Archive through March 30, 2002
MoveCloseDeleteAdmin

The ClubHouse: Archives: Does Survivor cast black men in a bad light?: Archive through March 30, 2002

Amac

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 10:29 am EditMoveDeleteIP
What is everyone's take on this? (Article from www.nj.com)

Alan Sepinwall on TV: Does 'Survivor' cast black men in a bad light?

Friday, March 29, 2002

"I feel like we're doing too much labor on this island," "Survivor" contestant Sean Rector complained midway through last week's episode. "Definitely feel like the master's watching. I'm like, slavery's over. I hear the 'Roots' theme as we speak. Hear it?"

Rector's tantrum crystallized a vague notion that's been lurking behind the entire "Survivor" phenomenon: Whether by accident or design, the show consistently presents its African-American male contestants in a stereotypically unflattering light.

The original "Survivor" introduced us to Gervase Peterson, who proudly exclaimed that he wasn't doing a lick of work around the campsite. He tried to explain his laziness as a scheme to conserve energy for the different challenges, but the YMCA basketball coach got winded trying to run a sprint in an early competition.

Next came "Survivor: The Australian Outback" and Nick Brown. As a Harvard Law student preparing to enter the Navy's JAG corps, he must have had a work ethic, but he was so invisible for most of his stay Down Under that you never saw it. The only two episodes to give him significant face time had several teammates complaining that he was slacking off.

"Survivor: Africa" brought us Clarence Black, another basketball coach. No one ever griped about Black's effort --they were too busy accusing him of stealing food from the small ration supply, an act that was caught on camera.

Now we have Rector, a schoolteacher who has acted lazy, petulant and stupid throughout his time in the Marquesas islands. He resented the fact that teammate Hunter Ellis became his tribe's "Alpha Male," and elected to loaf as much as possible to spite him. He stopped paddling near the end of a rafting competition that his team was still in a position to win. And in last week's show, he started making master/slave references when all he was being asked to do was the same amount of work as everyone around him, both black and white.

"The way they select the participants for the show... seems to be with all these particular flavors that they go back to again and again," said Robin Means-Coleman, a professor of media ecology at New York University who has written several books about African-Americans and their portrayal on television. "They're falling back on Hollywood stereotypes to create drama, and one of those stereotypes is the idea of African-American men who are shiftless and not pulling their weight. It's a dangerous perpetuation."

Black women have come off slightly better on the game show, thanks mostly to the efforts of "Outback" contestant Alicia Calaway, a personal trainer who was so strong physically and mentally that she was targeted for banishment out of respect from her competition. The other black women have been nonentities.

Serialized voyeur shows in general have had a problematic history with the selection and portrayal of their minority males. The first two "Real World" series featured black men who were accused of assaulting white female roommates. The original "Big Brother" house featured a confrontational ex-Black Panther whom the audience eagerly voted out. But "Survivor" stands out as by far the most popular of these shows. Few people watched "Big Brother," but more than 20 million people a week have seen Clarence the Bean-Stealer and Sean the Angry Lazy Guy.

"Survivor" executive producer Mark Burnett has said in the past that his game show also functions as a "microcosm" -- if not of society as a whole, then at least "of office politics." If that's the case, what -- if anything -- is the show saying about the role of African-American men in the workplace?

In an interview that took place shortly before last week's episode aired, Burnett, who was born and raised in England, said, "I didn't grow up here. I don't know from racism."

The lack of British racism may be news to many minority Britons, but what Burnett seemed to be saying in his hyperbolic way was that he doesn't know from American racism. He didn't grow up inundated with our country's queasy history of race relations, nor with our particular racial stereotypes. The unfairly negative, cliched image of the shiftless, surly black man doesn't make him cringe the way it might an American producer.

That image on "Survivor" has occasionally made Gervase Peterson flinch. Thanks to his charismatic personality and the fact that his laziness was part of a legitimate, albeit unsuccessful, strategy, he came off looking much better than any of his successors in the role of, as he puts it, "the minority character." Overall, he's still a big "Survivor" fan, but he sometimes feels uncomfortable about the sameness of the portrayals of black contestants.

