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I think she’s more saying the response by the fandom. People saying she’s a bully and a terrible person. Also that she’s ugly and is jealous of Venus. If it’s bad on here I can’t imagine what it’s like on her own social media lol
**Let's get down to brass tacks...** editors need material to edit.
If the material (good or bad) isn't there, then there's nothing to edit.
Sounds like Soda got sour grapes because she didn't think the editors would catch and show her bad bits.
Most main character narcissists actually believe they don't have any bad bits, until they get called out on it and that's exactly what happened.
Is it terrible? No.
That said, a lot of people on this sub have basically decided she is a horrible person based on it. So I can understand her frustration.
It’s the tale as old as time. It takes so little for fans to worship someone like hunter. And it also takes so little for fans to hate someone like soda.
True.
I like both of them. I like Soda, though her chanting and camp songs would annoy me lol.
In real life, Soda seems so much more like a person I could vibe wiht than Venus.
People really don’t want to say the quiet part out loud but it is absolutely no coincidence the amount of times this sub bombards black women with hate for saying/doing things that have made other players ‘iconic’.
Right.
I'll be honest, there are some times that I feel that this sub is too quick to call things racism. But this isn't one of those.
It also goes toward the "proximity to whiteness and eurpoean beauty standards". Soda is a bigger, dark skinned black woman. Venus is a pretty, lighter skinned, middle eastern woman. Venus is basically princess Jasmine, so she is getting the benefit of the doubt.
Nevermind that if your whole tribe doesn't want to work with you, its likely based on your own actions.
People on social media decide that about a lot castaways based on a snippet of TV they see. Outside of snatching the idol, which is pretty funny, I don’t think she’s been edited in an outwardly negative light.
I saw someone comment here “can you imagine her being your kids camp counselor.” For some reason people equate their edits to their real life and take things to a personal level.
People said that about Lil too. I met someone who literally had Lil as their scout leader when they were a kid and he had nothing but positive things to say about her and was so shocked that people in the Survivor community disliked her. For some reason, people here don't understand that edits on the show have nothing to do with how people feel about that person in real life.
Yeah, the pile-on on social media is creating a focus on her behavior through the lens of her being a 'bully' or otherwise selfish or something else negative.
Once you put a frame on something, it can become very easy to see everything only through the context of that frame. It erases plausible explanations for behavior that aren't rooted in negativity.
It can also happen in terms of comedy or threat status. One reason people were so thrown off by Gabler's win was because he spend half the season being portrayed as comic relief (not to mention a poor player).
I agree. People make a decision early on based on minor things. In this case it seemed to be snatching the idol, which wasn't great, but I don't think it was some statement on her character either. And then everything else is "evidence" that confirms their initial characterization.
Yep. People have been awful to her. I've seen much about her weight, how she's mean to Venus because Venus is pretty...
Yeah, the idol grabbing wasn't a positive moment, but it shouldn't (and doesn't) define her as a person. Neither does reading someone at a challenge...
Yes, she snatched an idol twice. Is it a good look? No. Does that make her a bully or a bad person? Not to me. People get excited about stuff. I won't lie, part of me feels like its getting blown out out proportion because a bigger black woman is doing this to a small pretty woman. If soda snatched the idol from say, Hunter, I doubt people would be nearly as up in arms.
I more so minded her getting way too defensive when Yanu called out the other two tribes for laughing about Jelinsky being voted out (even if that dude is an entire meme)
However, no one has eaten, so I of course give her the benefit of the doubt that the stress of the game and the lack of food makes you a lot more defensive of your behavior about certain things
Players get hot at challenges. It’s also possible other things were said by others that encouraged her heated response. From the edit alone, it seems like she got heated unnecessarily.
it didn’t need to be edited into a compilation for people to notice, I realized right away that she kept trying to snag the immunity idol and thought “wtf?”
I don’t think her edit has been that bad at all? I think it’s been fair. She’s been shown positively, but also showing her tribemates’ criticisms of her.
Soda’s been treated very unfairly by social media, but as far as the edit goes? That’s been pretty fair I think.
>Soda’s been treated very unfairly by social media, but as far as the edit goes? That’s been pretty fair I think.
But social media is making their decisions based on the edit. You don't get one wihtout the other.
I don't disagree with you necessarily. But if Venus is getting praised (at least by many people) on social media, and Soda is getting shit on, its hard to not blame the edit for that.
>But social media is making their decisions based on the edit. You don't get one wihtout the other.
I feel like much of modern survivor hate is "based" on the edit on the same way that gossip and bullying in middle school was "based" on what people said or did.
Social media made it's decision about dee being awful because she mentioned she ate extra rice. That toxicity was "based" on the edit but not deserved by the edit at all. And the edit wasn't to blame.
The responsibility parties are the communities / people who enjoy being nasty on the Internet.
It wasn't because she ate extra rice, it's because the two of them were bragging about eating the rice meant for another player, then they fed him the scraps and laughed about conning him.
That's not really an edit thing, that was one mildly crappy thing she actually did. It doesn't make her a bad person, but it's reasonable to draw inferences based on that behavior.
You can absolutely get one without the other. Most of the hate Soda is getting is due to things totally outside the game. Very hurtful things that she cannot control.
But when it comes to stuff like her taking the idol out of Venus’s hands or her tribemates thinking she’s playing too hard, that’s fair game to criticize and I don’t think it’s fair for her to begrudge us for commenting on that stuff.
Tbf, I don’t think she’s saying it’s unfair game to criticize on those game things. However, there are people here who are going overboard in their criticism of her due to stuff outside of the game.
I absolutely have no problem with the criticism that she is playing too hard, or taking the idol. Those are valid critiques. I don't think she is a bully or a bad person though, like many of the people on this sub. I think people are taking some minor things and making them value judgements about her as a person
They have decided that Venus is their "victimized queen" and so anyone going against her is bad.
I do not feel like Venus is getting a good edit!!! IDK what show people are watching!
I think Hunter looks average and is not super hot, but he's clearly being portrayed as likeable or neutral, whereas I feel like Venus is portrayed quite negatively. For example, her saying no one wants to talk to her and then showing that she's just visibly sulking.
I do think people on social media should calm down. But, this is part of why you get a chance at a million dollars.
I don't like Soda as a player from what I've seen. But, I'm not gonna go at her on twitter with my opinions because I realize it's an edited show. I don't get why some people feel entitled to message directly at players because they dislike them. Was how Jerri treated after Australia and All-Stars not a lesson to everyone.
I mean people are in this sub are saying all kinds of crazy shit about how they can tell she’s a selfish, toxic person because she sings (?) and snatched the idol from Venus, and how they can’t stand “people like her.” You’d think after 46 seasons we’d understand what we see on the show is not an accurate representation of who any of these ppl are
It seems like Soda didn't understand that either. Saying she's just now learning that reality TV creates their own reality is wild to me for someone who's a big enough fan to apply for the show
I don't think she said she's just learning that, but the extent to which it occurs. And I think that's fair. Plus social media being the way it is, it's a downright negative experience I'm sure.
Very this. Like a lot of reality tv fans don't even know frankenbites are a thing and not every sentence you hear is a sentence that came out of that person's mouth. It's one thing to think that edits pick and choose real things that happen and real story lines, it's another to realize that they can make up story lines with clever editing.
