Survivor,
"Game Changers" ended last Wednesday evening. We were on the road but I
recorded the episode and we watched Saturday night after returning from
Florida. Sarah Lacina won. She was the most effective liar,
back-stabber and "strategic player." She'd been on the show before and
conducted herself with honor while playing. She lost.
Background here:
http://glidersruminations.blogspot.co.id/2014/05/the-lessons-of-survivor-cagayan-and-why.html
Going home after that show, Sarah, having lost to the morality-free fellow police officer, Tony, decided to throw her integrity out the window for 39 days. She said she used her professional contact with thieves, prostitutes and addicts to better understand how to "go under cover" and become somebody she despised (i.e.: Tony, from Survivor, Cagayan) to "win." Once she swore never to talk to Tony again. She'd bonded with him and then got back-stabbed. Morally unacceptable, right? Then apparently she had an epiphany. But not from Saul to Paul. Just the opposite, from Paul to Saul. Bad is the new Good. But only for money on TV, right? Only a game. Say it again, ONLY A GAME. Worth a million dollars, cash, of course. Fame and Fortune. Certainly worth selling your integrity for, right? At least that's what she learned from playing Survivor. Let's hope it's only something people learn from playing Survivor, not watching it.
The good thing for Sarah was she still had something to sell. One thing this season of former players knew was who was genuine and who was creepy dishonest. They knew not to trust Tony. He established that he would lie on his mother's grave for money. That's good, of course, and should be rewarded, as Survivor has taught us, but only when it's done al fresco. We wants our lies told fresh from the garden. So he was voted out early, this season. Boring. His soul selling act was rotten stale. His ability to lie with a straight face, laudable but a re-run. It won him the respect of his fellow players, once. Now it's funny. Juries on Survivor, apparently love budding soul sellers. Somebody who comes on board with integrity but then throws down, sells out and convinces others they can be trusted and then, pow, screw you buddy. The Sole Survivor, is not a Soul Survivor, it seems. It's the opposite. Somebody with established integrity, like a police officer who is willing to be morally compromised for money and fame. This is a good thing. A Survivor jury previously rewarded his two-faced, lying persona with a million dollars. It seems Tony already sold his soul and well, you can't do it twice. At least not on Survivor. But they also knew Sara was genuine. Until she wasn't. Now they know she isn't. For that they rewarded her 50 pieces of Survivor-Silver (million bananas). Now, she's a winner! Huzzah...
I get it. The folks who compete on Survivor can't all be ex-professional athletes like Brad Culpepper. He won more actual Survivor competitions and kept his integrity intact. Easy (relatively) for him, they reason. They were trying to cut his throat every vote but he kept winning challenges. He was obviously a better survivor, but he wasn't a Survivor survivor. You can't keep your soul intact. No way. The only way to counteract such physical prowess is with guile and politics (being a sneaky liar). And oh yeah, Brad's a bully. Hard to know who to pull for. The liar or the bully? I guess selling your integrity wins out. It seems more about whose willing to give up the most to win. Brad ground it out physically but who cares? The bulk of the jury clearly identified with the sneak over the bully. After watching, I took a shower. And like a damaged moth, I can't wait for the flame, that is Survivor, to be re-lit in a few months.
Background here:
http://glidersruminations.blogspot.co.id/2014/05/the-lessons-of-survivor-cagayan-and-why.html
Going home after that show, Sarah, having lost to the morality-free fellow police officer, Tony, decided to throw her integrity out the window for 39 days. She said she used her professional contact with thieves, prostitutes and addicts to better understand how to "go under cover" and become somebody she despised (i.e.: Tony, from Survivor, Cagayan) to "win." Once she swore never to talk to Tony again. She'd bonded with him and then got back-stabbed. Morally unacceptable, right? Then apparently she had an epiphany. But not from Saul to Paul. Just the opposite, from Paul to Saul. Bad is the new Good. But only for money on TV, right? Only a game. Say it again, ONLY A GAME. Worth a million dollars, cash, of course. Fame and Fortune. Certainly worth selling your integrity for, right? At least that's what she learned from playing Survivor. Let's hope it's only something people learn from playing Survivor, not watching it.
The good thing for Sarah was she still had something to sell. One thing this season of former players knew was who was genuine and who was creepy dishonest. They knew not to trust Tony. He established that he would lie on his mother's grave for money. That's good, of course, and should be rewarded, as Survivor has taught us, but only when it's done al fresco. We wants our lies told fresh from the garden. So he was voted out early, this season. Boring. His soul selling act was rotten stale. His ability to lie with a straight face, laudable but a re-run. It won him the respect of his fellow players, once. Now it's funny. Juries on Survivor, apparently love budding soul sellers. Somebody who comes on board with integrity but then throws down, sells out and convinces others they can be trusted and then, pow, screw you buddy. The Sole Survivor, is not a Soul Survivor, it seems. It's the opposite. Somebody with established integrity, like a police officer who is willing to be morally compromised for money and fame. This is a good thing. A Survivor jury previously rewarded his two-faced, lying persona with a million dollars. It seems Tony already sold his soul and well, you can't do it twice. At least not on Survivor. But they also knew Sara was genuine. Until she wasn't. Now they know she isn't. For that they rewarded her 50 pieces of Survivor-Silver (million bananas). Now, she's a winner! Huzzah...
I get it. The folks who compete on Survivor can't all be ex-professional athletes like Brad Culpepper. He won more actual Survivor competitions and kept his integrity intact. Easy (relatively) for him, they reason. They were trying to cut his throat every vote but he kept winning challenges. He was obviously a better survivor, but he wasn't a Survivor survivor. You can't keep your soul intact. No way. The only way to counteract such physical prowess is with guile and politics (being a sneaky liar). And oh yeah, Brad's a bully. Hard to know who to pull for. The liar or the bully? I guess selling your integrity wins out. It seems more about whose willing to give up the most to win. Brad ground it out physically but who cares? The bulk of the jury clearly identified with the sneak over the bully. After watching, I took a shower. And like a damaged moth, I can't wait for the flame, that is Survivor, to be re-lit in a few months.
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