"It does bother me a little bit," he said in a recent interview. "I know it's not true. I know they're all not lazy. It just reinforces (that image) for white America."

Three factors seem to be at work here in terms of how contestants on "Survivor" come across: casting, editing and perception.

While it's easy to accuse Burnett of casting for a particular type each time, all that these four men have in common on paper are their age and skin color. In the casting room, Burnett says each came across very differently: Peterson as an energetic extrovert, Brown as a gung-ho mix of brains and brawn, Black as a (very) strong-but-silent type and Rector as a spiritual man with a boundless sense of humor.

"I can't predict behavior from anyone," Burnett said. "BB (Andersen from the first season), I expected to be a lovable grandfather figure, but he acted like a tyrant. Many people didn't behave the way I expected them to, and I learned from that, that what they say in casting and what they do under stress is very different."

Burnett expected Brown to take a leadership role in his "Outback" tribe, not to adopt a fly-below-the-radar strategy. Rector talked in his early auditions about wanting to provide a positive role model for African-American children, and has been anything but.

Burnett isn't some Hollywood screenwriter inventing words and deeds for his African-American "characters." Peterson really told the audience that he wasn't going to do any work. Black really ate those beans. Rector really stopped paddling in mid-race. But what Burnett includes and the context in which he includes it largely define each contestant's on-screen persona.

Brown, for instance, has insisted -- with supportive testimony from his teammates -- that he more than pulled his weight in Australia. The complaints about his effort and shots of him lounging around the camp were isolated incidents, according to him and several "Outback" alumni.

"With Nick, the personality wasn't there, so the only thing they had to show was those two comments," said Peterson.

On close examination, Rector's master/slave outburst might have been him doing a comedy bit. Burnett repeatedly called him "the funniest guy I've ever met in my life," and there's a certain exaggerated quality to Rector's expression and gestures that suggests he was playing to the camera. But you have to look really hard to see that, especially since the show had spent so much time setting him up as a slothful guy with a chip on his shoulder.

"People who are Americans, who grew up here and are much more concerned with political correctness than I am, will say to me, 'Do you want to show the truth here, Mark?'" said Burnett, referring to the "Nick is lazy" comments. "I say, 'I don't want to hear these questions. Just show what happened.' The only thing I will not do is out a gay person who doesn't want to be outed. I'm not going to start buying into editing a certain way just because of someone's concern of what other people's perception will be."

A matter of perception?

Perception is the big issue as far as Peterson is concerned. Yes, black people tend to come off badly on "Survivor," but then, everybody comes off badly on "Survivor." From original winner Richard Hatch on down the line, almost no one leaves the show with a pristine image, whether it's from backstabbing, physical ineptitude, the inability to get along well with others or, yes, laziness. And that last failing hasn't been limited to the black contestants.

On "Marquesas" alone, Rector has been paired with Rob Mariano, an Italian-American construction worker who has been equally shiftless -- and has made misogynist and homophobic comments about his teammates, to boot. Other lollygaggers this time have included Vecepia Towery, a black woman, and Sarah Jones, a white woman. But for whatever reason, Rector has been cited as this season's "villain" on "Survivor" fansites far more often than Mariano.

"You look at Clarence, for example," Peterson said. "Does Clarence look like a lazy person? No. Yeah, the guy lost his mind and ate the beans, but I never saw Clarence being lazy on the show. He worked really hard to stay as long as he did, but America already has that perception of black people, I think. That was the hard thing for me. I knew that if I didn't do anything, people would give me a harder time than they did other people.

"It's not 'another black guy' not doing anything," he said. "It's Gervase not doing anything."

Peterson thought about perception a lot, while he was planning his energy-conservation strategy and while he was actually in the middle of the game. One early competition, designed to emphasize the primitive nature of island life, involved throwing a spear.

