{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-article-tsx","path":"/survivorv2","result":{"data":{"primeArticle":{"slug":"survivorv2","excerpt":"What happens when a group of students enters a reality TV bubble to live out their \"Survivor\" dreams?","headline":"Survival of the fittest","author":"Breanna Diaz","authorbio":"","authoremail":"","authortwitter":"","coverimg":"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/survivorv2/survivor.AD.2-f6acd95ba4b728bae8ccac7e70db9c89.jpg","covercred":"Alex Driscoll","coveralt":"Photograph of two students filming a group of “Survivor” contestants.","articleType":"article","updated":null,"content":[{"type":"text","value":"Daniel Blecker just wanted to watch \"Glee.\""},{"type":"text","value":"To a 12-year-old living in Switzerland, nothing seemed cooler than American television shows. At the time, \"Glee\" was at its peak, and Blecker yearned to join the fandom."},{"type":"text","value":"The only problem? There was no real way for the UCLA alumnus to watch American TV in his home country."},{"type":"text","value":"Blecker’s fruitless search for \"Glee\" eventually came to an end with the help of his older sister. After she introduced him to an online streaming site hosting American shows, Blecker had the entertainment he sought at his fingertips."},{"type":"text","value":"But in his search for \"Glee,\" another title caught Blecker’s eye: \"Survivor.\" On the hit CBS show, 18 contestants find themselves stranded on a tropical island, grouped into tribes to compete against each other for a million-dollar prize. Since premiering in May 2000, the show has become a cult classic. It has now aired 43 seasons and boasts a 73% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes."},{"type":"text","value":"Blecker began watching out of curiosity, but he became a super fan almost immediately – he quickly devoured all 25 seasons that existed at the time. All he could do now was eagerly await each new episode."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"I've been waiting six years (to) hang out and fangirl about ‘Survivor.’\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"When Blecker was applying to colleges in the United States, he knew some universities had their own \"Survivor\" clubs – and rather large ones, too. These clubs weren’t simply congregations of fans. Rather, these organizations produced their own versions of the show, often operating on shoestring budgets. \"Survivor Maryland\" at the University of Maryland, for example, has aired seven seasons. But Blecker learned in 2019 that there was no analogue to the reality show at UCLA."},{"type":"text","value":"\"I thought, ‘That's a shame,’ because I've been waiting six years (to) hang out and fangirl about ‘Survivor,’\" Blecker said."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photograph of the “Survivor” host and contestants.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/survivorv2/survivor.AD.1-121acc02b8661a3fe2fcf067fc8e9d54.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Alex Driscoll/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Taking matters into his own hands, Blecker turned to Reddit to find other people who were interested in playing \"Survivor\" at UCLA. Alumnus Andre Chan reached out to Blecker, and together they began planning the production right in Blecker’s Sunset Village dorm."},{"type":"text","value":"Now, Survivor @ UCLA is a growing group of reality television fans who produce their own version of the show. The club replicates the high-stakes challenges of the original program by recruiting students to compete over 10 weeks for a grand prize of $100."},{"type":"text","value":"On a breezy January day in 2023, the Survivor @ UCLA production team has arranged a set of sorts beside Powell Library. The ground was marked to show contestants where to stand, and a homemade clay statue of a snake eating its own tail sat atop a column. Two tribes entered the scene on a producer’s signal."},{"type":"text","value":"It was the first day of filming for season four, and each tribe was antsy. The 16 players were finally meeting their teammates, whom they’ll rely on to win challenges but may ultimately betray in the hopes of winning the grand prize. Each player was dressed in either green or purple, only they didn’t know what exactly their tribes represented."},{"type":"text","value":"Evan Starr, Survivor @ UCLA president, jumped into his host spiel, welcoming each of the players onto the show. Starr, a fourth-year anthropology and cognitive science student, donned a bright orange trucker hat emblazoned with the \"Survivor\" logo. As he spoke, each player received a bandana corresponding to their tribe’s color. They admired their new bandanas and decided the best placement for them – around their heads or tucked into their pockets – while Starr finally revealed the theme of the season."},{"type":"text","value":"\"It’s pre-meds versus the world,\" he announced. The tribes broke out in surprised laughter."},{"type":"text","value":"That’s not really the theme though, Starr admitted. This season is concerned with the idea of the moral dilemma, forcing the two tribes of snakes and doves to make ethically-charged decisions."