Survivor is an ongoing reality TV show that first aired in 2000. The show quickly rose to the top and became America’s #1 reality TV show.
Survivor is a game where contestants are sent onto an empty island somewhere around the world that varies each season, and are forced to survive with their given resources, compete in challenges for rewards, and vote in the tribal council to remove a player from the island.
Each contestant comes onto the show with different mindsets on how they want to play. The most popular being brain, brawn, and beauty.
Each player needs to know how to make strategic moves, while also being able to compete in challenges for immunity, and to be able to socialize with the other players.
Every season the makers of Survivor introduce new twists to make the game more interesting. Some of the more recent additions were redemption island (second chance), new advantages, and the option to risk or protect their vote.
The game maintains high popularity because viewers are curious to see how the new contestants compete for the win, while also making decisions about the new twists the game created.
The main interest is seeing each player try to play the game with different psychological standpoints and to outlast others who tend to be worse.
Although one can win simply off of strength, most players must be good at socializing and manipulating others to get what they want.
Survivor Contestants
On Survivor, many contestants rose in popularity because of their distinct personalities.
Will Haddle, a junior at Leesville Road High School, said, “Brad Culepepper is my favorite Survivor contestant because he won several challenges and relied on psychical strength to get him through the game.” Colepepper is an example of a physical strength player.
On the other hand, Kylee Waller, a senior at Leesville Road High School, said “I like Boston Rob because he was a strategic player and became the leader of several alliances that dominated the competition.” Boston Rob is an example of a strategic player.
Then you have Liam Hinkey, a sophomore at Leesville Road High School, who said, “Tony Vlachos is my favorite player because he was zealous and was always looking for advantages to protect him.” Tony Vlachos is an example of a player who used resources given to him as an advantage.
Lastly, Georgia Weaver, a senior at Leesville Road High School, said “I like Parvati Shallow a lot because she was sly and sneaky.” Parvati is an example of a player who used beauty to get her way.
Mindsets
While watching these contestants play, each student created their mindset on how they would want to play.
One mindset was “helping out others while also benefiting yourself,” said Haddle. He believes if you work with your tribe and help out, then it’ll benefit you in the long run. But you should only help if it will be helping yourself.
Hinkey and Waller had the same mindset on how they would play. They both wanted to be the top dog and have full control over everyone. That kind of playstyle is very beneficial but risky if you annoy the other players enough to where they team up against you.
Another mindset was “being sneaky and working your magic with others to get yourself into everyone’s good side,” said Weaver.
Weaver wants to be strategic and use communication to pave her way through the game. Whether that be looks or talking, it’s a common and effective playstyle.
Returning Players
Survivor also allows former players to return to the show for another chance as the sole Survivor. Each of these players learns from their mistakes from their previous season and tends to have a different playstyle.
Hinkey said, “Zeke had a huge transformation because in his first season he was more of a tribe member who did what he was told. In his next season, he was a game changer and made strategic movies to benefit himself and thrive through the game.”
Because of Zeke’s huge change, he was brought back on the show three different times to prove himself worthy.
Weaver said, “Coach the Dragon Slayer had one of the biggest changes in personality. He went from a spiritual mindset that allowed fate to control his path, to someone who created alliances and became a leader.”
Coach was also brought back on the show three times because of his unique playstyle which has changed with every season.
Haddle said, “I believe Tyson had the biggest transformation because he went from a follower to a leader who also dominated in challenges.” Tyson Apostol is a very popular contestant, as he was on the show four times.
Apostol was able to win once because he was able to improve his playstyle by focusing more on the strategic aspect, rather than relying on challenges to survive.
Waller said, “Tony Vlachos changed the most because in his first season he was hated a ton and managed to still come out on top, In his later seasons he became more reasonable while still keeping the silly personality.”
Tony is arguably the best Survivor player due to his ability to adapt to the game and use everything to his advantage. He is Survivor’s second two-time winner.
What’s your Survivor Mentality?
The game of Survivor is different for everyone, but everyone has the same goal of winning it all. This season may show new changes in the game and the players will have to adjust to the change.
Survivor fans continue watching the show to see new people come in with different strategies on how they want to play the game. Whoever does it best will win the game and become the sole Survivor.
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