TVCH FORUMS HOME . JOIN . FAN CLUBS . DONATE . CONTACT . CHAT  
                  Quick Links   TOPICS . TREE-VIEW . SEARCH . HELP! . NEWS . PROFILE
Understanding the Backlash

Reality TVClubHouse Discussions: Survivor ARCHIVES: Survivor VI - Amazon ~ 2: Survivor VI - Amazon: Understanding the Backlash users admin

Author Message
Csnog

Friday, May 16, 2003 - 2:17 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Csnog a private message Print Post    
Amazon Finale: Understanding the Backlash
5.15.03 by James Barber

Survivor Fever


When I was writing down my finale/reunion column ("The Jury From Hell!!"), I felt like every viewer must have been sharing my disappointment, my anger, my bafflement at the farce which ensued when Jenna was crowned winner. Over the next few hours, reality sank in and I realized many people would not have such a passionate response and may have even been thrilled over the upset. Then I began to wonder if I was isolated, if I let the reactions of a few family and friends cloud my ability to gauge the general fan response. As I had not exactly been subtle or tactful, I somewhat anxiously awaited the response in my inbox, expecting a general response of "if you hate it then don't watch it!!!" or "don't be so NEGATIVE!!!"

Well, over the past few days I have received nearly 200 e-mails from several countries, with about 95% of those mails heartily agreeing with me. And I know I'm not the only columnist who has received large amounts of feedback bemoaning the finale. Some of the responses to my article were a mere sentence of irritation, others long, articulate paragraphs detailing their horror at such a lopsided, smarmy victory. People discussed why they could no longer watch, if they should keep watching, or their deep sense of loss and how it hung over them for the rest of that night. Over and over I would open an e-mail and read something like, "I thought I was the only person who felt this way." Obviously many people do feel this way, but since this is only a TV show and these players are not facing any life and death decisions, it's difficult to understand exactly *why* Matt's loss would strike such a chord in so many. But I'm going to try, so please bear with me.

There have been many justifications or explanations of why Jenna won and/or why viewers should not have a problem with her win, and I think that some of these tie into the reasons why many fans were set off by that win. Running through the most frequently recycled explanations, and adding my own responses:

1) Christy voted for Jenna, so obviously Jenna deserved to win!

The only thing Christy's vote suggested to me is that perhaps she has a split personality (the "Krystie" Joanna voted for on day 6?), or that she wants to have it both ways. In her post-boot interviews, Christy had few kind words for "the evil stepsisters." On Letterman, she had a perfectly fine platform to defend or downplay Heidi and Jenna's behavior. Instead she called them "•••••••." When Jeff Probst asked her about her vote, she blurted out a quick "outwitted and outplayed" answer with a tone which suggested even she didn't buy it. Christy voting for Jenna does not alter Jenna's behavior in the game, unless we find out Jenna supposedly not speaking to Christy for 6 days was a part of her brilliant strategy. Rob and Jenna were on Howard Stern's show and Rob said maybe Christy misunderstood and thought she was voting against Jenna, not for her. The saddest part is that it makes more sense than any other explanation I can come up with.

2) Jenna had a great strategy/Jenna played a better game than Matt/Jenna won FOUR immunities

From what we know of Jenna's strategy based on interviews and the episodes: Jenna teamed up with the "cute girls" Heidi/Jenna/Shawna alliance at an early stage. Shawna, not Jenna, was close to Deena and used that bond to bring Deena into the alliance. Jenna was such an annoyance to Christy that Christy voted against her on day 6. If not for Joanna being even more obnoxious to her, Christy could have easily sided with Jeanne/Joanna on day 12 and forced a tie with Heidi/Deena/Jenna. For a great strategist that is a big "what if?", don't you think? You might say that any strong player takes risks, but there's a difference between risks and mistakes.

