Survivor Twist?
#51
DVD Talk Hero
The "latino" in the red shirt with black sleeves looks like a white dude.
and the guy next to him with the skull t-shirt looks like he was pulled directly from the set of HBO's Oz.
and the guy next to him with the skull t-shirt looks like he was pulled directly from the set of HBO's Oz.
#55
DVD Talk Hero
What's next: Middle-Eastern, Indian, American Indian, Jews?
Or the all-religion edition of Survivor: Baptists, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, etc.?
Or gays vs. straights?
Or rich vs. poor?
Or dumb vs. smart?
Or the all-religion edition of Survivor: Baptists, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, etc.?
Or gays vs. straights?
Or rich vs. poor?
Or dumb vs. smart?
Last edited by Patman; 08-23-06 at 09:54 PM.
#56
Originally Posted by Patman
What's next: Middle-Eastern, Indian, American Indian, Jews?
Or the all-religion edition of Survivor: Baptists, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, etc.?
Or gays vs. straights?
Or rich vs. poor?
Or dumb vs. smart?
Or the all-religion edition of Survivor: Baptists, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, etc.?
Or gays vs. straights?
Or rich vs. poor?
Or dumb vs. smart?
#58
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
The black is a better athlete because he's been bred to be that way. During slave trading, the slave owner would breed his big woman so that he would have a big, black kid, see. That's where it all started. -jimmy "the greek" snyder
#61
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Wichita, KS
Posts: 7,317
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by magiccmom
oooh, these threads are gonna be interesting!
#62
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Originally Posted by the big train
Do they think all of us actually liked Courtney???
Probably. I couldnt stand her though. This girl seemed much cuter until I saw a bigger pic. Now I'm using my right to change my mind. I am now undecided. None of the ladies look particularly stunning. I'll have to see them in motion.
#63
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Originally Posted by waporvare
The black is a better athlete because he's been bred to be that way. During slave trading, the slave owner would breed his big woman so that he would have a big, black kid, see. That's where it all started. -jimmy "the greek" snyder
#64
DVD Talk Legend
Since I'm a Jew, I'm hoping they will have a Jewish team next time around, although the only way they could win is if they start having competitions such as "balancing a check book".
#66
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
Originally Posted by Howiefan
Jonathan Penner from the white tribe was on Arrested Developpment playing Detective Fellows:
#68
Needs to contact a mod about multiple accounts
Originally Posted by TyroneJordan
Are the producers aware that this show will only reinforce prejudice and increase racist thoughts?
#71
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,575
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by TyroneJordan
Are the producers aware that this show will only reinforce prejudice and increase racist thoughts?
Here's another viewpoint from author Martin Dugard's blog:
"Another afternoon highlight was watching an MSNBC debate about the upcoming Survivor, which breaks the tribes down by race. Having worked and lived on the first Survivor Island for six weeks, I still have a soft spot in my heart for the show. I think the race thing is an act of genius on Mark Burnett's part. For some strange reason, I have the gut feeling this will actually break down more stereotypes than most people think."
#73
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Earth
Posts: 2,049
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
From the Washington Post :
When the stunning news broke early yesterday that CBS would divide contestants on the next "Survivor" into four tribes based on race, we anxiously watched the traditional unveiling of the contestants on the network's "Early Show" because we had money riding on how fast "Survivor" host Jeff Probst would work the phrase "social experiment" into the interview.
"Survivor" executive producer Mark Burnett has been able to keep the reality series afloat for six years with stunts like pitting an all-male team against an all-female team. But a ratings plunge like the one the show suffered this past spring in its 12th edition -- fumbling nearly one-quarter of its audience compared with just two springs back -- called for something far more incendiary. Something that would whip the press into a frenzy amounting to millions of dollars worth of free publicity. Something "The Real Beverly Hillbillies" big -- something "Amish in the City" big.
So yesterday, on CBS's morning infotainment program, the network announced that for "Survivor: Cook Islands," which debuts next month, 20 contestants would be divided into the White Tribe, the African American Tribe, the Asian American Tribe and the Hispanic Tribe.
We'll pause here to give you time to re-hinge your jaw.
"The Early Show" was the perfect venue for a discussion about the "Survivor" cast's racial divide -- on-air talent for the CBS News program having been carefully selected nearly four years ago when "Early Show" was relaunched to include White Guy Father Figure Harry Smith, African American Chick Rene Syler, Asian American Chick Julie Chen and White Chick Hannah Storm.
About 15 minutes before the interview, "The Early Show's" ethnically diverse On-Air Gang took it outside the studio to see what the Common Folk thought of the shocking development:
"Now I'm just going to take this out into the crowd for a second because, the big twist . . . they're going to divide the tribes into race this time," Smith told the ethnically diverse gathering of Common Folk. Smith sought out one member of the Common Folk to speak for the crowd. He zoomed in on -- a white guy.