"Someone said, 'Gervase, throw a spear.' I said, 'No way is Gervase touching this. There's no upside to this.' If I won, people would think, 'Ah, that Gervase is a spear chucker from Africa.' If I lost, it's 'How can he lose? He's a spear chucker from Africa.'"

(That epithet isn't unknown in England, and this might be another case of Burnett thumbing his nose at political correctness. Or it might be genuine cultural ignorance. In a similar vein, the Dutch producers of NBC's "Fear Factor" seemed surprised when critics complained about a competition that had the contestants -- including a black man and woman -- being dragged through a dirty, rocky street behind a horse.)

"The lazy thing is that stereotype again," said Peterson. "It's been drilled into us for so long that when you see a black person and they do that one (negative) thing, it just reinforces that one thing for you. If you see him do something good, it doesn't register with you."

While Means-Coleman will concede that everyone on "Survivor" fits into one stereotype or another, black males on "Survivor" and other reality shows fit almost exclusively into one of two categories: the lazy black man and the troublemaking black man.

"For every bad white guy that may appear on 'Survivor,' there are just dozens and dozens of other television shows, reality or not, that present a different side or complexities within whiteness," she said. "You have very few representations that counter what we see (of African-American males) on 'Survivor.' "

Or, as Robert Thompson, head of the Center for the Study of Popular Television at Syracuse University, put it, "Let's take young, attractive white women (on 'Survivor'). If one is a real hard worker, that type is balanced by one who's acting like a princess. If one is nasty, she's balanced by someone who's sweet and kind.

"I hate to say it's tokenism, but there are not a lot of black men on this show, and when you get in a situation when one of these men is acting in a negative way, there's no one to provide the other side."

Whether the perception that the show's black male contestants promote negative stereotypes is fair or not, it's there, and it's something Burnett should be more conscious of.

He obviously can't control what people do when they're in the game, and the credentials of Nick Brown and Clarence Black suggest that Burnett was deliberately trying not to cast another "Gervase-type."

"It's just unfortunate that there aren't more minorities on the show," said Peterson, who is aware that CBS has had difficulty attracting a diverse mix of non-white applicants. "If there were, you would get a totally different mix of people. You would have people who would totally reinforce good stereotypes of black people, Asians, Puerto Ricans, and you'd get people who reinforce the negative stereotypes. When the pickings are slim, this is what you're getting."

"Survivor: Marquesas" airs on Thursdays at 8 p.m. on Channel 2.

Maris

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 10:43 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Maybe the shows producers should just stop picking lazy african american males. Maybe the stereotyping takes place during the auditions. HE HE HE.

Squaredsc

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 11:04 am EditMoveDeleteIP
he he he?? sorry i don't get the joke. taking a deep breath...huhh. ok. good post amac, this just reinforces some of the things i have said on other posts.

Juju2bigdog

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 11:34 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I have to agree there is a lot of truth in the article.

Kep421

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 04:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I do agree with the article. It underlines what many high profile black personalities and celebrities have been saying for years.

When black americans are put in the spotlight, they have to be much more careful in their actions and words than their white counterparts in order to avoid reinforcing negative stereotypes.

I'm not saying that Gervase, Nick, Clarence and Sean have done anything wrong. I'm saying that all of them entered into this game totally blind to the possibility of being used (whether on purpose or not) to reinforce a stereotypical bias. Unless you know something about the entertainment business and the way that you could possibly be portrayed by the media promoting you, how would you realize that the simple act of defiance would be promoted as laziness? Or that eating an extra cherry or sharing a can of beans could be construed as stealing? And how could a normal thinking person know that any of their actions would been seen by some people as an inherent part of their race and culture?

I'm hoping with every installment of Survivor that the chosen "token" black man will have a better understanding of the form of entertainment that Mark Burnett provides, and not give MB any fuel for his editing idiots.