Another mistake was on day 13, when Jenna spilled every Jaburu secret to Dave, who then took her closest ally, Heidi, as well as extra vote Christy. I've heard some people say this worked out beautifully for Jenna, but again, this is only because Roger/Dave/Butch were even worse players than her. If there had been a Brian or Kathy or Richard on Tambaqui, I'm pretty sure that Heidi would have been voted out immediately and Christy/Jeanne would have been set up in some sort of alliance situation. Instead, Roger/Dave/Butch eliminated their strongest potential ally and then did not even bother to ask Christy to vote with them, because they thought all the men had to stick together. Meanwhile, Deena and Rob brokered key deals in Jaburu while Jenna washed herself. Laying low at this time made sense, but in many scenarios she would have wound up being shut out of major final 2 and 3 pacts, which was exactly what would have happened to her (Deena eventually wanted to drop Jenna in favor of a Christy/Deena/Rob final 3) if not for Deena screwing up and wanting Alex out too early.

Going forward in time, Heidi tells Jenna that Deena wants to get rid of Alex. Jenna gets rid of her and moves into the power core. She knows Matt, Christy and Butch are likely jurors, so she courts their votes by...working on her tan and bragging about what a great position she's in. When Rob unseats Alex, Jenna throws a huge self-righteous tantrum. I've heard praise for this because she brought the problems out in the open, but all she was really doing was guaranteeing that she had 6 more days left, tops. The *only* reason that Heidi and Jenna were not voted out on days 30 and 33 is because Christy got too overconfident. You could give Jenna and Heidi credit for this, but 9 times out of 10, constant begging and reasoning to members of a dominating alliance is worthless. Given their strained relations with her, she was unlikely to ever join them. 9 times out of 10, she would have reassured Rob that she was writing Heidi's name on that card. Jenna once again lucked her way out of a fatal situation. Her real-or-imagined illness kept her in after Heidi (even though according to Butch, she ASKED him to be vote her out around this time -- another great strategic move), then she won the blindfold immunity. Some people think she cheated, but I don't and will give her that challenge. Next up was the balance immunity, which automatically favors women and which her strongest competition threw. Jenna's first immunity win (the variation on the coconut challenge) was a popularity contest win, and her second (the plate breaking and puck-sliding) was based more on the moves of other players than on her own. Unlike Jeff, I can't use most of these wins to compare her to Colby, who won many reward AND immunity challenges which were based on various mental and physical tests.

Even with the last 2 immunities, I don't think she played a great strategic game. Kim Johnson from Africa lucked out over and over, voted as she was told to, won the final 2 immunities and then lost by almost as wide a margin as Matt. I think Jenna won because people did not want to vote for Matt, so her only true strategic move in the game was that she chose the right F2 partner. Even this was based in large part on Matt, because if he had wanted to win that challenge and take Rob, I think he could have.

To me, Jenna won because she was standing still. While she was standing still, others were running around every which way until most of their heads exploded. She then got a grateful reception from the jury because unlike Matt, she had never been a threat to any of them or antagonized them, because she was, again, always standing in place, watching on the sidelines. They could feel like they were doing her a favor by voting for her. In a season with players who had level heads and common sense, I think Jenna would have been lucky to make the jury. Jenna was not so much a good player as she was a poor-to-mediocre player surrounded by people who were even WORSE. Does not mean she should be ashamed of winning? No. That also doesn't mean her win should be seen as any great feat or reason to celebrate. And it doesn't mean that Jenna was doing more successful scheming from an early stage than Matt, because it was only through sheer dumb luck that Jenna's alliance lasted as long as it did. I don't agree with the mindset that because Jenna was involved in plans before Matt she somehow "played the game" longer or better. While he was still in the infant stages of strategy, Matt was "playing" other aspects of the game, like helping to win challenges and providing food, water and shelter. To many juries, those would be as important as who stabbed who in the back.

3) Matt must have been doing something AWFUL that we never saw on TV.

Well, we know that he behaved oddly at times, which he claims was an act and others claim was not. We know he didn't go out of his way to be frienly with everyone, although he was close to Ryan and Daniel and later Butch. I'm sure that Matt may have lost a few jury votes because he was not chummy enough. But I think it goes far deeper than his "crazy" behavior or aloofness. If he had been so unbearable they could have voted him out instead of Shawna or Dave. I think that they had no problem with Matt or his actions while they were pulling his strings. Then, one by one they all self-destructed while Matt thrived on the various twists and turns. Matt had become a better, stronger player with each of their failures. Matt beat them at their own game, and they could not deal with that.

4) The ending doesn't matter as long as the rest of the season was worthwhile/a shock ending was appropriate.

