Survive The Raft - General Discussion

[snarts]

Quote

Follows nine candidates who sail for twenty-one days on the Acali II to test if personal interest will jeopardize the team's chance to win a fortune. They must complete mental and physical obstacles intended to splinter and split the team.

Premiered Sunday, July 30th on the Discovery Channel

A bit heavy handed on political/cultural discord that they so obviously casted for. However, the premise is interesting enough and I like the added intrigue of someone talking their way in just to steal the money.  

Edited July 31, 2023 by snarts

[Skooma]

I caught this show.  Kind of funny that the black lady just assumed at first glance that the one guy was some stupid backwards redneck hick and it turned out he is a civil rights activist.

Meanwhile she and fish killer guy just seem to speak two different languages.  Fish killer guy just can't seem to understand people other than himself may experience different treatments in their daily lives and that there is a difference between speaking in general terms about that and a personal attack on him.  He seems kind of dense at times other than, you know, at fish killing.

But then again just as you write him off that way he mentions his sister is trans.  And that leads to finding out the weight lifter guy is too.  The show surprises.

Vegan woman is living up to the sad stereotype of self-righteousness some (NOT all) vegans put out.  As a vegetarian I would just like to say we also get the stink eye from some of them too because we dare drink milk, eat ice cream and scarf down pizza.  I say live and let live for all people and don't judge others.  Just do your thing and let them do theirs.  Oh well I think she won't last too much longer.  She is already getting over emotional about all the fish getting caught and killed.

I don't know if I like that new people can arrive weekly because it is hard enough just to get a handle on the original cast.  I still can't separate the two blonde women.  One is from Tennessee and one from NY and which is which I have no idea. And I promise I will never be able to learn anybody's name let alone newbies entering the game.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Skooma

[Kendra595]

So many unlikeable people. Everyone is talking but few are “listening”. They are sure their feelings and view points are the “ truth” and no one else can understand. 

[madmax]

Maybe it's just me, but I think Fish Killing Guy (FKG) is trying, but is being very clumsy about it.  And Black Lady (BL) is hot to take immediate offense at the smallest mistake, not just from FKG, but he is her favorite target.

This is going to be a challenge if they keep adding people, but I can already see a couple I wouldn't mind getting booted off.

I had never heard of the original not-reality-TV based experiment.  I've looked it up, but still haven't read the articles.

ETA: Weren't they supposed to replace the Black Rabbi?  They didn't say anything about kicking someone off when they replaced him.

Edited August 5, 2023 by madmax

[Colorado David]

Off the bat bickering, this is fun. DRAMA DRAMA. It could be editing but yeah seems like we have everyone offering up opinions and not so much listening for team building. I have trained for 16+ years at work, and you can so see when you have people who want to be on a team, and those who rock the boat. 

 

Fish killing guy? We can't say spear fishing guy or his name (CJ I think)? Fish killing guy strikes me as a bit disrespectful. I eat meat but I'd prefer not to be referred to as cow killer. (Not arguing, just pointing out something I noticed.)

[madmax]

8 hours ago, Colorado David said:

Fish killing guy? We can't say spear fishing guy or his name (CJ I think)? Fish killing guy strikes me as a bit disrespectful. I eat meat but I'd prefer not to be referred to as cow killer. (Not arguing, just pointing out something I noticed.)

You are correct, Fish Killing Guy is bad.  I apologize for using it.  Let's call him by name, since you know what it is. 😄  I haven't had enough time to learn them, and if they keep adding people, I may not learn them at all.  Except CJ. 

[CoyoteBlue]

Muslim Summer, you look serious about it being an issue she has the same name. Like, taking it as a personal insult.

CJ is suuuch a fratboy dick but somehow, Muslim Summer and Lashana make him come off as the reasonable one in that boat.

And again with Muslim Summer putting words in Lashana's mouth. "She said she's a dictator! She said she's going to physically assault us!"

Aaaand now she's crying martyr. "I'm not saying it's a racial thing, but I'll leave that for the world to see!" Yeah, you know they're filming this shit, right? That we can see you making things up? (Yes, I know they're editing the shit out of everything as well - it's reality TV - but enough with the martyr complex.)

Maggie's a bit of a delicate flower. This is not the show for you, sweetie. It's gonna break you.

5 hours ago, madmax said:

I haven't had enough time to learn them, and if they keep adding people, I may not learn them at all.  Except CJ. 

Heh, I was using aptronyms for everyone in The Ark for most of the season because honestly I didn't care about most of them. 😄 Same with Survivor until mid-season generally.

