# A racially divided Survivor? Are they fucking smoking crack? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 24, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968 "2006-08-24T00:12:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/61 "2006-08-24T15:50:15Z")
Oh. I don’t watch, so forgive my ignorance. Is there some other comparable show where participants get voted off/out? I recall that skit Dave Chappelle did, the spoof of the Real Life, where the lilly-white kid gets stuck in an appartment full of the “craziest niggas” the satirical producers could assemble. Miscengenation and knifings ensue, of course. But in that skit the residents also voted the white kid out, so maybe it’s not Real World either. Anyhoo, if it’s contestants, viewers, whatever, if one race dominates, you can safely bet the minority is getting the boot on that status alone. Segregate them, and the, uh \, more _legitimate_ criteria, like six-pack abs and D-cup breasts make all the wonderful difference. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/62 "2006-08-24T15:54:42Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > And your flat assertion that “survivor is a horrible show anyway” leaves a lot of room for discussion. > > Regardless, there’s no need to mention the other side of the equation. We **ALL**** INSTANTLY** see the other side of the equation. . .that pitting races against each other in contest brings up our country’s past that was not always understanding on the issue. > > We all fucking get it. We’ve all fucking got it since we were in third grade. > > Some of us are able to understand that this TV show has no effect on that and see it for what it’s worth: an obvious attempt to be a little controversial to draw viewers to a program that has lost some of it’s lustre. > > It’s a ZERO issue, but brats will whine. Yes, they will. So, you get it, but it’s a non-issue. Because, what? You’re tired about hearing that racism is bad? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/63 "2006-08-24T16:01:43Z")
An absolutely brilliant idea by the producers of Survivor. Their best gimmick yet. Network television shows are all about one thing-- selling eyeballs to advertisers. This Survivor incarnation well sell a LOT of those eyeballs. Having tribes or teams divided by race will bring them huge ratings, and then, when the heat gets turned up too high and the racism starts to get too strong on the island, they’ll simply choose new tribes NOT based on race to relieve the tension (“Billy and Willy hated each other and almost came to blows as competing members of the Black and White tribes. Now, we’ve secretly replaced their racism with a scaled-down nationalism by re-assigning them to the same tribe. Let’s see if they notice.” Hillarity ensues.) And the viewers will already be locked in for the season. FUCKING BRILLIANT! And all you folks crying “raciscm!” right now are just doing CBS’s promotion work for them! You are creating the buzz that will lead more viewers to the trough. Moo. Moo. Get back to the herd. We have everything under control. You’ll eat what we give you. Nothing to see here. Moooove along. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/64 "2006-08-24T16:19:22Z")
> [@pizzabrat](#): > > You’ve got to be a crack-addicted child-rapist not have any problems with this. Hey, I resent that - I haven’t raped any children. > [@](#): > > They’re not merely acknowledging racial backgrounds - they’re pitting teams representing races against each other for the American public to root for until they crown a winner. If you really knew what you were talking about instead of spewing monkey spunk out your ass, you’d know that the tribes will be merged later in the season, as they usually are. Secondly, Americans will root for the likeable people, and root against the dislikable people. Sure, the prejudiced bigots out there might root only for people of their color or race - but they’d do that anyway. Thirdly, the contestants vote each other off, not the public. But the bigger question is, why is having teams based on race worse (or better) than teams based on sex, or nationality, or place of birth, or hair length, or college education, or anything else? Again: the only reason people have a problem with this is because they want to put their heads in the sand and pretend that racial/ethnic differences don’t exist - because anything that suggests there are differences is racist! :rolleyes: Far be it from me to defend Survivor or other reality TV crap, but I fail to see why this is a story. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/65 "2006-08-24T16:22:22Z")
I started a thread about this over in CS. I don’t think it’s such a bad idea-- at least this will be the first Survivor where Whites aren’t the majoirty. If you watch Survivor, you’ll know that you have to have a good alliance to win, and these alliances often involve unusual pairings. And the division by race will only be for the first few days-- the 4 teams will be merged into 2 pretty quickly. Sometimes the merge is random, sometimes two team captains are appointed and they pick their teams. Maybe the next Survivor will be Gays against Straights. Gotta keep that gimmick fresh! ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/66 "2006-08-24T16:31:38Z")
> [@Dr. Drake](#): > > (I’m assuming the idea came from a white person who is desperately trying not to be racist in any way; you rarely see this sort of cluelessness in people who’ve had to live as racial minorities in America.) The only color that the producers of this show see is green. They aren’t trying to be PC. They aren’t trying to concoct a Sesame Street portrayal of race relations in America. They aren’t trying to be PC. They are trying to make money. I hope they don’t consciously try to stack any of the teams with certain character types. Its bad enough that we have to view the show through the lens of selective editing. Add on the influence of selection bias and it will be extra slimy. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/67 "2006-08-24T16:31:43Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > The only problem I _might_ see is that the white group would be at a disadvantage as to using their color as a rallying cry. I can see the other groups showing pride and solidarity in their heritage but for white people…it’s a third rail. Anything they say or do in that regard is just going to make them look like a bunch of “White Power” morons. Hopefully they just won’t go there. It’s a double standard, yes, but there’s a reason for that. The obvious answer is to have more than one white team. One team of Poles, one team of Italians, and one team of Irish, who will all die of skin cancer in episode three. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/68 "2006-08-24T16:54:48Z")
