Survivor is a TV show where contestants outwit, outplay, and outlast each other. The prize of winning is $1 Million. Contestants are stranded on an island for a month with little to no food, resources or supplies and the goal is to come out on top by voting people out very strategically, while being mentally torn down.
Survivor has many races, religions, and genders on their show. Survivor likes a very diverse cast, so when people at home are watching they can relate themselves to the players on the show. Survivor uses their platform to spread important messages through their players to the consumers. For example, a player may be struggling and reveal how they are fighting through a mental battle to continue playing, which really sparks a encouragement amongst the audience to keep on fighting and never give up.
In addition, One player who may have inspired people at home was Richard Hatch the winner of the first ever season. Richard Hatch was openly gay and inspired people who were gay to open up and be proud of themselves, not ashamed. Another player that season was 72 year old Navy veteran Rudy Boesch, he was openly homophobic and before coming was mad that he would have to be with homosexuals and lesbians. However, Rudy had a change of heart and him and Richard Hatch(who is openly gay) had the tightest friendship that season. This change of heart helped show people that it is possible to change your ideals even if you are very old.
Moreover, Survivor even had a very controversial season, Survivor Cook Islands. This season the show decided to split the tribes based on race. There were 4 tribes Asian, Black, Latino and White. This decision was very controversial and even was criticized by civil rights groups and was called "segregation island". Although, Survivor may have been trying to improve the lack of diversity on the show, this was not the right way to do it. Producers Mark Burnett and Jeff Probst realized that with the low reviews of this season.