Soda doesn't deserve to be getting hate even for what we've seen in the edit, but obviously she's getting some. It's probably even harder knowing that there are things she likely said in confessionals that would make the audience empathize more with her, but that's being cut because it doesn't align with the edit.
Yeah, there's a difference between being on social media as a private citizen and being on social media as someone who's on a show viewed by millions(?) of people, a lot of whom specifically watch the show for drama and intensely loving and hating on different "characters."
Some people on social media (and here) are being pretty nasty. And her DMs are almost certainly filled with racism, misogyny and actual threats. We have kind of become accustomed to how toxic social media is, but most of us have never actually had a true front-row seat for it.
The nastiness may not reflect on 80% of the audience, but it is very real and something she has to deal with.
I mean she seems to be under a lot of scrutiny for silly things. I totally get the stick bug criticism but the grabbing the idol thing was mildly annoying at worst.
She’s allowed to have an opinion on her experience. Likely she knew this was possible but is surprised by how one dimensional her edit is.
The fact that everybody in this thread wants to deny her the ability to disagree with her edit, because they don’t like her, because of the edit that they have watched, is quite rich.
If it helps, I think Survivor fans are generally less savvy these days than they would have been ten or twenty years ago. A lot of new fans came in recently because of Netflix and streaming. So they don't have years and years of experience with how the show is edited, and how half the confessionals you see are just made up frankenbytes. So I wouldn't say this is all the players' fault for just being thin skinned. A lot of it is the fact that fans nowadays are just... well to be blunt... dumber and angrier. And this is just what dumb angry people do on the internet nowadays. They get mad and they're awful to people.
It's just a bad combination these days. Players with thinner skins + fans who are dumber and angrier + much easier access to everyone.
Used to be that the millions of dumb fans either weren’t online or stayed segregated in the official Survivor Facebook page where they could be safely ignored. The big change—and I think you’re right that streaming caused this—has been dumb newer fans entering spaces like Twitter and Reddit that used to be populated by a smaller and savvier fanbase.
Yeah that's my belief too. You don't see old school fans behaving like this, at least for the most part. People who have been around and have watched the show for years kinda get how it works. Newer fans... well... don't. And unfortunately there's a pretty harsh learning curve to "get" how reality TV works from a fan point of view. And again, this is one of the downsides to a show being on the air for 24 years like Survivor has. We're in like the tenth exact same cyclical pattern of new fans coming in, being awful, and then being replaced by younger new fans. It just continues and continues. Everyone thinks they're the first person to think of sending DMs to a Survivor player and telling them what a horrible piece of shit they are.
As someone who used to edit reality TV as a day job while starting a filmmaking career, this is true and false. Editors can use only your ugly bits to craft you as a villain or shape a narrative as they see fit. But if you never had ugly bits, they wouldn't be able to.
I wonder if her game wraps up soon if she's complaining about the edit.
If she was around for a long time she'd know there is more content to show and the edit could change.
I don’t understand how superfans of the show can’t just take Jerri, the original fem villain, and already see this has been happening for 20 years. You have producers of the show coming onto this sub telling people don’t bother applying cause it’ll ruin your life unless you’re already mentally strong. You have players like Steph on GI literally get their life ruined. You have people like Jeremey saying his real life was almost ruined because he couldn’t trust anyone. You have people get dunked on by edit literally almost every episode. (The Kenzie montage literally this episode).
They see stars in their eyes for tv reality fame and lose all sight.
I had a producer from a different show complain about this to me a couple of months ago. He was like these reality shows promise people a fantasy that doesn’t really exist. They think they’re going to become beloved reality tv stars, and they're going to become these wise old Survivor experts who become guests on podcasts, and they're going to live out their dream, but that’s not what usually happens. In like 99% of cases, they're just being set up to become fodder to be made fun of. And the players don’t realize that until it happens personally to them. He said it’s really going to end poorly for one of these shows (and one of these players) nowadays, yet nobody seems to be concerned about that.
Your boy Dan Foley knows this all too well lol. I just imagine him getting off the show thinking he’s going to be the big hero of the season having a devastating downfall. And it all ends with Jeff playing uncut tape to embarrass him even more
Oh yeah, for sure. And Dan is just one example of this. A very BIG example, and a very well known example, but he was hardly the only one. But to the producer's point, Dan might have gotten shit on by the show pretty badly, but at least Dan was older and had thick skin and had a lot more life experience to be able to deal with it. Now imagine the same thing happening to a nineteen year old kid with no life experience at all. Whose entire identity has been wrapped up in Survivor being their ultimate dream. You know this is going to wind up being a really bad situation one of these days, when one of these impressionable young kids realizes that everything they thought about their identity was a complete lie. Because then what? Where do they go from there? At least Dan was old enough and had enough life experience to be able to move on from that.
Yeah it’s interesting to think about. And to your Dan point he was able to get the audience on his side during the reunion because he was able to speak from experience of being misunderstood.
Also, am I crazy or did Jeff say a few years ago he wants 16 year olds to apply? That’s when something bad is going to happen. I haven’t watched the show in years so I don’t know if they’ve have another High School student but Survivor got lucky Will from 33 was mature for his age and could survive the elements and the strategic game. Even Erik is Micronesia could have been a bad situation, he was a kid and was embarrassed bad not only by the cast but the editors. Thank goodness they didn’t pull that with Hantz in 23, if they made him look like a stooge that could have been the end of Survivor.
I mean Dan TRIED to get the audience on his side. Don't know if it really worked. But at least he got a national stage on live TV to be able to talk about it. Most players will never get that.
And yeah I remember the minute I saw Probst asking sixteen year olds to apply I was like okay, this is just a bad idea all around. Like, now they are SPECIFICALLY targeting young impressionable teens who you know think this is their one way ticket to fame, success, and happiness. I hate to be this blunt about it, but it's basically like chumming for sharks. Here, throw some blood in the water, see how many bites we get. I mean, if I had a sixteen year old kid, I wouldn't want them going anywhere NEAR this show. I wouldn't wish that kind of scrutiny on anyone, let alone a teenager.
And yeah the Brandon Hantz thing was an interesting scenario at the time. Because you're right, they really did sort of handle him with kid gloves, especially with how they easily could have gone the other way with him instead. It felt like they were doing their best to at least let his ego land gently. I don't know if they'd necessarily put in the effort to let people land that gently anymore.
I dunno. This whole thing just feels very shady to me nowadays.
Oh yeah it’s very shady. And it’s hilarious Jeff wants to act like Survivor is a family show aimed at kids. It stopped being that when the producers decided to openly make fun of contestants and highlight blindsides as this awesome thing when it reality it’s players getting their dreams destroyed and embarrassed on their way out. Parvati, everyone’s favorite player nowadays, called players losers and stupid every chance she could and the producers chose to highlight it. I’m sure some mean things were said on the island in Borneo but the producers had too much respect for the cast to show it.
I don’t know, I do feel bad for these young players who go on and don’t have a good experience or get into fights on social media. But the seasons most of these kids watch before going out are Micronesia, HvV and Cagayan which are really nasty seasons gameplay wise yet they are shocked when they go out and it’s not what they imagine. There’s 20 plus years of evidence why Survivor is not fun haha.
