Tribal Warfare

Tribal Warfare thoroughly investigates a central element of the hit reality television show Survivor that the existing literature on reality television has overlooked: class politics. Christopher J. Wright combines textual analysis and survey research to demonstrate that Survivor operates and resonates as a political allegory.

Tribal Warfare thoroughly investigates a central element of the hit reality television show Survivor that the existing literature on reality television has overlooked: class politics. Christopher J. Wright combines textual analysis and survey research to demonstrate that Survivor operates and resonates as a political allegory. Using the work of Fredric Jameson, this book reveals how Survivor frames its 'characters' as 'haves' and 'have-nots.' For those new to Jameson, Wright breaks down the theorist's complex notion of the political unconscious into easily understandable language. Furthermore, using the results of a survey of Survivor viewers, Tribal Warfare demonstrates that viewers divide along gender, racial, age, and—most significantly—class-related lines in their consumption of, and reaction to, the program. The first book to explore the premise of 'Survivor as society,' this unique work serves as both an engaging analysis of a popular television program and a highly readable primer for those new to critical theory.

Chapter 1 Interrogating the Obvious: Survivor, Cultural Touchstore
Chapter 2 You Cannot Talk to the Guys in the Boat: Survivor as the False Real
Chapter 3 Apparently Reprehensible Material: The Political Unconscious and Popular Culture
Chapter 4 If It Happens Again . . .: Repression and the Tagi Alliance
Chapter 5 They're All Lying to Me: Repression among Contestants
Chapter 6 A Really Passionate Affair: Repression through Editing
Chapter 7 These Three Girls Have All Been Riding Coattails: Survivor's Gender Wars
Chapter 8 Thrashing around Like I'm Thirty-Five: Paradoxes of Aging on Survivor
Chapter 9 This Thing Runs Deeper Than a Game: Survivor's Trouble with Race
Chapter 10 Always Historicize!: Symbolic Resolutions and Contemporary Politics
Chapter 11 Appendix A: Synopses of the First Eleven Survivor Seasons
Chapter 12 Appendix B: Contestant Profiles and Ratings
Chapter 13 Appendix C: Methodology