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"Some players may consider themselves loyal and incapable of betraying a teammate, but in the heat of competition, Starr said that no decision is set in stone.\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Each season is built around a certain theme, Starr said, and the casting department chooses contestants whose personalities best align with that theme. Season three pitted three tribes of six players against each other in a game of brains versus beauty versus brawn. Another season split contestants into North versus South Campus rivalries. This year, the production crew decided to hold off on announcing the theme of the season until the first day of filming in order to avoid contestants feeling like they had to play a certain character, rather than be themselves."},{"type":"text","value":"For the snakes, Starr said the casting team chose people who seem more willing to lie and backstab, while the doves are loyal – maybe even to a fault. Ultimately, Starr said the production team designs the game to make the players confront who they think they are and what values they stand for. Some players may consider themselves loyal and incapable of betraying a teammate, but in the heat of competition, Starr said that no decision is set in stone."},{"type":"text","value":"\"The whole idea is about … how you play the game and how that changes,\" Starr said."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photograph of two “Survivor” contestants looking at a piece of paper.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/survivorv2/survivor.AD.4-5ab7e2f09e6b0902045e0643755d2bc6.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Alex Driscoll/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"This year, more than 50 people applied to be one of the 16 contestants ultimately selected. But Survivor @ UCLA has not always been so popular – the organization comes from humble beginnings."},{"type":"text","value":"A few weeks after Survivor @ UCLA was founded, COVID-19 became a pandemic, forcing Blecker back to his home country. To reconnect with the UCLA community, Blecker and Chan decided to film \"Survivor @ UCLA\" online with the help of a two-person production crew recruited on Facebook."},{"type":"text","value":"From their own homes, 12 contestants played online puzzles and tackled challenges such as balancing toilet paper on one arm while standing on one leg, Blecker said. The small production crew was in charge of developing the challenges and recording the game via Zoom."},{"type":"text","value":"\"We planned it of course, but we all kind of went in with a blind eye,\" Blecker said. \"We didn't really know how (it was) going to work online and if people were going to show up.\""},{"type":"text","value":"After seeing a Facebook post searching for contestants, \"Survivor\" fan Starr decided to compete in the inaugural season of \"Survivor @ UCLA.\" After becoming the show’s first-ever winner, he joined the production team before becoming president of the club this year."},{"type":"text","value":"The first two seasons of \"Survivor @ UCLA,\" filmed entirely on Zoom, never aired on the club’s YouTube channel, Starr said, noting that the production quality was not up to par. But the return to campus in fall 2021 meant Survivor @ UCLA could finally grow. At the Enormous Activities Fair that year, Blecker said the club had more than 100 people sign the interest form, and the number of contestant applicants doubled from 30 for season two to 60 for season three."},{"type":"text","value":"Now, the club is airing episodes of season three, its first in-person season. As the production team has grown, Starr said the club has streamlined its production, splitting into committees in charge of casting, filming and editing, props, and challenges and twists. Before the start of filming, the production team meets to brainstorm ideas for themes and games. Although they draw inspiration from challenges seen in the original show, members of the team take creative liberties when inventing plot twists and games of their own."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"People go from normal-person mode to reality-TV mode when there’s an iPhone (camera) on them.\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"For the first day of filming, the production crew developed a team-based challenge. Only a few minutes after meeting, each tribe had to complete a puzzle – but only after two of its members trekked down Janss Steps blindfolded to retrieve the puzzle pieces. Although the contestants didn’t know their tribe assignments until a few minutes before, they’re already beginning to embrace the characteristics associated with their group."},{"type":"text","value":"During the first challenge, the doves kept their heads down and collaborated to try to solve the puzzle first. The snakes, however, weren’t afraid to play dirty. They sent one of their own to watch the doves decipher the puzzle, hoping to get a hint of the answer."