[madmax]

On 8/7/2023 at 12:34 AM, CoyoteBlue said:

Muslim Summer, you look serious about it being an issue she has the same name. Like, taking it as a personal insult.

I swear, Muslim Summer just decided that she she was going to be voted off because they shared the same name.  Hell, my first job, I was one of 4 people in the same small department that had the same name.  Didn't concern me.

Still, while Muslim Summer exaggerated, she wasn't that far off of what LaShonna did say in the boat.  But once you've been caught not telling the whole truth, no one is going to believe you.  She screwed herself.  Was kinda funny, tho, how everyone was "Let's get rid of LaShonna" for the first half of the episode then it's was all hands on deck to get rid of Muslim Summer.

I get that it's "reality," but this really isn't my kind of reality.  I'm not into all this back stabbing bullshit.  I don't know that I'm going to continue with this show.

[CoyoteBlue]

5 hours ago, madmax said:

I get that it's "reality," but this really isn't my kind of reality.  I'm not into all this back stabbing bullshit.  I don't know that I'm going to continue with this show.

It's like they went half reasonable people and half crazy shitstirrers. Maybe that's the ratio these days. The original concept could be interesting if you choose rational, healthy members of those differing viewpoints, but yeah, it's reality TV, not reality.

[Colorado David]

tv reality, exactly. real life doesn't give you edits, which  is why life has its ways of making us all humble...even dumb a billionaires.

[Colorado David]

so russell pulling out the tactical game....pretty smart but i dont know if it earned him any friend points.

[TeapotWakeen]

I'm enjoying this show at the same time I'm yelling, "anybody in casting ever hear of Asians?  Or Hispanics*?"

* It's possible that someone there is Hispanic, but not "visibly" so... and we didn't know Summer's ethnicity, just her religion.

[snarts]

On 8/15/2023 at 2:48 PM, Colorado David said:

so russell pulling out the tactical game....pretty smart but i dont know if it earned him any friend points.

This. They're already expressing their resentment. Blocking the swap by volunteering yourself will only work once. He's tries it again and they're likely to vote him out. 

Too bad, but Mykhail would've been upgrade for many of them and, from the preview, it looks like Lashanna continues to be her loveable self. 

[TeapotWakeen]

Why didn't someone say "okay, Russell is one option for the swap, are there any other nominees?" Was that against some rule, or just no one wanting to stand out? I missed how volunteering blocked other possible nominees to be voted on as the person available for the swap.
 

[Colorado David]

30 minutes ago, TeapotWakeen said:

Why didn't someone say "okay, Russell is one option for the swap, are there any other nominees?" Was that against some rule, or just no one wanting to stand out? I missed how volunteering blocked other possible nominees to be voted on as the person available for the swap.
 

Basically Russell hijacked the vote and the others didn't speak up. NOW if they had had b*lls, I would've asked the host (forgot his name) "ok if russell volunteers to go, are we still able to nominate someone else and he can still go?"  You know, put his smart ass in its place. His volunteering should NOT trump the others' choices.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Colorado David
sp

[suzeecat]

I totally missed the point of why the people gathering fruit and ziplining  had to be naked, but whatever.

Now LaShonna gets to complain that she was eliminated due to implicit bias and racism. 

[Racj82]

On 8/21/2023 at 9:07 AM, suzeecat said:

I totally missed the point of why the people gathering fruit and ziplining  had to be naked, but whatever.

Now LaShonna gets to complain that she was eliminated due to implicit bias and racism. 

It was a part of embracing the free spirit/loss of conventional methods of living that went on at the time of the original experiment. Also, it's reality tv.

And LaShonna wouldn't be wrong. This is just another instance of the fear of the angry black man/woman. It's also the problem of not having enough people of color of this boat. You have multiple white women making a mountain out of one innocuous/chest thumping statement with Russell being the only outright ally and being able to think logically about it.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Racj82

[Colorado David]

boo on the chicken incident. this was staged. elliot is smart enough to know chickens on the raft wouldn't work at all (feeding them, chicken poop, drama when they have to be slaughtered)  so i think they were coerced into having to bring those chickens on the raft. boo show runners.

ah clashing of cultures, it does create great tv drama. that is why diplomats were created, to help reach understandings of different behaviors should not feel threatening to either side(s) even if certain behaviors seem that way. my case, i have a somewhat unfriendly weathered face (think bad guy in the movies type face), which i see as offputting to people I meet at times. you can read that in their face when they meet you. this i understand, so then it becomes MY task to put them at ease - again, this is part of understanding different cultures see things different ways.

totally surprised tho, i thought russell would go before lashonna. and i'm surprised merissa's opinion carried as much weight as it did.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Colorado David
adding clarity

[snarts]

CJ's vibe about the new guy was on point, he's going to reek havoc. Unfortunately, they regretted letting Mykhail go and feared making the same mistake twice. 

