http://www.comcast.net/entertainment/index.jsp?cat=ENTERTAINMENT&fn=/2006/08/24/462566.html&cvqh=itn_survivor



NYC Officials Want New 'Survivor' Pulled
By SARA KUGLER, Associated Press Writer
Thu Aug 24, 9:54 PM

NEW YORK - As CBS prepares to launch a new season of the hit reality show "Survivor," this time featuring teams divided by race, enraged city officials are saying it promotes divisiveness and are calling for the network to reconsider.

"The idea of having a battle of the races is preposterous," City Councilman John Liu said Thursday. "How could anybody be so desperate for ratings?"

For the first portion of the 13th season of "Survivor," which premieres Sept. 14, the contestants competing for the $1 million prize while stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific will be divided into four teams _ blacks, Asians, Latinos and whites.

Liu, who is Asian-American, said he was launching a campaign urging CBS to pull the show because it could encourage racial division and promote negative typecasts. He and a coalition of officials, including the council's black, Latino and Asian caucus, planned to rally at City Hall on Friday.

In a statement, CBS Entertainment, which is part of New York-based CBS Corp., defended the ethnic twist, saying it follows the show's tradition of introducing new creative elements and casting structures that reflect cultural and social issues.

"CBS fully recognizes the controversial nature of this format but has full confidence in the producers and their ability to produce the program in a responsible manner," the statement said. "'Survivor' is a program that is no stranger to controversy and has always answered its critics on the screen."

Last season, the show divided contestants into groups of older men, younger men, older women and younger women.

The show's host, Jeff Probst, said the network was aware this season's race ploy might offend viewers.

"It's very risky because you're bringing up a topic that is a hot button," he told asap, The Associated Press service for younger readers. "There's a history of segregation you can't ignore. It is part of our history.

"For that, it's much safer to say, 'No, let's just stick with things the way they are. Let's don't be the network to rock the boat. Let's not have "Survivor" try something new,'" he said. "But the biases from home can't affect you. This is an equal opportunity game."

I love the show with a passion but that IS kind of risky:yes :yes

Yay!!! Someone else thinks this idea is crap too.

Based on the other thread about this topic, I was beginning to think that snooniesmom and I were the only ones that found it absurd.


ETA: BUT, CBS wants people talking, and this is definately creating buzz. I'll bet you ratings this season will be higher than ever.

Nope, I find it absurd too ;) ...I agree with the article, who can be that desperate for ratings? That's all we need in this world, more ways to split the races up :no

I do not watch the show anyway.

I never watch Survivor...not my kind of show, but I will agree that dividing by race is asking for BIG trouble and I am glad that they reconsidered their original decision!!

I dont watch the show very much. But I would find it intresting to watch. However it is a very very risky move for CBS to do that could completely backfire onthem

i dont think they should do this. i dont watch it either but i really dont think they should be dividing the races up like that. they are asking for it.

The idea is not sitting well with me. They say they are "introducing new creative elements and casting structures that reflect cultural and social issues" but I'm thinking this may backfire on them by offending alot of people. I may watch to see where they go with this idea but I have a feeling I'm not going to like what I see and will just stop watching. Sad cause I enjoy the show and was looking forward to the new season.

I love survivor. My mommy got me hooked :lol I was a little stunned last time when they pitted older against younger for awhile. So I kinda figured this would be coming. Very risky move and I am not sure I like it. We are a nation of trying to teach that race isnt important. We all have skin, eat, breath etc. This, putting them against one another, is a bold move and 1 I am not 100% in agreement with. I doubt they will pull it tho

So let's approach the concept from this angle: If you're a clerk at a convenience store and you get robbed, how do you describe the robber, assuming he wasn't wearing a mask?

"Umm.. he had some hair... his eyes were blue and narrow, he had a flat nose.. "

Does that give you a clear picture? If it does, you can making a living doing police sketch art.

For the rest of us that found that description bland, we use what we know to describe, and classify, people.

We'll say, " He was a white male, blue eyes, blonde hair cropped close like the military, wearing a Hilfiger shirt and jeans, Tan Tim's on his feet and stood about 5' 4."

Based on this description, does the car this suspect drive have spinners on the rims or another after-market item such as neon lights, etc?

If you answered yes, which you probably did, you're guilty of profiling. We use these profiles to classify what we know. It doesn't make us racist, sexist, relegion-ist (is that a word?!), or anything else. Here's another example:

How do we know that potatoes go GREAT with a steak? When listing items for dinner, we'll say Steak and potatoes, corn, asparagus... So why not Strawberries? Why not grapefruit? Does this make us fruitist? No, it doesn't. It means that we prefer a vegetable with steak, and not a fruit.

The political correctness is going too far, IMO. People are pre-reacting to things now. People are getting offended about something that has nothing to do with their race, relegion or sex. We're offended FOR that group of people.

Like it or not, we ARE different. We come from different backgrounds, with different sets of moral standards. We LOOK different. This doesn't make any of us less human or less American. It makes us different from one another, which is what made this country great.

Rod it's not looking different from each other that makes us less human or less American...it's treating each other differently or as less than human BECAUSE we look different from each other. If society is looking so hard for equality and an end to racism, then we need to avoid - as I've said before - slapping an entertainment sticker on racial segregation. That is EXACTLY what the producers are doing, (and on a side note, it's going to earn them millions, I'm sure).


ETA: I'm sorry for the run on sentence, I hate it when I do that. Hopefully you understand what I was trying to say.

BUT..people signed up for the show..knowing how it was going to be..so if they don't have a problem..no one should..JMO..of course..i dont watch the show either:dunno

We don't know that they were told anything about what they were getting into, other than it was "Survivor".

