February 17, 2012

How to win "Survivor."

10 astutely crafted rules.

Are you watching the new season? They've got the 2 tribes living together, and one tribe is all women and the other all men (including "The Gayest Gay Man In The History Of Survivor," who keeps trying to cross over to the female team, but maybe he's got a clever plan). At least the way they've got it edited, the women seem to be acting out the stereotype of women in groups of women: They're destroying each other with emotional crossfire. Everything has way too much meaning. Meanwhile, the men hang together and laugh. Since the women are all on the other team, they don't need to play up to them in the usual fashion. It's interesting.

45 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Is this a cogent comment on having mixed in women serving in combat units? It sounds like Santorum's thoughts on the subject.

If not for making one unit all male, the men in the tribe would be competing for the women's protector role...which is the oldest fact of social life known to mammals.

Writ Small said...

They're destroying each other with emotional crossfire. Everything has way too much meaning.

It's a good thing the Republican presidential field only has men.

edutcher said...

This is why I avoid reality shows.

And I'll bet the execs at Black Rock are going berserk at the idea women are acting the way the MCPs say they act all the time.

Writ Small said...

They're destroying each other with emotional crossfire. Everything has way too much meaning.

It's a good thing the Republican presidential field only has men.


Too bad the Demos can't say the same thing.

Tyrone Slothrop said...

Look, men are just better team players. I could make a case based on primate evolution, but I don't need to-- the truth of this is a matter of everyday observation. Survivor's division of teams by gender is just being unfair to women.

P.S. Hate, hate, hate Captcha.

Petunia said...

I stopped watching after the first finale. It was so obvious the final four were rigged for maximum controversy and ratings.

Jane the Actuary said...

I watched, and it was painful. I'm usually a fan of survivor, but this episode was painful and unpleasant. Whiny women who can't start a fire and keep asking the men to help. On the men's side, indistinguishable frat boy types (are ripped abs and jeans the new uniform?) and, yes, a man who is so gay I worried that my kids would ask, "why is he acting so strange?"

The Drill SGT said...

And I'll bet the execs at Black Rock are going berserk at the idea women are acting the way the MCPs say they act all the time.

because they are women? Gay? or self-loathing metro-straights?

Joe said...

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)



The Life Partner and I can’t stand Colton….I realize it’s selection bias, because there have been non-flaming Gay Men on Survivor, but you don’t notice them, but it just seems that we MUST have one if not two flamers, on Reality TV! Drives me nutz! I’d like to Glitter Bomb CBS! And Gays need to protest, too… Fabuloussssssssssssssssssssssssss and Girl Friend get old, really quick. And the more Gays allow that stereotype to be perpetuated, in the long-run, the worse it is for Gays. You don’t think Blacks said, in the 1930’s and 1940’s, “Oh, we luvs us sum Amos’n Andy, an’ them Negroes on Charlie Chan movies a’say’n ‘Feetz doan fail me now!’.” I doubt it…and that would be my point, if Alpha or others don’t see it-being distracted by the “racism” in my comment-that Gays don’t need to perpetuate stereotypes OF THEMSELVES! For Gays it’s not 1939, so Gay mean can be Gay and not flame, and still be in the media eye.

coketown said...

Not even Jane's promise of frat boys with ripped abs could compel me to watch such tripe. Following the link, I notice the casting director chose women of equal homeliness. Probably uglies vs. beauties is a third layer of tension the producers wanted to avoid. So it's uglies all around for the women and stud muffins all around for the men. The whole show seems crafted with Bravo! syndication in mind.

Joe said...

(The Uncredentialed, Crypto Jew)
The whole show seems crafted with Bravo! syndication in mind


Not really, because who wants to watch Survivor when you KNOW Richard Hatch wins?

Darury said...

I saw this behavior twenty some odd years ago in Air Force Basic Training. In the men's groups you learned to avoid the people you didn't like. The women's groups were under enforced silence due to the level of fighting going on. They couldn't just avoid the other person, there had to be conflict.

And I now understand the hatred for captcha.

edutcher said...

