Silk Willow Talk

 

Well, they did it. They got rid of CowBoy aka Cao Boi, the Vietnamese voodoo priest (sort of) who practiced pseudo shamanism on his fellow tribemates. In case you don’t know who he is, it’s the guy with the wrap around tattoo in the photo. They got rid of him because he was too unpredictable and I suppose… strange… but I absolutely enjoyed his uniqueness on this show. Survivor, just like The Amazing Race, is suffering from absolute mediocrity with contestants whose names and faces simply blend into each other and who lack any form of memorability. Cao Boi was a standout in a sea of average fellows and it’s a shame his unconventional approach to things got him the boot.

On the other side of the spectrum is Yul, who is a lovely soft-spoken Korean-American who I really think should win this year. He’s the rather wholesome looking guy in the left photo and is a Stanford graduate nonetheless. Wheww!! Not only because no Asian has ever won in this show before but he plays the Survivor game with a lot of integrity….so far. I listened to him during tribal council respond to Jeff Probst’s prodding questions with such class, and effortless dignity (ok I’m pushing it here but I like the guy) that I could not help but be lulled by his calm and gentle voice. The guy is strong; just check out his buff bod. The guy is smart; he discovered the hidden immunity idol… like right away! The guy plays clean or has played clean up to this point. So what’s there not to like? He’s my favorite this year to win. And if he doesn’t, it’s just one more example of why life is not fair.

Two Asian guys, both rock in different ways. Just goes to show you there is variety in every race and culture.

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They’ve tried everything in the past — divide contestants by age and by sex. Survivor: Cook Islands, the 13th season for this popular reality show series, is finally going further in the way of political incorrectness. And I am enjoying every minute of it.

They are now dividing the contestants into four groups of five contestants each, with each group representing a particular race. We thus have the Caucasian (Raro), African-American (Hiki), Hispanic (Aitu) and Asian-American (Puka) tribes. Apparently there are many who are up in arms about this — just check out what MSNBC is saying. Some rags and other news outlets are calling it a “controversial” move by Mark Burnett, the show’s producer.

All I can say is… WHO GIVES A #$(*%? I certainly don’t care a whit about race and how it’ll play into the strategy of winning this particular competition. Be that as it may, I don’t read much into ethnic stereotyping, but maybe it’s because I don’t have a chip on my shoulder, as those who may be overly sensitive to Polish or such jokes happen to be.

Of course, there are always limits to how racial differences are represented — if done in a truly negative light, or in bad taste, I would certainly cry foul. But so far, I am only quite mildly amused by the goings on in the Cook Islands these days and am still waiting for somebody’s boot to drop with flying sparks and all that. I’m still waiting for the real drama to start. Though I did have one of the season’s funny moments hit me when Virgilio “Billy” Garcia from the Aitu (Hispanic) tribe claimed he had fallen in love at first sight with a sorority girl from the Raro (Caucasian) tribe. He said it with a straight face during tribal council while on the verge of being kicked off, and with absolutely no warning and definitely no confirmed reciprocity from the female in question, other than a sympathetic verbal pat in the back she gave him at one point during an immunity challenge. All I could think was…DUDE….in your dreams! Hello! Is there anyone home?

So to all the TNPTBs (Television Network Powers That Be) out there, keep on plugging along with the ethnic theme… I’m all for it! After all, that’s not what’s offensive — it’s stuff like this that is. Okay, your mileage may vary.
 
 

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