Has Survivor Gone Too Far?

There’s no “I” in team: But there is an “i” in racist.

Each of the four teams has five strangers with one common factor: their ethnicity. The teams are split into the Hiki tribe which is all African Americans; the Puka tribe, all Asian-Americans; the Raro tribe, which is Caucasians; and the Aitu tribe which consists of all Latinos.

Early reviews show that most Americans were shocked by this social experiment. Was this allowed? Did Survivor: Cook Islands go too far? At first the idea seems completely offensive and inappropriate, until one hears the thoughts of the contestants themselves who were just as shocked as the audience.

Upon first hearing the news, the contestants did not know how to react. But the more each of them thought about it, the more they saw the split in an optimistic light.

Cecilia from the Latino tribe said that this was a “unique opportunity to show the community in a positive way.” Stephanie from the African-American tribe had similar sentiments and said that this gave them all a chance to “represent” their ethnic group. Yul from the Asian-American tribe was stunned at first but was happy to see more minorities represented in “Survivor.” This group of survivors gives America a chance to learn more about other cultures like when a member of the Asian-American team uses Eastern medicine to cure a fellow member’s headache.

On the other hand, some thought dividing the group this way would be a disadvantage. Ozzy from the Latino tribe thought that people of the same ethnicity would clash more.

Jonathan from the Caucasian tribe said, “Just because this group has cultural similarities will not make them more specifically cohesive.”

As the show went on, the audience got the chance to see that there were divisions within each tribe and that ethnicity is not a common uniting factor. Cao Boi, a Vietnam refugee from the Raro tribe, said that he feels like an outcast within his own community. Billy, who is part of the Aitu group, said that he identifies more with rock metal than with Latino culture. The Puka tribe made alliances within gender, pitting the women against the men. Other contestants saw that people split off with people in their own age group.

By the end of the show, the audience sees that this season is not much different from any other season of “Survivor.” Sundra from Puka said it best. “I could care less about divisions about ethnicity. When it comes to surviving, it’s a human effort.”