Surviving Mencia

In keeping with the racial theme of this season's Survivor, I thought you might enjoy this clip of comedian Carlos Mencia. As always, he's right on target and pulling no punches. How does this have anything to do with Survivor? Mencia's honest and he's not afraid of broaching the race card, head on, no apologies. It's a part of our lives. Pretending otherwise is useless.

***I'll step off my soapbox now.

Happy Survivor Day!

Happy Survivor Day, everyone! Tonight's the night. Since we're really still getting to know the tribes and how each survivor ticks, I thought it would be fun to pose a few silly pre-show questions and see how in tune our psychic/guessing abilities all are.

1. Who will our first naked survivor be? There's always at least one in the bunch.
2. Will there be a hookup? (incl. on-screen smooching) If so, who?
3. Who is most likely to go absolutely round the bend, talking to driftwood, bonkers?

Please leave your answers in the comments section!

Coby's Blog

As a special addition to SurvivorDish, we will be featuring the blog entries of certain former survivors we have spoken with. Coby Archa is our first guest blogger, and here's what he had to say on Episode 1 of Survivor: Cook Islands!

"Okay so this season we all knew would have different opinions everywhere. My good friend Brett who I was supposed to call tonight, sent me a text that read, " OK still get goose bumps when they first start the game but I thought the episode sucked-boring!"

Well I couldn't agree...LESS!! I thought this episode f'ing rocked! I loved the begining where Jeff looked totally out of his element like he was going to get hit in the head with a paddle at any second. I loved hearing the stories about the boat people (like the beautiful Cao Boi). I thought about different cultures never thought about different countries!! I was crying...seriously.

I loved seeing all the ethnic groups finding their pride in who they were...from the Asians to the latins on. Then the camera came to the 'white' tribe. Who had no sense of self pride at all. Because we as 'white' people have no idea where we came from much less have any sense of culture. Was funny to see them...lost...in the moment of...who are we? Do we high five? Do we shake hands?

Loved seeing Cao Boi (or Cowboy as I heard it lol) rub a head ache away. Loved seeing him feeling outcast in his own culture (thus all the asian jokes he might get booted out for). He is by FAR my favorite already. Could be my favorite of all time if he keeps this up. Asian Rupert anyone?

I can't believe how many people from every tribe I...LIKE! I usually only like a few people on the whole damn show but out of the 20 I already love...Cao Boi from the asian tribe...StephanNie from the black tribe (Romana anyone?)...Ozzy the guy with curly from the latin tribe...I love all the girls on the white tribe....I find myself loving almost loving all of them, which is weird for me.

I love how minorities aren't afraid to 'go there'. They are so use to defending themselves in life they aren't afraid to speak their mind. Like the black guy bullying Steph saying that without him all the girls will shrivel up and die (no Tom cooth there for Sekou). I loved the two black guys telling the white guy to hit exile because he stole a chicken and karma is a bitch. If this was a bunch of white people they wouldn't have this much attitude this early...I am drooling on my key board as I write this....

I have it in Tivo and if it wasn't so late I would watch it again.

Love LOVE Love LOVE it!!!

F'ing bring on next week!!! If they merge the tribes this early I will kick Jeff Probst ass!!!!"

Missed an Episode?

I've received a couple of desperate pleas for tapes of the first episode. There's no need to fret and no need to email everyone you know for help. CBS has a new thing called innertube, and you can watch the episodes there... free! Here's the link: cbs.com/innertube. They already have the premiere episode up. Have fun. :)

A word from Jenna Morasca

Good Morning, Survivor Fans! With just under 3 hours till the first installment of Survivor Live, I thought it appropriate to include Jenna's message to all of our readers now.

Carolyn: What's your take on the tribal divide?
Jenna Morasca: I think the tribal divide based on race will affect the viewers more than the contestants. I think they will be focused on getting as far as possible with anyone, race doesn't matter in the long run. It has cased alot of debate the new twist, which causes alot of buzz around the show and thats a good thing.

Carolyn: Thanks for taking the time to talk with us Jenna. I know you're very busy. Is there anything else you'd like to say to the SurvivorDish community?
Jenna: Check out Survivor Live on www.cbs.com tomorrow at 2 pm eastern, when I talk to the first person voted off with my co host Dalton Ross. We will also be addressing the race issue.

