SURVIVOR - THE SURVIVOR CONTROVERSY GROWS

THE SURVIVOR CONTROVERSY GROWS

As expected, Wednesday's announcement that the next Survivor series will see the show's "tribes" divided along racial lines has begun to generate controversy. In New York, City Councilman John Liu, calling the plan "preposterous," told the Associated Press that he plans to launch a campaign urging CBS not to broadcast the show, which is scheduled to debut on Sept. 14. He said that a coalition of officials, including the city council's black, Latino and Asian caucus, was planning a protest rally at City Hall set for today (Friday). Mychal Massie, national chairman of the conservative African-American group Project 21, told CNSNews.com, a unit of the conservative Media Research Center, that the show will perpetuate "a racial divide, and I'm not certain that this particular racial divide is not intentional to show one [racial] group as more adept or more adroit than another group." New York Post TV columnist Linda Stasi remarked that "the whole concept is racist. Of course, it's ugly as can be. ... So will 'Survivor: Race Wars' be a ratings winner? You bet! If racism hadn't turned into entertainment, it wouldn't be called 'playing the race card.'"

25/08/2006