Survivor: Guatemala (part 2)

I just finished watching Survivor: Guatemala and it was everything I expected it to be... or rather, not to be.

It's "reality" tv and that's fine enough, I guess. Personally, I consider the animated series Family Guy to be far more interesting and informative, but that's just me.

In fact I wouldn't even be talking about the Survivor: Guatemala if it weren't for the "Guatemala" part.

Anyway, here are some random thoughts:

* I hope that the national park and the protected archeological sites didn't suffer any permanent damage during the filming. As with many sites in Guatemala, the Yaxhá-Nakúm-Naranjo area is still undergoing archeological investigation, excavation and restoration. Remember, it's not just the 18 "survivors" that descended upon this fragile ecosystem, but also a small army of crew members and other CBS personnel. Here's a semi-scary quote from the host Jeff Probst:

In Guatemala we built a city in the middle of a field. Our offices have air conditioning. Our trailers, we were supposed to be in tents and nobody wanted to do it. ... It was glorious. At night it cools down a little, I personally don't prefer AC. It's hard on your body to go from really hot to really cold.

* The show continuously refers to the Mayans in the past tense. Here's a news flash: the Mayans of Guatemala are alive and well. While it's true that the inhabitant of those ancient cities are long gone, Mayan indigenous people today compose over half of Guatemala's population! In fact there are 23 different Mayan languages spoken in the country. You might also have heard of Guatemala's most famous Mayan woman: Rigoberta Menchú, recipient of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize.

* Finally, I have to guess that I'm tired of the way that certain projects, such as strip mining operations and reality shows, are "sold" to the Guatemalan people. All sorts of money amounts were mentioned as possible profits from this series. But I couldn't help hearing in my mind that sad refrain from Les Miz when Fantine was coerced into prostituting herself:

Come on dearie, why all the fuss? You're no grander than the rest of us. Life has dropped you at the bottom of the heap. Join your sisters, make money in your sleep!

It dismays me that the first episode, portraying these scheming, whining, puking foreigners running roughshod through Guatemala's tropical rainforests and ancient archeological sites, should air on September 15th... Guatemala's Independence Day.

Just a little bit too ironic, isn't it?

Tags: Guatemala, Survivor, Mayans