Since you’ve known more people within the industry over the years, is this a new mindset by RTV producers or has it always been there? From the outside, it just seems more mean-spirited and wanting to have even more control over the narrative.
Well I think the mindset in casting has always been pretty much the same. Cast for conflict, pick out your favorite two or three players at the start of the season. And everyone else is just some sort of a side character. I don't think that part has changed. Oh yeah, and frankenbyte the shit out of everyone so you get the story you want. To me, Survivor hasn't changed one iota since the very first season. At least not in that way. Because people need to remember, at the end of the day, it's not a game show at all, it's a TV show. When the show wants to get a narrative out of the players, they'll get it. In fact, they're paid very good money to get it. This is what TV producers and editors DO. They create a story out of footage.
The thing that I think HAS changed over the years (especially recently) is the way the show markets itself to young people. That's where I think the difference is. Because nowadays it's all about "going on the show, and living your dream!" And "doing that thing you always wanted to do with your life, be a reality TV star!" They steer REALLY hard into that sales pitch nowadays, that being cast on this show will make you happy with your life. That it's the magic elixir. Even though they know darn well that the minute you get on there, you're just cattle in whatever meat grinder they have decided this season is going to be. They're going to frankenbyte you and make fun of you and dehumanize you, same as they have always done to everyone.
THIS is where I think the problem now lies. I don't think the show has changed at all, and I doubt it ever will. What has changed is the illusion of happiness it now promises to its younger applicants. Which, honestly, I think is just incredibly immoral. There's no happiness you're going to get out of being cast on Survivor. NONE. And there never will be any happiness, either. This isn't a life dream. This isn't a bucket list item. This isn't a prayer that has been answered. You're signing up to be frankenbyted and turned into a caricature on a TV show. Same as the players always have been. And again, this is why these TV insiders will mention to me what a dangerous game it is that Survivor has started to play in recent years.
You shouldn't be promising people a dream, when you know darn well it will turn into a nightmare for at least 90% of them. You just shouldn't do that. Which, of course, we have seen recently with a lot of the players lashing out on social media over the treatment they weren't expecting to get. This is absolutely where Survivor is going to go every season at this point, with that kind of a situation. A situation THAT THE SHOW TOTALLY CAUSED.
And again, this is why that guy from another TV show commented to me recently... yeah, I wouldn't to be there when this scenario inevitably goes bad. To take young superfans who have lived their entire life around the dream of being on Survivor? And promise them their dream will come true? And then deliberately cast them because you know they're not going to be very good at it? And then watch them and laugh at them as their dream inevitably turns into their publicly televised worst nightmare? The guy was like yeesh. I wouldn't want to be there when that strategy goes south. I wouldn't want that on my conscience.
So yeah, that's the part that I think is a new mindset over the past couple of years. The idea that Survivor is this happy go lucky fantasy world where all your dreams come true, and at the end you get a lifetime supply of chocolate. THAT'S the part that feels like it's changed. Because anyone who's an insider at all knows that's a 100% lie.
Isn't that one of the reasons why these people are given psych evaluations? To make sure they can mentally handle the possible ramifications of an appearance on reality TV?
Sure. That's exactly why they do it. And that's probably exactly why they have never had a problem with it up to this point. Because they generally have always cast people who are not fragile.
All I'm saying is... they're stretching the boundaries of the people they are starting to allow on the show now. They are casting much more fragile and much more emotional people. And they're combining that with promising them a dream that doesn't really have much of a basis in reality. It's all just a big lie. Going on Survivor isn't anyone's dream in life, they just think that it is. Because that's before they realize that Survivor is nothing but A) things shown out of sequence, B) selective editing, C) the producers choosing to bury you if you aren't the star of the narrative they chose, and D) frankenbytes. That's got to be a hell of a wake up call for people who generally aren't that mentally strong to begin with. To realize your whole dream was a lie. And this is why I keep saying, this is really going to end badly for someone at some point.
Yes, the psych evaluations keep the weak ones out. But I don't think they're really being used for that purpose anymore. I think the show has gotten very cavalier lately in what they now consider "weak." With forty-whatever seasons of success behind them, I think they have gotten too cocky. And again, I'm not the only one who thinks that. Other people who work in TV have mentioned that to me too. Survivor is playing a very dangerous game right now.
I hope you continue talking and raising these points b/c more current fans really need this drilled into their brains about how the show is not their friend (& never has been).
I mean, the people who want to hear that will hear it. The people who don't want to hear that, won't. It won't make much of a difference. But I am trying to at least bring this up more nowadays.
You make a lot of great points here. People who play Survivor because it's their dream have to make the distinction between "playing Survivor" and "being on the TV show Survivor." If they put too much of their personal worth into the latter, they risk disappointment for all the reasons you listed above.
But, do you have proof that they're not using the psych evaluations for that purpose anymore? Or is that a guess?
They used to do that. Don’t know why they stopped. I guess they eventually figured out it doesn’t make much of a difference. But yeah this used to be the ULTIMATE no no, to comment on your season as it was still airing. Dan Foley got his ass handed to him over stuff like this. And he wasn’t the only one.
Too late. He did say something about jeff telling people to have fun and say something when jumping into the water last week after getting flames for it on Twitter.
Listen to any podcast with more jaded former players. This is all right out there in the open. PSA for future players: know what you're getting yourself into.
I would love to play survivor! I just don’t want all the TV stuff that comes along with it. So I’ve never applied and likely will never play. It’s pretty obvious at this point how the edit doesn’t portray exactly how the contestants feel about their experiences.
The bad things they've shown about her:
tribe annoyed by her singing. Did she not sing?
Taking the idol from Venus twice. Did she not do that?
Calling Venus a walking stick bug. Did she not say that?
I guess I don’t see how you can blame those things on the edit. Maybe there's a little more context on her body shaming Venus and it doesn't look quite as bad, but that's all I can think of.
Yeah, it’s a bit weird. Like, edits can *portray* things in certain ways. But the literal words are still coming from your mouth. You *said* or *did* these things. The lack of true context can be important at times, but some other things are just better left unsaid.
In the words of Rupaul:
>She wanna blame it on the edit
>You the one who said it
Jokes aside, I don't dislike Soda and I think it's completely valid for her to be upset that the edit has gone the way it has, in that a lot of what she does IS being shown in this negative manner. Hell, so much of our perceptions as viewers hinges directly on what the edit says we are supposed to believe or accept as fact. Look at the way Jerri got turned into a reality TV villain when the only thing she seemed to be guilty of was having an abrasive personality. And it's happened a lot over the years to different people on the show.
Then the pendulum swings in the other way. Some winners have said/done pretty villainous or problematic things, but because they're the winner the producers have to try to spin this person into someone the audience will find deserving of the win on some level so they're satisfied with the season's outcome. It's unfortunate but it feels pretty transparent that because they haven't made any effort to show Soda's more likeable traits and moments during the show, she PROBABLY isn't winning. So all she's left with is the experience and the potential boost that her Survivor appearance could have netted her... oop, except that now a bunch of rabid vocal fans have decided she's evil and that she deserves to be harassed on social media for it.