If Survivor were self-contained, then what happened 3 weeks ago wouldn't matter. Since Survivor is a reality serial, the beginning, middle and ending are all important. There can be no downturns. Imagine how you would remember Gone With the Wind if Rhett and Scarlett decided to just be friends and go play hopscotch with Ashley. The suspense has to build to a satisfying, believable conclusion. A good example is Thailand, where the finale managed to almost redeem the months of pure horse crap which preceded it.

The problem with a shock ending is that with shock comes anger and even betrayal. I felt a sense of betrayal and I know many others did. Yes, this is just a stupid TV show, but we had been invested in the players and their fates, in who to root for and against. Over a matter of weeks more and more layers of Matt were peeled away, as he went from distant to some whacko horror movie cliche to a hardworking, generous, measured man who was taking in all of the sights around him and doing his best to adapt, to better himself, to grab the game by the horns and go all the way to the end. Meanwhile Jenna was presented as a Heathers horror, a sneering brat who represented the worst stereotypes of a sorority princess.

This is where the outcry over Jenna's victory comes in. If she had beaten Rob, I don't think there would have been half as much rancor. Jenna didn't simply beat another player -- she beat a touchstone of Survivor.

One of the key themes in most of the seasons has been the value of hard work and strength. Richard, Tina, Ethan and Brian were all edited as either being providers, hard workers, or nice people. Vecepia was invisible, but she was in a final 2 with Neleh and many viewers didn't really care who won. Jenna having such a decisive victory over Matthew was sending out a message that laziness, hateful remarks, whininess, all things that were a sure sign of failure in past seasons, broke the very back of the unwritten code of ethics and rules which Survivor has been set by over the past 3 years. I know you're thinking that Survivor is a game with no rules, that anyone expecting morals or honor in this game is deluded, and you have a point. But many fans DO (or did) strongly believe that hard work should and will win out in the end, and the Amazon finale took that blind faith and spit it back in their faces. If Mark Burnett edited this way deliberately, because what was presented as "good" lost miserably and "bad" flourished, then he was essentially anticipating and manipulating to cause viewer outrage. So that would mean he *wanted* many of the fans to be furious. Maybe that's a great moment of TV, but it's also likely to leave a lot of fans feeling used and discarded. The beliefs they had clung to season after season was now being used against them as some sort of joke.

As I said in my last column, I don't blame Jenna as much as I blame the jury. I certainly cannot attack Jenna for wanting to win. I think that the smirky attitude of the jury, the sense that a majority of them had made up their minds long before the Q&A session, is as large or larger of a reason for fan backlash than Jenna's win. Even if Jenna had won 4-3, that would have said the jury were seriously listening to every word and that her past actions had been taken into account. Instead, she got only 1 vote against her, which means a whopping SIX votes were rewarding and validating her for her less-than-pleasant attitude or astute playing throughout the entire game. To see the constant smirking from some people every time Matthew opened his mouth was a slap in the face to everything that the jury process is supposed to stand for. I would have rather seen Alex stand up and say, "I'm voting for Jenna no matter what" than try to pretend that he cared one bit about anything Matt said.

5) People who say the show will never be the same are mean/negative, and that isn't right!

I believe that the reason some people are saying this is out of fear or sadness, not hostility. I wasn't trying to be hostile when I wrote my column. I was stunned, blindsided, and trying to squeeze together whatever answers I could. This is the first time that I have absolutely NO idea why the finalist won. We were given no real clues in the season because the season was about tricking us into counting Jenna out. We were given even less clues in the reunion show because the jury were unable to provide any real answers and Jeff was more interested in superficial claptrap like who is dating who and who took off their bikini. I can guess why Jenna won, why Matt lost, but should I have to? Isn't it the duty of a multimillion-dollar franchise to at least give it's fans concrete reasons?

I don't hate any of the contestants. In everyday life, they may be wonderful human beings. All I know of them is small, flickering images beamed into my home every week. But the packaging of the finale automatically caused me to think the worst of most of the players involved, because I was given no reason to think otherwise. All of the fakey grins, justifications, and self-satisfied quips presented these people at their absolute worst.

