** OFFICIAL Survivor: Cook Islands Thread ** ‘Survivor’s’ new racial divide

[bicker]

From MSNBC:

Leave it to "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett to find the one thing you definitely didn't think he would do. As announced on this morning's "Early Show," the cast of the 13th "Survivor," set in the Cook Islands and scheduled to premiere Sept. 14, will initially square off in teams divided by race. That's right: the season will begin with a bloated cast of 20, and they will be divided into four tribes, which the show is calling the White Tribe, the African-American Tribe, the Asian-American Tribe and the Hispanic Tribe. If your reaction is "oof," you are not alone.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14482071/from/RS.4/

Gosh, I'm not sure how I feel about this. It does seem inflammatory, but Mark Burnett is renowned for doing the outrageous in an incredibly classy and respectful manner. If anyone can pull this off well, it's Mark Burnett. I think folks need to keep an open mind and see how it works out before making the kind of leaps of judgement the author of the linked article made.

 

[HLAuburn]

Interesting! I'll be watching! I'm sure they will have some "nice" explanation for doing it.

 

[airhead]

I just see it as different groups of people,no group better prepared than the other.

 

[Fishbone†]

What makes it any different than men vs women?? Street smarts vs book smarts?? Young vs old?? Average Joes vs models??

It's just another category, and if you're proud of who you are, I don't see the problem. If you're not, then life is going to be tough whether they televise things like this or not.

jmho

 

[Laurajean1014]

Let's wait and see......

 

[Disney1fan2002]

I'm not sure. Is this worse than him seperating men and women? He has done that in the past.(most recently) The seperation does not last long. men vs. woman lasted for only one tribal counsel.

Survivor has always had a select demographic of people. Black, Asian, old and gay.

All of these people are cast each season, so seperating them into their own tribes is just a variance to what is already happening on the show.

 

[tmt martins]

He was on our local channel today . Said going through the casting they all this ethnic pride coming out and decided to go with it.

 

[Jennasis]

Absolutely NO different than seperating them by age, sex etc. Can't wait for the season to kick off!

 

[helenabear]

Don't watch survivor and so I don't really care. But what happens if you are of Indian or some sort of Middle Eastern ancestry? They aren't Asian... technically Caucasian, non-Hispanic. Not seen as "white" though

Personally I think it is kind of stupid, but I haven't liked Survivor since the first season anyway.

 

[salmoneous]

I'm staying out of the racial side of this, but did you just say Mark "Let's starve people, make them eat bugs, and then see if we can get friends to turn on each other" Burnett is "classy" and "respectful"???

Man, I haven't wateched any Survivor in a few years, but it sounds like the show has sure changed A LOT.

 

[Devil_Dog99]

It's one thing how the contestants will act and react. It's another how the producers will edit and show it............................................................

 

[Sandy22]

Absolutely NO different than seperating them by age, sex etc. Can't wait for the season to kick off!

I agree!

 

[bicker]

Yup, that's what I said. It's a game, and while the contestants may or may not be classy and respectful, the way the producers present the program is.

 

[Disney=Love]

This really shouldn't be a big deal. Like people have been saying, no different than separating by gender or age. Hopefully there's no stereotyping or things like that.

 

[mill4023]

This really shouldn't be a big deal. Like people have been saying, no different than separating by gender or age. Hopefully there's no stereotyping or things like that.

Are you kidding? Of course it's different.
Stereotyping is the whole reason they are doing it. They expect people's stereotypes to come out in terms of which groups they think will be better at certain tasks. The only point in separating teams by race is to show (or at least ask the question of) racial differences.
I'm bothered by this and I'm not sure I want my kids watching it. They don't have those kind of racial stereotypes yet and I don't want them to have any reason to aquire them.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

Are you kidding? Of course it's different.
Stereotyping is the whole reason they are doing it. They expect people's stereotypes to come out in terms of which groups they think will be better at certain tasks. The only point in separating teams by race is to show (or at least ask the question of) racial differences.
I'm bothered by this and I'm not sure I want my kids watching it. They don't have those kind of racial stereotypes yet and I don't want them to have any reason to aquire them.

If you don't want your kids watching because of the racial divide, they will only miss the 1st 1 or 2 episodes. Last season, we thought we were going to see a "whole new game" when he put men and women in different tribes. It was for one whole week. Then the second week, the tribes got mingled.

Mark Burnett is known for throwing us a bone. He tells us it is a steak bone, and when we catch it, it's just a chicken bone.

 

[ckay87]

Are you kidding? Of course it's different.
Stereotyping is the whole reason they are doing it. They expect people's stereotypes to come out in terms of which groups they think will be better at certain tasks. The only point in separating teams by race is to show (or at least ask the question of) racial differences.
I'm bothered by this and I'm not sure I want my kids watching it. They don't have those kind of racial stereotypes yet and I don't want them to have any reason to aquire them.

Thank you - these are my thoughts exactly. This doesn't sit well with me at all. My kids never even noticed racial differences until - I dunno - over 5 years old. I believe DS was six at least when he first mentioned, "that brown boy in my class."

Separating people by skin color is so backwards it's beyond ridiculous, I don't care. Game or not, I had prayed we moved past that.

 

[CookieGVB]

I actually know a relative of one of them. She sort of hinted around about it, but never spilled the beans. How cool.

 

[Amy]

Are you kidding? Of course it's different.
Stereotyping is the whole reason they are doing it. They expect people's stereotypes to come out in terms of which groups they think will be better at certain tasks. The only point in separating teams by race is to show (or at least ask the question of) racial differences.
I'm bothered by this and I'm not sure I want my kids watching it. They don't have those kind of racial stereotypes yet and I don't want them to have any reason to aquire them.

Ah, but what if it works the opposite way? Suppose the stereotype of one race is that they're lazy, and yet that tribe on Survivor turns out to be the hardest working one there? Maybe this could cause some people to re-think their stereotypes.

 

[jgmklmhem]

People self segregate all the time. You have the African-American clubs in colleges all over the US and I am sure their are Asian-American and Hispanic ones as well. How is this segregation on a game show (entered by choice same as the clubs) any different then the self segregation that goes on in normal society. Part of me would want to have the large group of say 20 all together and with the same contestants and see if they do self segregate based on race,sex, education etc., but because it is a game I think we wouldn't necessarily see it as cleanly as we would without the pressures of the game involved.