Survivor goes to China: prepare for gongs and pandas
by guest contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man
By now, Survivor fans have probably heard that the latest season of the reality/adventure series will take place in China. That’s right! Every season, a group of contestants are stranded in a remote region of the world, and this time around, they’ve dropped them in the most exotic, foreign place they could think of: Survivor: China.
The commercials boast that it’s the first time ever a major American television program has gone to “the most mysterious place on Earth.” Oh yes, expect lots of gongs and wind flutes. And maybe a panda or two. Greeaaat.
They recently announced this season’s cast, and after two really diverse, interesting seasons, it looks like they’ve reverted to a mostly-white cast with a handful minorities. Among the sixteen contestants, we’ve got Frosti, a 20-year-old parkour athlete (and the show’s youngest contestant ever), and Peih-Gee, a 29-year-old jeweler (and former music video dancer).
She’s also the only actual Chinese person this season. Will it give her an edge? Probably not. I highly doubt being Chinese will help her climb a bamboo stalk faster, or whatever other crazy-ass challenge they’re going to make them do.
Once again, I’ve got a bad feeling about this season… and yet I’ll probably find myself watching. I shake my fist at you, CBS. The new season premieres on September 20.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
dnA wrote:
What makes China so mysterious? Is it the high value of their currency? Their strong manufacturing sector? Their long written history? Diverse set of ethnic groups and linguistic dialects?
How very mysterious. What will they think of next?
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 7:50 am ¶
deb wrote:
Survivor’s in search of China’s ancient Chinese secret.
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 8:18 am ¶
Rob wrote:
Let’s be honest, anything that’s not American is considered “mysterious.”
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 9:29 am ¶
Kenny wrote:
I give Survivior credit for being diveres the last two seasons.I am sad to hear they have reverted back to thier old ways however.BiIg Brother and the Real World are lily White this season.Having Black males in the house is a no-no it seems. An unspoken fear of rape maybe.
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 10:06 am ¶
Kenny wrote:
Diverse I meant!
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 10:06 am ¶
Mireille wrote:
Deb: you made my morning
I hate network TV…And yet I’m stuck with it because I’m too cheap to spring for cable. Whatever, I’ll get my SVU back soon…
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 10:36 am ¶
Michelle wrote:
Wait a minute…..
I think that the fact that China is a communist country and to MOST Americans, China is not a country that is easily accesible.
I just want to add that to the fray.
I don’t like Survivor, but every single island they invade they exoctize it and make it so “tribal” and “dangerous”.
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 12:32 pm ¶
jze wrote:
I want to see “Survivor America” where they strip all contestants of their identity, i.e. Social Security cards, birth certificates, pass ports, driver’s license, ID cards, etc. and scatter them in random major world metropolis without any resources. The challenge: each contestant must obtain housing and secure jobs while trying to reclaim their identity.
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 2:36 pm ¶
Anna wrote:
jze - good suggestion. How about for China, working in a toy factory or other WalMart supplier?
Posted 10 Sep 2007 at 9:23 pm ¶
bdsista wrote:
No we did Survivor America, the contestants were all Katrina “survivors.” Don’t watch the show, never did, never will. Just too much racism and stupidness and I need to relax when I get home.
Posted 11 Sep 2007 at 8:01 am ¶