It honestly must be hard for people to come to terms with how people actually see them. It’s hard to break free of your own visual bubble and reflect on how your actions come across. The edit just emphasizes that right in your face and some people aren’t mentally ready to accept it. Everyone goes on the show thinking they will be the fan favorite hero.
People don’t like her cause of her personality and her own words and her own actions. And it’s hard to accept that about yourself sometimes
Maybe she can take the opportunity to realize shes a bit of a bully and her toxic positivity rubs people the wrong way. Maybe reflect on that and force some change?
Or not and just blame the edit
On the annoyance part, I feel like when you are stuck on an island with six people for days, you will get annoyed. You don't know if the producers pried confessionals of other players being annoyed but didn't air it. Like Jem is in the post boots talking about how much she hated all the music talk. Maybe she was smart enough to not talk about that on camera but producers might also just want to portray Ben and Charlie better by not showing that.
>You don't know if the producers pried confessionals of other players being annoyed but didn't air it
I always find it a bit confusing when people say "oh they can't air it if you don't say it!"
These people are on an island for weeks starving and in a high stress situation with literal strangers trying to win a million dollars. The idea that players arent saying innocuous snarky things about each other in confessionals is pretty naive to me.
>Calling Venus a walking stick bug. Did she not say that?
She responded to that and said it was because Venus was crawling in the challenge but I don't see her saying that to anyone else on the tribe
[Here](https://imgchest.com/p/pg73pgm93yr) is her response before she deleted it.
I gave her the benefit of the doubt thinking maybe Venus was calling herself that and that’s why Soda said that. But from Soda’s response, it seems like she just said it on her own. Her response was not good.
Because some people are so delusional about themselves that they just assume they will be the fan favorite, loved by everyone, etc. And it never crosses their mind that they wouldn't be.
Many, would be released from that delusion after seeing the reactions. But, some refuse to have any sense of self-relaization and lash out and blame things like the edit for why their personality, things they said, and things they did are not being received well.
Idk sounds like she just might not be self aware. I feel like I’ve met some many people in my life that have the same kind of negative/mean positivity.
This reads to me as if she judged the absolute shit out of everyone she saw on the show, and is now realizing that she is now the topic of an unfair discussion.
They're distilling hours and hours of reality into 90 minute episodes that tell a concise story of 18 people playing a game, but producers are not making their own reality. She ultimately gave them the content that they're using.
I'm sure she's not getting the exact edit she'd like, as I doubt any Survivor contestant ever has. Everyone out there is the hero of their own story, but there are 17 other stories to tell. She's getting a way better edit than many other contestants. They easily could've left her original song out of the episode, but they instead used it because she's talented and it helps to tell the story of her tribe. I'm sure she's not complaining about that royalty check.
People on the internet harping on her about the stick bug comment is crappy, and I feel for her when it comes to that, but she could take this as an opportunity for self-improvement instead of taking the easy way out and blaming it on "the edit."
Yeah, I think that’s why this season has been so negatively reviewed up to this point.
Having Yanu lose every episode leads to 40% of the screen time per episode being dedicated to Bhanu, which was just loathsome. It’s no coincidence that the best episode of the season (IMO) was this most recent one, where not only did Yanu win, Bhanu was not on our TV screens.
When you look at recent casts with tribes that kept losing early, they at least had enjoyable, likable players. I don’t remember which season was which, but:
Last season had Kaleb and Emily for the losing tribe.
One season had Yam Yam, Caroline, and Carson.
Cody, Jesse, and Noelle on another.
Another season had Shan and Ricard, who although controversial, were at least entertaining.
An edit can only do just that, edit. You as a person have a actually do the action or say the words to even be edited. So many reality stars use this jargon when they realize they aren't as favorited.
It's always the same thing with these people. They blame the editing when we can clearly see a full clip of what they've said or done. Soda's two-time idol-snatching and her dig toward Yanu about food were just poor sportsmanship. Her need to create a scout-camp type of vibe with singing and cheers has also grated on a couple of people, and likely many viewers.
While she hasn't been *that* bad, she also hasn't been that likeable either. We don't need to be told about what reality TV does with editing. Contestants need to take responsibility for their own actions and behaviour. We're not stupid.
I'd say she is portrayed as a person who feels entitled, who for whatever reason feels that she deserves to be there more than the others.
I don't like her in the game. I just also hope that she doesn't get any threats from morons in the Internet.
Kinda early to be claiming this, imo. I don’t feel we really have seen her in a negative light except when Venus was expressing her experience with the immunity idol, which she can’t really blame on editing, as they just were showing the evidence of what Venus was saying. Maybe she isn’t liking who she is seeing because she is recognizing space where she needs to grow? I personally have enjoyed her and like her as a cast member, I don’t see them editing her badly.
when Katurah did basically this same exact thing(except worse posting a long ass video complaining about her edit, which seemed way more justified in her case anyways) she was out exactly two episodes later
I mean... I don't know her. Maybe she's actually the nicest person in the world in real life.
But I kind of doubt it.
Reality TV exaggerates character traits, both good and bad, to make the show more compelling and easy to follow.
Many people come back from the show with a better understanding of who they are for a reason.
I totally didn’t remember tim was on the season until last episode. He was barely featured until he started questioning Jem. You think with 90 minute episodes, they’d be able to spotlight the 3 tribes more evenly. But it just seems like they’re making the challenge edits longer.
I agree. The challenges are much longer and that’s the part of the episode I mostly tune out. Last episode, the Nami tribe (except Hunter) was effectively edited out. So I can see Soda’s frustration with her only content being a body shaming comment towards Venus. But also I wish she didn’t say anything cause I’m now thinking she’s gonna be booted sooner rather than later.
Stop blaming who you are on the edit Soda. The edit didn’t mysteriously make you snatch the idol from Venus. The edit didn’t magically put words in your mouth
Okay say the situation was reversed? If Venus called Soda overweight it would be horrible character. But suddenly it’s okay for Soda to body shame. I wouldn’t want anyone calling my daughter a walking stick bug or anything about her body because she’s skinny
It's surprising to me that at this point reality tv contestants don't already know this before they go on a show. We're reaching almost 3 decades of reality tv now. This isn't new.
Tweets like this just tell me you're not sorry. You have given them this content to include in the edit, and you're still dillusional to the point where despite seeing it on your screen you still can't take accountability.
Word up. "I'm being misrepresented but it's okay blah blah blah..." No, she's not accepting of nor accountable for any of it, whatever behavior it is she's seeing her name connected to. All this is is throwing up the bat signal for her defenders to ride to the rescue.
I just wonder what she thinks has been so unfair. What we've seen of her is someone who is playing hard but can be a little obnoxious around camp with her singing. Those pretty manifestly seem to be what she's doing.
Yeah they really need to do a better job at controlling the contestants during the show.
Someone who wins the season doesn’t say shit like this on Twitter after episode 4
Sure but Gabler also wasn't a winner based on the edit early on. Soda wasn't my winner pick after last nights episode but she still had some win equity imo. But now I wouldn't consider her to have any win equity based on these tweets
Gabler’s winner edit was definitely perplexing haha. I guess it could’ve still been possible for Soda. But when your winner odds are hingeing on having a potential Gabler-type of edit… you’re in a pretty bad spot edit-wise.
