Survive vs. Thrive
Okay, I watched a couple of minutes of the program that was on everyone’s lips. Walking through the living room where Linda was watching, I caught a few minutes of "Survivors." Only a few minutes because I think the program — especially the contestants — represent some mighty low standards of behavior and principle. Not all, of course; some realized it was a game. I mean the mean ones. The primitives who obviously were reared without any notion of dignity, grace, or integrity.
Yes, they survived mosquitos and other unpleasantries for five weeks, but they were never in any danger. Indeed, they were something of an experiment. Protected white rats. The good news was that one of the least offensive of the group walked away with a million dollars, and probably considerably more when he plays out his options and cashes in on his celebrity. As will several of the others who made names -- or characters -- of themselves during the months that CBS milked the surprise ratings-grabber.
It should be noted that the runner up, who collected a hundred thousand dollars, has a warrant out for her arrest in North Carolina, where she is alleged to have used a stolen credit card. She was also involved in a domestic violence incident in Las Vegas, where police say that she bit the nose of her husband of three weeks because he lost his house keys. Not sure if they are still married or not. She was clearly a small-minded, ethically-challenge representative of a lower order of the species. As were most of them, as was evidenced by their own comments. The women were particularly vicious, and in the end, most of them supported Miss Venality.
The ratings for the program were enormous. It apparently attracted a lot of young viewers. That there is a sequel already in the works is hardly a surprise. But I predict that it won’t do nearly as well, at least not after the first night, which will be hyped higher than King Kong’s top knot. In part, the ratings will slide because the venture will undoubtedly attract the same sort of contestants. And even if they are purposeful and survive, they will be more palpably unsympathetic people. Losers like to watch losers succeed — to achieve their fifteen hours of fame, as it were — but even this mirror effect has a short life when the viewers see the complementarity of wasting their own lives in front of such pap.
Ostensibly, the program was to be about surviving on a deserted jungle island. But quickly it turned out that the primary tool was deceit, with manipulation and stupidity close behind. And the program celebrated it. Call me picky, but I would like to see shows that wallow in the sordid aspects of human nature fail. Instead, tens of millions of people tuned in.
Consider the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who observed that "The true test of a civilization is, not the census, nor the size of the cities, nor the crops - no, but the kind of man the country turns out." Do those people represent America? Our style, our goals, our conduct?
Come on, it’s just a television show. Oh, okay.
And that’s SetonnoteS...I’m Tony Seton.