In March 2016, I asked my 10th grade students to
write. I told them to write about whatever they wanted, and I got papers about
“How to use Instagram,” “The best way to die,” and “Why art is important.” One
of the prompts I offered was this: which reality T.V. show best reflects
reality? I am a (usually) unashamed lover of reality T.V., much to my better
half’s dismay. Frequent utterances from Vallen include, “Oh man, The Bachelor is stealing you again!” and
“You watch those T.V. shows too much. That’s why you are having nightmares” (in
reference to Law and Order: SVU).
So without further ado, as a lover of The Amazing Race, Survivor, and The
Bachelor, I give you my post-college thesis.
Survivor is the
T.V. show that best reflects reality.
When the sound of the men’s chanting voices fills the living
room, my family comes running. Albeit 16 years later, my family, especially my
mom and I, are still addicted to the reality T.V. show
Survivor. Each episode begins with a tribal-esque chant that
catches your attention. Although many of the 2016 reality T.V. shows are
considered trashy, ironically unrealistic, or downright ridiculous, I find that
Survivor, one of the longest running
reality T.V. shows, best reflects reality. The three arguments to follow reveal
how
Survivor, despite 16 years of
strategy development among its players, has remained true to its label: reality
T.V.
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| The Survivor Logo from 2000, Season 1 |
In order to better understand my belief that
Survivor best reflects reality, one must
first understand what I mean by reality. In 2016, Americans do not live in
bamboo dwellings on beaches. We do not compete with each other in strange
challenges to win something as trivial as flint or a hamburger. Thus, the
reality of the contestant’s lives on
Survivor
does not, in fact, reflect the lives of twenty-first century Americans.
However,
Survivor does realistically
mirror basic human needs. Contestants on
Survivor
are stripped of cell phones, make-up, structured jobs that are compensated with
monetary income, and all other distractions of what we have come to know as
normal, daily life. What remains is the core of human reality: the need for
food, water, shelter and companionship (see the image below). It
is this reality that drives my belief that
Survivor
best reflects reality.
The first reflection of reality that is shown in Survivor is
that humans are limited by their physical health
. In Survivor, contestants compete for rewards as well as immunity
so that they are safe from being voted off the island. In these challenges, people
give it everything they have. However, eventually, exhaustion sets in and
people give up. Some even faint! Muscles can only stay sedentary for so long
before they cramp. Competitors can only keep their arms above their heads for
so long. Standing in the blazing sun, malnourished, is a feat few can do longer
than a few hours.
Survivor proves
that at the end of the day, even the strongest, fittest individuals will be
unable to perform without food, water and rest. This is a reflection of
biological reality; humans can only do so much physically before they give in
to the simple fact that mortals possess limited power.
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| Joe fights for immunity until he literally passes out from overheating |
A second reason that
Survivor
best reflects reality is how obviously social human beings are. On
Survivor, friendships form in the most
unlikely of circumstances. Despite competing with each other for 1 million
dollars, contestants
befriend each
other! The kindness that contestants show to people with whom they align can
even cost them the money. Viewers have seen time and time again that players
who lack wit and physical strength choose to bring friends with these qualities
to the end with them, risking the money for the sake of friendship. So too in
reality do humans allow their lives to be driven by emotional connections
rather than reason. The contestants bring their reality, the need for
companionship and trust, with them on the show.
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Woo (right) brings Tony, who ultimately won, to the finals. Woo said that he tried to bring the fellow player who played the best game so that Woo would win the respect of the jury.
However, Tony outwitted, outplayed, and ultimately outlasted Woo. |
A final way in which
Survivor
is like reality is that this show reveals the true character of a person.
Certain sects of Christianity would have us believe that humans are born into
sin and are thus inherently bad people. On
Survivor,
viewers see the inherently evil side of some people. However, this show
challenges certain sects’ belief that all men are created evil. One season, the
show began by dividing players into tribes of heroes versus villains. Viewers
saw that some players seized every opportunity they had to backstab, lie and
cheat those around them. Oppositely, viewers saw contestants who, at their
core, are truly honest people who struggled to lie and had trouble outwitting
fellow humans. Thus,
Survivor allows
us to see the two very real types of people in this world: those who are
inherently good, and those who are inherently evil.
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| Russell, one of the worst villains in Survivor history! |
Though many Americans argue that reality T.V. shows are
scripted and do not reflect reality, I conclude that
Survivor, even 16 years after its origin, has preserved the very realistic
human need for food, water, rest, and companionship. Though many people have
shaken their heads in disbelief when I tell them that I still watch
Survivor, I find the human struggle
fascinating to watch. People who seem physically weak beat Goliath in physical
challenges. People who are misfits in their normal lives find a way to thrive
in the social game. People who seem the most honest and innocent are those who
two-time and backstab swiftly and strategically. At the end of the day,
Survivor is not a show about
contestants. It is a reality show about people.
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| The Survivor logo in 2016, Season 32 |