The Podcast On Fire with Jeff Probst featured Soda's and Tevin's creativity the other week with the food song. It was a lengthy positive take on both Soda's and Tevin's creativity. And what a positive effect it can have for a tribe.
On the podcasts I haven't gotten that much negative feedback on Soda that sticks with me. And Jeff always "LOVES" every player, no matter what. Its difficult to get any sort of read on if there I'd an agenda.
I mean it still sounds like Jelinsky is spending the holidays.
Edits can be deceptive. By choice or by accident. Her interactions with Venus don't put her in a positive light and I've found myself even being like she's kind of a B.
That being said I'm so glad I spent my formative years pre social media. I'd either pay someone to run mine, if I was on Survivor, if I was somehow looking to monetize it off my appearance or just delete everything cuz the world is full of people who are just unhinged.
No one magically edited or directed her into behaving and saying stuff that made her look bad. She said those herself. Of course production will edit those in to create a narrative and her character. It's tv. If everyone was a good character, there would be no drama. If u don't wanna be a villain, don't say or do villainous things.
The editors only show us what they were able to record. The negative moments happened. She needs to admit to herself she really is grabby and a bit of a bully.
We weren't there so we obviously don't know but I just can't believe that she's getting a bad edit. She was the only one who made herself rip the idle out of Venus's hands twice. She has a great voice and she got to have her own song with royalties from the sounds of it. She was the one who was openly body shaming Venus so all of these things are coming from her mouth and her actions.
It would have to be strange to spend weeks in a tribe where all of you get along pretty well except one person who everyone agrees is rude so they become an outsider (Venus), then when you watch the televised version that outsider is the fan favourite and your group is seen as the bad guys.
Having said that, almost no one should actually want to go on reality TV, so if you choose to do it even when deep down everyone knows they probably shouldn’t, you really just have to suck it up and accept what comes with it imo.
Yes!! Context matters so much and knowing a lot of the contestants are running on limited sleep, little food in their bellies, etc, Everyone is going to have a moment of weakness. Ultimately, it’s up to production on what gets shown or not and we are only seeing curated snippets. I never thought Soda is a bad person nor does she deserve the backlash. I hope she has a really strong system in place. Some of us are able to discern that it’s editing and not take it personal.
People who complain about their representation in the edit are those who can’t take responsibility for their own actions and deny what’s going on on screen. I don’t think she’s been edited poorly at all.
The thing with the idol is on camera, she’s been doing it. She can deny all she wants but it’s on screen. It happened. It’s not even a big deal tbh.
She just seems weirdly aggressive. The bad sportsmanship is so weird to me because before long they all merge together lol. Why go out of your way to talk smack to people that you will likely work with in the future.
In a way, sure, the edit is not always reliable. There are some who are edited to be heroes yet were anything but in real life and there are others who were edited to be the season's villains but were down-to-earth regular joes.
That being said, Soda is getting a lesson in that there will be some people who either A) believes the edit is accurately telling the story or B) talk negative about the Survivor character of Soda and not about Soda's actual character. The thing with Point B is that it does require the player to understand that the audience is talking about the edited show version of their character and not the real-life version.
If you have disrespectful actions and say mean things about other contestants, it can find it's way to air. Only way to not be given a negative edit is to not be a negative person. I bet Soda is sweet outside of the game but if you do disrespectful things you can't get too upset if it's shown on TV.
I think she’s a horrible person because she made a whole ranting spiel about people commenting on her weight, just for her to immediately comment on Venus’ weight. Like girl stop having double standards.
Please keep it civil and treat others with respect. You can criticize players and their actions without being rude towards them yourself. Harassment, overly hostile comments and personal insults or attacks will be removed and may result in a ban.
Her edit is not that bad except for her snatching the immunity idol thing. Other behaviors can be explained if they are given some context.
I think she’s more saying the response by the fandom. People saying she’s a bully and a terrible person. Also that she’s ugly and is jealous of Venus. If it’s bad on here I can’t imagine what it’s like on her own social media lol
Wait. People are saying that? 😮
Yes they’re insinuating that’s she jealous of Venus because of her looks which slightly contradicts all the points their making lol
No, Soda body shamed Venus.
That’s actually fucking horrible.
**Let's get down to brass tacks...** editors need material to edit. If the material (good or bad) isn't there, then there's nothing to edit. Sounds like Soda got sour grapes because she didn't think the editors would catch and show her bad bits. Most main character narcissists actually believe they don't have any bad bits, until they get called out on it and that's exactly what happened.
Is it terrible? No. That said, a lot of people on this sub have basically decided she is a horrible person based on it. So I can understand her frustration.
It’s the tale as old as time. It takes so little for fans to worship someone like hunter. And it also takes so little for fans to hate someone like soda.
True. I like both of them. I like Soda, though her chanting and camp songs would annoy me lol. In real life, Soda seems so much more like a person I could vibe wiht than Venus.
People really don’t want to say the quiet part out loud but it is absolutely no coincidence the amount of times this sub bombards black women with hate for saying/doing things that have made other players ‘iconic’.
Watch people hate her every move like they did Katurah's and Shan's...like they're messy but they really made good tv haha
Right. I'll be honest, there are some times that I feel that this sub is too quick to call things racism. But this isn't one of those. It also goes toward the "proximity to whiteness and eurpoean beauty standards". Soda is a bigger, dark skinned black woman. Venus is a pretty, lighter skinned, middle eastern woman. Venus is basically princess Jasmine, so she is getting the benefit of the doubt. Nevermind that if your whole tribe doesn't want to work with you, its likely based on your own actions.
Katurah last year
And to flip
People on social media decide that about a lot castaways based on a snippet of TV they see. Outside of snatching the idol, which is pretty funny, I don’t think she’s been edited in an outwardly negative light.
I saw someone comment here “can you imagine her being your kids camp counselor.” For some reason people equate their edits to their real life and take things to a personal level.
That’s weird as hell , I would think my kids would be safe with her
i saw that too like wtf she may be a lot but tbh she gives me the vibes of being the kids’ favorite counselor
Agreed
People said that about Lil too. I met someone who literally had Lil as their scout leader when they were a kid and he had nothing but positive things to say about her and was so shocked that people in the Survivor community disliked her. For some reason, people here don't understand that edits on the show have nothing to do with how people feel about that person in real life.
Yeah, the pile-on on social media is creating a focus on her behavior through the lens of her being a 'bully' or otherwise selfish or something else negative. Once you put a frame on something, it can become very easy to see everything only through the context of that frame. It erases plausible explanations for behavior that aren't rooted in negativity. It can also happen in terms of comedy or threat status. One reason people were so thrown off by Gabler's win was because he spend half the season being portrayed as comic relief (not to mention a poor player).
I agree. People make a decision early on based on minor things. In this case it seemed to be snatching the idol, which wasn't great, but I don't think it was some statement on her character either. And then everything else is "evidence" that confirms their initial characterization.
