Watching Survivor

As we eagerly await episode two of Survivor: China, I know I can’t be the only one who is trying to figure out just how The Art of War fits into the whole scheme of Survivor and reality TV. In all the years of Survivor, the contestants have always been given a little ‘how too’ boot camp, where they’re told what they can and can’t eat, and what to do in a crisis. However, this is the first time they’ve been given an actual text and told to read it, that it will come in handy. Is it just to pull in more Chinese culture, or will it really help?

Granted, I’ve never actually seen or read a copy of The Art of War and I don’t expect it to pop up on my reading lists anytime soon. According to wikipedia, The Art of War is:

…a Chinese military treatise written during the 6th century BC by Sun Tzu. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it has long been praised as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time.

Fantastic - what the heck does that have to do with Survivor? Over at The Useless Tree, Aiden has some thoughts on that, even though not a fan of the show. (Gasp! I know!)

I don’t know much about the whole Survivor thing, but I imagine that one aspect of it would make for a somewhat complex application of Sun Tzu: ultimately, Survivor is a Hobbesian context, a “war” of all against all, as each contestant looks out primarily for his or her self-interest. Alliances and teams are, therefore, very transitory. A strategic decision that assumes that a certain individual is with you might turn out to be costly if and when that person turns against you. This is not quite the circumstance that Sun Tzu was assuming (he was dealing with relatively stable military organizations: he knew who was on his side and who, generally, was against him. His own soldiers were not likely to turn on him). This would make the “ground” aspect of the book especially important - i.e. being constantly aware of immediate surroundings and conditions.

While I would like to avoid the orientalist “exotic China” thing, I can imagine the immediate relevance of Sun Tzu to reality TV:
- war is all about deception;
- the most effective engagement is the one that is not fought (i.e. the initial deployment and shape of one’s “force” is sufficient to deter or scare off the enemy).
- the best strategy is to attach the other’s strategy.
- use spies.
- be meticulous in planning and preparation.
- know that there are some battles that should not be fought.

Interesting. As for me, I just thought “Oh! Pretty scroll!” followed quickly by “Pick a leader? That always ends badly - for the leader!” Guess I have something to learn from Sun Tzu, after all.

Survivor, Survivor: China, CBS, Jeff Probst, Reality TV, The Art of War, contestants