Racial reality

I love the reality show "Survivor." \nI've watched every season. I was absolutely giddy when "Survivor: All-Stars" aired. I even applied for the second edition in Australia.\nBut this season promises to be the best ever. The show is tackling not only social politics, but also racial politics more explicitly than ever before.\n"Survivor" has been criticized for reinforcing negative racial stereotypes and its predominantly white castaways, so producer Mark Burnett confronted this critique head-on. This fall, 20 cast members will be split into four race-based tribes: Asian, Hispanic, black, and white.\nHost Jeff Probst claims this will take the show to a "completely different level." I have no doubt it will. The question is: Will this be positive or detrimental? My guess is a little of both -- but it's worth the risk.\nInitial reactions to the announcement Wednesday have been unfavorable. Some fear it will lead viewers to mistakenly think that five people represent a whole group of diverse individuals. Others believe this will reinforce ugly stereotypes or prejudices. Robert Thompson of the Center for the Study of Popular Television claimed, "It's like a return back to segregated leagues in sports."\nFurthermore, it reinforces very rigid classifications for extremely wooly, socially constructed categories. Do tribe members whose family lineage links them to Puerto Rico, Mexico and Brazil have anything in common just because they're Hispanic? How light would a person have to be to "pass" as white? And multiracial people don't fit neatly into this tribe structure without forcing them to choose one identity.\nBut in my opinion, this is the closest to reality that "Survivor" has ever come. Most of America lives in fairly segregated neighborhoods and towns, especially in cities with a fair amount of racial diversity. Think of your circle of friends (especially white folks). How many people do you count as close friends who are not of the same race? We work together in some settings, pass each other on campus and then spend social time largely with people of the same race. Survivor is just translating that reality to "reality TV."\nIt's funny how a segregated game show ruffles people's feathers, while a largely segregated world goes uncritiqued.\nI'm excited (and optimistic) about the conversations this "racy" move might spark. Many people -- especially white people -- don't like to talk about race and racism. It's safer not to address such a sensitive subject. Many believe in the myth of a "colorblind" world or find false comfort in the belief that racism ended a long time ago. But the truth is that race still very much influences our lives, our social interactions, our opportunities and our attitudes. Hopefully the producers will take advantage of this opportunity to address these racial realities without falling back on stereotypes. \nI trust that "Survivor's" move has the potential to trigger productive discussions about our "racialized" world -- which is much better than the troubling habit of ignoring it.