Sociological Analysis of the Reality

Sociological analysis of the reality TV program, "Survivor" Television as part of the mass media institution had been instrumental in providing information and entertainment for the audiences or the public. Through TV and its programs, people were exposed to various forms of entertainment; a particular development in TV programming is the creation of reality TV, wherein programs feature individuals depicted in real-life situations and challenges.

"Survivor," a reality TV program by CBS, is one such example of ordinary or non-Hollywood personalities competing and undergoing a series of real-life challenges in a remote area or island in order to win $1 million. As a reality TV show, "Survivor" is filled with tension and pressure, a feeling that is understandable, with each contestant knowing fully that each vies for $1 million.

Thus, in order to ensure that the contestants will get the prize money, different strategies were created and developed, which include deceptions, formation of allegiances, and inevitably, conflicts between the two tribes and eventually, among the final group of Survivors. This nature of the program "Survivor" reflects the interplay of two important paradigms in sociological analysis: the conflict and symbolic interactionism paradigms. These paradigms help explain the dynamics that happen in the show, from the special challenges to the daily interactions of the contestants with each other.

In line with this argument, this paper posits that "Survivor" reflects conflict theory through the contest between the two Survivor tribes and among the Survivors themselves, while symbolic interactionism is evident in the daily conduct of activities among the contestants as they thrive to "survive" in the remote area or island where the challenge is being held. Conflict theory, a paradigm that developed with the introduction of Karl Marx's analysis of capitalism and social class conflict, posits that human society in the modern or capitalist period is inherently unequal.

That is, this paradigm argues that because of inequality among people, particularly between the elite and working classes, there emerges a conflict between the privileged and marginalized classes. This results from a power struggle, wherein the privileged class will continue to exert its control by oppressing the marginalized class. The marginalized class, in turn, will struggle against this oppression and seek to emancipate their plight from the power and control of the privileged class.

A similar scenario is seen in the rules of the reality series "Survivor." Two kinds of power struggle occur within the show: (1) the conflict between the contestants and the management of the program, who has control of the cash prize and (2) the conflict among contestants or Survivors themselves. Conflict between the contestants and the management emerges as they are forced to compete and antagonize each other in order to win the prize.

Thus, being a contest, conflict in "Survivor" is inevitable, and it is only through a successful power struggle that one will be able to win over the management, thereby winning $1 million. Among the Survivors, meanwhile, the initial conflict that happens is between groups or "tribes." As each contestant is eliminated, one tribe emerges as more dominant in terms of number, thereby necessitating a fusion of the two tribes.

This fusion leads to a tension among each contestant, wherein everyone tries his/her best to remain in the contest; conflict now happens as contestants try to establish allegiances and affiliations with others, which, in the process, results to conflicts with other contestants. However, the inherent presence of conflict in "Survivor" is mainly based on the daily interactions of the contestants.

In fact, this is the central focus of the TV program, wherein the audiences are given a glimpse of the dynamics and nature in which contestants create relationships and conflicts with each other. Symbolic interactionism, which looks into the patterns and rules of interaction that happen among people, becomes apparent in "Survivor" when they observe.