Silas is a cutie. Ethan is okay. But Brandon…mmmmm…
Unfortunately, I think he plays for the other team (yes, I am basing that on certain mannerisms he has that are typical stereotypes, but I still think I’m right). Oh well.
Apparently I missed the “racist” comments by Tom. I must have been trying too hard to remember all their names. I don’t have it on tape, so I can’t watch it again. But if you guys say so… I’ll have to keep an eye on him. Maybe I had him confused with someone else?
There are two Kims? WTF? Like I’m not having enough damn trouble keeping their names straight!
Anyone notice that most of the people are in their 40s? Is this a clue of some sort? Is it because thats the age group of most of the people who watch it? Or do they just like to see people in their 40’s get skinny?
Interesting age groupings.
Only one who is in his 30’s (Lex), one in her 50’s (Kim J.), and two early 20’s (Kelly and Silas). The rest seem evenly split between late 20’s and 40’s.
Libertarian, you should join David B’s mailing list. Then you get links to current articles mailed right to you.
Of course, I agree with Kinsey about joining the mailing list.
Oh, and just because you knew I couldn’t only write about reality TV and ignore psychics and the like, an article will appear on Tuesday that discusses a combination of the two. People on my e-mail list already got a direct link to it, so I’ll post it here as well: ‘Psychic’ TV Predictions Provide No Insight
Does anyone else think Survivor is edging into some pretty racist territory? I think virtually everyone would agree that the show’s producers deliberately edit their raw footage to create plotlines and character traits. And they’ve admitted they cast contestants to fill certain demographic roles. And now, following in the steps of Gervase and Nick (Brown), we have Clarence (Black).
All three were young black men. All three had their size and physically prowness showcased but you never saw their intelligence mentioned. (Nick Brown, for example, was a Harvard law student and an Army officer, but on the show more mention was made of his career as a male model.) And all three of them have been portrayed in an unfavourable (and moreover stereotypical) light. I didn’t watch the early episodes of Survivor I, but my understanding is that emphasis was made of Gervase’s laziness. Laziness was also the main trait Nick was remembered for. Clarence, on the other hand, has acquired an early reputation for being untrustworthy. This year Survivor apparently has decided to even plant a racist into the tribe to lead the charge against Clarence.
After going three for three, you have to start wondering if the show is doing this intentionally. Do they think they’ll appeal to a white audience by showcasing anti-black stereotypes?
I think that’s a big stretch. It would be suicidal for CBS to do that. I think it’s nothing but a coincidence. Gervaise was lazy. So was Nick. And Clarence did steal the cherry and the beans. They all have only themselves to blame, as far as I’m concerned.
But I do think that CBS itself (or rather, the producers) noticed this as well, and that’s probably why they played up the old farmer’s apparent flirtation with racism. If anything, that created a bit of mitigating sympathy for Clarence. But he’s still a sneak and a thief. It has nothing to do with his perceived “race”.
(And I still don’t have the e-mail confirmation. Discrimination against American Indians, David? ;))
Plus, let’s not forget the female African Americans. Alicia was strong, a leader and a scheming player (which is a GOOD thing in Survivor). The black lady (also affiliated with Harvard) is already showing a keen wit. I don’t know much about Ramona.
Okay, Munch, I signed up for your team at the Survivor Pick’Em on Yahoo. Here’s hoping I don’t screw up and make our team look bad. In case anyone is curious, my handle over there is “Jeannie” thus showing off my vast creativity.
Oh, I don’t know about her (Is she Linda?).
She was getting mad that some other people made jokes about her “Mother Africa.” They were walking somewhere and one of the girls joked about the “killer giraffes.” I didn’t catch all of the conversation, but I think they had been talking about the dangerous wildlife in the area.
She may be intelligent, but I think she needs to lighten up a bit.
Yes, you’re right, she is seemingly being painted as an academic, but one impression I got (from her little “Mother Africa” speech) is that she is sort of an earth-mother type, there just to commune with her native Motherland. She won’t get far with that type of attitude, IMO.
I think it was in one of David B’s articles about Survivor 2, that the ones who read survival books were usually among the first ones to leave, while the ones who read books about war and strategy and plotting were the winners.
Right, David?
I agree. I think the publicity given to the wilderness survival angle of the show obscures the real challenge. Face facts; no one’s going to die out there. If they run out of rice, Jeff will bring them some more; if they burn themselves, a doctor shows up within minutes.
But fifteen out of the sixteen contestants will not be around to collect the big check. So the real key isn’t surviving the wilderness, it’s outpoliticking your opponents. Or, if you can’t do that, winning a lot of immunity challenges.
I just read the new issue of Us Weekly where they profile the contestants and give odds on their winning. I’d like to know how they made book. Kim J, who I pick as the most vulnerable player, is 8-1 while Ethan, who has no apparent liabilities, is 20-1. The other odds are:
Boran
Diane 25-1 (good call)
Lex 15-1
Kelly 12-1
Clarence 5-1 (Clarence is the favorite on his team?)
Jessie 8-1
Tom 15-1
Samburu
Carl 7-1
Teresa 10-1
Brandon 20-1
Silas 6-1
Lindsey 25-1 (there’s a rumor she leaves the show for medical reasons)
Kim P 10-1
Frank 15-1
Linda 4-1
My pick for week two? Because Silas was prominently featured in the preview, I’m going to guess Samburu will have to vote someone off (there’s no point in building tension up over a contestant who won’t be at risk). Lindsey’s injury supposedly occured later in the show, so I’ll go with the odds and pick Brandon as the next to go.
What’s this about Lindsey getting injured? I haven’t been able to turn anything up at any of the Survivor rumor sites (not that I’m good at finding such things).
