Survivor: Cook Islands

[Ammer]

It's scheduled for September 14th and I know y'all are gonna watch it! And just to spark up some controversy, the 20 castaways will be split into four teams, Black, White, Latino and Asian.

The 20 castaways who went to the Cook Islands, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, for the reality show are divided into black, white, Latino and Asian tribes.

Survivor host Jeff Probst, speaking on The Early Show on Wednesday, acknowledged the season will be controversial, but said he also found it interesting.

"I know, from where I sit, I found it to be one of the freshest ideas we've had going back to the beginning of this show in season one," he said.

Probst acknowledged that some people might find the division distasteful, but said it started out as an attempt to increase the diversity of contestants.

"The idea for this actually came from the criticism that Survivor was not ethnically diverse enough," he said.

'Social experiment'

Show creators thought about that idea and decided to address it, Probst said.

"I think it fits in perfectly with what Survivor does. It is a social experiment. And this is adding another layer to that experiment, which is taking the show to a completely different level."

The reaction from contestants was mixed. Some feared the division would have the effect of reinforcing stereotypes about race, he said.

Others said they'd work with whatever group they had in an effort to win the contest.

Probst said he expects audiences to be equally divided over the show.

"I think it's very natural to assume that certain groups are going to have audience members rooting for them simply because they share ethnicity," he said.

I think it's a neat idea, it's an interesting twist.

Now all they need is "Gays and Lesbians" for one tribe.

[o_0]

I'm way not into this idea at all. I mean, come on. ._. I'm all for an ethnically diverse cast, but... just putting them into tribes and labeling them as such. It just makes me think of segregation...

I'm expecting the beaches to have different-coloured sand now... one probably has dirt mixed with sand, one has brownish sand, one has yellow sand, and one has pure white sand shipped directly from Florida. o_o

[Ammer]

Another article,

(KP International) The 13th season of Survivor is sure to start tongues wagging as the reality competition moves to the Southern Pacific's Cook Islands and will divide the tribes by ethnicity.


"We're going to take some heat for it," said Mark Burnett, the show's creator and executive producer.

"The idea for this actually came from the criticism that Survivor was not ethnically diverse enough, because, for whatever reason, we always have a low number of minority applicants apply for the show," explained the show's host Jeff Probst. "So we set out and said, let's turn this criticism into creative for the show. And I think it fits perfectly with what Survivor does, which is: it is a social experiment, and this is adding another layer to that experiment which is taking the show to a completely different level."

Burnett told Entertainment Weekly that, "To the less-than-open minded person, it is very easy to trash us. But we're smart enough to not make it negative. We're smart enough to have gotten rid of every racist person in casting."

Probst said, "There are going to be people looking for stereotypes: Will this tribe be smarter than this tribe, or will this tribe be faster than this tribe? That's why I think it's fun. But five people on a tribe do not represent an entire ethnic group."

Survivor: Cook Islands premieres on CBS September 14.

[Shoyru_Lover]

Hey that's really interesting. I want to watch that.

[The Wonder Weezel]

The diversity thing sounds dumb.... just when the U.S. started to not care about race.... theres absoutely no point to it.... thats not a twist.. thats just... another way of doing things.

Eh. Its survivor. Ill watch it. But im not more excited for this then any other season or show....

-TWW

[simsman24000]

Of course, now you're going to get all the protests from those who AREN'T one of the four races. "Why aren't Asians considered?" "What about Native Americans?" "We Antarcticans want a part in this, too!" Oy.

Still, it'll be interesting to see how strategies play out, how they relate to each other (who forms bonds and how quickly), and the comfort level among the others. I'll tell you one thing: this is a major hooray for those who never remember what team each castaway is on.

[Shoyru_Lover]

Do we know what races will be in it?

[Christopher]

Black, White, Hispanic, Asian. It says so in the first post. -_-

[Shoyru_Lover]

Ahh there we go... I skimmed through the first post and got confused when someone posted about asians not being in it. Wow that's certainly going to be interesting to say the least.

