Survivor: The Evolution Of Survivor

In the summer of 2000, Mark Burnett’s experimental reality show, Survivor aired on CBS and became a sleeper hit. Phrases such as rat “tasting like chicken,” and the dreaded “the tribe has spoken,” entered the American lexicon. Through watching and rewatching seasons of Survivor the evolution of Survivor over the last decade has shown how society has changed its view on race and other biases as well. Black players are no longer viewed as immediately lazy or angry, (Jeremy and Tasha from season thirty one, and Cydney, from season thirty two.) all three of them were respected in the game and the reason they all made to their final episodes of their respective seasons. However, in the realm of Survivor being white gives a visible enough advantage
“Here's one thing you don't want to be: a black person on a reality program. Nothing but bad news there. Don't do it. Don't apply. You're either going to get shamed something fierce, or you're going to get edited poorly. Stay home. Let the white folks make fools of themselves.” (Goodman 2001) This is when they only had two seasons to study. Goodman uses the example of Dr. Ramona “tastes like chicken” Gray. As soon as the very first cast of Survivor hit the beach, Ramona had a caught a cold and it hindered her until she was voted out on day twelve. Goodman seems a bit biased with his accusation of her being construed as lazy, “Never mind that Ramona -- research chemist with a master's degree in science from Howard University and a black belt in karate -- would later say that she had been sick and the editing unfairly made her appear to be the lazy one. The damage was done. The stigma attached.” That might be what the audience placed on her, but fifteen years later and with the thirty third season about to air, people don’t even remember most early season castaways let alone know that if Ramona from Borneo was lazy or not. It’s very peculiar to me that telling a certain group of people that it’s dangerous for them to sign up for a reality
Despite being in poor taste, Survivor for the thirteenth and fourteenth season had a diverse cast (Fiji was not separated by race, Sylvia Kwan, was deemed the leader of the cast and selected the two tribes on day one.) Obviously this seems like segregation on CBS’s part and not real diversity. However, the argument of the white tribe having an upper hand melts away. Mark Burnett, the director of Survivor and Jeff Probst, the host supported this ploy to have more diverse casts on the show. I think having less homogenous people will create more interesting television especially since Survivor is a nonfiction show. Burnett and Probst are the people who sign off on the castaways every year, they didn’t have to make a stand. They are the gatekeepers. “Gatekeepers, who are cultural leaders and institutions that mediate between cultural objects and their audiences.” (Kidd p.16 2014) The production let this happen because it was a stunt to get people talking about Survivor again. Even if this is maliciously put together, more people of color got to play Survivor not against the super majority of white. Also, in season six, nine, and twelve, the tribes were divided by gender and even more so in season twelve with the younger women tribe, older women tribe, younger men, older men. No one dropped their advertizing, nobody deemed Survivor a sexist