much info as it is. I have a bad tendency to tell people too much about myself and sometimes it scares them. They look at me and go "Oookay, i'll talk to you later" Now i tell them, "Don't ask questions that you may not want the answers to, are you sure you want to know?" Maybe i should have warned you too I try to be real. What you see is what you get. i take pride in that. The only reason i'm telling you and everyone else who reads this is hopefully some sort of understanding will come from it. Racism has separated my city, it divided my college, it exists even within my own race. It has fucked up the world. Shit like that tv show can't and shouldn't be supported because it teaches and sends a really fucked up message.
I haven’t been to Chicago but I hear it can be a tough place. It is not so much like that here. altho in high school there is some racial segregation but you certainly don’t get labelled if you sit at the ‘wrong’ table.
People get jumped here but it is mostly because they were in a park or a school yard, some stupid place. No doubt it happens because of race but no where near like in the states. We are too busy trying to keep ourselves and our property safe from crack heads and heroin addicts.
I grew up in very ethnic neighbourhoods mostly indo-Canadian and Chinese. Growing up I think I was maybe one of 3 white kids in a class. I can’t say it made any difference. High school was %80 Chinese from Hong Kong. That was hard sometimes because they wouldn’t speak english and you be divided up into groups for projects and you didn’t know wtf was going on. Sometimes, you could lean over and ask a friend to translate. Lots of Chinese left Hong Kong just before it became communist and I think they mostly came to Vancouver. The other %20 was a mixed bad of Indo Canadian, white/jewish, middle eastern, black. Universities pretty much reflect the ethnicity of Vancouver with the exception of the one in the Fraser Valley (farm land) They are petty much white there. It is not a good uni.
I think it is cool you contributated more then a few lines.
I 've learned through out the years the only way to understand is ask questions and when someone asks you one answer honestly. If their mind is open they'll try to understand where you're coming from. If not they're not the type of person i want to hang with anyway. I want people to know why i feel so strongly about this too. I see the damage every day. At one time we had a Black mayor and some white politicians joined up in the city council and vetoed a lot of the things he tried to do for the city. It was a very bad time and caused even bigger racial rifts. Sometimes people don't know how bad something can turn out until they see it. I hope it's just me being the cynic that i am and i'm wrong. It me bothers too because it so insults the intelligence of people. Picture this meeting: "Our show is slacking off. People are starting to see this has no entertainment value. The scantily clad men and women aren't working anymore. What can we do? Oh. wait controversy attracts, that's what we need to do to get back in the news. No, it doesnt matter who is offended by it or what negative message it sends. The important thing people have to watch so we can get the advertising dollar." Of course like lemming to the sea people will follow. I think i have to let this go because i'm giving myself a headache
On a lighter note, i would have never figured anywhere in Canada to have a large Chinese population. I would like to visit Toronto one day. I remember seeing pictures when i was young and the place calls to me for some reason.
"I as a boy, I believed the saying the cure for pain was love
How would it be if you could see the world through my eyes?", 'Hide in your Shell' - Supertramp
Last edited by fazlez1 on Sun, 27th Aug 2006 00:06; edited 1 time in total
No i'm a Cubs fan. The first baseball game i ever went to was a Cubs game so i've been a fan ever since. I root for the Sox because they're a Chicago team but if i had my preference... That kind of goes along with what we're talking about here. The North side is supposed to Cubs fans and the Sox is supposed to White Sox. Why? I was happy when the Sox won the championship because it was for Chicago. Yes. i was envious it wasn't the Cubs but i was still happy. It bothers me now because everyone is dogging on them because they're not doing well right now. If you remember though the same thing happened last year until the playoffs then everybody jumped on the bandwagon.
"I as a boy, I believed the saying the cure for pain was love
How would it be if you could see the world through my eyes?", 'Hide in your Shell' - Supertramp
@fazlez1
Agreed about the news part. It is all about the money.