MB claims he is "ignorant" of the racial overtones in this country...well, maybe he should educate himself a little. I'm not saying he should take up race activism or anything, but he has to realize that his ignorant editing procedures is damaging for all black Americans.

Just my two cents on an issue that is very dear to my heart.

Llkoolaid

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 05:19 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I don't get the humor either square, I said it before, and I'll say it again, this kind of editing is damaging for all of us, not just black Americans. Rob and Sean are behaving almost identical on the show as far as work is concerned, both made comments about how much work was expected at Rotu and both complained and neither did their fair share. When I think of Sean, I think lazy first, When I think of Rob, I think jerk first. Is it the editing that makes me think this way or is there a part of me that has accepted this portrayal of black men. I have to blame it on the editing because I cannot even entertain the thought that it is the other alternative.

I know this is just a show and we should lighten up but It is kind of scary when you really think about how much control tv can have over public perceptions.

Gina8642

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 05:20 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Black, White, Blue, or Green - Everyone sits down once in awhile.

They can edit anyone just about any way they want to

Resortgirl

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 05:23 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I think we can pick apart personality traits of any of the Survivor contestants, which some of us do! We could say Sarah the big boobed white girl or Brandon the lazy flaming gay guy or Rudy the crotchety old bigoted navy white guy and so on.... I guess we don't normally include a persons race and for the most part sexual preference when describing someones faults, unless they happen to be black.. then some say the "lazy black man". In Sean's case I think he brought into focus his race before anyone else did and that kind of bothers me. I just looked at him as lazy. I don't know what it's like to be black in society today. I can only guess. I'm sure for some it's a struggle, for others an excuse... I don't know what the answers are to solve the problems, but I guess talking about them is a good start!

Maris

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 05:29 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I guess bad joke. My only point is that sean is as lazy as all get out, Gervase was pretty lazy too. So is it how they are presented or is hit how they were picked??? They all go through pretty intenstive scrutiny and evaluations before they are picked. Seems to me that they knew what they were picking. Now as to motive for picking guys like Gervase and Sean, I cant answer that.

Yuhuru

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 05:47 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Llkoolaid,
<Is it the editing that makes me think this way or is there a part of me that has accepted this portrayal of black men.>

Wow, such introspection on your part. If we all took time to really think about these issues, the world would be a better place. Thanks for setting such a great example.

Thanks Amac, I really enjoyed reading this article.

Kizz

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 05:48 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
In my opinion, Mark Burnett had never said anything as racially insensitive as Sean comparing himself to slaves. The slaves were not living on a beautiful tropical island with the potential to win a million dollars...and you can't blame the editing either; there is no context that excuses those words. The bottom line is that he has a responsibility as an educator of young people to be a role model...if you want to sit around and be lazy, stay home and watch Survivor from your couch. There are limits to how much your "portrayal" can be manipulated.

Maris

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 05:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I agree Kizz, you said it much better than I could. We can be politically sensitive and say oh how terrible that an African American male is portrayed as lazy, well isn't that racism in itself to point out that a particular player who happens to be african american is lazy. Sean isnt the only lazy guy on that island, Rob was pretty lazy too. For me I see both of them as lazy jerks.

I could care less what color sean is and it has no bearing on how I form my opinions of him. I think he is lazy and if he was white he would be lazy, if he was asian he would be lazy, he is just plain lazy.

People can stand up and scream for equality and level playing fields but then dont stand up and scream foul because you are portrayed in a critical manner.

going to go back to my lurkdom now as tomatoes are thrown at me.

C1mag

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 06:00 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Kizz is right on the Mark with this one. I use to be an avid fan of the reality show The Real World. They asked several former cast members if they thought that they were edited to appear a certain way when in fact they probably weren't. Well, one young lady responded and said yes that there was manipulation in editing. Imediately the rest of the group spoke up and denounced her claims stating that if you were a "B#tch" or whatever, then in fact you were exactly that.

