Previous | Next 

CURRENTLY ON TELEVISION
Survivor: Dealing with the dark side

Philip A. Gunther


The reality TV program Survivor has captured the minds and entertainment hours of millions of viewers across Canada and the United States. The National Post pegs the number of viewers at 26 million per episode.

I had heard of this show from a number of acquaintances but remained convinced that it was another harmless entertainment gimmick. However, as I watched a couple of episodes, I became aware that this reality drama was peering into the soul of human nature – and it was dark.

The basic premise of the show is as follows: Sixteen ordinary people (not actors) are recruited to survive on a deserted island near Malaysia. Each week, the participants must vote one person off the island. The last person on the island after the 13 episodes wins a million dollars. In short, Survivor reveals what happens when 16 people are put in a technological fish bowl with a million-dollar bait dangling overhead.

What first caught my attention in Survivor was the distasteful behaviour of most of the contestants. Expressions of greed, dishonesty, back-stabbing, hatred, lust, jealousy, self-centredness and blasphemy were common. One survivor, named Rudy, stated, “The only reason I’d bring a Bible out here is if I needed toilet paper.” In sum, evil, not virtue, appears to be acceptable and perhaps even an ideal to strive for in this survivalist setting.

I also noted that the moral standard of nearly all of the participants seems to be summed up in a phrase often used by the participants: “I have to be true to myself.” What they are saying is that their ultimate source of moral and ethical authority is found in themselves – not God, not the Bible, not even the law of the land, but themselves. I wonder if this isn’t what a New Ager’s world would look like – a world where people are a god unto themselves and no one cares about what anyone else thinks, feels or says. Self is all there is. Satisfaction of self is all that matters.

In addition, viewers appear to be invited to accept Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” as the only worldview worth living by. One even hears participants bantering about Darwin’s creed now and then: “It’s survival of the fittest, you know.” In contrast, the Judeo-Christian counsel to love one another, seek the best interests of others, forgive each other, bear one another’s burdens and comfort one another seems non-existent. Survivor promotes a philosophy of casting out the weak, whereas the Scriptures counsel that God chooses and protects the weak. The underlying and frightening philosophy being propagated to viewers is that the weak, the aged and the hard-to-get-along-with are expendable.


Consider also that Survivor is designed to elicit maximum back-stabbing and dishonesty from its island participants. The show witnesses characters forming and breaking secret alliances; agreements are struck to vote such-and-such off, and then broken at the last moment in an act of self-preservation. Survivor thrives on hurtful and embarrassing experiences of exclusion and treason. Note, for example, one survivor’s sentiment: “I’ll never see these people again – that’s the way I want it.”

Lastly, Survivor makes a mockery of the things of God. Aside from the name of God being abused on a regular basis, each episode witnesses a new sin being uncovered for viewers to feast upon. If it’s not casual sex between certain participants, then it’s mocking the one Christian participant’s commitment to the Lord. One writer deemed the show “spiritual poison” because it portrays the dark side of human behaviour as a legitimate way to behave within the parameters of entertainment and the quest for a million-dollar prize.

Survivor reminded me once again of the depth and breadth of human depravity. Yes, it is just a show, but have you noticed how true to life it is?

Philip A. Gunther is senior pastor of Parliament Community Church in Regina, Sask.

Previous | Next 

Last modified September 16, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
Masthead and usage information.