Since the turn of the century, Americans across the country have developed a wild obsession with the reality television phenomenon. One of the largest catalysts, and still one of the most popular shows of the genre, is CBS' hit program "Survivor." Now in it's mind-blowing 32nd season, the show continues to find remote locations to maroon contestants for 39 days with the hopes of earning $1 million (before taxes, of course.)
Now I was an avid fan of the show for years until college stole most of my attention from watching nearly any television at all. Only then was I able to take a step back and look at the premise of the show as a critic as opposed to a fan. Let's put it into perspective for a second:
Each season, the show takes 16 to 20 people from the United States, one of the most developed countries in the world, and drops them off in a third-world region. The goal of the game is to survive with minimal food, water, shelter, and other resources for 39 days while tackling extreme conditions such as intense heat, monsoon season, or other trying conditions. The ultimate goal is to 'survive' in a place in which many people already attempt to survive on a daily basis.
By combining massively limited resources and a high emphasis on physicality in the required competitions, contestants have been, and still are, vulnerable to an array of life-threatening health issues. Nearly every season, contestants are pulled from the game due to health issues, ranging anywhere from complications of dehydration to life-threatening infections and illnesses. Time and time again, people actually push their bodies to the limit and risk their own death to make it to the end of the game.
Survive all of this, and you have a chance at being voted 'Sole Survivor' and earning $1 million for surviving conditions that millions of people live in on a daily basis. Popular shooting locations include the Philippines, Nicaragua, and American Samoa, representing some of the poorest nations in the world. In essence, contestants are comparing their ego's to the everyday lives of the natives, and it's sickening to think about.
"Survivor" highlights our disconnection to a world impoverished. Nearly 80 percent of the entire world's population lives on $10 a day, yet we as Americans look at surviving under such conditions as a game. Get a million dollars if you can live and compete under conditions nearly half the world lives under! Doesn't that seem a little arrogant to you?
This doesn't mean I'm asking you to stop watching the show. All I ask is to give the situation a little perspective. The social experiment being conducted season after season on the show provides it's own entertainment, something I tuned in for season after season of watching this show religiously. But looking at the big picture, Survivor simply makes us as a country look more arrogant than many of us, fans or not, choose to realize.