If you give it to the camera's and it's even close to shock value then you can bet it's gonna be put out there. So unfortunately the aboved mentioned have given moments that the director just couldn't refuse to put out there. Now the real game is letting us see more than one side of that person and that is where MB fails.

We were told by all of those last year that if Lex would have made it to the finals no matter who he was up against him he would have won. All we saw was one side of Lex that made him appear to be a bit over the top. It's up to the director to be honest or half truthful. MB fails in this one department.

Yuhuru

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 06:05 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Kizz & Maris,

Maybe you should read the article over again. I think you're missing the point.

Maris, I believe that you wouldn't have clicked onto this thread if Sean's color wasn't an issue for you.

I think the tomatoes that you're referring to would be outback tomatoes from SII. They returned to you after you threw them out with your initial post.

Maris

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 06:15 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I didnt mean to offend anyone with my post and I am guilty of being a poor communicator. I do click on all the survivor threads not just this one.

Gervase and Sean are lazy yes but so were others. Why say oh look this black man is being portrayed as lazy, there is an inherent racism in the production of this tv show. You could also say they portray blonde women as being airheads and lazy, we had a few of those too. People are who they are. I Think Sean is lazy and I think Rob is equally lazy. Catching tomatoes as I go.

Underdog

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 06:29 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Excuse me for being ignoant! Since this type of comment was brought up previously, then there must be a large group of people who think alike. Personally , I have seen all of these contestents on the show and this is not my perception of these guys. What we have in Sean Rector is a guy who is black and speaks his mind, black men are not supposed to do that in this country, we are supposed to be strong and silent and bring up the rear. Go against the system and you will be labled!

O.K. a lot of the viewers took a liking to Hunter and apparently women thought he was good looking, therefore he was looked at as a leader. This is the same kinda crap that happens in a lot of organizations on a daily basis, someone is given rewards based on their looks and not their abilities. This is what has happened on this show, Hunter was a no better leader than Sean. sure Sean is way over the top in his actions and comments, but after hearing about Hunter's background I really expected him to be "ALL THAT" He turned out to be an average contestant and a sore loser!!

There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with the African American men that have been on this show, the problem lies in the viewers and their ethics and social programing. Yes, here in Great America, we have been programed to expect different things from different groups. We tend to believe blond hair blue eyed men are smart, while Blond women are stupid! We believe that blacks are athletically superior to all other races but they can't think their way out of a paper bag. We believe that women make good nurses but men are great doctors women, can cook but all the great chefs are male and on and on and on....

Apparently we here in America are watching two different shows. While some of us tend to see the same things we all have a different take on the situation. Stop thinking with your emotions and let you eyes be your guide. Sean wasn't the only reason that maraamu lost that challenge, althought he is black and is supposed to be a superior athlete.

Maris , could you please explain your comment, I'm really missing the joke and I wan't to laugh too!

Squaredsc

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 06:39 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
kizz, im sorry but i have said this before on another thread.....but your comment above about how it is racially insensitive for sean to compare himself to his ancestors....in no way (to me) is that a racially insensitive remark when it is coming from a black man or a jewish man for that matter. (i mean in that jewish people were slaves also) "we" as black folk always refer to ourselves as slaves in one form or another. mostly in a joking way, but most of you may not get the joke. i believe he was saying that they were working from sun up to sun down, as the slaves did. i have said the same thing in my circle, does that make me racially insensitive??

Underdog

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 06:51 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Sean is not lazy, he has stated that he is not going to do things because others want him to. This is stragety people! If you refused to do some task at work because someone told you to; like empty your own trash can or vacuum your office or cubicle, would that make you lazy? Or would you be utilizing the other resources of the office like the janitorial services?

So Sean moves in his own time, it works for him it does not have to work for you!!!

Maris

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 07:01 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I guess it worked for him when he put his oars down on the raft when it is possible that his team could have won if he hadn't given up. Sean moves in his own time? from my viewpoint Sean doesnt move.