Carolyn: We'll be there, Jenna.
Jenna: Thanks.

For more info on Survivor Live, CLICK HERE.

First Thoughts

Wow! What a great season opener for Survivor. Now that's a show! It was non-stop, go-go-go action from start to finish. Great challenge! Bravo to the music editor for brilliance in post! Well done everyone!

The racial element was pretty much what I expected - a non-issue for the survivors, for the most part. Their reaction was pretty much, "Well, that's kinda weird, but ok." The Latin team looked at is as an advantage, coming primarily from tropical climates. The black team looked upon as a challenge to "represent" and show that black people are so much more than they are often portrayed on television, Survivor especially. The white team barely acknowledged it at all, with the exception of a very awkwardly uttered "Go Whiteys," which was met with half-hearted enthusiasm at best. The Asian team, all had different views on the divide. Cao Boi (cowboy) saw it as a great advantage, because "who expects the little, slanty eyed people to be able to do anything?" The other (non-immigrant) members of the tribe were less approving, and just saw it as an oddity from production.

There are so many things to discuss, so many levels. What's most interesting to me is something I was discussing with my boyfriend last night. Our prediction was that there would be no racism across group lines, but that it would manifest itself within the groups, due to their own cultural biases about what someone of their ethnicity ought to be, and further the not widely known hierarchy that exists within the races, i.e., light skinned v. dark skinned. His heritage is Trinidadian, and boy did he call it right. Fortunately, gender warfare won out over intercultural racism in the end.

***lol...my inner cinema geek is showing, and that's ok

Amen for the sisterhood. I KNEW they'd do it! Finally! Women on a reality show who stick together, and don't let the men convince them otherwise with lame arguments about non-existent fire, or anything else.

I'll have more for you later tonight on this episode, as well as a word from Jenna Morasca! Thanks for coming. It's gonna be an amazing season!

DishChicks Do Ryno

Hey... a girl can dream. ;) But my oh my what a sexy voice... Forgive me, I was lost in thought... Oh yeah.. the Ryno mini-interview... :) Seriously, I have to thank Ryno so much for agreeing to do this completely spur of the moment! He hadn't even gotten my email yet... Just happened to be hanging out with Fairplay when I called. Bonus!

DishChickCarolyn: What's your take on the tribe divide?
Ryno: I think it's just a marketing ploy to get Survivor back to where it was during Pearl Islands... the ratings.

DishChickCarolyn: Do you think American's will root based on race?
Ryno: Yes. I think they will, until they weed it out and they're down to their favorites, but I think, initially, they will.

DishChickCarolyn: Will the jury votes be tribally/racially motivated?
Ryno: No. Not at all. It'll be who they like.

Johnny Fairplay's Interview

Ever have one of those days when everything goes better than you could have possibly hoped for? And you get a good workout to boot? That's my day today.

If you had to pick one Survivor that will absolutely never be forgotten, love him or hate him, for better or for worse, Johnny Fairplay's your man. When I called him earlier today, he was sounding pretty relaxed, chilling out with his friend and former Survivor, Ryno. Sweet! John answered my questions in true Fairplay form. And as an added bonus, although we hadn't spoken before, Ryno agreed on the spot to answer some questions for us as well - what a sweetie.. and such a sexy voice! Here's Fairplay's interview. Ryno's will follow shortly. Enjoy.

DishChickCarolyn: So what's your take on the tribe divide?
Johnny Fairplay: I think it's awesome. Go Team Whitey! (laughing)
Carolyn: Seriously? Do you want me to write that?
Johnny Fairplay: Yeah. Why not.

DishChickCarolyn: Do you think American's will root based on race?
Johnny Fairplay: Yeah. Most Americans are pretty simple-minded, so yes, they will. Especially the red states and their little bitty brains.

DishChickCarolyn: Will the jury votes be tribally/racially motivated?
Johnny Fairplay: Nah. I think that once the show gets going, race is not going to be a factor.

