Anyone with even the slightest interest in reality TV is aware of the brouhaha over the latest season of Survivor. A great ugliness has been revealed in the 14th season of the show, and it isn't the decision made by one young African-American man to renege on a promise he made. Instead, it's the nasty face of racism and classism that is running rampant across the Internet.
The event in question, of course, was the decision by Dreamz not to honor a deal he made with fan-favorite Yau Man. The deal in question happened during the regular "car give-away" reward challenge. Just before the challenge, Dreamz asked the others if there was any chance to give him a car, please do it. This is not unprecedented, as a previous car winner was offered the chance to give away her car. She chose not to at that time and was promptly voted off. Dreamz talked in his confessional about how he was the only one of the remaining players who didn't own a car. Dreamz has talked about his past of homelessness and drug-addicted family members. He was certainly not the kind of person who usually gets cast on American reality shows. The others--especially the very smart, strategic Yau Man--knew that this past was his Achilles heel. So, when Yau Man won the new truck, he decided to make a deal with Dreamz. He started by saying, "Dreamz, how much do you need that truck?" Clearly, he was playing off the need of a man who had grown up in severe poverty. When Dreamz reiterated that he was the only one there without a vehicle, Yau Man offered a deal: if the two of them made it to the final 4 and Dreamz won immunity, he would give it to Yau Man. It was made clear that Yau Man had no way to enforce said deal, and he agreed to that. Dreamz took the deal. Yau Man immediately admitted that, although it was nice to be able to give such a gift, it was a strategic decision. Dreamz quickly realized what this meant for him: Yau Man wanted to take immunity and vote Dreamz out at final 4. And Dreamz was right, Yau Man did want to get rid of him--before the final 4, in fact, as he had explicitly stated to others.
Well, the two of them did end up in the final 4. What's more--surprise, surprise--the challenge was tailor-made for Dreamz to excel. He did. He won. The kid fought himself over the decision. He said he wanted his son to know he was a man of his word, but he also knew that the money would make a huge difference in the lives of his family. He had to decide which one would mean more to his kid. When the time came, he decided the chance at the cash would mean more to his son. He kept his immunity and Yau Man was voted off.
So, now comes the backlash, and it has been hideous. In the blog of former Survivor contestant, BobDawg, he writes of some of the hideous posts on the CBS message boards. Here's some of what he had to say:
"**'Young Black America has no future if Dreamz-like people are their role model!... The only thing he taught me: there isn’t much honor, honesty, faith or self respect left in Black community as long as a "difficult life" is an acceptable excuse for becoming scum!'
"BobDawg sez: I had no idea the entire black community was counting on Dreamz to save us. Now I know what that ‘lost’ feeling I’ve been having is, because now I’m found. Too bad Dreamz dropped the ball. It’s all over for us now. Thanks a lot, ‘brother’…"
Even worse, he writes about this poster:
"And my favorite…
** 'I have nothing at all against the asians. I think they are extremely intelligent people and generally are friendly and good citizens. Let me also say, I am the first to notice a wonderful black person. May I remind you all I said I liked Earl (although he should've voted Cassandra in the end but I'm not at all suprised they all stick together LOL), and some of the others on this season, whose names aren't coming to me at the time. I also have a couple black friends that I hold in the highest regard. Do I still believe they are the exception?? Absolutely! But they are also people that don't speak ebonics, don't celebrate a made up holiday such as Kwanza, don't wear their pants down below their butt and sideways hat and repeatedly talk extremely loud in public with foul language, don't give extremely rude attitude along with dirty looks to people they don't even know, etc etc etc. The list could go on and on. I'm sure you get my point. And I'm also sure if you were honest with yourself you would maybe admit a lot of those thing, if not all, bother you too and are completely unnecessary for the human race. Back to Dreamz though.. that was not the usual lie on Survivor as many would agree with. This was a $60,000 gift given in exchange for a man's word and a handshake and swearing to God on national television.'
"BobDawg Sez: Wow. I have to admit, this one actually made me laugh. 'That’s not the usual lie people would agree with'???? Pray tell, which lies are the ones we agree with? Where’s the morality compass pointing on that one? And in a game full of lies that are apparently ok, Dre’s was so far and away worse that it deserves 300 thread pages and all this vicious name calling? And I had no idea people actually still say out loud stuff like 'the Asians are smart' and 'the blacks are lazy' and 'I’m not racist. I have black friends.' That’s so… 90s. It sounds like something from one of those ‘lesson’ episodes on Diff’rent Strokes... "
On the message boards at Televison Without Pity, one poster uses very poor spelling to write about Dre's "crokidile tears" and how he surely sheds them when he "beats women and robs convenience stores." This for a guy who did what all successful contestants on Survivor have done--tell a lie and renege on a deal?
Of course, we have the former TV actor and short-film producer (not to mention former contestant) Jonathan writing on the Survivor blogs about Dre's lack of integrity and how it makes him sick for society. Mind you, Jonathan was demonized in his own season for a lack of integrity and made the sarcastic quip about how these people seemed to think no one had ever lied on Survivor before. I guess he's just glad to get to piss on someone else. (Besides, a guy who actually did a TV episode of a Fran Drescher series should really still be hiding his face in absolute shame.)
However, Jonathan does at least have the ability to recognize something that most people are overlooking in this entire matter: living on the street forces one to adopt a different ethic. Middle-class, educated white people have never had to live that way and have no idea how they would react. The fact is that Jonathan's lecture about "longterm consequences" means fuck all to someone on the street. You take what you can get now because there may not be a "longterm." What's more, you don't allow yourself to look like a mark to potential exploiters or you will become one. Finally, you don't develop a deep bond with or trust in people outside your circle because they may or may not stick around. Once you've lived that way long enough, it is difficult to shake.
The part that really takes the cake, though, is that Yau Man is being hailed as some kind of saint. Look, I liked the guy a lot. I was rooting for Earl, but I dug the hell out of Yau Man for reasons very similar to the ones that made me like Rupert Boneham back in his first season. They both came in as underdogs. Rupert was selected the most likely to be voted off first by the viewers leading up to his season, and promptly came out and blew the doors off. Yau Man was an older, frail-looking guy who turned out to be not only smart, but also quite the immunity threat. That made him beloved.
However, the idea that he did something for Dre out of the goodness of his heart and Dre is scum for betraying him is bullshit. Yau Man said as much when he said that it was strategy. Furthermore, he had previously told others that he wanted Dre out sooner rather than later despite the fact that they were supposedly allies. And, y'know what? That was smart of Yau Man. He was playing a game that rewards that kind of behavior. Dre, too, was smart for turning it on its head and breaking his word. Would that be admirable in real life? No. However, they all enter this game with the agreement that they will be lied to, manipulated and betrayed. This show has been going on for a while. Nobody should be surprised by how it is played at this point. What's more, Yau Man specifically tried to exploit Dre's poverty to his own advantage--and that, I guess, is an admirable act in the eyes of America.
Dre is a young man. He was playing a game that is based on lying, deceiving, betraying. Anyone who doesn't see that is lying to themselves. What's more, anyone who decries that fact and still watches the show is a hypocrite. After all, if they don't like the way the game rewards betrayal, manipulation and exploitation, then they shouldn't be watching. The abuse he is taking is what really concerns me. How do people--apparently morally unblemished and upright, if they are to be believed--pile on in a mob frenzy and live with themselves? After all, they are not playing a game. They are, in fact, doing this in the real world. They are truly showing the dankness in their own souls by attacking Dreamz in the vile, racist, self-righteous way that they are.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment