Segregated 'Survivor' - Island Life in Black and White (and Yellow and Red)

Is a Racially-divided Reality TV Show a Good Idea?

By now you probably know that during season 13 of 'Survivor,' the 20 castaways will be divided into four groups based on race: Caucasian, African-American, Asian or Hispanic.

Is this a good idea? Or, asking the question the same way watchdog groups have posed it: Is it racist? Has 'Survivor' executive producer Mark Burnett finally gone too far in his quest to turn around sluggish ratings? 

Sufficient Outrage Abounds
Soon after the "social experiment" to divide tribe members by race was announced, critics pounced and dubbed it a "race war" that would set to boil a melting pot already brimming with enough combustible ingredients.

Pundits bared their angry pens when "Survivor" host Jeff Probst admitted his ignorance about Asian ethnicities and the fact that they include Japanese, Koreans and Chinese folks who aren't all joined arm-in-arm singing "Kum Bah Yah, my Lord..."

I say give the guy a break. Like he admitted, Probst is a "white guy from Wichita" who had little exposure to other nationalities. Only in recent years did I - a woman of color - discover that Indians are considered Asians, too. Or, "South Asians," as the case may be.

Touchy, Touchy
The racial paranoia has begun even before the 'Survivor: Cook Islands' premiere. AsianWeek.com noted that in CBS publicity photos, the black and Latino teams are positioned in the rear, while the Caucasian and Asian groups are in the front.

Never mind the fact that the people up front are kneeling, offering a more prominent view of the bodies behind them. Heaven forbid if the 'sistahs' and 'brothas' had been the ones in the prayer position. Talk about outcries of racism. I really believe that many detractors are getting the jump on being outraged in order to prove how 'enlightened' they are on matters of race relations whilst tossing ethnic-sounding resumes in the trash at work.