W E D N E S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 1 3 , 2 0 0 6Race-Baiting "Survivor" Begins Tonight; Here'sWhy It's GoodTonight, "Survivor" begins with the stunt of dividing up the tribesbased on race.</p><p> Here's a news flash for you: EVERY season of"Survivor," the tribes have been divided up based on race.</p><p> So hasEVERY OTHER REALITY SHOW from "The Real World" to "TheAmazing Race" to "American Idol." So has EVERY DRAMA ANDSITCOM OF THE PAST TEN YEARS.</p><p> The only time every TV showWASN'T broken down by race was back in the day when almost everyshow was simply white.Did you think it was an accident that past tribes on Survivor have sooften included one or two black people, one or two Latinos and anAsian here and there? Did you think it was an accident when "Idol"finalists going to Hollywood included such a diverse cross-section ofAmerica? Did you think it was happen-stance that "The Real World"cast members included a similarly Benneton-like mix of blacks, Asians,Latinos, whites (why not) and of course the obligatory gay/lesbian/bisexual?How about dramas and comedies? Haven't you noticed how in the pastten years black actors have so often gone from playing neuteredsidekicks to playing neutered authority figures -- such as the policechief or the President? How about sitcoms where the best friend/nextdoor neighbor is of a funny/cute/unexpected ethnicity?The simple and not so surprising truth is that EVERY SHOW ON TV ISCAST BY RACE, whether they admit it or not. (Unless of course theshow is entirely white or appearing on a weblet like the former UPN.)Sure there are lots of exceptions to this rule, great shows that havemixed casts that seem natural and unforced.</p><p> But the vast majority dofollow this pattern.Yes, "Survivor" is pulling a stunt in being explicit about the casting oftheir show by race.</p><p> But they've done it every other season and so hasevery other reality series.</p><p> So let's see how it plays out before damningthem for forcing us to acknowledge race instead of just giving us theusual UN assortment in each tribe and letting us pretend race hadNext Blog»sal1mineo@hotmail.comSEARCH BLOG FLAG BLOGFOLLOW BLOGP O P S U R F I N G .</p><p> C O MS U R F I N G T H E WAV E S O F P O P U L A R C U LT U R EB Y M I C H A E L G I LT Z & F R I E N D SPOPSURFING.COM: Race-Baiting "Survivor" Begins Tonight...http://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/09/race-baiting-survivor-b... 1 of 37/28/09 6:59 PMFAV O R I T E L I N K SAmericablogFive O'Clock Lightning baseball blogDeep Pop -- Lori Lakin's BlogThe Back Page -- Jason Page on ESPNRadioCine-Blog -- George Robinson's BlogDocuments On Art & Cinema - DarylChin's BlogBrucie G's Wondrous Blog OfAdventure and Mystery -- BruceGreenspan's BlogB L O G A R C H I V E▼ 2009 (17)▼ July (3)1939 -- The Greatest Year ForMoviesSwimming Bans Those Hi-TechSuits!Best Movies Of The Year -- TheMaster List► June (3)► May (1)► March (2)► February (1)► January (7)► 2008 (86)► 2007 (781)► 2006 (2412)► 2005 (5)C O N T R I B U TO R SBiboyMichael in New YorkAaron POPSURFING.COM: Race-Baiting "Survivor" Begins Tonight...http://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/09/race-baiting-survivor-b... 2 of 37/28/09 6:59 PMPOPSURFING.COM: Race-Baiting "Survivor" Begins Tonight...http://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2006/09/race-baiting-survivor-b... 3 of 37/28/09 6:59 PM