Coby's Take

Proving that lightening does in fact strike twice... I'm such a lucky girl!! Hehe... I swear, I'm just giddy right now. Coby agreed to be interviewed too! Here's Coby's take on the race card.

DishChickCarolyn: What's your take on the tribe divide?
Coby: I think that at the end of the day survivor is a social experiment and whether people want to admit it or not...race is a social issue. I think it is perfect.

DishChickCarolyn: Do you think American's will root based on race?
Coby: I know they will, my aunt is already rooting for the latin tribe and it hasn't even started.

DishChickCarolyn: Will the jury votes be tribally/racially motivated?
Coby: I think they will in some tribes, but I am not saying which ones.

Bob Dawg's Take

I took the opportunity to write to a few of my favorite former Survivors this morning, as well as a couple of the more notorious players in the game. I'm thrilled to report back that one of my faves, none other than Mr. Bob Dawg, was the first to respond. Here are his answers to the questions I asked... More to come!

DishChickCarolyn - What's your take on the tribe divide?

Mr. Bob Dawg - "This is clearly a publicity stunt. There's no way around that. The question is whether there's something devious going on -- i.e., are they TRYING to cause drama and pain by playing with such a sensitive issue like race in such a heavy handed manner or is it just recklessness in the sense that they were just clueless as to how much drama and pain it would cause b/c they're a) dumb or b) blinded by the desire to get ratings and to get people talking about Survivor again. Survivor is not the forum to be dealing with delicate issues like race and I can't take the idea that this is a real social experiment seriously. Making Eddie Murphy into an I-banker and making Dan Aykroyd into a bum (in Trading Places), that's a social experiment. This is a ratings grab. The problem with rich white dudes deciding to have an "experiment" on race is that if things go wrong and people start getting hurt, it's not the Mark Burnetts, J Probsts and Les Moonves of the world that will be hurt by it. It's the people (like me) that have to deal with race and racism in the real world and has to deal with people who sometimes get all of their information about people of other backgrounds/cultures etc from TV. If this thing goes horribly wrong, those CBS and SEG can say "dang, that sucked. Oh well, let's go back to casting the show like an episode of Friends." But in the meantime, regular people may be offended, insulted, hurt, etc in the real world and they can't ignore it. Dang, this answer is long as shit! I still haev to cut and paste my other stuff and I think I covered things pretty well tehre so I'll cut this part off. Overall, bad idea though to divide by race and the notion that it's a social experiment is b.s. It's a ratings grab, it's reckless. Hopefully it won't turn out badle. I can't see how it can be good, but maybe it will just be neutral or something... "

DishChickCarolyn: Do you think American's will root based on race?2)
Mr. Bob Dawg: "I don't think people will root based on race. Or I should say, I don't think white people will root based on race. I happen to believe that most people are not racist and cringe when they're accused of it or made to feel like they are perceived to be and white people that don't want to be labeled that way won't openly be like "Go Whitey!". There are plenty of people out there that think that way of course (google "'groid destroyed paradise" and "survivor" to see some hardcore racists view of survivor for instance) but for the most part I think white people would feel uncomfortable pulling for the white team on the basis of their whiteness. I think some white people will feel inclined to pull for another race b/c they see them as underdogs or b/c they don't want to be seen as racist. I think that asian americans will openly pull for the asian team and that hispancs will be "down with brown" as they should since they've had so little representation on the show. They shouldn't miss the one chance they'll have to watch and root for people that look like them on this show. Black people won't be rooting for the black team b/c black people don't watch Survivor (we're always sleeping, at least according to Mark Burnett and his editors ;-))."