"What's your reaction to that?" Smith asked White Guy.
"Should be pretty interesting," White Guy responded.
"That's a safe answer," Chen said off camera.
"I'll tell you what -- that's a very safe answer and it's not a safe bet that this isn't going to cause a lot of buzz today, because this is the first that this word is out!" Smith shot back.
"I'm glad you asked him and not us ," said Syler, who was standing to the side with Chen. "Because we want to keep our jobs -- we would like to keep our jobs!"
Apparently Syler never got that memo about Chen being the current wife of CBS CEO Leslie Moonves (who's white, since CBS likes to keep score).
Either that, or Syler's dumb as hair.
Naturally, the interview with white guy Jeff Probst was conducted by white guy Harry Smith, because you wouldn't want a conversation about the cynical dividing of reality-series contestants by race in an effort to spike sagging ratings to be conducted by a member of, you know, an ethnic minority.
Smith began by saying he was "stunned and quite frankly dismayed" at the news. "I don't know from where I sit that this sounds like a good idea for a reality show," he said, adding that around the coffee pot, "Early Show" staff "groaned" and expressed "feelings of 'this has gone too far' " when given the news.
Probst said the original idea was just to jam the cast full of minority contestants this go round, but then they learned about "ethnic pride."
"It wasn't until we got to casting and started noticing this theme of ethnic pride . . . that we started thinking, wow, if culture is still playing such a big part in these people's lives, that's our idea, let's divide them based on ethnicity."
But because the CBS News program was so chock-full of other important news stories -- the demise of blackboards in the classroom, to mention just one -- there simply wasn't time for the two white men to debate whether, say, people of Spanish extraction will really root for someone of Mexican heritage because in this country they're both called "Hispanic," or whether people of Chinese and Japanese backgrounds actually share the "ethnic pride" of one big happy Asian American family.
Smith did have time to ask Probst, "Is this just some sort of stunt just to draw attention?"
Probst denied categorically that it was a stunt. Then he told Smith to blame those who have been critical of the whiteness of past editions of "Survivor" -- one of the whitest reality shows on television -- for the decision to do a battle of the races this fall. Nice touch.
"We set out and said, 'Let's turn this criticism into "creative" for the show,' " Probst said, adding, "I think it fits in perfectly with what 'Survivor' does, which is . . . a social experiment, and this is adding another layer to that experiment."
One minute and 32 seconds.
"Survivor" executive producer Mark Burnett has been able to keep the reality series afloat for six years with stunts like pitting an all-male team against an all-female team. But a ratings plunge like the one the show suffered this past spring in its 12th edition -- fumbling nearly one-quarter of its audience compared with just two springs back -- called for something far more incendiary. Something that would whip the press into a frenzy amounting to millions of dollars worth of free publicity. Something "The Real Beverly Hillbillies" big -- something "Amish in the City" big.
So yesterday, on CBS's morning infotainment program, the network announced that for "Survivor: Cook Islands," which debuts next month, 20 contestants would be divided into the White Tribe, the African American Tribe, the Asian American Tribe and the Hispanic Tribe.
We'll pause here to give you time to re-hinge your jaw.
"The Early Show" was the perfect venue for a discussion about the "Survivor" cast's racial divide -- on-air talent for the CBS News program having been carefully selected nearly four years ago when "Early Show" was relaunched to include White Guy Father Figure Harry Smith, African American Chick Rene Syler, Asian American Chick Julie Chen and White Chick Hannah Storm.
About 15 minutes before the interview, "The Early Show's" ethnically diverse On-Air Gang took it outside the studio to see what the Common Folk thought of the shocking development:
"Now I'm just going to take this out into the crowd for a second because, the big twist . . . they're going to divide the tribes into race this time," Smith told the ethnically diverse gathering of Common Folk. Smith sought out one member of the Common Folk to speak for the crowd. He zoomed in on -- a white guy.
"What's your reaction to that?" Smith asked White Guy.
"Should be pretty interesting," White Guy responded.
"That's a safe answer," Chen said off camera.
"I'll tell you what -- that's a very safe answer and it's not a safe bet that this isn't going to cause a lot of buzz today, because this is the first that this word is out!" Smith shot back.
"I'm glad you asked him and not us ," said Syler, who was standing to the side with Chen. "Because we want to keep our jobs -- we would like to keep our jobs!"
Apparently Syler never got that memo about Chen being the current wife of CBS CEO Leslie Moonves (who's white, since CBS likes to keep score).
Either that, or Syler's dumb as hair.
Naturally, the interview with white guy Jeff Probst was conducted by white guy Harry Smith, because you wouldn't want a conversation about the cynical dividing of reality-series contestants by race in an effort to spike sagging ratings to be conducted by a member of, you know, an ethnic minority.
