Saturday, August 26, 2006
Finally
Now that CBS is giving us the opportunity to finally determine which races are superior, we can all relax. Or something.
For the first portion of the 13th season of "Survivor," which premieres Sept. 14, the contestants competing for the $1 million prize while stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific will be divided into four teams — blacks, Asians, Latinos and whites.
[New York City Councildude John Liu], who is Asian-American, said he was launching a campaign urging CBS to pull the show because it could encourage racial division and promote negative typecasts. He and a coalition of officials, including the council's black, Latino and Asian caucus, planned to rally at City Hall on Friday. Are we already at the 13th season? And where's the white caucus on the issue?
The show's host, Jeff Probst, said the network was aware this season's race ploy might offend viewers.
"It's very risky because you're bringing up a topic that is a hot button," he told The Associated Press service for younger readers. "There's a history of segregation you can't ignore. It is part of our history.
"For that, it's much safer to say, 'No, let's just stick with things the way they are. Let's don't be the network to rock the boat. Let's not have "Survivor" try something new,"' he said. "But the biases from home can't affect you. This is an equal opportunity game." Haha! They fucked up the nested quotes!
But seriously, while there is a history of segregation in this country, how does that somehow make doing it for some reality show "rocking the boat." Isn't that more like "treading the beaten path"? And, more importantly, the mere fact that such a history exists hardly makes doing this kind of show "awesome" or "challenging" or "illuminating" or whatever the hell they're selling it with.
"Los Angeles cops have a history of beating up black guys. Therefore, we'll have a show where a bunch of cops will beat up a bunch of black guys in Los Angeles. Sure, some people would object, but they're just angry that we're bringing up a real issue."
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