Although she definitely played a part in the argument with Summer H, I felt for LaShonna. I was also impressed with Russell's accurate description of the situation. Women of color, black women in particular, are held to a different standard, especially when it comes to their interactions.

Merissa is seemingly upset/cries often, her level of uncomfortableness shouldn't have been used as the barometer. Plus, it confused me to hear her saying how scared she was by LaShonna. Didn't she just volunteer to go with her to island on the little boat?

[TeapotWakeen]

Why did they start out with so many white people? why are the persons of color relegated to replacement status? If they had lost one of the blonde women in the first episode instead of the Black rabbi, would they have replaced her to start with the same number of people? The first swap was Summer, because they didn't have enough blonde females.... we are not learning a lot about what makes the people on the raft "hand-picked to differ" other than some privilege and SOME cultural issues. Ugggggh, this show could have been so much more!

[Colorado David]

Ok this bugs me. There is no rule regarding the cultural breakdown of the people on the raft. This fear of being seen as a racist seems false to me - if I'm on the raft, I'm viewing you as a competitor with skills, NOT your culture, sex, orientation, even your beliefs.  I would be polite to everyone and not backstab so as to not piss off everyone - there's not enough people to me to justify creating alliances and stir things up. Jimmy way to easily got considered to be kept out of fear of the rest being seen as racist??? PHONY producer shenanigans IMO.  They are building a villain for the raft because everyone's getting along too well. BOO.

Edited August 28, 2023 by Colorado David
added

[TeapotWakeen]

Quote

They are building a villain for the raft because everyone's getting along too well. BOO.

iDK, do you think Summer 1 and LaShonda would agree? It pisses me the hell off that Merissa can say she felt fearful of LaShonda but volunteer to go on the raft with her, then get everyone to vote off L instead of saying "how can we work through this together?" Like, you know, adults. I think the editing is focusing more on the money and plotting than the "social experiment designed to put people together to see if they can get along." (and then stacking the raft racially)

[JayDub1987]

I've binged this show today, so I'm sure I've missed a couple things. They can bill this as a "social experiment" all they want to, but it's a reality TV show competition. While it may have been inspired by a social experiment, people are on this show to win money. When you combine that with the fact that these people know they're going to be seen by millions of people on a TV show, no one is acting "naturally." 

[Colorado David]

Jimmy is definitely the twister/stirrer on this show. He bent Tara, she buys whatever BS he spews, and then she twists her knot of women. I dont see racial or sex motivations at work here, I see manipulators - and so far Jimmy is winning that title. Funny how Elliott leads yet skates under the radar? How is this happening. Leaders typically get called out for being bossy etc.

Dunno what was up with CJ and doing the slack, unless that's just editing for the audience's drama sake.

Garrett seems like an ok dude, I hope he goes far.

[Colorado David]

Glorious. I can watch the Jimmy footage all day long and be so happy.

 

oh and russ can just get eaten by a shark sooner than later. playing the social game but zero contribution to the overall team IMO. in fact, creating rivalries. i'd like a competition show that does not have to go down to that level.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Colorado David

[TeapotWakeen]

This.show.is.infuriating.

[Colorado David]

Why are there 3 shelves in the vault. Foreshadowing?

[TeapotWakeen]

they're making stuff up as they go along, this show is a hot mess!! 
 

Doesn't Russell have the same amount of money as Tara?  10k  from the mast challenge, plus the 10k they all took? Did I forget some other bit of money he (and only he) got?

And Maddie made reference to "spending a month "here" doing this" but it's like day 13 on the raft? Wasn't it last episode where the screen said "day 11"? I was shocked to see that, given all the conflict and drama about not getting along! Guess not everyone has lived in a dorm or gone on a family vacation or group trip. I know space is limited, but sheesh, be adults and take the boat for a float or go to a corner and fake meditate, whatever!

infuriating!!

 

[primadonna]

I needed to follow this show to the end, because that's how I am, but this is a terrible show.  When Jimmy made the comment about the kitten and the machete, I wanted to jump through the screen and drown him myself. I will not watch another season.

[Colorado David]

i forgot that comment from jimmy, ya umm who is that designed to make u think better of u, jimmy?

and anyone else notice the 'Lost' style piano music when they are voting? abyssmal rip off.