We are supposed to know more about such crucial elements. That is what keeps us interested as viewers. When a fan says "the show will never be the same" or "I can't watch this again," they are not looking for the worst; the worst has run them down. In some ways I'm reminded of the so-called "loss of innocence" when Gretchen was voted out by the Tagi alliance. That was a moment where what viewers had taken for granted was shot down, and they had to either adapt or stop watching. I think Jenna's landslide was an even bigger and more jarring loss of innocence, because never again can viewers assume that the winner will have any positive qualities, that the loser will not be jeered at and barely spoken to at the reunion even though he was edited for the fans to root for, that the final outcome will be explained to them instead of being hurled at them like a charred piece of asteroid.

For all I know, Pearl Island Survivor will have a saintly winner, and every plot twist will make sense. I will be sticking around to see if that's the case. But the viewers who aren't or who question the motives of the show shouldn't be put down or written off. They have every reason to be upset, and in this very long-winded article, I hope I've managed to explain why. I want to thank everyone who has written to me, because you have shown me so much. And now we can hopefully close the book on Amazon and look forward to the new season.

Hermione69

Saturday, May 17, 2003 - 7:05 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Hermione69 a private message Print Post    
The writer of this article hit the nail on the head for understanding the feelings of many of us in reaction to the finale. Thanks for the find, Csnog!

Grannyg

Saturday, May 17, 2003 - 8:19 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Grannyg a private message Print Post    
Great article Csnog!! He said everything I was thinking!! It does kinda make you feel better to know it wasn't just us but a whole lot of other people too.

Missy2

Saturday, May 17, 2003 - 10:21 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Missy2 a private message Print Post    
We don't usually hear about the next Survivor season until one is finished. I'm thinking maybe the All Star Survivor information was released because everyone was so disappointed with the outcome of this past Survivor. Or maybe not. Either way, I was hoping for Rob and I was shocked when Jenna won. She was not likable. I thought midway through the show that she was young and her character flaws were blown up, but still it was disappointing. All we can do is guess that everyone really liked her...?

Llkoolaid

Saturday, May 17, 2003 - 11:04 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Llkoolaid a private message Print Post    
I felt the same way when Danielle lost on BB, I still haven't gotten over it. I hate when Jury's vote out of spite because they were out played.

Missy2

Saturday, May 17, 2003 - 1:38 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Missy2 a private message Print Post    
Me too Llkoolaid. I was hoping Danielle and / or Jason would win..

Oh well.

Maris

Saturday, May 17, 2003 - 3:50 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Maris a private message Print Post    
LL one man's fruit is another man's poison. I was thrilled that Danielle lost on BB, I did a dance. I wasnt crazy about Jason but I detested Danielle so much I was glad to see her lose.

I would have liked to see Matt win this thing but at the end of the day I just loved the season. I didnt feel anti any one in particular, some I liked better than others but I felt I got my moneys worth on survivor this season. The only person I didnt want to win was Heidi, after that I didnt really care that much.

Sia

Saturday, May 17, 2003 - 9:18 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Sia a private message Print Post    
Could CBS/Mark Burnett have pressured the jury to vote for Jenna over Matthew just because she's more "marketable" for them? A vapid bikini model with a pretty face might bring more advertising dollars in the future as opposed to our dear restaurant designer.

I think that if this was their thinking that they seriously underestimated Matthew's beefcake-factor! I liked Matt! (And hated Jenna--and DESPISED Heidi!)

I still feel that Jeff Probst has more influence than we see on-screen. Jeff clearly liked Jenna a lot and loaded competitions in a way that she could win them more easily, in my opinion. He helped her in every way he could--and that was NOT FAIR!!

Seamonkey

Saturday, May 17, 2003 - 9:59 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
I share the sense of betrayal with others.

Squaredsc

Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 11:09 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Squaredsc a private message Print Post    
thanks for the article csnog. "...that the final outcome will be explained to them instead of being hurled at them like a charred piece of asteroid." sums it up for me. still can't wait for s7 though, loving the pirate theme. i am the pirate king...

Cba79

Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 7:49 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Cba79 a private message Print Post    
Ditto on the pirate theme, Squaredsc.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum...

Seamonkey

Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 7:54 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
We'll have to have TVCH eyepatches made up :)

Jasonfan

Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 8:58 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Jasonfan a private message Print Post    
I was also most disappointed when Daneille lost on Big Brother, but I could clearly understand why she lost. I didn't agree with the jury, but could see their reasoning. The point that is well made in the article is that we didn't receive any real reason for the votes. Butch's made sense. Heidi's made sense (considering it was Heidi), but all the others were bizarre. I don't mind suspense, but a producer can create suspense, but still let the viewer look back and say. . Oh yeah, I get it now. Did I explain that well?

