This paper summarizes and responds to a critical article about the CBS reality television show Survivor, focusing on the author's argument that the show presents a manufactured rather than genuine reality. The paper examines key claims: that CBS artificially engineered contestant tension, that the show's challenges pale in comparison to everyday urban survival, and that Survivor functions more as edited comedy than authentic documentary. The response concludes by agreeing that Survivor is primarily profit-driven entertainment disguised as reality programming.
The author of the article under review has serious reservations about the "reality" in reality television. Focusing on the CBS show Survivor, she argues that the program functions more as staged entertainment than as any authentic depiction of human survival.
The article's author points out how the show appeared to be more of a joke than anything else. She states that the creators have "set up a number of artificial challenges geared to maximize the tension" between the contestants. The author acknowledges that CBS was successful in raising its ratings, but argues that if the network were truly serious about attracting teenagers to the show, it would have "put a few baby boomers on the island, so that kids could have the pleasure of seeing their parents get kicked off." She also felt that the advertisements were not genuinely geared toward a younger audience.
As a broader context, reality television as a genre has long been criticized for prioritizing dramatic effect over authentic, unscripted human behavior — a tension the article captures well in its treatment of Survivor.
The author has clear issues with the genuineness of the show's circumstances. This is evident when she writes: "I myself killed a spider in my bathtub just the other night, using nothing but my bare hand and a few sheets of one-ply toilet paper; and I have managed to survive on the island of Manhattan for twenty-one years without being voted off." Her point is that the conditions on the show's "island" were not nearly as challenging as surviving in the largest populous city in the United States.
She further asserts that the show "bears as much relation to reality as a corporate retreat does to regular office life." She goes on to call it an "elaborate fake," comparing it to MTV's The Real World. It is not Robinson Crusoe, she declares — it is "Dysfunctional Robinson Crusoe."
"Show framed as comedy edited for entertainment value"
The article's author clearly makes her points and proves her case that Survivor was primarily entertainment for the sake of making money, more than anything else. Her argument is well-supported and her use of humor to critique the show is both effective and persuasive — a position this response fully endorses.
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