The Drill SGT said...

And I'll bet the execs at Black Rock are going berserk at the idea women are acting the way the MCPs say they act all the time.

because they are women? Gay? or self-loathing metro-straights?


3, of course.

coketown said...

Not really, because who wants to watch Survivor when you KNOW Richard Hatch wins?

*shudder*

(Though I did have to Google "Richard Hatch" to realize he's different from the actor in Battlestar Galactica.)

Amartel said...

I usually skip the first few eps where they weed out the obvious losers and/or blindside the naive. Fratties v. fatties does not bode well for this season but you never know, actual personalities (as opposed to stereotyped cover stories) may emerge. Possibly there's even a stealth homo who doesn't screech like a queen and faint at the sight of dirt. I love that CBS's idea of subversive casting is to have a screechy gay REPUBLICAN. Well played, CBS. You assholes.
As pointed out in the article, Probst is annoying and obvious when he tries to game the action for his favorites. He should stick to his usual script of "c'mon in guys," "immunity: up for grabs," "fire means life in this game," "the person voted out will be asked to leave the tribal council area immediately," and "the tribe has spoken."
He's got the easist job in the world and still screws it up.

Andy said...

Yeah, there was a noticeable difference in the dynamic in my fraternity house when women were over hanging out or when it was guys only. I would say some aspects are better, some are worse. If we want to apply this to the army (or schools), I don't think there is any evidence that sex segregation would be necessary.

MadisonMan said...

Never watched. Haven't watched the start of Idol, either, although I watched Idology at tvline.com. I might watch Idol next week when the final 24 or whatever are chosen.

Wally Kalbacken said...

Are you watching the new season?

No.

Ralph L said...

So they're trying to engineer Survivor's first Down Low hookup?

SMSgt Mac said...

No.
Bread and Circuses.

More interested in:
1. Economy/Unemployment news,
2. Global Destabilization
3. Stopping the US from unilateral disarmamant
4. 2012 elections.
Not neccesarily in that order, but what happens with #4 could be key to the other three.

Andy said...

SMSgt Mac : You're going to want to avoid the Republican party then. Their number one priority is the sex lives of women and homosexuals.

Tarzan said...

I'm looking forward to the Survivor / Shocking Meat Video cross-over, scheduled for sometime next year.

Bender said...

Their number one priority is the sex lives of women and homosexuals
______________

Just how "keep us out of your sex lives and leave us alone" equates to being anyone's number one priority is beyond me.

Christy said...

I'd decided not to watch because the promos made it look like all attention whores all the time. But sure enough, I got sucked in when I flipped through a few minutes into the hour.

There were a couple of the women who were embarrassing to watch, but I figure it was heavily edited for that narrative. None of the guys impress me beyond being eye candy. A couple of the women have potential.

coketown said...

Their number one priority is the sex lives of women and homosexuals.

Somewhere at RNC headquarters is an empty folder with your name on it.

ricpic said...

If the women are doing to each other what the stereotype predicts how is it a stereotype?

Jaske said...

The Mysterious Island, eh?
Conflict, stereotypes, monstrosity and science fiction. Jules be not proud.

Fen said...

The real Survivor is out here. Hatman's not going to make it.
Eaten by zombies in round 3.
You just can't cure stupid.

[and I'm with Petunia. Wouldn't surprise me if the entire show was scripted]

TmjUtah said...

I watched the first episode of the first season of the show.

Seemed like cube farm politics 101, haven't watched it since.

Jay Vogt said...

OK, seeing that just gave me an aneurism. NPR is writing rules to win on Survivor? NPR!

Roux said...

Do people still watch this crap?

Amartel said...

"They're destroying each other with emotional crossfire. Everything has way too much meaning."

"It's a good thing the Republican presidential field only has men."

Heh heh. Chicks, man.

Peano said...

Are you watching the new season?

No. What do you take me for?

Gene said...

ricpic: If the women are doing to each other what the stereotype predicts how is it a stereotype?

You are right about this. Stereotypes have a bad name but the fact is stereotypes are stereotypical because they're largely true.

rcocean said...