DishChickCarolyn: Will the jury votes be tribally/racially motivated?
Mr. Bob Dawg: "I don't think so. I think that unless they have some hardcore racists, that people of all tribes will be trying to avoid looking like they're doing stuff (post-merge) based on race. No matter what your race, you always look bad when you look like you're motivated by race. It would look especially bad in this context since the show is so short that any real deliberation on race will be reduced to some dumb ass soundbyte and people are going to look dumb as shit when they try to fit some deep thoughts into a sentence then see it aired as a 3 second blurb that makes them look like they're motivated by race. I think some people will go the other way so they DONT look like their votes are motivated by race and some people will vote based on the initial friendships they make but it will LOOK like it was based on race...I've had a very diverse group of friends (I grew up in So. Central with black and hispanic friends then went to a top prep school with mostly white and asian kids). Based only on stereotypes, I would say that as a group the asian team is the strongest and will be most likely to have loyalties based no race. I think the black and hispanic team will be the most likely to "cater" to Whitey ;-). But again, I have no idea what these people are like. Basically, I think that Asians are the least threatening minority group to white america, followed by hispanics. No one really hates asians or hispanics (unless they're illegal immigrants, then people hate them). White people in this society are more likely to accept or tolerate asians and hispanics but there are people that really HATE black people in the country and some of them have tv and radio shows. THat's why it's a problem and this can be painful to people and I think black people are the most likely to be hurt. If the black team fails to complete a mental puzzle, there are people out there that will be nodding saying "yup! Dem nigraz cain't think straight, I done tol' you det, sheeeit!" "

2 JournalistsWeigh In

Two Journalists Weigh In On 'Survivor'
Race Theme 'Interesting,' But Will It Backfire?

NEW YORK, Sept. 14, 2006

(CBS) The 13th season of "Survivor" may prove to be the most interesting and controversial yet. "Survivor: Cook Islands" premieres Thursday night on CBS. The show's twist has already been revealed — the teams are divided based on race, sparking a great deal of criticism.

Two journalists got the chance to see how the contestants are dealing with the situation. Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly and Alexis Chiu of People magazine were there the night the 20 contestants, divided into four teams of whites, blacks, Asians and Hispanics, were first told about how they were being split.

"It's interesting. I was traveling with the contestants and did the math," Ross told The Early Show's Harry Smith. "I looked and saw five African-Americans; I thought that's unusual, usually you have two. I saw five Asian-Americans. That's double the amount ever on survivor, so I said to a colleague, 'I think they are
going to do this.' She said, 'You are crazy.' Time flies, I guess."

"It was clear something was going on. Much more diversity and it wasn't until they announced it that I made the leap and realized, but with Mark Burnett — you can't put anything past him — so it wasn't surprising," Chiu said.

The contestants will go through the usual "Survivor" process of making and breaking alliances within the new society they create. All the while they vote one member off "the island" and the winner wins $1 million.

The contestants were given the news individually the night before the game began. Chiu said that they did not have much time to process the information, and right away they began working on their shelters and strategies. Chiu said she thinks the race theme will make the show more interesting.

"Anything they can do to change it up. As you might be able to tell, I am half Asian, so I might have a different perspective," she said. "I think it's a great idea."

Ross, who is white, said "my gut is they are playing with fire. It's very risky."

"I think they felt like they were ready to take that risk," he said. "But, you know, you try and control it as much as they could in casting. Mark Burnett said we are not going to put negative people in here. But once the cameras start rolling, there's only so much control you can have over that, so there's a lot of crossed fingers going on."

A concern has been that people watching at home will cheer for the contestants of their own race and divide the audience, but Chiu said that people will always pick their favorites based on different characteristics, be them race or physical attractiveness. She also said there is diversity within the tribes.

"A Korean and Japanese and Vietnamese are going to have as much difference as a black and white person," she said.

***Really excellent point here. It's as if all the teams were divided by their racial/ethnic appearance to a nearsighted individual with no real appreciation of the cultures so rich to each individual heritage...

Tonight's the Night

Survivor premieres at 8pm tonight on CBS, and with that, a lot of unknowns. How long will they keep it up with the smaller, racially divided tribes? Will the viewers root based on race? Whether their own, or just a favored group? Will the jury votes be tribally, and therefore, by design, racially motivated? What's your take on all this? Please let us know in the comments here on the blog, and let's get this party started!

1. How long before 5 tribes become 2? If ever.
2. Will you be rooting for your own race?
3. Will the jury votes be racially motivated?

Funny Audition Video

OK, this person hasn't actually made the show, as far as I know, but it's a heck of an audition tape. Very creatively done, funny stuff. Enjoy...

TV Guide VIDEO

OK Survivor fans.. Check out these videos for a glimpse at the island, the sets, the cast, the teams and Jeff Probst's picks...