> [@threemae](#): > > According to the Associated Press, the next version of Survivor will begin with teams that have been divided between teams comprised by whites, hispanics, blacks, and asians. > > [http://www.realitytvwebsite.com/news082306d.html](http://www.realitytvwebsite.com/news082306d.html) > > Bloody fucking Christ, who exactly at CBS decided that this was a good idea? Literally separating teams along racial lines. > > I wasn’t going to watch this shit before, but who wants to organize a boycott of advertisers that pay for spots within this show? There are just so many ways to fuck this up, I can’t even start counting. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/69 "2006-08-24T17:20:26Z")
I don’t see anything more wrong with this than with any other way they divide initial teams. Thinking over other ‘reality’ shows we’ve had…men v women, college degree v no degree, family v family, etc etc etc. I didn’t hear anyone screaming misogyny over this last season of Hells Kitchen, why is this setup being decried as racism? Hell, even shows like Trading Spouses and Wife Swap uses the race, income, religion etc difference for their format and no one is yelling about that. In a way, I hope the people that are saying this will end the series are right. The quicker America gets off this reality show kick the better. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/70 "2006-08-24T17:31:53Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > And your flat assertion that “survivor is a horrible show anyway” leaves a lot of room for discussion. Try to see the difference: 1. Survivor is a horrible show. 2. Anybody who likes Survivor is an idiot. I hope you can see the difference. But I’m not holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@Lady\_of\_the\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lady_of_the_Lake)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/71 "2006-08-24T17:32:53Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > What if Survivor did a Nerd season: > > Trekkies, SCA’s, LoTr’s and ComicBookFans. This would be the best Survivor ever! I would so obsessively watch this! The only problem is…not enough females to mess with the nerds, though the SCA would have the largest numbers in that area I’d think. Hmmm…cut either the LOTr’s or the ComicBookFans and make the next group ‘CrazyYaoiFanGirls’ and we’d have more girls, plus lots of humor! Or maybe hard core Anime/Manga fans would also be a good change up. The fighting with the traditionalist ComicBookFans would \*\*so \*\*be on! ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/72 "2006-08-24T17:39:34Z")
Hmmm. You could put Catholics and Protestants on an island and let them compete… Survivor: Ireland! ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/73 "2006-08-24T17:42:49Z")
Heard today on the lead-in to The Current, a CBC Radio show: Next season, on Survivor: Montgomery: The show will be filmed entirely in black-and-white, and only those at the back of the bus may watch. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/74 "2006-08-24T18:02:11Z")
Europeans and Polynesian aboriginals match wits in a tropical island paradise for the Challenge of the Century! **Survivor: Hawaii!** ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/75 "2006-08-24T18:12:53Z")
Since no one seems to feel particularly strongly about the race component, I think this discussion would be more suitable for Cafe Society. Ha ha, just kidding! You minorities are so gullible! Wooo! ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/76 "2006-08-24T19:30:32Z")
> [@El Cid Viscoso](#): > > Ah, yes. Once again the indigenous peoples of the Americas are left out because in such a contest we would provide little scrutable drama and voluminous ass-kicking. And maybe you have too much pride to audition for Survivor in the first place 😉 I propose: Survivor : Middle East…oh, wait that one is still actually happening. How about Survivor : children. We could watch Lord of the Flies unfold in front of our very eyes! ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/77 "2006-08-24T19:33:44Z")
**Survivor: Rapa Nui!!** A bigger taste for adventure! (Kind of like Survivor meets the Iron Chef meets the Donner Party!) ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/78 "2006-08-24T21:51:45Z")
> [@Lamar Mundane](#): > > I heard the last one was the food challenge - Eating bologna sanwiches on Wonder bread. With the crusts cut off, because crusts are just gross. Ewwwww! Actually, you’re thinking of the second round of challenges: Bologna Sandwiches on wonder bread with mayonaise, fried chicken with collard greens, jalapeno peppers, and finally a hot dog eating contest. **John Mace** , they were actually going to include a multi-racial group of homosexuals on, but they were just to busy ruining the institution of marriage and the american way of life to be on the show. ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/79 "2006-08-24T23:10:35Z")
> [@Lady of the Lake](#): > > Hmmm…cut either the LOTr’s or the ComicBookFans and make the next group ‘CrazyYaoiFanGirls’ and we’d have more girls, plus lots of humor! Or maybe hard core Anime/Manga fans would also be a good change up. The fighting with the traditionalist ComicBookFans would \*\*so \*\*be on! The only problem with a geek survivor would be that they’d spend so much time maintaining their costumes in an environment that they were not meant to be worn in that they’d never get around to stuff like, say, finding food, and starve to death. Though I’d love to see how the guy dressed as Optimus Prime manages. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968/80 "2006-08-24T23:23:20Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > I think I’d probably get banned if I posted my suggested tribe names. Hmmm… The Yellow Fevers? The Ho Chi Wins? The Pure Bloods? The White Devils? Big Black Attack? The Art of Darkness? The Somber Arrows? The Itchy-Wawas? And then when they merge: White Flight and The Black Menace? Yan Can…Flan? The Pan-asian Persuasions? The Mighty Guerillas? The Ala-moes? :::d&r::: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-racially-divided-survivor-are-they-fucking-smoking-crack/369968.md?page=5)