TV Reality: Survivor as a Media Ritual

Kaysa Jalbert 

Media and Society

TV Reality: Survivor 

    The example of a media ritual that I will discuss is the American TV series Survivor, a show that has been very successful, launching its first season in 2000 and immediately growing its large fanbase that led its first eleven seasons to be rated in the top ten most-watched shows (Wikipedia, 2021). Survivor is a mix between reality and a game show where average people are sent to a remote location with only the clothes on their backs, where they must compete for survival both in the wilderness and in the game, last man or woman standing wins one million dollars. The reason behind the shows great success is that despite being a part-game show, Survivor also provides its audience with a great sense of “liveliness” and reality (Cauldry, 95), as it films the contestants in the “privacy” of their tribal camps where they try to survive by working each other, strategize against one another, gossiping and stealing from one another and the audience gets to see the transmission of these “live” events. The show tries to reveal its “reality” of people trying to survive on an island so much to the point that they even avoid giving medical attention to any contestant unless it is life-threatening, in that case, they are disqualified from the game and taken to the hospital. In a way, the audience gets a realistic perspective of how an average American such as themselves could survive in the wilderness and break away from their daily lives, making it an attractive idea to people who would like to live away from materialist society. As a result, fans become deeply embedded into the lives of their favorite members of the show, by tweeting and sharing on social media who they want to win in that season. Couldry explains that ‘reality TV’ may be people’s desire for connection with others (Couldry, 105), for this reason, the survivor has welcomed men and women of ages 20-75 with average jobs such as Gym teacher, accountant, farmer, nurse, and others, to give the audience a connection with the competitors who they think deserves to in the one million dollars. Viewers end up creating a routine of keeping up with the show and may end up binge-watching the show to see if their favorite member will win. Some contestants have become famous celebrities due to their devoted and loyal fans who have made Survivor a media ritual in their everyday lives. Some contestants have become so famous that the producers have asked for them to return in new seasons, meanwhile, others who have also gained a large fanbase have returned to the show in attempts to win the one million dollars and more popularity. Survivor is more than just a reality television show, for many people, they are devoted to following the survivors on this show and make it a routine to watch the show, tweet about certain contestants, take part in online fan groups, and maybe even sign up for the show themselves. It is this strong connection between the audience and the characters and with the show itself that makes Survivor an example of media ritual, as many people devote large amounts of their time to watching this show and following its contestants both through the television and other social media platforms. 

 References 

 Couldry, N. A. (2003). Media rituals: A critical approach. Routledge.

Survivor (American TV series). (2021, April 20). Retrieved April 26, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor_(American_TV_series)