The Oversized Tribe Has Spoken
One of the most important votes in the near 250-year history of the United States of America took place very shortly after the turn of the millennium. There were two candidates in question, and they served as representatives of two clear-cut and drastically different ideological groups. Before they could go head to head in one final vote, they needed to maneuver past a number of other candidates, who despite their best efforts, proved to be less qualified, or perhaps just not as “skilled” as those final two. Because the final two candidates were so polarizing, and because the vote turned out to be impossibly tight, one could argue that there are very few events that were as impactful or important as this one to American culture. In total, over one hundred million people were actively engaged, anxiously watching their television sets as the results were revealed, and as you’d expect, it was quite a shock when the less popular of the two candidates was eventually named the winner.
Yes, this is a piece about the first season of Survivor and the larger-than-you-would-expect influence of Reality TV on 21st Century culture, but that previous paragraph isn’t just applicable to the final vote of Survivor Borneo, which awarded Richard Hatch the $1 million prize and distinction of the first “Sole Survivor” after he secured a victory over Kelly Wiglesworth via a 4–3 vote in the final Tribal Council. It’s also an accurate description of the 2000 Presidential Election.
It’s not possible to overstate how massive Survivor was during its premiere season. It’s actually rather difficult to explain to someone who either hasn’t watched at all, or didn’t watch from the start, what kind of stranglehold Survivor had on the national consciousness in the Summer of 2000. Here’s the best way I know how to do so: Over 125 million people watched a portion of the finale of Survivor Borneo. Even without any additional context provided, this is staggering number, but let’s take it one step further: 105,421,423 people voted in the 2000 Presidential Election. This means there were roughly 20 million more people watching Richard, Kelly, grumpy Navy Vet Rudy Boesch, an even grumpier Susan Hawk, and Survivor’s ageless host Jeff Probst on Wednesday August 23, 2000 than there were Americans who cast their vote for George W. Bush, Al Gore, Ralph Nader or any of the other candidates who were on the ballot on Tuesday November 7, 2000.
In some way, it’s easy to understand how and why Survivor was able to reach these heights in the Summer of 2000. It was the perfect reality television concept; one that took the Desert Island Hypothetical that had played out in numerous books and scripted television shows, and brought it to life in a completely new way with a new twist — whoever managed to stay on this island the longest would win a $1 million prize. It had the perfect host; one who has stuck around for going-on-forty seasons of Survivor. It had the perfect music; if we’re talking about all-time great television theme songs and scores, Survivor needs to come up in the first few minutes of the conversation. It had the perfect first cast; a number of compelling characters from all walks of life who, for the most part, had no idea what they were supposed to be doing on this island and within the boundaries of this game.
Most importantly, Survivor came around at the perfect time. Whether or not people were consciously aware of it, times were changing as the 1900’s became the 2000’s. Big, bold ideas were on the way in many cultural/technological arenas, and television was no different. People were ready for a new television phenomenon to immerse themselves in. Something that was unique and exciting and able to advance television beyond the defining sitcoms (Seinfeld, Frasier, Friends) and procedural dramas (NYPD Blue, The Practice, Law & Order) that dominated the 1990’s, for better or worse. Survivor is the show that would end up defining a wave of reality and competition shows that premiered within the first few years of the new Century. But again, to some degree, this was all predictable. What wasn’t as predictable was the deep, lasting impact that Survivor (and reality television in general) would have beyond television. Particularly, what interests me is how certain concepts of Survivor worked their way into American politics.
About two years ago I had an idea to write about the convergence of the first season of Survivor and the 2000 Presidential Election. My theory was that there was some sort of unseen overlap between these two events, so I researched both separately and what I ended up finding was that I wasn’t the first person who saw that there were similarities between reality television and American politics. June Deery, an associate professor in the Department of Communication and Media at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, conducted a study called Reality TV: Key Concepts in Media and Cultural Studies, and in this study she concluded that reality TV not only changed television, but our reality as well:
“Though direct influence may be impossible to establish, it may be easier to argue that, over time, the sheer prevalence of reality TV content on our screens may function to normalize certain values and behavior, some of which were previously disreputable or taboo.”
Among the many places where reality TV, and Survivor in particular, “normalized certain values and behavior” was in the political arena. It’s shaped our perception of how the Presidential race is ran, how to evaluate candidates, how to follow the progression of the election, and even who gets elected. We viewed the 2000 Election through the lens of a Reality TV show, and by the time 2016 rolled around, America treated the Presidential vote as if it were final Tribal Council. Shit, a Reality TV personality won the damn vote.
(Admittedly, it’s unfair to portray Donald Trump as just a former Reality TV personality. More accurately, he’s a former Billionaire who received hundreds of millions of dollars from his father … He’s the namesake of Trump Tower, a building which he bragged was one of the tallest buildings in New York City after 9/11 … He’s been involved in more than 4,000 state and federal legal actions as of April 2018 … He’s been accused of Sexual Assault 24 times since 1980 as of June 2019 … He’s the failed owner of the New Jersey Generals USFL team, Trump Shuttle airlines, Trump University, Trump Steaks, Trump Vodka, and the Donald J. Trump Foundation … While his wife was pregnant, he had an affair with two different women in 2006 and 2007 and paid them both to sign NDA’s … He was endorsed by KKK Grand Wizard David Duke)
At its core, Survivor is obviously a competition, but it was also designed to be a show about human interaction; something like Lord of the Flies but for adults who were competing for a massive monetary prize. On the debut episode of Survivor, host Jeff Probst explained what the show was all about, and he even claimed that we would be watching “16 strangers forced to band together.” Survivor originated as an experiment about survival and human interaction, but over time it’s become a game and nothing more. It’s not about “surviving” or “the castaways” … it’s about “the players” and “advancing” and “winning.” This applies to our country’s Presidential election too. Does the oversized tribe really care what these politicians bring to the table, or is it about who runs the best race (i.e. who plays the best game)? More importantly, do politicians really care about the tribe, or do they just care about the prize?
As time goes by, the connections become clearer to me. Immunity challenges are like Debates, and the interactions of everyday camp life are like candidates holding rallies around the country. Proper use of new innovations like hidden Immunity Idols would be like Presidential candidates mastering the use of social media or advertisements.
There are loopholes in Survivor, just like there are with the general election of the President of the United States. You can get beat by several million votes in the popular vote, yet still be elected President because of the Electoral College. Just two seasons ago on Survivor, the eventual winner was voted out on Day 8 and remained in the game thanks to a ridiculous and wildly unpopular Edge of Extinction twist. He eventually re-entered the game on Day 35 and would go on to win. He played real Survivor for a grand total of twelve days and won.
I suppose it’s conceivable that there is less of a concrete connection between United States Presidential Election and Survivor than I’m imagining. Or maybe it’s actually the political system that has influenced Survivor, and not the other way around. Or perhaps the real testament of the power and reach of reality TV is the fact that I even thought to find a connection between it and anything else in the first place.