[Ammer]

The premiere is this Thursday, be sure to watch!

[Dragonfire]

I might watch the first couple of episodes just to see what happens, but after that I'm not watching it, because after the 9th season it just got repetitive.

And like what simsman said, this'll be a way of remembering who is on what tribe.

And how are they gonna merge the tribes later on? Are they going to do Black/Hispanic and White/Asian.

It's not really a twist. :\

[Ammer]

Wow, that was a good first episode but here are my thoughts on it,

The Hiki Tribe -- I really dislike this tribe, only because I dislike both Nate and Sekou. I cannot stand how Nate and him made the decision while the women stood back and let them decide. But I can see how that can be strategy as if Nate makes it to the merge with Jonathon, he'll [Jonathon] have something to hold against Nate.

As for Sekou, I am glad he's gone. He was dead weight and Stephannie is now on the top of my favourites list as that was a brilliant move. At least, from where she was standing. Hopefully Nate is gone soon, at least until the merge because he's a really emotional player. Emotional = Bad.

The Rara Tribe -- I know it's not "Rara" but I like saying that because of an inside joke with a friend. Anyways, the tribe in all is pretty bland, no one really sticks out. However, the "nerd" girl should remove that label pretty soon because well, I can see Adam and her becoming "bed buddies".

Oh, there is one person I don't like at all, that's Jonathon. Did anyone smell a sense of arrogance about him? He was acting all smug-like, didn't like it at all.

The Puka Tribe -- This is my favourite tribe; I don't know why (I'm not Asian, my race isn't even represented in this show, heh) but they are. I do like Koi Boi (Spelling?), Yul and Brad. I dislike Jenny and Becky because they're so narrow minded. I didn't like how they were acting so like disgusted with Koi Boi's traditional headache treatment.

Koi Boi, in general, scares me when he smiles. But I still like him.

The Aitu Tribe -- I cannot remember the name properly, but I did like this tribe. One of the cast members even looks like a cast member from the soap opera "Passions" (Piloma anyone?). But I actually didn't even guess some of the members were Hispanic, so I was suprised (Especially with "Mowgli") with some of the Hispanic people.

I don't really dislike anyone but from next week, I think I'm gonna dislike that lazy guy on their tribe.

<hr>

Favourite Tribes

1. Puka
2. Aitu
3. Rara
4. Hiki

Favourite Castaways

1. Stephannie
2. Yul
3. Brad
4. Curly-haired guy from Aru.

Hated Castaways

1. Nate
2. Sekou
3. Becky
4. Jenny

Last edited by Ammer on Fri Sep 15, 2006 8:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Yoshi]

Other than the whole race thing, which didn't turn out as awkward as I thought it would, they seem to have been pulling out all the tricks from the last few seasons. Sending a person to Exile Island, immunity idol, having four tribes to begin by fighting for fire and immunity (the spoonfed flint to Manihiki at the end and Jeff telling Rarotonga to get their puzzle pieces, I hated- let them suffer a little!)...eh. The ship thing was okay.

Oh, Ammer, it's the Aitu(taki) tribe. Or as another forum coined it, the iTunes tribe.

Anyway, I'm gonna give this another episode.

[thelilbear]

I just enjoy Cao Boi's overall look He seems like he's be interesting to hang out with.

[Kugetsu]

Hmm, while I disliked Sekou as much as the next person, I don't really think it was that bright of a move, and the Hiki are going to get wiped out if they lose Nate. No one else on the tribe looked to be athletic or physically strong, aside from the guys. It's not that they "can't flourish without guys" necessarily, but by looking at the type of people make up the group, and their builds, I do think they're screwed if they get rid of the guys.

Stephanie looked able, but Sundra doesn't seem to be that great of an asset at the moment. :\ Don't know about Rebecca.

I think the Puka Tribe is the most entertaining. x) Cao Boi's a bit... strange, but he made me chuckle a time or two.

I still don't think the racial separation was a nobel idea, but at least there was some amusement mixed in there.