Survivor & Race: Borneo, Outback, Africa, Marquesas

As promised, here's part one of my observations about the racial things that have gone on in Survivor.

Borneo: Gervase and Ramona began the game on the same team. Ramona was voted off early, but Gervase made it to the merging of the tribes. Gervase was called “lazy,” Ramona was called “stand-offish.”

Outback: Nick and Alicia began the game on the same team. Both made it to merge, but female was voted off first. Nick, a Harvard law student, was called "lazy," Alicia was called “too strong.”

Africa: Clarence and Linda began the game on different teams. Clarence was called "selfish," Linda was called a “wild woman.” Clarence made the major faux pas of sharing a can of beans with a white female in episode one without clearing it with the entire team, but he was kept because he had “a strong back,” as one white male contestant put it. Linda was voted off early, but Clarence made it to merge before being booted.

Marquesas: Sean and Vecepia began the game on the same team. Sean was called "lazy" and accused behind his back of “not carrying his weight” as early as episode two. Sean was praised for his physical strength, though he was actually one of the shortest men in the game.

Both Sean and Vecepia made it to the merge. Vecepia distanced herself from Sean when he became unpopular. Sean was the first black to openly talk about race in the series. Sean also was the first black to win a shared reward challenge post merger. He made it to the final five. Vecepia made it to the final two -- and won the game. Distancing herself from Sean when he began to talk about race made it possible for her to fly under the radar.

There's a definite pattern to how the non-white contestants were described by the white contestants in the shows.

More to come...

Technorati tags: Survivor | Diversity | Race | Reality Shows