I talked to 2 friends today who are teachers (High school) and I asked where they see the racial tension here. In Coquitlam (suburb of Vancouver) They felt is mostly with Persian kids vr Korean kids. No problems with the kids born here, but a problem with those born in other countries. In Vancouver the city itself the East side has had some problems with Indo-canadian and the philippino’s.
Vancouver has a huge Chinese population. Not sure about Toronto. Vancouver is on the West Coast right above Seattle Wash. (2-3 hr drive maybe)
@On Topic
Sept 14 Survivor Cook Islands premiers. Tribes will be divided up into 4 different ethnic races. Just saw the first advertisement.
I see this as the wrong thing to do but it seems I might be supporting it anyway by watching some of it. Curiosity is a bad thing.
The only positive thing I saw in the article is that it might break down stereotypes on ethnicity and race. Second thought I don’t think it will. You want to break down ethnic/racial/religious stereotypes you work together as a team and not compete against each other.
The only positive thing I saw in the article is that it might break down stereotypes on ethnicity and race. Second thought I don’t think it will. You want to break down ethnic/racial/religious stereotypes you work together as a team and not compete against each other.
Exactly. The only way i was able to find out that sterotypes were indeed stereotypes was to actually meet people of different races and find out that i was wrong in believing what i saw on tv and in the movies. I hope everyone else can see through this smokescreen (yeah right ) and not watch the show.
One of the positive things that happened while i was in college was this, bear with me this may get kind of long: i didn't graduate from college. I went because i was expected to go therefore i didn't apply myself and was kicked out because of bad grades. I had a bad first semester and was placed on academic probation. The next two semesters were good, relaxed a little ,didn't meet probation, BAM! i'm out. Rather than go home to Chicago i stayed in Champaign leeching off of friends. I'd stay with this friend until they'd say time to move on and so forth. I had run out of friends and had no one to stay with so it was back to Chicago. My apartment lease ended a day early so my father couldn't come and pick me up so i had to wait outside my apartment with all my stuff. i then began o look at my life and depression bit me in the throat. I had no girlfriend, no money, no place to stay, got kicked out of college, blah blah blah oh woe is me . As the night went on it was beginning to get cold and of course i'm getting sleepy. I had to stay awake though to watch my stuff. Then it began to rain really hard. Now i feel like God has got a sniper rifle aimed at my head. I can't remember if i started crying or not, maybe i did but being a man i've probably repressed it. As i'm sitting there some guys are coming home and after talking to them they offer to let me stay in their apartment for the night. Now what would any normal male think when some strange guys make an offer like this. Do i need to say it? I didn't think so. Needless to say i refused the offer. As the night is going on it's getting colder, it's still raining and i'm getting more and more sleepy. I'm not getting wet because i'm under the parking portion of a townhouse but the water is getting closer and closer to my stuff. Later that night the guys came back and asked me again did i want to stay in their apartment for the evening. By now my tiredness and the cold has broken down my resistance of wanting to stay with strangers who may be, well you know. I tell them i have to watch my stuff. Don't worry about that we'll help take it up to our apartment, they say. I'm freaking out because strangers don't do that for people. Not only did they carry my stuff upstairs, they gave me my own bedroom, cooked me dinner and then carried my stuff downstairs in the morning. I found out they were from Pakistan and to this day when i start losing faith in humanity this comes back to mind somehow and it reminds not everyone is evil and self-seeking.
I'm sure you see my point in all of this. I had judged these guys without knowing them. They didn't judge me. They didn't see a cold, hungry, depressed (maybe crying but probably not. remember I'm a Man!! *pounds chest*) black man; they saw a human in need. If they can look past my race, why can't i do it as well? Why can't we all do it as well? *sarcasm on* Because tv tells you to be separate. As long as people are watching the commercials it's okay. As long as executives who have no creative talent get to keep their six-figure jobs it's okay. If it will keep people watching mindless dreck, there must be separation! *sarcasm off*
In closing i want to thank everyone who has read this so far for allowing me to share a little of my life and not calling me out to be a overly-sensitive, wussy girly man. I know that i am sometimes so if you choose to do so know i will not be offended. I will not cry (for i am a man). Hopefully you've found this to be entertaining and a learning experience as well. Can you believe i hate to type? When i need to make a point though i'll go on until you walk away or punch me in the mouth. I did say this would get kind of long didn't i? Anyway, they're showing 'The Fifth Element' on late night tv so i'm done.....for now.
