The question of Survivor

Survivor 13: Cook Islands recently released it's new roster of contestants and once again Oakland is proudly represented in the ranks. In fact thirteen of the twenty competitors hail from California, seven from Los Angeles. Diversity? I think not. But then it depends on your definition of the word. In repsonse to criticism of the show's lack of diversity this season the tribes will start out divided into four groups - blacks, whites, latinos, and asians. It seems this grouping is deemed newsworthy and is creating somewhat of a buzz. Previous seasons grouped contestants by gender and age with little fanfare. I don't think the original grouping, whether random or ordered has much affect on the show. The four tribe structure never lasts long, and often the two tribes are mixed up at some point. The basic fact is people have to be divided into teams and if you're going to do this thirteen times it might be interesting to divide people up in different ways and see what happens. Afterall Survivor is trying to make good television. It's not making a statement it's asking a question. What if we divide people up by age or gender or race or let people choose teams or choose teams for them? What happens? Who gets voted off? Who Survives?