lchapter Reality vs. Common Beliefs on Survivor

As I detailed in my essay on understanding Survivor, if you watch the show you are really viewing a tiny, tiny faction of what went on during the game, edited by the producers after they knew the results of every vote and the final winner, designed to produce a dramatic story with characters, plot and dialogue designed to produce the highest ratings.

Everything you see is there to develop that plot. While the individual lines may be scripted, the final stringing-together of them is. What I've come to like about watching the show is trying to figure the manipulations. When you see the players (characters) answering questions, trying to figure out what the question you never see was, and why they showed this particular answer.

All that you see is shown to turn the characters into good guys and bad guys, leaders and underdogs. It's vital that you like the winner, be satisfied with his or her win, and that it be the come-from-behind triumph of good over evil. The winner should be presented as a flawed hero who improves and takes the prize to everybody's surprise but delight.

I thought I would outline what I think are some of the common beliefs or myths the producers are trying to present. When I call these myths, I don't mean they are not true. Some of the things the producers present are true, some are not. All you really know is that they fit the plot the producers edited to. The fact that you see it on screen, the fact that you even see a character say it about himself doesn't give much evidence whether it's true or false.

If I followed you around with a camera for 5 weeks, 24 hours a day, asking you pointed questions about yourself and your friends, and then got to edit that down into 20 minutes of out of context quotes, I could make you look like anybody. I could catch you saying contradictory things. I could make your friends look like anybody. Devil, Saint, it doesn't matter. Even if I didn't know what I wanted you to look like at first, I could still get enough material in all directions to present the picture I want.

At first you would of course be wary of this and know you were on camera. But 24 hours a day, week after week, while competing in strenuous contests? Your guard would come down soon enough.

What's Real

In order to decide what's illusion, you have to see what you can find out that's real. On the show a few things come through to us unedited or mostly unedited:

1. The results of the votes. The web site has the complete voting, so they are unable to hide things. I think they ask all voters to give their reasoning, but only show the reasonings that further the decided plot.
2. The results of challenges. There may be challenges we don't see, but we do get to see the final result of the ones they put on. However, up to the final result, they show misleading clips to put more suspense into the challenge. Or reveal rules at the end. (For example, the Blowgun-Sling-Javelin contest at the end was revealed to have only the Javelin throw count.) The Row-Walk-Swim-Run-Dig challenge turned out to depend only on the digging. Gervase was shown collapsing and far behind but he got to the beach before the chest has been dug up -- all he needed to do.
3. The parting words of the players. They may not show us all of them, but it appears, from viewing website video, that they do. They certainly show a long, contiguous piece.
4. Post-game interviews with players on the CBS morning show and elsewhere. The players are of course bound not to reveal hidden facts and the identity of the winner, but these shows are done by the news department, which while not perfect, would not deliberately mislead. Often things in the post-game interviews contradict impressions from the show, and it seems almost certain the interviews tell the reality.
5. Ratings. If you have to select among choices, and one clearly would bring higher ratings, that's the one the producers would choose. It's the first three laws of Television. (Ratings, Ratings and Ratings.)

Myth: Last night, they voted X off the Island

Nope. The show was filmed in March and April. It was all done months before it aired. Everything you see was edited and selected after knowing the winner. Try to think of the show in the past tense to understand it. Instead of "If the Tagi Alliance is voted off next week" think "If the TA was voted off back in week 9."

Probable Myth: Richard leads the alliance

We don't know who led it. We don't see it forming or see much of its meetings. They may all talk about it. They have made Richard and Sue the bad guys -- a sign that they are the ones you are glad to see defeated. Rudy has an astounding biography, one of the top enlisted men in the SEALs. He may be leading it, who knows?

Probable Myth: Gervase is lazy

We even have Gervase saying this. But remember, he may have been asked, "So Gervase, what are your faults?" or "Are you lazy?" How many of us might not admit to pulling our full weight under such questions. Others may be asked, "What do you like about Gervase? What don't you like?" Many of the bad quotes come from Susan. Many of the bad quotes on everybody come from Susan.

Fact: Gretchen Cordy, in her post-game interview, said Gervase was not that lazy. She said he would do anything you asked him to! Who do you believe, Gretchen, who was in Pagong for its full life, or the illusion the producers want to present?

Fact: "For anyone to describe Gervase as a slacker only shows that they just don't know him. He's nothing like that," said Suzan Robbins, who works with Peterson at the YMCA. "Everybody here loves him because he is such a hard worker and is a very likeable person who gets along well with just about everyone. I watch the show just because of him and we're all pulling for him to win" (Burlington County Times)

Fact: Joel Klug, also of Pagong, liked Gervase the best and kept up a friendship with him alone after the show was over.

Fact: Only one vote has been cast up to week 8 for Gervase, by Jenna, the one he views as his enemy.

Fact: Gervase did very well in the challenges, especially later ones. He was way ahead in the rope maze, and made the others look puny in the breath holding competition. His running was not as bad as shown.

Truth: Gervase later revealed he pretended to be somewhat lazy (though not as much as shown) in order to not present a target.

Probable Myth: Probst asked only Richard, Susan, Kelly about the alliance, but not Rudy.

It is illegal for the host to give assistance to any players. He probably asked everybody. He almost surely asked Rudy. They just didn't show you everything.

Fact: The Tribal Councils lasted much longer than 10 minutes, as long as an hour, and included much more debate and questions than you see. Probst also goes and re-sorts the votes before showing them to make the voting more dramatic.

Probable Myth: Richard is an evil, scheming backstabber

He just played the game the way all of them knew the game might be played. All were aware of the possibility and existence of alliances from the start. Richard was definitely enjoying playing the game, but you don't know what the others were feeling. They were all there for the million dollars. He may be evil, but almost surely not as evil as shown with the selected clips.

Probable Myth: Sean is stupid and just a tool for the Alliance

This one is harder to figure. Sean may be a member of a secret alliance with Richard and possibly Rudy, but unknown to Sue or Kelly.

Fact: Sean knew all about the alliance, and told Gretchen about it. Yet other Pagongs were told not to worry about it.

Fact: After the 1st Colleen vote, Sean has voted Alliance ticket 100%

Fact: Sean suggested to the Pagongs an alliance with them if Kelly would also join. Speculation: Was he getting the Pagongs to test Kelly's loyalty for him?

Fact: Gervase and Colleen spent their final votes on Sean, not on their known enemies in the Tagi-4. Never explained.

Fact? Gervase said Sean is just dumb. But he said it at a time where it would not have been permitted for him to say Sean has secret schemes.

Fact: Sean suddenly switches who gets Yacht trip from Kelly to Richard. Speculation: Did he know Kelly was scheduled for termination?

Speculation: They showed even his father as dumb. That's too much emphasis on the idea, making it seem doubtful.