Smith began by saying he was "stunned and quite frankly dismayed" at the news. "I don't know from where I sit that this sounds like a good idea for a reality show," he said, adding that around the coffee pot, "Early Show" staff "groaned" and expressed "feelings of 'this has gone too far' " when given the news.
Probst said the original idea was just to jam the cast full of minority contestants this go round, but then they learned about "ethnic pride."
"It wasn't until we got to casting and started noticing this theme of ethnic pride . . . that we started thinking, wow, if culture is still playing such a big part in these people's lives, that's our idea, let's divide them based on ethnicity."
But because the CBS News program was so chock-full of other important news stories -- the demise of blackboards in the classroom, to mention just one -- there simply wasn't time for the two white men to debate whether, say, people of Spanish extraction will really root for someone of Mexican heritage because in this country they're both called "Hispanic," or whether people of Chinese and Japanese backgrounds actually share the "ethnic pride" of one big happy Asian American family.
Smith did have time to ask Probst, "Is this just some sort of stunt just to draw attention?"
Probst denied categorically that it was a stunt. Then he told Smith to blame those who have been critical of the whiteness of past editions of "Survivor" -- one of the whitest reality shows on television -- for the decision to do a battle of the races this fall. Nice touch.
"We set out and said, 'Let's turn this criticism into "creative" for the show,' " Probst said, adding, "I think it fits in perfectly with what 'Survivor' does, which is . . . a social experiment, and this is adding another layer to that experiment."
One minute and 32 seconds.
#74
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 578
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I can just imagine the meeting where this idea was born.
Mark Burnett: Survivor is getting stale. It needs something radical, something new. It needs a twist that will shake up the whole series. And I know what that twist is!
Staffer #1: Really, sir?
Mark Burnett: We separate the contestants into two groups, see ... but the twist is, one group is all men, and the others all women. Then we play up the battle of the sexes angle. Image the press we'll get! People will be talking about it all over the country at their water coolers ... What? Why are you all looking at me like that?
Staffer #1: We already did that, sir.
Mark Burnett: Really? When?
Staffer #1: Well, um....
Staffer #2: Every season. Every single season Jeff goes on about the "women's alliance" for a couple of episodes.
Mark Burnett: And it's dynamite, right?
Staffer #2: No, it usually fizzles out and comes to nothing
Mark Burnett: Hmmm, I guess I'll have to rethink this at little. Wait! I've got it! We'll make half of 'em old and half of them young. Play up the generation gap angle. Snotty kids versus their bossy elders, that sort of thing! Imagine the ... You're kidding! You don't mean we did that too?
Staffer #1: I'm afraid so, sir.
Staffer #2: Every. Single. Season.
Mark Burnett: OK, then how about one of the contestants is gay, but he hasn't told .... Really? You're sure? I had no idea we'd fallen into such a rut. Thank you for pointing this out to me. It's made me realize we need a completely new idea, not just a rehash of old ones. And I know what that idea is!
Staffer #1: Tell us, sir!
Mark Burnett: We take the contestants. But we don't divide them into two groups. No, we break 'em up into *four* groups, based on their *race.* Well?
Staffer #1: Brilliant, sir!
Staffer #2: I wonder whether that superhero show on the Sci Fi Channel is hiring.
Mark Burnett: Survivor is getting stale. It needs something radical, something new. It needs a twist that will shake up the whole series. And I know what that twist is!
Staffer #1: Really, sir?
Mark Burnett: We separate the contestants into two groups, see ... but the twist is, one group is all men, and the others all women. Then we play up the battle of the sexes angle. Image the press we'll get! People will be talking about it all over the country at their water coolers ... What? Why are you all looking at me like that?
Staffer #1: We already did that, sir.
Mark Burnett: Really? When?
Staffer #1: Well, um....
Staffer #2: Every season. Every single season Jeff goes on about the "women's alliance" for a couple of episodes.
Mark Burnett: And it's dynamite, right?
Staffer #2: No, it usually fizzles out and comes to nothing
Mark Burnett: Hmmm, I guess I'll have to rethink this at little. Wait! I've got it! We'll make half of 'em old and half of them young. Play up the generation gap angle. Snotty kids versus their bossy elders, that sort of thing! Imagine the ... You're kidding! You don't mean we did that too?
Staffer #1: I'm afraid so, sir.
Staffer #2: Every. Single. Season.
Mark Burnett: OK, then how about one of the contestants is gay, but he hasn't told .... Really? You're sure? I had no idea we'd fallen into such a rut. Thank you for pointing this out to me. It's made me realize we need a completely new idea, not just a rehash of old ones. And I know what that idea is!
Staffer #1: Tell us, sir!
Mark Burnett: We take the contestants. But we don't divide them into two groups. No, we break 'em up into *four* groups, based on their *race.* Well?
Staffer #1: Brilliant, sir!
Staffer #2: I wonder whether that superhero show on the Sci Fi Channel is hiring.