Don't get me wrong here guys - I'm not saying I feel sorry specifically for these individuals playing Survivor. I don't feel sorry for anybody, it's not about feeling sorry for people. It's not about "oh the poor asians, they're going to get picked on" or whatever. My issue lies with BIG PICTURE and the societal ramifications of the decision to pit race against race and call it a money maker.

It just seems so morally corrupt to me.

Seems kind of strange to me.. :rolleyes

i dont think it was a wise move, but really, it isnt the end of the world either. I am not a fan of the show at all, I always think it is stupid. However, this might take the cake, I think the producers are making a poor moral decision, but it WILL get them ratings and that is their ultimate goal, so since you KNOW people had to willingly sign up, and I'm sure they knew the format, it might not be as totally distasteful as it sounds :dunno

It is obvious they are looking for a higher ratings angle and in doing this it is apparent they will get what they want. What I don't understand is why is this so controversial? By separating everyone this way isn't an indication that one race is better or worse than the other, or one is bad and the other good. What is so different about this than say the Little League World Series where these kids play other countries which each consist primarily of one race? Should they take all the Little League All Star winning teams and split them up randomly into different teams so we don't have one race pitted against another?

I've said my piece. If you don't get it then you don't get it. Some get it some don't...but I'm really tired of trying to explain something that seems so crystal clear to me :dunno

Moving on... :giggle

I have to say though that if it is like some years past the 4 groups doen't last but a few weeks anyway. it will go down to 2 teams pretty fast.

I love the show, but I hope they don't do something as stupid as that.

I think thats a very stupid move.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. There is NO reason for racial segregation in the year 2006. Entertainment or not I personally think it's repulsive.

This is where I get confused with the whole racial thing. This Survivor situation is considered wrong, immoral, repulsive, etc. Understandable under the circumstances. They are exploiting for the purpose of ratings. What I don't get is this is so wrong but yet it seems okay to have things such as Black Entertainment Television. Miss Black America, United Negro College Fund, Miss Phil-Am Pageants, etc ( I think you know what I am getting at) but there would be no way on this planet that white/caucasian could do the same thing just for caucasian's. White people nowadays could NEVER get away with that without being called racist. How is that races, other than white, can segregate themselves and that is not racist but if whites were to segregate themselves it would be racist? I just don't understand it all. I certainly don't want to offend, I just want to understand.

It is obvious they are looking for a higher ratings angle and in doing this it is apparent they will get what they want. What I don't understand is why is this so controversial? By separating everyone this way isn't an indication that one race is better or worse than the other, or one is bad and the other good. What is so different about this than say the Little League World Series where these kids play other countries which each consist primarily of one race? Should they take all the Little League All Star winning teams and split them up randomly into different teams so we don't have one race pitted against another?

Where did this come from? The people in Survivor are primarily Americans who live in a "melting-pot" type culture. What I think Becca and others are saying is that the show is saying that it is ok to segragate for the "right reasons" We have had wars, and riots and marches to get people to be equal and some dumb show says hey lets segregate you by the color of your skin because we want ratings. I would like to see more shows working on how to teach ignoramouses to work with everyone not just people who look like them.

This is where I get confused with the whole racial thing. This Survivor situation is considered wrong, immoral, repulsive, etc. Understandable under the circumstances. They are exploiting for the purpose of ratings. What I don't get is this is so wrong but yet it seems okay to have things such as Black Entertainment Television. Miss Black America, United Negro College Fund, Miss Phil-Am Pageants, etc ( I think you know what I am getting at) but there would be no way on this planet that white/caucasian could do the same thing just for caucasian's. White people nowadays could NEVER get away with that without being called racist. How is that races, other than white, can segregate themselves and that is not racist but if whites were to segregate themselves it would be racist? I just don't understand it all. I certainly don't want to offend, I just want to understand.

I 100% agree with you and for these reasons I do not watch channels shows that do such things.

i hate the show, but at the risk of starting a war on here its popular to have battle of the sexes--on the radio, t.v. and ppv arm wrestling or vollyball. if its going to make people tune in then they will do it. i'm not saying its right but if they can exploint woman and men because of the simple fact that they have penises and vaginas then why not group people based on their racial affiliations. its not stereotyping them its a fact same as it is that i'm a woman and my husband is a man.

i'm trying to play devil's advocate. so in summary if they can do battle of the sexes why not battle of the races as they are putting it?

This is where I get confused with the whole racial thing. This Survivor situation is considered wrong, immoral, repulsive, etc. Understandable under the circumstances. They are exploiting for the purpose of ratings. What I don't get is this is so wrong but yet it seems okay to have things such as Black Entertainment Television. Miss Black America, United Negro College Fund, Miss Phil-Am Pageants, etc ( I think you know what I am getting at) but there would be no way on this planet that white/caucasian could do the same thing just for caucasian's. White people nowadays could NEVER get away with that without being called racist. How is that races, other than white, can segregate themselves and that is not racist but if whites were to segregate themselves it would be racist? I just don't understand it all. I certainly don't want to offend, I just want to understand.


i agree completely and that's what the point of my post further down is about.

i hate the show, but at the risk of starting a war on here its popular to have battle of the sexes--on the radio, t.v. and ppv arm wrestling or vollyball. if its going to make people tune in then they will do it. i'm not saying its right but if they can exploint woman and men because of the simple fact that they have penises and vaginas then why not group people based on their racial affiliations. its not stereotyping them its a fact same as it is that i'm a woman and my husband is a man.

i'm trying to play devil's advocate. so in summary if they can do battle of the sexes why not battle of the races as they are putting it?

You are absolutely right. Survivor just pinned the sexes against each other and so did Hell's Kitchen. MTV had the Battle of the Sexes. Biggest Loser has done it, too.