If there is one thing that you should know about me, it's that I love Survivor. I've seen every season, every play, and it still makes me incredibly angry that Russel Hantz didn't win. As I find myself bombarded with schoolwork this year, I haven't had time to watch Survivor, and it's been upsetting. Today, I will serve to right this problem. Today, I will take TOWs to where they have never been before. Welcome to:
Survivor: TOW
(Is it Wednesday yet?)
On the survivor logo, there are three words: Outwit, Outplay, Outlast. These three words represent the key ideals of the game, the things that should be kept in mind by contestants throughout. Players must gain trust and use strategy, win challenges and immunity, and most of all, they must stay in the game. Failure to succeed in any of these categories will result in elimination.
Much like in society, the castaways are pitted against each other, forced to beat every opponents for their ultimate goal. This represents the fierce competition that is everywhere, college applications, the job market, even in school systems. Everyone must be the best to succeed. Survivor shows that one is unable to reach success without the help of others along the way. Each contestant is split into a tribe. While on that tribe, they must communicate and work alongside other members in mutually beneficial relationships. They also must work together against the other tribe in challenges to better their own chances. Within their tribe they make alliances, much like the friendship between two coworkers. However, these bonds are much stronger as these contestants are fighting for their (survivor) lives. Without allies, they lose any chance at winning. Though the ultimate goal is to become the “Sole Survivor” in order to get there, the player must become their tribe.
As any Survivor fan will tell you, the game really gets interesting after the merge. If Survivor was some sort of twisted school system, the days before the merge act as primary education, and the merge in all its free for all glory acts as college. The remaining contestants are finally free from the shackles of being a tribe and have much more freedom to make their own moves. In this aspect, Survivor shows both the importance of loyalty and independence and that they both can get you where you need to be...mostly. At the merge, many people decide to break ties with old tribe members, breaking the bond that they had for hope of better advantage. The person who does this must now rely on themselves in challenges to win their way to the top, or to rely on new bonds to get them to the end. Though this works occasionally, (YOU GO RUSSELL!) oftentimes it is best to stay loyal. During my favorite part of Survivor, Jeff Probst introduces the court system of 8 jury members. These jury members listen to what the remaining contestants (there are 2 or three left) have to say, as they defend their game play and attempt to persuade the jury to vote for them to win the 1 million dollar prize. If they have played their cards right, the contestant will have kept relationships with the people on the jury, or set it up so they now sit at judgement next to someone more disliked than his/her self (shout out to Boston Rob and Phillip).
Survivor is a game of strategy and there are several lessons to be taken from it. It is important to be loyal to your friends but also to your enemies, to anticipate your opponents every move, to step on toes along the way (but only lightly as to not affect overall status) and most importantly, to Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast.
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