Seamonkey

Sunday, May 18, 2003 - 11:42 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
Vary well :)

Pottedplant

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 8:38 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Pottedplant a private message Print Post    
great article. I was in such a bad mood the monday after Jennas "win".
I am going to call the Amazon Jury, the OJ jury.

Seamonkey

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 10:06 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
Of course I meant Very well :)

Yeah.. jury gone haywire..

Gina8642

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 10:17 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Gina8642 a private message Print Post    
Well, it's been 1 1/2 weeks since the final show. I gotta say I'm still not quite 'over' their decision to reward Jenna with the win. I guess I wouldn't have minded as much if the vote had been a little closer. My 'backlash' toward that jury is going strong!

I still wish I could get a few more pop shots in at Heidi - she is by far the reality contestent I've detested the most.

I still wish Alex was called out at the reunion for all his poor sport eye-rolling.

I still wish credit was given where credit was due to Matthew for his understated game play.

I really, really hope that those jury members have spent a little time on-line and have seen the immense disappointment that many fans felt with their decision. There has never been such an adverse reaction to a reality show decision before.

I was pleased with Jenna acting humble in her win. I always liked her better than Heidi.

Oh well. I guess I took this game a little more to heart than some of the others. Or, maybe my memory is just a little faded.

I am also a little disappointed about the all star survivor. I was finally trying to talk myself into applying - but now there is no S8 for the general public....

Mikedao

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 10:24 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Mikedao a private message Print Post    
If you take a step back and look at it Jenna won more immunity challenges than anyone else so I think that she deserved to win...it was not like she just skated through the whole thing..yeah she lost her composure a few times but she was aggressive and smart and competitive...she even gave away her immunity...that takes guts...Jenna deserved to win! She did Outwit, Outplay, Outsmart everyone!

Squaredsc

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 11:00 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Squaredsc a private message Print Post    
well since matt threw a few ic's i don't see it as jenna actually winning the challenges, imho.

now tvch eyepatches is a great idea. wonder if i can find one in a toy store jazz it up.


Seamonkey

Tuesday, May 20, 2003 - 4:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Seamonkey a private message Print Post    
Squared.. we can definitely come up with eyepatches and I'd think they could perhaps be aubergine

Snee

Wednesday, May 21, 2003 - 11:51 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Snee a private message Print Post    
that article said it all. yup. *sigh*

Alisons

Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 7:48 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Alisons a private message Print Post    
Oh, I don't know. I think that Survivor shows, more than anything, that the person who wins has to have luck and confidence, and that the winner has to be able to play to their own strengths without being intimidating. I think that jury sat there and said to themselves, "Yes, it worked for Jenna but it would not have worked for me to play that way." Matt being in the F2 had the feeling of dumb luck about it. When push came to shove, Jenna won the immunities that she had to win to stay in the game, at times when she was definitely the obvious bootee. Matt was never a target because he was never important enough to be a target. I can see why they thought Jenna was the stronger player.

Rissa

Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 8:15 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Rissa a private message Print Post    
I won't even touch the Jenna/Matt issue, I start debating why/who the jury should have voted for and I will be here all day. LOL My biggest problem with this year's show was the editting. Burnett etal KNEW who won before they started putting the show together. They have a responsibility to their public to have the show MAKE SENSE!!! There have been other winners that we haven't liked (Brian) or felt were deserving (Vecepia) but we could see how they ended up in the F2 and why the jury would vote for them. Burnett didn't show us anything along the way that would explain the ending...NOTHING. It's like pod-people from outer space took over the bodies of the jury just before the final vote.

Part of the fun of the show is trying to guess where it's going.... playing junior pyschiatrist so to speak. When it turns out that you have been playing some different game the whole time, it just SUCKS!!! :)

Texasdeb

Sunday, May 25, 2003 - 6:06 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Texasdeb a private message Print Post    
I think the editing was terrible! Jenna was a better person than what the viewing public was led to believe & Mat was more just into his own world. I was hoping Mat would win - & I'm beliving that's what the producers wanted (heck, I fell into it).