Author Topic: Petition against CBS-Survivor  (Read 7673 times)

Offline JakeAl

  • Posts: 16
  • sup
Petition against CBS-Survivor
« on: October 10, 2005, 05:44:33 am »
There's another petition regarding stereotyping. I'm not involved with it except to pass along the info.

Same damn old racist crap from the media with CBS at the helm again.
Links are at the bottom


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To: ? CBS Survivor Producer Mark Burnett
As citizens against racism in any form, we are deeply offended by the degrading misrepresentations of Indigenous culture that were broadcast on the CBS primetime show, "Survivor Guatemala". The producers of the show demonstrated a shocking lack of intelligence and sensitivity in airing a program that demeaned and stereotyped a race and culture with a long history of cultural and political struggle in South America, the Mayan Indians. We are forming this petition to put CBS and its sponsors on notice as to how much business they can loose through repeated racial insensitivity, not just from Indigenous Americans, but from all American consumers who possess a social conscience.

Cause for Petition

1.) CBS has an extremely poor track record in terms of presenting Indigenous cultures respectfully and accurately. In 2004, they broadcast a performance by Outkast which mocked Native Americans by presenting non-Natives in day glow green fringed outfits behaving in an offensive and stereotypical manner. While this performance precipitated cries of outrage from Native Americans around the country, CBS has yet to correct its attitude toward Native Americans. CBS has again demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice sanctity for profit and an unacceptable tolerance for racist stereotypes in its programming choices.

2.) On Thursday, September 29, 2005 "Survivor Guatemala" presented a derogatory depiction of ancient Mayan warriors. The producers intentionally provided the contestants with fake feathers, war paint and Mayan style headbands and encouraged them to engage in the mockery of traditional Mayan customs. The Survivor contestants' callous treatment of Mayan cultural and spiritual imagery, and by extension all Indigenous cultural and spiritual imagery, was insensitive, ignorant and offensive. The producers provided the contestants with materials which were clearly intended to impose a North American Plains Indian stereotype on a distinct South American culture and to imply that all Indigenous cultures are inter-changeable. Neither the contestants nor the viewing public, were educated as to the richness and complexity of Mayan culture. The producers of "Survivor Guatemala" failed to honestly research the true spiritual and cultural significance of the objects used to objectify Mayan people and culture. This spectacle amounted to nothing more than a 21st Century Minstrel show.

Continued and signed here:

http://new.petitiononline.com/stopCBS/petition.html

The next link is to a site with images and text.

http://fightmediastereotypes.bravehost.com/

Regards,

JakeAl
« Last Edit: January 01, 1970, 12:00:00 am by JakeAl »