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Survivor seeks a little blogospheric buzz

August 23, 2006 10:41 PM

CBS has announced that the next season of Survivor will feature four teams, divided by race: White, Black, Hispanic and Asian.  So yes, we will have the spectacle of seeing 4 different racial groups on prime time tv, plotting against each other in physical and mental competition, and trying to have the others eliminated in a quest for $1,000,000.  Will this lead to a healthy national conversation? 

We highly doubt it.  But if the personalities are at all compelling, this will be a ratings slam dunk for CBS.  Frankly, we are already more interested in tuning in.  How will the different groups be portrayed?  Will CBS be fair?  What will the participants think about how they were portrayed after the show is over?  Will they seek to dispel racial stereotypes--or will they play them up for the camera?  Is it fair for CBS to profit off of this?  Or do they actually think this will lead to racial unity, not discord?

UPDATE:  Survivor's producer Mark Burnett has told Variety "maybe that taboo (of race) could disappear through this."  What an inflated sense of self importance!

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