First up - The Aitutaki Tribe: the Latin division & The Manahiki Tribe: the Black division.
What I find most interesting in this particular clip is the complete lack of reference to actual ethnic heritage... Not from the extremely...

***crap, is this show gonna be hard to write about. i keep editing myself before anything comes out of my mouth, and if this blog's gonna work, that has to stop happening. so i'm just gonna say this once: i'm not a bigot, don't call me a bigot, and if you wanna slam me in the comments, knock yourself out. PC semantics be damned.

...americanized "latin" team, nor from the black team, which I'm referring to as black, because to call a Jamaican woman African American is wrong too. People are people, period.. and these people seem really cool and interesting.... I'm especially digging the jazz musician, Sekou Bunch. There's one shot of him where he looks positively regal.




This next clip features the Caucasian team, as well as Jeff Probst's take on each survivor's chances in the game...



Here we have a clip that focuses on a small portion of the behind the scenes of end of Survivor: production design and casting.



This clip from tvguide starts off with a man on the street interview, and segues into a Meet the Asian Survivors segment, followed by a challenge sneak peak... Check it out!

Jenny Guzon-Bae

The Survivor premier is just 2 days away now, and I'm starting to look for info on the individual contestants. I'm not gonna touch on the race issue until I actually see how it's being presented... In any case, I prefer my way... So let's take a look at our first individual. ;) This is Jenny Guzon-Bae's Survivor Audition Tape!



Seems lovely to me. Let's see how the game plays out.

GM Replaced

CBS says it has new advertiser to take GM's Survivor slot


By TOM KRISHER
Associated Press

DETROIT — CBS says it has a new sponsor to replace General Motors Corp.'s advertisements on the hit reality show Survivor.

The world's largest automaker confirmed Wednesday that it would no longer advertise on the show, but said the decision had nothing to do with the show's recent announcement that it was arranging its teams based on contestants' race and ethnicity.

"The upcoming edition of Survivor has a full roster of advertisers across a wide range of categories and GM's position has been filled," CBS spokesman Chris Ender said Thursday.

He would not identify the sponsors or say if an automaker had stepped in to take GM's place.

Spokesmen for Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. said they had no plans to advertise on the show. A spokesman for Honda Motor Co. said it does not comment on advertising decisions. DaimlerChrysler AG spokeswoman Carrie McElwee said the sponsorship had been offered to Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep, but all three brands declined.

GM had been the exclusive automotive sponsor of Survivor since the show's premiere in May of 2000.

The pullout decision, first reported Wednesday on the Web site for the trade magazine Television Week, was made by GM in the normal course of deciding its media buys months ago, said GM spokeswoman Ryndee S. Carney. The decision was made without knowledge of the show's new format, she said.

GM also said it is shifting some of its media dollars from prime-time television to more live sports, awards shows and other big events, Carney said. The Detroit-based automaker also decided that its media strategy should feature cars and trucks integrated into shows, which was difficult on Survivor, she said. Although one episode did feature a Pontiac Aztek, the opportunities for cars and trucks on the show were few, Carney said.

GM informed CBS of the decision several months ago, Ender said.

A group of New York City officials have criticized the new format of Survivor, saying it promotes divisiveness. They have asked CBS to reconsider its plans.

For the first portion of the 13th edition of Survivor, which premieres Sept. 14, the contestants competing for the $1 million prize while stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific will be divided into four teams — blacks, Asians, Hispanics and whites.

Show creator Mark Burnett said Tuesday that many of the critics haven't ever seen the show and don't understand how it works.

"By putting people in tribes, they clearly have to get rid of people of their own ethnicity," he told the Associated Press during a conference call. "So it's not racial at all."

Probst Weighs In

BARBARA BINSTEIN: Knight Ridder Tribune

Sept. 8, 2006, 10:11AM
Survivor host urges critics to watch before complaining


New York Daily News

Survivor host Jeff Probst urged naysayers of the new, ethnically divided edition of the reality show to give it time before putting it down.

CBS and Survivor producer Mark Burnett came under fire recently when it was revealed that the contestants for Survivor: Cook Islands would be divided into four teams by race.