As a minority woman I have worked hard to get where I am in life, I have also seen others do nothing and fall back on claiming to be stereotyped as an excuse for why they have not succeeded. The same will be true for Sean he will blame people for their perception of him and stereotyping of him as a reason for his being booted when he could just be a team player and succeed. If he thinks he can win by moving in his own time, he will be mistaken. We all have to do tasks even at work we dont like to do and because we are told to do them. I remember way back when, it was required to go and fetch your male boss a cup of coffee at his request. I did it, because I was asked to and it was required.

I got where I am by my sweat and by playing by the rules in corporate america.

Seamonkey

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 07:14 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
No Square, not insensitive, but it is crystal clear that it doesn't communicate as a joke to an awful lot of people.. you can call them ignorant, but this joke isn't coming across in the way you must mean it to, no? So, not insensitive, but not promoting understanding, I guess.

I actually have never heard or read about anyone who ws in the nazi camps or lost family there, joke about that. In fact it was important that the Shoah project, for one example, captured so many stories because so many would NOT talk about it, even to their children. But then genocide and slavery, while they certain may overlap are not totally the same.

As for portrayals being skewed, that starts before they even hit the island.. like Gabe supposedly being a "bartender in NC" when really he works in Los Angeles, Mike Boogie being cast as from NY but he worked in Los Angeles, Sean being a teacher from Harlem, when he is teaching in.. Los Angeles.. the publicity tries to imply diversity where it doesn't exist in many cases.

Whatever... I don't care for Sean's attitude but I certainly think he lends more to the show than, say, Hunter or Gabe.

Yuhuru

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 07:56 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
This article is so much bigger than Sean or MB.

I could be wrong, but I think Square was talking about early Jewish people, as in the Hebrew slaves/children of Isreal, but anyway forget about that.

This part is so hard to put into words. I believe that Jewish people who were tortured don't joke about it because ALL people have embraced the fact that it was a horrible, horrible tragedy. However, the brutal nature of the enslavement of Africans is brushed under the rug. Oh, I get it. We can blame Hitler and the Nazi's for the Holocaust. Who do we blame for slavery? Oops, ourselves. American society has kept hidden the horrible injustices that slaves endured, the theft of their culture, their children, their spouses, and their dignity, not to mention the persecution of Black people after slavery (Thank God for Roots!).

Black Americans are expected to forgive and forget. "That's history" people tell us. So we believe it ourselves. So we make light of it. Is it to trivialize what our ancestors endured 200 years ago, 30 years ago, or last week? No. That's how we cope with the shameful past so that we can move on. Our ability to make light of slavery and put it behind us allows you folks (who don't get it)to live happily ever after and never have to feel the least bit uncomfortable about the evil in this country's heritage.

Laughter neutralizes anger. Maybe if we didn't joke about it. We'd all be focused on getting our forty acres and a mule that we didn't get. Let me joke about the Roots if you're going to pay me $10,000 less than the non black person doing the same job as me(but not doing it as well). Don't say it doesn't happen. Pay attention to the lawsuit against Georgia Power who had significant descrepancies in pay, not to mention the four facilities in Georgia alone where nooses were found hanging. Oh did I mention that a noose was found in place or employment as well? I don't have the time nor do you all have the strength to hear about all the other injustices, tricks, schemes, and downright evil that has been done to black folks.

Last week I thought Underdog was a little too invested in this topic. Now I see why.

Let's say that Sean is lazy ( I believe he is and I don't think it's his strategy) so what!?!?!?!?!? That doesn't negate the validity of the above article at all. But your reaction to him goes much deeper than laziness. We spend a lot of time talking about how angry Sean is. He doesn't seem angry to me, but there are a whole lot of people angered and offended, wah, wah, wah, by Sean.

I probably have a lot of typos, but so what I'm sleepy and you all have worn me out, and I don't feel like proofing.

