Survivor by Race

In case you missed it, last Thursday the 13th season of the hit reality show Survivor kicked off amid controversy in the media over the ways producers decided to divide the tribes this year. In the past, the tribes have been divided by everything from gender to age. This year, however, they are divided by race. The four tribes: Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American, each consist of five people of the same race.

Not only do I like the idea, but I think it is brilliant. I have no doubt that the ratings will soar. I have not watched a season of Survivor since season one, but I fully intend to watch this one. Why? Because I am interested to see how the different races perceive not only themselves, but the other races as well. It's like watching a sociology experiment. I still do not see what all of the critics are afraid of. When conservative talk show host, Rick Roberts in San Diego asked his listeners what they thought about it, I was shocked at their calls. Caller after caller talked about how the Black tribe would win all of the athletic challenges and the Asian tribes would win all of the mental challenges. By the time Rick was done taking callers, it was apparent to me why this was such a good idea.

Let’s face it, what people are worried about is that America is going to sit down and individuals will end up rooting for their race over the others. This is natural and will most likely happen, at first. People will always support those with whom they have things in common. The interesting twist is that as the show goes on, people will inevitably find that they have more in common with some members of the other races than those from their own. As we get to know the different personalities, race becomes less and less of a factor. It may help America to come to terms with the stereotypes, conscious and unconscious, that they have about race. As the tribes grow smaller and begin to integrate, I think most Americans may be surprised to find that the person they're rooting for in the end isn't the person they were rooting for at the beginning.

All in all, whether you learn something about yourself or about race in America from this season's Survivor, it will still be entertaining, and that's reason enough for this guy to watch!