"A lot of people who have never seen Survivor have absolutely no idea what they're condemning and using this as a platform," Probst told reporters Thursday.

"Those opinions of people criticizing us for doing this are valid and fair," Probst said. "All I'm saying is, you have to recognize you're condemning a show before you've seen it, and that's not fair or just."

In the past, Survivor had been knocked for not offering up ethnically diverse casts. So, when the creative team behind the show got together to plan this season, they decided to make sure the cast was ethnically diverse.

It was through the casting process — and talking to the potential contestants — that the decision was made to at the start split the teams into ethnic groups. "We actually felt that dividing them ethnically was a positive idea, because it came from our discussions in casting, and we kept coming up with the same theme, which was ethnic pride," he said.

"When you're talking with a group of white people, it doesn't come up," he said. "White people are mutts, we're just white, we don't have any ethnicity we hold on to."

Probst wouldn't say how long it would be before the teams are split and mixed — a standard practice on Survivor.

An overwhelming majority of the people who apply to Survivor through traditional channels are white, according to Probst. That required the casting staff to look outside of the normal places.

"Once we decided we were going to have the most ethnically diverse cast in the history of TV, it required us to go out and find these people," he said. "It was the biggest casting endeavor we've done in 13 seasons."

For instance, one of the contestants was found through a contact at a Korean beauty pageant in Seattle.

"What we found was the most fresh cast of people we've had going back to season one," he said. "We're finding people who aren't Survivor savvy."

As a result, Probst said Burnett decided to go back to the type of opening they started with the very first Survivor, where the players are on a ship and must grab what supplies they can before going into the water.

CBS is not releasing any portions of the show to critics before Thursday's telecast.

"We're hoping people will watch the show," Probst said. "There's a certain level of mystery. We don't want to spoil the surprise."

Advertisers Wimping Out

Well, unlike me, the advertisers are taking it seriously. They are, ofcourse, blaming the pull-out on the "tastelessness" of the racial division ploy, but from my angle that sounds like a crock of hooey. Advertisers do not pull out for any other reason than fear of lost revenue due to boycotts by the public. Here's the article.

By Robert P. Laurence
UNION-TRIBUNE TELEVISION CRITIC
September 11, 2006


'All publicity is good publicity,” goes the old showbiz saw.

CBS and Mark Burnett, executive producer of “Survivor,” are finding that it ain't necessarily so.

Their decision to divide up the teams in “Survivor: Cook Islands” according to race hasn't just stirred up a hornet's nest of criticism, it's costing money. Several long-standing advertisers will have deserted the island when the “Survivor” hits the air Thursday (8 p.m. on KFMB/Channel 8).

The trade magazine Advertising Age reports that a half-dozen major advertisers – General Motors, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, Home Depot and Campbell Soup – have pulled some $26 million in commercials. “The more I think about it, the more I wouldn't want to be involved in it,” one ad exec told Ad Age. “It's in bad taste.”

Of course, accusations of bad taste are nothing new for the program that pioneered the eating of maggots as a form of mass entertainment.

~Advertisement~


But the decision to divide the 20 contestants in “Survivor” into four teams – white, black, Latino, Asian – does seem calculated to appeal to the basest aspects of human nature.
Of course, you don't have to root for the contestants according to race. You could cheer for the guy from your hometown. The San Diegan hoping to be the last survivor in “Survivor” will be Adam Gentry, a 28-year-old copier salesman.

Welcome

We promised we'd do a Survivor blog, and here's the first post. :) With the 1st show now 8 days away, we thought you'd like to get caught up on what's being said around the globe, as far as this whole race thing goes. From my end, it's a ploy - nothing more, nothing less. It's just a way to bring people in or bring people back by pulling the oldest card in the book: the race card.

Here's the pretty promo Burnett put together for the first teaser, aired originally during the reunion show from last season. For the first time ever, there was no mention of some mind altering twist that would change all our lives forever.




Remember Cyrie? Here she is introducing the tribal council area and Jeff Probst. Doesn't Cyrie look amazing?! Probst promises a seaon "like we've never done before."





Here's what Rob Cesternino, the smartest Survivor Player never to win, has to say on the subject. Expect typical Roc C. sarcasm. ;) And let the games begin....