Maris

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 08:11 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I agree with a lot of what you say except your phrase "your reaction to him goes much deeper than laziness" that is the part I dont get. I just see Sean as lazy. I dont see him as angry he is just one of the players and he is lazy like Rob. I dont see it as Sean the African american who is lazy, I see it as Sean a player who is lazy. I also dont see it as Rob, the union guy who is lazy (we all know union guys dont work). I dont see it as the producer of tv show is portraying an african american male as lazy.

Articles can be tailored to whatever viewpoint you want to promote. For example, lets say Alicia was lazy the article might have said African americans. Alicia worked hard and was a good player so they couldn't say african americans. Coincidentally, you had gervase and sean, who were pretty lazy and therefore you could write an article saying the producers are showing african american MEN as lazy.

We all carry our life experiences to the table and view life in terms of our experiences. Have I experienced discrimination, I sure have but I have also experienced my parents working tirelessly for me to move ahead. I have experienced achievements that were hard fought but well earned. To me because I have worked so hard, I dont want my accomplishments or failures to come down to being written off due to my ethnicity. I am who I am and I got where I got by good hard work.

Sadiesmom

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 08:33 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Actually, it is my opinion that Nick of the outback got the worst deal. The man is building a stove out of rock and people are accusing him of being lazy. I did not know where that was coming from unless they were trying to show others on the team stereo typing. I understand that most of Nick's teammates felt that was a wrong image for him.

So where did the Nick is lazy come from?

Cliotheleo

Friday, March 29, 2002 - 09:24 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Underdong, "the problem lies in the viewers and their ethics and social programing." I agree 100%. If it were not for the extreme racial polarization that exists in this country,(and I admit it goes both ways) then it wouldn't matter how these men were portrayed because we would ALL know that such portrayals were not accurate of all black men. If all you know about black men are what you see on TV, then it's very easy for someone to manipulate you into thinking that was typical behaviour. I have been blessed to have been raised around a lot of black men and I know (I am white) that there are lazy ones, hard-working ones, militant ones, congenial ones, trust-worthy ones, untrust-worthy ones, dumb ones, and intelligent ones. There are just as many "types" of black men in the world as their are black men. And if all of white America lived as diverse social lives as they ought to, they would know that as well. It wouldn't matter how evil or lazy Sean was portrayed, we'd know he wasn't typical and therefore it wouldn't be an issue.

Because there is NO SUCH THING as "typical."

But I'm just ranting. :)

Kep421

Saturday, March 30, 2002 - 04:22 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I don't think the article is saying that black men should not be portrayed in a negative light or that the show must be more "politically correct" in its presentation of the black contestants. I think it is just pointing out that MB is consistently showing the exact same traits for every black male on each show, and is asking the question...why?

You actually helped to make my point Maris, by pointing out that both Sean and Rob are equally lazy. In my opinion, they are both also equally acting like jerks....and yet, MB productions has chosen to emphasize Sean as the lazy one and Rob as the jerk. It is this choice that I have a problem with. Sean is arrogant, not a team player and looks down on his fellow contestants, which are also the same personality traits exhibited by Rob. Why not portray Rob as the lazy one and Sean as the jerk?

And if it weren't for the fact that MB has consistently chosen to portray black men in this manner, even when it wasn't an issue in the game (as in Nick's case), I really wouldn't have a problem with his editing procedures.

I know that MB is looking for specific character types to make his show interesting. There is nothing wrong with that. And because of his "ignorance" of racial views in America, he isn't paying attention to color when he casts the lazy, stealing, good for nothing contestant. The sambrats are a clear indication he is not looking for just black people to portray in this manner.

MB has consistently portrayed the white contestants (both male and female) in a variety of ways including lazy, conniving, manipulating and backstabbing, as well as nurturing, loyal, good natured and sweet tempered. Yet the black male contestants are consistently portrayed in every single show only one way...as lazy good for nothings. Why is that? Is he trying to tell us that he has looked everywhere and has been unable to find any black male suitable contestants who are not lazy?

There really is something wrong with that kind of typecasting, plus it gets very predictable and boring after four shows. So I and the article are asking the same question: why?