The Wake

The thirteenth season of Survivor will have its castaways battling more than just the dangers of the uncivilized world. They’re also taking on one of the heaviest burdens in American society: racism. Survivor: Cook Islands will initially divide 20 contestants into four racially segregated camps: a Caucasian camp, an African-American camp, a Latino camp, and an Asian-American camp, each competing for the grand prize of racial superiority.

Not that Survivor’s producers claim this to be the case. Host Jeff Probst, when interviewed on MSNBC, said that producers decided to segregate contestants by race because they noticed applicants had lots of “ethnic pride.” Likely, this is an excuse for creating a stunt to stir up ratings on a tired reality contest, although Probst would have us believe Survivor is spearheading a movement for racial equality in reality TV.

To date, Survivor has been a major force in popular culture. It is generally accepted as the watershed moment in the non-scripted TV revolution. It also offers decent social commentary, usually in the form of the contestants interactions (and not in the contests themselves, which are scripted by the producers). Previous seasons have divided camps by age and gender, but the best commentary has not arisen from these situations. It comes from moments in which, for instance, a female contestant questions a male contestant’s need to be the dominant tribal force. While this is fairly cliché social commentary, it isn’t bad for reality TV.

Survivor is particularly critical of America itself. During each season, a microcosm of the country is made when Americans conquer a deserted area and plant the best and worst of our values, our greed, the need for progress, selfishness, unity, hard work, and lust. In essence, it becomes a land devoid of the positives of modern society but complete with the ills. There is no electricity or running water, but the contestants act selfishly with a capitalistic fervor not generally present in those devoid of their basic needs. Now, Survivor’s producers have added race to the mix of drama-instigators.

Scripted television has been racialized for decades in terms of the target market. The vast majority of TV is aimed at middle-class white audiences, while there are select shows aimed at marginalized demographics. Fox has a reputation for a more white middle-class view base, while UPN has a history of catering in part to blacks. Reality TV, to date, has been devoid of such programs.

Of course there are reality TV shows about non-whites. Flavor of Love and Being Bobby Brown center around washed up entertainers Flavor Flav and Bobby Brown. These shows are not aimed at a black audience, however they tend to showcase moments with undertones of racial stereotypes. Mr. Flav’s date at a privately reserved Kentucky Fried Chicken, for instance, where he orders macaroni and cheese and coleslaw, or Mr. Brown’s insistence that he does not get DWIs but DWBs: “Driving While Bobby’s.” The fact that these shows are on VH1 and Bravo, respectively, only proves that they are aimed at white Americans. The same audience that watches Project Runway has Being Bobby Brown promoted to it.

Survivor: Cook Islands will not solve this problem, as it is instead likely to give further examples of racial differences both perceived and factual. Americans will watch it to judge the contestants by or against the social stereotypes about each race. As such, the sought-after middle class white demographic will eagerly anticipate a white victory, with the black camp surviving only on the white camp’s financial aid. The Asian-American camp being smart but not strong enough to survive, and the Hispanic camp scheming only to cross the border into the white camp where they will seek jobs that could go to the white survivors. Or, they will be flabbergasted to find out that these stereotypes are not reality when each race is pitted against each other for survival, proving that racism itself is only as real as the cat-fights on Road Rules. Either way, the producers of Survivor won’t care—as long as ratings are high.

Beginning Sept. 14, Survivor: Cook Islands will air Thursdays at 7 pm on channel 4.