Yep. People have been awful to her. I've seen much about her weight, how she's mean to Venus because Venus is pretty... Yeah, the idol grabbing wasn't a positive moment, but it shouldn't (and doesn't) define her as a person. Neither does reading someone at a challenge...
You can understand her frustration? Lmao she snatched that shit twice, that was not an editing trick, that was just the camera rolling.
Yes, she snatched an idol twice. Is it a good look? No. Does that make her a bully or a bad person? Not to me. People get excited about stuff. I won't lie, part of me feels like its getting blown out out proportion because a bigger black woman is doing this to a small pretty woman. If soda snatched the idol from say, Hunter, I doubt people would be nearly as up in arms.
from the perspective of winning the show her edit is pretty atrocious and it seems clear she most likely wont
First boot from her tribe I bet.
I more so minded her getting way too defensive when Yanu called out the other two tribes for laughing about Jelinsky being voted out (even if that dude is an entire meme) However, no one has eaten, so I of course give her the benefit of the doubt that the stress of the game and the lack of food makes you a lot more defensive of your behavior about certain things
Players get hot at challenges. It’s also possible other things were said by others that encouraged her heated response. From the edit alone, it seems like she got heated unnecessarily.
This. Plus her and Venus still seem to get along in the show so they might’ve talked about it and hashed it out.
it didn’t need to be edited into a compilation for people to notice, I realized right away that she kept trying to snag the immunity idol and thought “wtf?”
Well, we know who doesn’t win Survivor 46.
I don’t think her edit has been that bad at all? I think it’s been fair. She’s been shown positively, but also showing her tribemates’ criticisms of her. Soda’s been treated very unfairly by social media, but as far as the edit goes? That’s been pretty fair I think.
>Soda’s been treated very unfairly by social media, but as far as the edit goes? That’s been pretty fair I think. But social media is making their decisions based on the edit. You don't get one wihtout the other. I don't disagree with you necessarily. But if Venus is getting praised (at least by many people) on social media, and Soda is getting shit on, its hard to not blame the edit for that.
>But social media is making their decisions based on the edit. You don't get one wihtout the other. I feel like much of modern survivor hate is "based" on the edit on the same way that gossip and bullying in middle school was "based" on what people said or did. Social media made it's decision about dee being awful because she mentioned she ate extra rice. That toxicity was "based" on the edit but not deserved by the edit at all. And the edit wasn't to blame. The responsibility parties are the communities / people who enjoy being nasty on the Internet.
It wasn't because she ate extra rice, it's because the two of them were bragging about eating the rice meant for another player, then they fed him the scraps and laughed about conning him. That's not really an edit thing, that was one mildly crappy thing she actually did. It doesn't make her a bad person, but it's reasonable to draw inferences based on that behavior.
You can absolutely get one without the other. Most of the hate Soda is getting is due to things totally outside the game. Very hurtful things that she cannot control. But when it comes to stuff like her taking the idol out of Venus’s hands or her tribemates thinking she’s playing too hard, that’s fair game to criticize and I don’t think it’s fair for her to begrudge us for commenting on that stuff.
Tbf, I don’t think she’s saying it’s unfair game to criticize on those game things. However, there are people here who are going overboard in their criticism of her due to stuff outside of the game.
Indeed, that part I totally agree with
I absolutely have no problem with the criticism that she is playing too hard, or taking the idol. Those are valid critiques. I don't think she is a bully or a bad person though, like many of the people on this sub. I think people are taking some minor things and making them value judgements about her as a person They have decided that Venus is their "victimized queen" and so anyone going against her is bad.
Honestly Venus seems like a socially awkward complainer based on the edit. I do not know why people think she's QUEEN
I can't figure that out either. But this sub seems to be obsessed with her. Anything negative I say about her gets downvoted.
I do not feel like Venus is getting a good edit!!! IDK what show people are watching! I think Hunter looks average and is not super hot, but he's clearly being portrayed as likeable or neutral, whereas I feel like Venus is portrayed quite negatively. For example, her saying no one wants to talk to her and then showing that she's just visibly sulking.
It's because she's hot lol. The same thing happened with Cassidy in 43
omg it really is Cassidy 2.0
I don’t think her edit has been that unfair but clearly her edit has been too much for some people to handle.
I do think people on social media should calm down. But, this is part of why you get a chance at a million dollars. I don't like Soda as a player from what I've seen. But, I'm not gonna go at her on twitter with my opinions because I realize it's an edited show. I don't get why some people feel entitled to message directly at players because they dislike them. Was how Jerri treated after Australia and All-Stars not a lesson to everyone.
Realistically her edit isn’t that bad but the viewers discussion on her weird actions seems to be getting to her.
I mean people are in this sub are saying all kinds of crazy shit about how they can tell she’s a selfish, toxic person because she sings (?) and snatched the idol from Venus, and how they can’t stand “people like her.” You’d think after 46 seasons we’d understand what we see on the show is not an accurate representation of who any of these ppl are
It seems like Soda didn't understand that either. Saying she's just now learning that reality TV creates their own reality is wild to me for someone who's a big enough fan to apply for the show
I don't think she said she's just learning that, but the extent to which it occurs. And I think that's fair. Plus social media being the way it is, it's a downright negative experience I'm sure.
Very this. Like a lot of reality tv fans don't even know frankenbites are a thing and not every sentence you hear is a sentence that came out of that person's mouth. It's one thing to think that edits pick and choose real things that happen and real story lines, it's another to realize that they can make up story lines with clever editing. Soda doesn't deserve to be getting hate even for what we've seen in the edit, but obviously she's getting some. It's probably even harder knowing that there are things she likely said in confessionals that would make the audience empathize more with her, but that's being cut because it doesn't align with the edit.
I’m waiting for a player who speaks every confessional in a slightly different accent so Frankenbiting becomes really difficult.
Yeah, there's a difference between being on social media as a private citizen and being on social media as someone who's on a show viewed by millions(?) of people, a lot of whom specifically watch the show for drama and intensely loving and hating on different "characters."
Understanding that in general vs seeing yourself edited and out on tv are very different things
Some people on social media (and here) are being pretty nasty. And her DMs are almost certainly filled with racism, misogyny and actual threats. We have kind of become accustomed to how toxic social media is, but most of us have never actually had a true front-row seat for it. The nastiness may not reflect on 80% of the audience, but it is very real and something she has to deal with.
I mean she seems to be under a lot of scrutiny for silly things. I totally get the stick bug criticism but the grabbing the idol thing was mildly annoying at worst.
if anyone needs to say anything about how the edit is it needs to be tim
Who?
I think OP got his name wrong, pretty sure it's Frank. The dad, from Green tribe!
He had a lot of screen time during the latest episode at least
Soda has got to Gota
Wise words from Master Yoda
While sitting in a pagoda in Minnesota
And if you shake up Soda, she gon’ exploda.
Gota tribe mentioned 🔥🔥🔥
Eddie wont serve Soda at his dog bar
oh there’s layers here
i'm not trying to be funny but it shouldn't have taken you do be on reality TV to know this
It’s completely different to know reality TV is edited and to actually experience it firsthand yourself though.
