Racial Prophecies Fulfilled in Survivor Finale

We launched this blog back in September, the morning of the premier of “Survivor: Cook Islands,” where for the first time the “tribes” were divided by race. The season ended this past Sunday night, so we felt that it would be appropriate to revisit our predictions about how the season would turn out.

We claimed that while the intent of the show’s creators and producers was an interesting topic for discussion, that we were much more interested in the potential effects the gimmick would have on viewers: “As we see it, the potential effects such a stunt might have on viewer’s attitudes about race in America is what so desperately needs to be addressed – much less so than motivations, about which we can only speculate, at best.”

After discussing difference between racism (systemic oppression) with bigotry (individual-level hatred), we scolded the show’s producers for “profiting off the centuries of suffering of people of color” and added, “If there is any good to come out of the stunt, it will be to force America to confront issues of race (apparently Hurricane Katrina wasn’t enough) so that such attitudes are no longer latent.”

Here was our prediction: “the editing and production will result in a product that fits the American myth of race by reducing it to individual-level attitudes. . . . [T]his season of Survivor will allow us to stay comfortable [refusing to deal with the systemic racism that has plagued America for 400 years].”

While we don’t have any scientific polling to indicate if our concerns were warranted, a glance at the numerous online discussion boards dedicated to the program on the final night and the next morning can provide some insight. That anecdotal evidence confirms our fears. That is, 1) stereotypes were reaffirmed in viewers, not challenged, and 2) the focus remained on individual-level attitudes, not systemic forces of oppression.

Yul, an Asian American man, won by beating out an Asian American woman and a Hispanic man in the final vote. No white castaways were in the final four. Here is how our first contention played out. There were countless references during the final tribal council, the reunion show, and the message boards that reinforced stereotypes about Asians and Hispanics (specifically, that Asians are smart and that Hispanics work hard). Here is a sample from the message boards and blogs (quotes have been cut and pasted with no effort to remedy errors):

"'Brains' edged out 'brawn' on Sunday night's finale broadcast of Survivor's thirteenth edition, with Yul Kwon narrowly defeating Oscar 'Ozzy' Lusth to emerge as Survivor: Cook Islands' ultimate survivor and $1,000,000 winner" (Steve Rogers, "Yul Kwon edges Ozzy Lusth to win 'Survivor: Cook Islands,’” 12/18/06, http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/yul-kwon-edges-ozzy-lusth
-win-survivor-cook-islands-4468.php).

“And why do you think the hispanics were voted out early? Because Ozzy was instrumental in PURPOSELY voting one of them out! First stupid strategic move! Ozzy was an excellent physical player but he just didn't didn't have the witt to manipulate people” (Diva, 12/18/06, 9:54 a.m., http://forums.survivor.com/).

“Here are the facts. Yul is smart. Ozzy is athletic. . . .Yul's brains allowed him to find the Idol and thus help him in the game. . . .Yul used his brains to win the game. I think he played a great game and deserved to win. . . .Ozzy relied on his superior ability as a fish and an eagle to save his place in the game. . . .Granted, if it weren't for Ozzy, that Aitu tribe would probably have been toast, but he didn't make any strategic moves later on even when presented with them” (Zagar, 12/18/06, 5:47 a.m., http://forums.survivor.com/).

“Ozzy is a great athlete and there would be no one else I'd rather have with me if stranded on a desert island and needed to survive but the game is about much more than that” (Grasshoppa, 12/18/06, 6:09 a.m., http://forums.survivor.com/).

“I think Ozzy should have walked away with the title becuase he did OUTPLAY, and OUTLAST.
Yul played an excellant game as well, and if I were in need of an excellant lawyer, he'd be the one I call, but if I were marooned on a dessert island, (gee, they were weren't they), I'd want Ozzy” (cherylb, 12/18/06, 4:17 a.m., http://forums.survivor.com/).

“Yul ‘played the game’; Ozzy ‘played the challenges’. Big difference and the one who played the game, deserves to win” (Diva, 12/18, 2006, 10:00 a.m., http://forums.survivor.com/).

"Re: Who Will be the Survivor of the Cook Islands? yul 'the brain' will win” (a1000ninjas, 12/15/06, 6:39 p.m., http://www.tv.com/survivor/show/4742/who-will-
be-the-survivor-of-the-cook-islands/topic/3279-611882/msgs.html).

"Re: Who Will be the Survivor of the Cook Islands? My mom said Yul's not playing fair. He's using more than 10% of his brain" (blue4t, 12/16/06, 10:23 a.m., http://www.tv.com/survivor/show/4742/who-will-be-the-
survivor-of-the-cook-islands/topic/3279-611882/msgs.html).

“I think both Yul and Ozzy were every bit deserving to win, both for different reasons. Ozzy completely dominated physically, and Yul completely dominated strategically” (Boot, 12/17/06, 11:37 p.m., http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=486788&page=1&pp=25).

There were some dissenters, but not many. Here’s an example:

“Ozzie the smartest, not Yul! For those of you who think that Yul was the smart one, think again. It was clear that Ozzie solved the ‘hardest puzzle ever’ faster than Yul or anyone else. The only reason Yul won was the racial makeup of the jury. He automatically had the Asian vote and Ozzie did not have the Hispanic vote since they were eliminated too early in the show. Ozzie should have been the winner. The biggest mistake made was not following Adam's suggestion of voting for Yul with five contestants left, thus eliminating the idol from play in the final four” (ho-do, 12/18/06, 8:24 a.m., http://forums.survivor.com/).

With respect to our second prediction (individual v. systemic focus), the above confirms our expectations, as does this post, that directly addresses the issue:

"Racism On Survivor. How is it ok for Sundra to say QUOTE ‘BLACK, BROWN AND YELLOW POWER’? If a caucasian person said ‘white power’ it would considered racist. I like the fact that survivor mixes every kind of race in the show never before has this kind offence come to light. This Comment really offended me, I would like to know how the producers can air this comment with a clear conscience. This is condoning racism” (Kirby988, 12/17/06, 9:47 p.m., http://forums.survivor.com/).

Oh, Kirby988. To not see how “white power” differs from “black, brown and yellow power” takes an immense effort of ignoring historical systemic racism. Assuming that Kirby988 is white, we wonder why he or she was so offended? What possible power differential in this context would be threatening? From a purely individual-level perspective, one can imagine the white people of the world trembling at the thought of minority groups coming together to oppress them all. But individuals work within systems, and even if those groups wished to do that, they would have to figure out a way to do it within a system that was designed to (and therefore continues to) put them at a collective power disadvantage. So don’t worry, Kirby988. Even given the Survivor producers’ professed attempt to bring about racial equality, you’ll still be able to benefit from white privilege for the foreseeable future (after you get over feeling hurt, of course).

For a recap of the Survivor finale (and the season), see http://survivorhut.blogspot.com/