"I as a boy, I believed the saying the cure for pain was love
How would it be if you could see the world through my eyes?", 'Hide in your Shell' - Supertramp
I seriously don't understand why people call this "racist" just because the teams aren't mixed together. Would you call nature a racist because there were no africans on Iceland? Segregation usually comes when people from different cultures got to live in the same city. An adopted guy from africa is more likley to live like the "normal" person in <insert country here> than an african who have lived there for a couple of years. Cultural differences divides. Culture can't be up-rooted.
Though, I agree fazlez that (If I understood you correctly) everyone's the same once you get rid of the cultural "sphere" around a person. But they can never be the same. We shouldn't try to get rid of culture since it's an evil necesserity.
Heh, am I the only one who think's it's gonna be hell if the white team wins? I don't anyone would say anything particular if one of the other one's wins, but to me it seems like a lot of people will rant about morality, racism and so on.
They are trying to stir up controversy. It's wrong on any level to separate by race. Thats why we still see people as different because we are so separate. Once we come together and see that people all the same despite different cultures then it will be easier to get along. I say this from experience. I didn't encounter racial diversity until college. The only opinions i had of different races are what i saw on tv, in the movies. I really didn't know how to act. I kept myself separate. One day the guys on my dorm room floor invited me to eat with them and not wanting to come across as a snob i accepted. Not knowing how to act intially i just listened to their conversations. Once i saw that, even though our skin was a different color, our life experiences were the same. I discovered different music, food, and cultures because my mind was open to try to understand someone who looked different from me. I feel it's made me a better person. Now we take a step back with this bullshit. Let's teach our kids it's okay to separate by race, they do it on tv. What are they trying to find who the master race is? It wouldn't matter who won, it's still going to cause problems. Imagine the conversations that would take place in an office, in a school. "Hey, the *insert race* group won, they were better. Now in a office or school that's going to cause unnecessary tension because someone will fire back with a different opinion because their race has been insulted. "Oh you're trying to say *insert race* is a better race?" Can you see where this will lead? It will happen because the human race is stupid that way. When i look at someone i try not to look at them as a white person, as a black person, they are human. That's way i want people look at me, i'm just a man.
The disturbing thing is reality show sheep will still watch therefore they accomplish their goal,ratings. Racism disguised to look like entertainment. I've always felt *reality* shows are insult to human intelligence. Throw a camera on someone and call it entertainment. Oh. look a cooking show, a fat guy getting married, a house full of bad kids..etc. Give me a break. Throw a tv camera in a room and call it reality and now it's entertainment? What's next? Let's film a post office.Look at that guy, he's on the edge, oh no he's going for the rifle . The fucked up part is people would watch hoping for that too. Until people decide to stop watching this shit, they're going to keep feeding it to you.
Let me apologize in advance for the rant but i am truly disturbed by the fact that bullshit like this is being passed off as entertainment and i had to get that off my chest. I know it's just a tv show but the idiot box has major control over the mindless and the stupid. Propaganda can be a very powerful thing and this is saying racial separation is okay, it's all in fun. It's never okay on ANY level and that bothers me.
nice post. i totally agree.
reality shows is the curse of the millenium and this new survivor show seems to be among the worse. my #1 hate show is extreme home make over, even though the competetion for being the worst reality show is fierce!
you guys, a point some of you are missing is that the game only STARTS out divided by race... once the numbers dwindle they will combine all into a single tribe. the winner is an individual, not a team
you guys, a point some of you are missing is that the game only STARTS out divided by race... once the numbers dwindle they will combine all into a single tribe. the winner is an individual, not a team
(not that it makes it any better )
That was a point I was going to make as well.
