The Best Reality T.V. Show

In March 2016, I asked my 10^th 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Survivor logo in 2016, Season 32