We’re already in 8k/Ultra HD, how much more color can we get? Some networks never quit.
Here is a link to the full article but you’ll get the gist.
Following criticism from past contestants, shows like Survivor, Big Brother, and Love Island will include at least 50 percent people of color in their casts moving forward.
I haven’t watched Survivor since Richard Hatch walked around in his birthday suit 20 years ago. “A queer that ran around bare assed half the time,” says Rudy (RIP) about Richard. Probably wouldn’t be able to say that in 2020 either. I developed a crush on Coleen throughout the season and I’m fairly certain I’ve watched the Jenna Lewis sex tape which was her true calling.
More Color!
A few quotes from the article:
“Lazy, crazy, workhorse, and sidekick are the typical ways that Survivor portrays African Americans, which is disproportionally negative.” Lazy or a workhorse?
“If you don’t think racism and implicit bias exists, tell me why [Survivor: Marquesas winner Vecepia Robinson] has been completely ignored and has NEVER received an inquiry call or invite to even play in a season with all previous winners?,” I watched this, and she’s way too normal for reality TV. She should take this as a compliment.
“The systematic/systemic racism, implicit bias, and microaggressions shown throughout the editing but especially during the final Tribal were so hard to watch. The thickness of the racism could be cut with a knife … ‘diverse’ does not mean the majority of the cast is white with a mixture of other races.” The 3 members of the final tribal were people of color. I have no clue what this means and I watched this to make sure I wasn’t missing it.
This entire movement is stupid. If you read these quotes, you’d think these people believe that “reality” TV portrays reality. The network’s goal, at least to my understanding, is to bring in as many viewers as possible. If an all white cast brings in the most viewers, than don’t be surprised if they use an all white cast. If they bring in 90% mixed cast and the ratings tank, then what? Is that a win? It’s the obligation of the network to find out? Maybe white people are the only people stupid enough to watch reality TV.
I’m going to outline a scenario and you tell me if it’s racist. CBS interviews thousands of applicants who want to be on Survivor. After this arduous, and costly, process, they decide that 20 people are best suited for their show based on the auditions. 85% of them are white because, stay with me here, 85% of their audience is also white! They have this asinine theory, which is the #1 marketing principle of all time, you market your product to the audience that wants it. That’s not racist. If you want to make the point that there are countless other applicants who would be better for the show, why is that up to the people who have no skin in the game instead of the people who have millions of dollars at stake? Perhaps the new CBS shows tank completely by giving the people what they want. On the other hand, maybe they are triumphant successes because now they are including more races and have a bigger audience. My point though is that the latter is not being decided by the people with the money at stake, it’s done by this notion that everyone deserves equal representation on network television. Which is a slippery slope because if CBS goes out of business, I promise you the people demanding for racial equality won’t be footing the bill.
As a fan of Survivor and Big Brother, they do a good job of representing a subset of the population that mirrors the population mix. The main issue I have is that production portrays them as a stereotype. To counter that, they also portray the hot girl with boobs as dumb or the smart guy as a nerdy weak loser.
They stereotype all the casting, the problem is the optics of when they are doing it with race.