My experience in large corporations an the government is that women either get along very, very well with each other or very, very, badly. In my current company, 50% of employees are women but 90% of the HR complaints are initiated by them.

Men just let crap go, for the good of the team, but some women just obsess about it.

raf said...

Stereotypes have a bad name but the fact is stereotypes are stereotypical because they're largely true.

I believe that back when all the outrage started, it was directed at "false stereotypes." Extensive use led to abbreviation.

LilEvie said...

Right now both teams look bad, the women whining and stabbing each other in the back; the men acting superior and beating their chests like little Tarzans.

So it should be interesting when the teams swap players and each team ends up half and half.

Yes it took a man to start the fire, but it took a country girl to catch those 2 chickens - nobody else caught one.

bagoh20 said...

Isn't such segregation a clear case of discrimination. I'm only talking about the mens' tribe of course - we know women are allowed to discriminate and have their own stuff, but those men have no right to exclude the estrogen enhanced from their tribe.

Carnifex said...

I'm like TmjUtah. I watched the first episode of the first season, and never again. I've never seen an episode of "Big Brother", "MTV Real World", "American Idol", etc.

I will watch "Suns of Guns" and "Top Shots" though. Anything involving guns and explosions is a good thing. Just as Michael Bey.

Other shows your MAN card should be revoked for watching:
Glee, Jersey Shore, Grey's Anatomy, anything with Joy Behar, anything with Rosie O', BBCNews.

Movies that get your MAN card revoked:

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood, Regarding Henry, Train Spotting, The Crying Game.

Bonus point MAN TV shows:
A full NASCAR race, Wonderbra infommercial, your alma mater losing to your bitterest rival, BassMasters, BuckMasters.

Bonus movie points:
True Grit(either version), Dirty Harry, Blazing Saddles(unedited), anything with the Three Stooges, Rocky.

madAsHell said...

Really??

Fen said...

as an intonation of Kyle's
Really? from Southpark, yes?

Paul Brinkley said...

I saw pretty much all of season two (Outback, with Elizabeth Filarski (now Hasselbeck), "Kentucky Joe", Alicia the athlete, Colby, the rice guy, etc.), and I think a fair bit of season five. It was fun at the time. It was more fun to watch it and then read the recaps on Television Without Pity. Indeed, TWoP made a lot of that TV entertaining.

That's what ended up drawing me into this article; I'm pretty sure it was written by the lady who recapped both Survivor and The Amazing Race (called herself Miss Alli back then). Style feels the same. It's good to see it again, even if it's NPR.

Joe Schmoe said...

Jay Vogt, I've read a few NPR pieces on 'mainstream' pop TV shows. Invariably the author ALWAYS has to put in a disclaimer that the only reason they watch the show is that they are paid to do so (and subsequently write about it). There's usually some drivel about intelligence reduction after watching it, just to make sure all the readers know that watching reality TV is NOT AN APPROVED LEFTY ACTIVITY. I haven't read the linked piece in question; I'll go do so now to see if I'm correct.

Joe Schmoe said...

Here is a secret I will share, as someone whose professional assignments once included writing about Survivor after every episode from September 2003 to March 2008.

I have to give credit to this writer. There's no superior smugness like there usually is for NPR writers doing Jane Goodall-type pieces (dispassionately observing the goings-on of the hoi polloi). Just the line above, which could be implying that she's forced to watch the show, or it could be simply that she's saying her opinions below are well-informed by watching the show meticulously for years.

The comments, though, are a different story.

Jay Vogt said...

Joe Schmoe - Good observation and interesting insight.

You caught the "Well, I woundn't have if I didn't have to . . . ." posturing (which as you note was lightly played).

I've probably seen about an episode and a half of Survivor myself , but I thought the article itself was accessible, well written and interesting.

Fen said...

Good article.

Only thing she missed was the "No way am I getting voted off tonight" jinx.

We learned to groan at that remark, because more often than not it was the kiss of death.

[please tell us who made this stupid wv system, so we can go to his house and torture him]