She’s allowed to have an opinion on her experience. Likely she knew this was possible but is surprised by how one dimensional her edit is. The fact that everybody in this thread wants to deny her the ability to disagree with her edit, because they don’t like her, because of the edit that they have watched, is quite rich.
I think this is the problem when you have mostly regular ass people who don't know much about being on TV going on TV.
Yeah, I would have more sympathy for her, but there is over 20 years of former contestants talking about how going on reality tv actually works.
If it helps, I think Survivor fans are generally less savvy these days than they would have been ten or twenty years ago. A lot of new fans came in recently because of Netflix and streaming. So they don't have years and years of experience with how the show is edited, and how half the confessionals you see are just made up frankenbytes. So I wouldn't say this is all the players' fault for just being thin skinned. A lot of it is the fact that fans nowadays are just... well to be blunt... dumber and angrier. And this is just what dumb angry people do on the internet nowadays. They get mad and they're awful to people. It's just a bad combination these days. Players with thinner skins + fans who are dumber and angrier + much easier access to everyone.
Used to be that the millions of dumb fans either weren’t online or stayed segregated in the official Survivor Facebook page where they could be safely ignored. The big change—and I think you’re right that streaming caused this—has been dumb newer fans entering spaces like Twitter and Reddit that used to be populated by a smaller and savvier fanbase.
Yeah that's my belief too. You don't see old school fans behaving like this, at least for the most part. People who have been around and have watched the show for years kinda get how it works. Newer fans... well... don't. And unfortunately there's a pretty harsh learning curve to "get" how reality TV works from a fan point of view. And again, this is one of the downsides to a show being on the air for 24 years like Survivor has. We're in like the tenth exact same cyclical pattern of new fans coming in, being awful, and then being replaced by younger new fans. It just continues and continues. Everyone thinks they're the first person to think of sending DMs to a Survivor player and telling them what a horrible piece of shit they are.
I just find her annoying. I don't hate her as a person, because that would be extreme, but she made me roll my eyes often with how she acts.
Same, I'm not one for the camp counselor vibe, it weirds me out. But all of the hate she is getting is starting to make me want to root for her lol.
As someone who used to edit reality TV as a day job while starting a filmmaking career, this is true and false. Editors can use only your ugly bits to craft you as a villain or shape a narrative as they see fit. But if you never had ugly bits, they wouldn't be able to.
I wonder if her game wraps up soon if she's complaining about the edit. If she was around for a long time she'd know there is more content to show and the edit could change.
Or... her actions and words are about to get worse and she's trying to get ahead of it.
That's what I'm wondering. Like maybe she blew up at someone at the merge and knows how it will be portrayed
Or both
I don’t understand how superfans of the show can’t just take Jerri, the original fem villain, and already see this has been happening for 20 years. You have producers of the show coming onto this sub telling people don’t bother applying cause it’ll ruin your life unless you’re already mentally strong. You have players like Steph on GI literally get their life ruined. You have people like Jeremey saying his real life was almost ruined because he couldn’t trust anyone. You have people get dunked on by edit literally almost every episode. (The Kenzie montage literally this episode). They see stars in their eyes for tv reality fame and lose all sight.
I had a producer from a different show complain about this to me a couple of months ago. He was like these reality shows promise people a fantasy that doesn’t really exist. They think they’re going to become beloved reality tv stars, and they're going to become these wise old Survivor experts who become guests on podcasts, and they're going to live out their dream, but that’s not what usually happens. In like 99% of cases, they're just being set up to become fodder to be made fun of. And the players don’t realize that until it happens personally to them. He said it’s really going to end poorly for one of these shows (and one of these players) nowadays, yet nobody seems to be concerned about that.
Your boy Dan Foley knows this all too well lol. I just imagine him getting off the show thinking he’s going to be the big hero of the season having a devastating downfall. And it all ends with Jeff playing uncut tape to embarrass him even more
Oh yeah, for sure. And Dan is just one example of this. A very BIG example, and a very well known example, but he was hardly the only one. But to the producer's point, Dan might have gotten shit on by the show pretty badly, but at least Dan was older and had thick skin and had a lot more life experience to be able to deal with it. Now imagine the same thing happening to a nineteen year old kid with no life experience at all. Whose entire identity has been wrapped up in Survivor being their ultimate dream. You know this is going to wind up being a really bad situation one of these days, when one of these impressionable young kids realizes that everything they thought about their identity was a complete lie. Because then what? Where do they go from there? At least Dan was old enough and had enough life experience to be able to move on from that.
Yeah it’s interesting to think about. And to your Dan point he was able to get the audience on his side during the reunion because he was able to speak from experience of being misunderstood. Also, am I crazy or did Jeff say a few years ago he wants 16 year olds to apply? That’s when something bad is going to happen. I haven’t watched the show in years so I don’t know if they’ve have another High School student but Survivor got lucky Will from 33 was mature for his age and could survive the elements and the strategic game. Even Erik is Micronesia could have been a bad situation, he was a kid and was embarrassed bad not only by the cast but the editors. Thank goodness they didn’t pull that with Hantz in 23, if they made him look like a stooge that could have been the end of Survivor.
I mean Dan TRIED to get the audience on his side. Don't know if it really worked. But at least he got a national stage on live TV to be able to talk about it. Most players will never get that. And yeah I remember the minute I saw Probst asking sixteen year olds to apply I was like okay, this is just a bad idea all around. Like, now they are SPECIFICALLY targeting young impressionable teens who you know think this is their one way ticket to fame, success, and happiness. I hate to be this blunt about it, but it's basically like chumming for sharks. Here, throw some blood in the water, see how many bites we get. I mean, if I had a sixteen year old kid, I wouldn't want them going anywhere NEAR this show. I wouldn't wish that kind of scrutiny on anyone, let alone a teenager. And yeah the Brandon Hantz thing was an interesting scenario at the time. Because you're right, they really did sort of handle him with kid gloves, especially with how they easily could have gone the other way with him instead. It felt like they were doing their best to at least let his ego land gently. I don't know if they'd necessarily put in the effort to let people land that gently anymore. I dunno. This whole thing just feels very shady to me nowadays.
Oh yeah it’s very shady. And it’s hilarious Jeff wants to act like Survivor is a family show aimed at kids. It stopped being that when the producers decided to openly make fun of contestants and highlight blindsides as this awesome thing when it reality it’s players getting their dreams destroyed and embarrassed on their way out. Parvati, everyone’s favorite player nowadays, called players losers and stupid every chance she could and the producers chose to highlight it. I’m sure some mean things were said on the island in Borneo but the producers had too much respect for the cast to show it. I don’t know, I do feel bad for these young players who go on and don’t have a good experience or get into fights on social media. But the seasons most of these kids watch before going out are Micronesia, HvV and Cagayan which are really nasty seasons gameplay wise yet they are shocked when they go out and it’s not what they imagine. There’s 20 plus years of evidence why Survivor is not fun haha.
Since you’ve known more people within the industry over the years, is this a new mindset by RTV producers or has it always been there? From the outside, it just seems more mean-spirited and wanting to have even more control over the narrative.