},{"type":"text","value":"\"People go from normal-person mode to reality-TV mode when there’s an iPhone (camera) on them,\" said Elsa Servantez, a third-year philosophy student and production team member."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photograph of a “Survivor” contestant running to her teammates.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/survivorv2/survivor.AD.3-e566e42b628a633e348305a0c849f98c.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Alex Driscoll/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Sarahbeth Zohrehvand, a fourth-year psychology student, started out as a contestant on the first season and now heads the casting and contestant relationships committee. The application for contestants aims to draw out key personality traits in order to cast people in certain tribes, she said. This year, applicants also self-identified traits about themselves that helped pin them as snakes or doves, such as being reserved or friendly. Above all else, the casting committee looks for people who have the energy and enthusiasm for the game, Zohrehvand added."},{"type":"text","value":"Beyond personality changes, Survivor @ UCLA becomes an all-consuming extracurricular for some of the players. Simona Lewis, a second-year sociology student and casting department member, competed in season three. During her run on the show, Survivor @ UCLA became her social life, she said."},{"type":"text","value":"To be the last player standing requires strategic alliance-building and backstabbing, Lewis said. In any free moment, Lewis would schedule frantic FaceTime calls and meetups with her fellow castmates, discussing the progress of the game as more and more players were kicked off."},{"type":"pull","value":"{\"caption\":\"I like to have genuine conversations and relationships. But in the game, I was like, ‘How can I be the most manipulative? Can I make people become enemies?’\\\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"With the show forcing tribes to work together but also vote each other off, dramatic twists are the natural result. Early in the game, Lewis said it’s important for players to find their closest allies and choose who to target, but that is not always enough to stay in the game. The day Lewis was eliminated, her two most trusted partners flipped on her and voted her off."},{"type":"text","value":"Playing \"Survivor\" puts moral limits on the line, said Austin McBride, a third-year physiological science student and season three cast member. In the reality TV bubble, McBride had to let go of his nice-guy personality and lie to people in the hopes of being the sole survivor."},{"type":"text","value":"\"I like to have genuine conversations and relationships,\" McBride said. \"But in the game, I was like, ‘How can I be the most manipulative? Can I make people become enemies?’\""},{"type":"text","value":"But the real storyline for the season emerges in the editing process, said Eli Kupetz, a third-year political science student. Kupetz heads the filming and editing committee, having joined the \"Survivor\" production crew as a second-year student. There are so many different players and perspectives in the game, Kupetz said, that it’s up to the editor to decide how to portray the information to the audience while building suspense."},{"type":"image","value":"{\"alt\":\"Photograph of “Survivor” contestants playing a ring toss game.\",\"url\":\"https://assets3.dailybruin.com/images/survivorv2/survivor.AD.5-e136e01e7a4221f75e2200eff0871a4d.jpg\",\"credit\":\"Alex Driscoll/Daily Bruin staff\",\"caption\":\"\"}"},{"type":"text","value":"Kupetz is currently editing the second half of season three. Once season four is finished filming at the end of the quarter, the episodes will be edited and posted on the club’s YouTube channel in a year’s time. Meanwhile, the club hopes to get started casting the next season, with plans for filming in spring quarter, he said."},{"type":"text","value":"Before they get ahead of themselves, the Survivor @ UCLA crew members have to wrap up the season at hand. After the first elimination night of the season, Starr switched from host to president mode. Producers blew candles out, gathered their props and led the tribes to Bunche Hall’s Palm Court, the site of the night’s challenge."},{"type":"text","value":"Under the shadowy trees, Starr began explaining the rules of the game. In this event, one player from each tribe will have to balance a fake skull on one hand while trying to knock the other player’s skull down. It may have been early evening, but there was still one more clash between tribes left before they could pack up for the night."},{"type":"text","value":"For Starr, Survivor @ UCLA means bringing the thrill of the original show’s challenges to campus. Watching the club grow from its shaky start to full-blown production is a source of Starr’s pride. Once he graduates, Survivor @ UCLA is the legacy he’ll leave behind. But Starr acknowledges playing \"Survivor\" is not for the weak."},{"type":"text","value":"\"Last season, we had a girl who got voted out,\" Starr said. \"(She) said, ‘Well, I can finally focus on my homework.’\""}]}},"pageContext":{"term":"winter23","slug":"survivorv2"}},"staticQueryHashes":[]}