Preview of Survivor China
by Carmen Van Kerckhove
We already told you that next season’s Survivor is going to take place in China. But here’s a preview. I love the way they describe China as “a land known for tigers, giant pandas, snow leopards, and ancient traditions.” Thanks Karen!
I can’t wait to see what the challenges will be like: “The first contestant to bring shame on his family will win this jade urn!”
*gooooooooooooooooooong*
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
Kai wrote:
Hehe, China is known for three furry endangered animals and this amorphous “ancient traditions” idea. Nice!
I like your challenge idea, Carmen, obviously family shame and honor are the main things we Chinese people think about all day in every situation. And the constant gongs and chinky fonts go without saying, I mean this is the Far Orient we’re talking about, right? Maybe contestants will be forced to eat dog and rat; winners will be awarded sacred Tibetan samurai swords and kama sutra spa treatments, losers commit hara kiri or are thrown into volcanoes by tribal warriors bearing yin-yang tattoos.
Okay okay let’s wait and see. Maybe it’ll be good. Maybe it’ll serve up an informed, respectful, non-fetishized treatment of the regional locale, culture, and people. Hehe.
Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 12:31 pm ¶
Carmen Van Kerckhove wrote:
I would also like to see some Golden Child-style challenges involving Tibetan prayer wheels. Which reminds me, I need to watch that movie again so I can write a post over-analyzing it.
Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 1:07 pm ¶
summer wrote:
Off subject question (so feel free not to post it), but your post made me think of it: What do you think of the Disney’s Mulan. It’s based on ancient times (war with the Huns) and there is a lot of talk of family honor. Offensive, sterotypical, or historical? Just curious because my 3-yr old loves it, but I’d hate to unwittingly be feeding him offensive entertainment.
Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 1:46 pm ¶
Neil wrote:
i’m betting that every scene is going to end with a whirling yin-yang logo spinning at the camera and zooming out again, before going to the next scene, a la 1960’s batman…
Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 2:43 pm ¶
Mark N. wrote:
I wonder if Jeff Probst will begin every tribal council with a “Confucious say” wiseman-type quote or have the contestants chased around by Asian supervillians from film and TV (e.g. Ming the Merciless, Fu Manchu, The Mandarin, etc.). Ugh.
Here’s to a season-full of cringe-worthy stereotyping!
Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 2:55 pm ¶
Minotaar wrote:
Im sure they’ll have the all white contestants doing something like running buckets of water up long stairways, with a bearded fumanchu guy laughing at them in a bad fake accent. The winner will obviously become the new emperor of china.
Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 4:04 pm ¶
merq wrote:
Gong: check!
Pandas: check!
Oh, Angry Asian Man! Your mystical powers of foresight (inherited from your Wise, Old Grandfather, no doubt) unnerve me.
http://www.racialicious.com/2007/09/10/survivor-goes-to-china-prepare-for-gongs-and-pandas/
Genius!
Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 5:57 pm ¶
HighJive wrote:
maybe one challenge could require contestants to produce toys for American children without using lead paint.
Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 8:35 pm ¶
dnA wrote:
I love that supervillains can still be “Aliens” but have a distinct race. Like making their skin green hides anything.
Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 8:41 pm ¶
Lisa wrote:
“maybe one challenge could require contestants to produce toys for American children without using lead paint.”
How about melting circuit boards over boiling vats of sulfuric acid then fashioning the parts into fake LV watches?
Getting accross Beijing in less than three hours during rush hour?
Planning a household budget in the face of rampant inflation?
Take comfort in that, if its ever shown in China (or more likely sold on pirate DVD), there will much mockery of all the dumb white people.
Posted 18 Sep 2007 at 10:09 pm ¶
justin wrote:
I might be happy if this show has one less cringe worthy stereotype than the number that have been invoked on this thread.
I will be happy if this gets turned into season long ad for the Beijing Olympics, if there is cameo from Mark Roswell or that guy who hosts the documentaries on cctv, the one who looks more like the professor from Gilligan’s island than any of the white people who have been on survivor ever
Posted 19 Sep 2007 at 5:39 am ¶
justin wrote:
Shamefully I actually watch and enjoy survivor. Often its worse for Americans than anyone else. In Survivor Australia they voted out a chef for making congee from their precious rations and watching Shi Ann Huang eat chicken bones genuinely meant something to me.
Maybe they will uncover something this season like the ancient Chinese belief that westerners don’t know how to boil water. They could send out some local wilderness expert to belittle the contestants with flavour sachets.
Posted 19 Sep 2007 at 6:41 am ¶
majong wrote:
Summer- I am a Chinese mother of two and I love Mulan, my children don’t (other issues there). It’s a beautiful story of a strong young woman living in a male-dominant culture. Filial piety is a strong cultural value and continues to be an integral influence in Asian American family dynamics. The movies depiction of a woman pretending to be a male to fight a battle can be a great conversation with your son about gender issues and how this is also historically a cross-cultural phenomenon. I’ll stop here.
Posted 19 Sep 2007 at 9:39 am ¶
Ash wrote:
China looks so cool in this commercial!
When I went it didn’t look nearly as colorful, and I got food poisoning.
Posted 19 Sep 2007 at 10:56 am ¶
summer wrote:
Thanks for responding Majong. We have the movie and the book. We talk about how she pretended to be a boy to fight because her father was too old and may get hurt. I love the points you make about other conversations I could have.
Posted 19 Sep 2007 at 12:04 pm ¶
gatamala wrote:
How will they find cardboard for their dumplings in the wild???
I bet every commercial break ends with a gong & a Disney-style *doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doooooo*
Posted 19 Sep 2007 at 3:41 pm ¶
Neil wrote:
no, the commercial breaks end with a shirtless guy doing a flying kick from right to left as the screen ‘wipes’ in with him.
finally, my media training has found some use; to write satire on a blog! lol
Posted 19 Sep 2007 at 5:38 pm ¶
just me wrote:
i must say that i do enjoy the comments made here. i’m hoping that this show will be enlightening and not chock full of stupid stereotypes, but, alas, i am far too jaded to believe that.
Posted 19 Sep 2007 at 10:40 pm ¶
Melinda wrote:
Wow, definite “fetishization of the Orient.” But it sells. They make the show look really intriguing. If China weren’t such an “exotic” place, why bother shooting there?
Posted 19 Sep 2007 at 10:52 pm ¶
justin wrote:
The pitch changed from ‘where 5000 years of history collides’ to ‘where 5000 thousand years of history meshes’, that’s meaningful too.
Posted 20 Sep 2007 at 8:21 am ¶
JC wrote:
Let’s see how many fake American/Western stereotypes about China they can cram into this show. Oh those inscrutable China***! Please do some kung-fu chops for us while you fetch us some fortune cookies. I guess to the white creators of Survivor, there’s very little difference between the Chinese and the native populations of Papau New Guinea. Wohoo!
Posted 21 Sep 2007 at 4:25 am ¶