On September 14, CBS will premiere the 13th season of the inexplicably successful “reality TV” series, Survivor. The season will begin by separating the tribes (as the “teams” are called) according to race—Blacks, Whites, Asians and Latinos. Coverage on the BBC News website at http://news.bbc.co.uk indicates that the network claims it is addressing complaints of inadequate ethnic representation among the show’s contestants.
As a person of color, I am not surprised that the network executives, series producers, and program sponsors did not fully consider the implications of the show’s format. Although BBC quoted the network as acknowledging “the controversial nature of this format,” it seems pretty clear that they do not. So again, it is up to us, the Communities of Color, to give CBS the perspective it does not appear to possess.
SUGGESTED ACTION: You can take action by doing the following: Go to CBS’s website (www.cbs.com), click on Survivor Premiere, then Find out more, then Feedback. Send the network any message that you feel will be most effective in protesting the upcoming Premiere, and ask that they reconsider airing the show. If you would rather send a template protest, here is a suggestion that you can cut and paste into the Feedback form:
Dear CBS:
How exciting that the network will soon air the 13th “Survivor” season. I am looking forward to it, and I really hope to see someone who is [insert race here] win the money. Keep up the good work!
P.S. Here’s an idea for next season: I would like to see Jews versus Palestinians, or maybe Straights versus Gays. Another show that would be fun is Right to Lifers versus Pro Choice. Wouldn’t that be great?
TAKE ACTION; WRITE TO CBS TODAY!
August 25, 2006
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