Survivor: Fans v. Favorites

I must admit, Survivor has never been one of my favorite shows. However, I found that this new twist on the show has sparked my interest. To this day, I have only seen one – maybe two episodes of Survivor. The one thing I noticed as I was watching it is that we, as viewers, only get to see the most dramatic and competitive activities that happen on the island. In class, we discussed how we do not get to see every aspect of a specific show – only the ones that would make us want to watch it and keep coming back for more. Survivor is just another great example of the excessive amount of editing going on behind the scenes.

The fans versus favorites setup is just asking for massive amounts of drama. Many people could argue that it was solely set up for the purpose of attracting viewers through drama and excitement. Think about it: What Survivor fan wouldn’t want to watch their top favorite players battle against normal, everyday fans like themselves? My point is, is that there are many happenings which occur behind the scenes that we, as viewers, never get a chance to see. We don’t get to see them because they are simply edited out, which is due to the fact that these scenes are not dramatic or exciting enough to attract and hold the viewers’ attention.

This new twist on Survivor will most likely be a success because it offers quite the competition. Alexis mentions how they, as fans, know the “favorites’” strengths and weaknesses. This statement alone is enough to spark the interest of viewers – especially diehard fans. But what most people don’t realize is that they are only seeing a small fraction of what is really happening on the island.