I see the teams not getting along with racial/ethnic tentions when the tribes to finially come together. I wonder with ethnic slurs will be used and by what team.
I seriously don't understand why people call this "racist" just because the teams aren't mixed together. Would you call nature a racist because there were no africans on Iceland? Segregation usually comes when people from different cultures got to live in the same city. An adopted guy from africa is more likley to live like the "normal" person in <insert country here> than an african who have lived there for a couple of years. Cultural differences divides. Culture can't be up-rooted.
Though, I agree fazlez that (If I understood you correctly) everyone's the same once you get rid of the cultural "sphere" around a person. But they can never be the same. We shouldn't try to get rid of culture since it's an evil necesserity.
Separation by races will always happen because there are different countries. No that's not racism. That's geography. The only reason i'm not in Switzerland is i can't get there on a daily basis. i would love to go. Survivor is racist because all of these people are on the same island trying to survive. maybe they'll only be separated for a day, a week, who knows? The point is, imagine a real scenario with people on a island. The only doctor is of a different race, the most capable builder is different from him, etc. Would the group unite and work as one to survive or would they separate and go their own way? I like to think they would work together to a common goal despite their differences. If i was on a desert island and needed medical attention, i wouldn't care if the doctor is a Martian. Survivor is separating them for the sake of entertainment. They said,'We know it's going to be controversial'. They are on the same island not located in different countries.
As far the cultural differences those will always be and personally i'm glad. Before i die i hope to visit Europe (specifically Switzerland and France) because of the cultural differences. I wonder what it's like to stay in a city with no skyscrapers (i stay on the 34th floor), I wonder about the history, i don't wonder about the food though . I don't really have that much adventure in me. The differences will always exist but the bad part arises when you treat someone differently because of that. I'm a black man who likes death metal and hockey and i'm shunned by my own race because of it. Imagine how they would treat someone with a different skin color. Just because a person doesn't eat what you eat, dress the way you dress, etc. that doesn't make it wrong. In short i'm for cultural diversity, just treat everyone the same despite of it. Try to learn more about different cultures you never know what you might like. For example look at how the mainstream has embraced Hip-Hop. In college i was inroduced to rock (Cheap Trick, Rush) and there's no going back. Now it's about Rollins Band, Soulfly, Tool, Slayer and pratically anything angry and dark. What can i say people tell me i'm a non-conformist, i like to think i'm just going with the flow and being myself.
"I as a boy, I believed the saying the cure for pain was love
How would it be if you could see the world through my eyes?", 'Hide in your Shell' - Supertramp
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. The fucked up part is people would watch hoping for that too. Until people decide to stop watching this shit, they're going to keep feeding it to you.
. As the night went on it was beginning to get cold and of course i'm getting sleepy. I had to stay awake though to watch my stuff. Then it began to rain really hard. Now i feel like God has got a sniper rifle aimed at my head. I can't remember if i started crying or not, maybe i did but being a man i've probably repressed it. As i'm sitting there some guys are coming home and after talking to them they offer to let me stay in their apartment for the night. Now what would any normal male think when some strange guys make an offer like this. Do i need to say it? I didn't think so. Needless to say i refused the offer. As the night is going on it's getting colder, it's still raining and i'm getting more and more sleepy. I'm not getting wet because i'm under the parking portion of a townhouse but the water is getting closer and closer to my stuff. Later that night the guys came back and asked me again did i want to stay in their apartment for the evening. By now my tiredness and the cold has broken down my resistance of wanting to stay with strangers who may be, well you know. I tell them i have to watch my stuff. Don't worry about that we'll help take it up to our apartment, they say. I'm freaking out because strangers don't do that for people. Not only did they carry my stuff upstairs, they gave me my own bedroom, cooked me dinner and then carried my stuff downstairs in the morning. I found out they were from Pakistan and to this day when i start losing faith in humanity this comes back to mind somehow and it reminds not everyone is evil and self-seeking.
)