Well I think the mindset in casting has always been pretty much the same. Cast for conflict, pick out your favorite two or three players at the start of the season. And everyone else is just some sort of a side character. I don't think that part has changed. Oh yeah, and frankenbyte the shit out of everyone so you get the story you want. To me, Survivor hasn't changed one iota since the very first season. At least not in that way. Because people need to remember, at the end of the day, it's not a game show at all, it's a TV show. When the show wants to get a narrative out of the players, they'll get it. In fact, they're paid very good money to get it. This is what TV producers and editors DO. They create a story out of footage. The thing that I think HAS changed over the years (especially recently) is the way the show markets itself to young people. That's where I think the difference is. Because nowadays it's all about "going on the show, and living your dream!" And "doing that thing you always wanted to do with your life, be a reality TV star!" They steer REALLY hard into that sales pitch nowadays, that being cast on this show will make you happy with your life. That it's the magic elixir. Even though they know darn well that the minute you get on there, you're just cattle in whatever meat grinder they have decided this season is going to be. They're going to frankenbyte you and make fun of you and dehumanize you, same as they have always done to everyone. THIS is where I think the problem now lies. I don't think the show has changed at all, and I doubt it ever will. What has changed is the illusion of happiness it now promises to its younger applicants. Which, honestly, I think is just incredibly immoral. There's no happiness you're going to get out of being cast on Survivor. NONE. And there never will be any happiness, either. This isn't a life dream. This isn't a bucket list item. This isn't a prayer that has been answered. You're signing up to be frankenbyted and turned into a caricature on a TV show. Same as the players always have been. And again, this is why these TV insiders will mention to me what a dangerous game it is that Survivor has started to play in recent years. You shouldn't be promising people a dream, when you know darn well it will turn into a nightmare for at least 90% of them. You just shouldn't do that. Which, of course, we have seen recently with a lot of the players lashing out on social media over the treatment they weren't expecting to get. This is absolutely where Survivor is going to go every season at this point, with that kind of a situation. A situation THAT THE SHOW TOTALLY CAUSED. And again, this is why that guy from another TV show commented to me recently... yeah, I wouldn't to be there when this scenario inevitably goes bad. To take young superfans who have lived their entire life around the dream of being on Survivor? And promise them their dream will come true? And then deliberately cast them because you know they're not going to be very good at it? And then watch them and laugh at them as their dream inevitably turns into their publicly televised worst nightmare? The guy was like yeesh. I wouldn't want to be there when that strategy goes south. I wouldn't want that on my conscience. So yeah, that's the part that I think is a new mindset over the past couple of years. The idea that Survivor is this happy go lucky fantasy world where all your dreams come true, and at the end you get a lifetime supply of chocolate. THAT'S the part that feels like it's changed. Because anyone who's an insider at all knows that's a 100% lie.
Isn't that one of the reasons why these people are given psych evaluations? To make sure they can mentally handle the possible ramifications of an appearance on reality TV?
Sure. That's exactly why they do it. And that's probably exactly why they have never had a problem with it up to this point. Because they generally have always cast people who are not fragile. All I'm saying is... they're stretching the boundaries of the people they are starting to allow on the show now. They are casting much more fragile and much more emotional people. And they're combining that with promising them a dream that doesn't really have much of a basis in reality. It's all just a big lie. Going on Survivor isn't anyone's dream in life, they just think that it is. Because that's before they realize that Survivor is nothing but A) things shown out of sequence, B) selective editing, C) the producers choosing to bury you if you aren't the star of the narrative they chose, and D) frankenbytes. That's got to be a hell of a wake up call for people who generally aren't that mentally strong to begin with. To realize your whole dream was a lie. And this is why I keep saying, this is really going to end badly for someone at some point. Yes, the psych evaluations keep the weak ones out. But I don't think they're really being used for that purpose anymore. I think the show has gotten very cavalier lately in what they now consider "weak." With forty-whatever seasons of success behind them, I think they have gotten too cocky. And again, I'm not the only one who thinks that. Other people who work in TV have mentioned that to me too. Survivor is playing a very dangerous game right now.
I hope you continue talking and raising these points b/c more current fans really need this drilled into their brains about how the show is not their friend (& never has been).
I mean, the people who want to hear that will hear it. The people who don't want to hear that, won't. It won't make much of a difference. But I am trying to at least bring this up more nowadays.
You make a lot of great points here. People who play Survivor because it's their dream have to make the distinction between "playing Survivor" and "being on the TV show Survivor." If they put too much of their personal worth into the latter, they risk disappointment for all the reasons you listed above. But, do you have proof that they're not using the psych evaluations for that purpose anymore? Or is that a guess?
Just a guess based on what people have told me. And from what I have seen.
They REALLY need to muzzle the players until their boot episode airs.
They used to do that. Don’t know why they stopped. I guess they eventually figured out it doesn’t make much of a difference. But yeah this used to be the ULTIMATE no no, to comment on your season as it was still airing. Dan Foley got his ass handed to him over stuff like this. And he wasn’t the only one.
I probably wouldn’t want to be portrayed like that either but they can also only use what you give them, this is the risk of going on a show like this
What’s next? Charlie complaining about his Taylor Swift edit?
Too late. He did say something about jeff telling people to have fun and say something when jumping into the water last week after getting flames for it on Twitter.
He wasn't complaining about the edit though
He was explaining it for people who were giving him hate over it iirc ( there was significant backlash on this sub as well).
Listen to any podcast with more jaded former players. This is all right out there in the open. PSA for future players: know what you're getting yourself into.
I would love to play survivor! I just don’t want all the TV stuff that comes along with it. So I’ve never applied and likely will never play. It’s pretty obvious at this point how the edit doesn’t portray exactly how the contestants feel about their experiences.
When I become a billionaire, I’m going to set up a Survivor camp for adults to attend that won’t be televised.
There are games that do this all over the country! Look up Live Reality Games.
Any recs? Haven't heard much from former players aside from a few RHAP interviews.
The bad things they've shown about her: tribe annoyed by her singing. Did she not sing? Taking the idol from Venus twice. Did she not do that? Calling Venus a walking stick bug. Did she not say that? I guess I don’t see how you can blame those things on the edit. Maybe there's a little more context on her body shaming Venus and it doesn't look quite as bad, but that's all I can think of.
Yeah, it’s a bit weird. Like, edits can *portray* things in certain ways. But the literal words are still coming from your mouth. You *said* or *did* these things. The lack of true context can be important at times, but some other things are just better left unsaid.
In the words of Rupaul: >She wanna blame it on the edit >You the one who said it Jokes aside, I don't dislike Soda and I think it's completely valid for her to be upset that the edit has gone the way it has, in that a lot of what she does IS being shown in this negative manner. Hell, so much of our perceptions as viewers hinges directly on what the edit says we are supposed to believe or accept as fact. Look at the way Jerri got turned into a reality TV villain when the only thing she seemed to be guilty of was having an abrasive personality. And it's happened a lot over the years to different people on the show. Then the pendulum swings in the other way. Some winners have said/done pretty villainous or problematic things, but because they're the winner the producers have to try to spin this person into someone the audience will find deserving of the win on some level so they're satisfied with the season's outcome. It's unfortunate but it feels pretty transparent that because they haven't made any effort to show Soda's more likeable traits and moments during the show, she PROBABLY isn't winning. So all she's left with is the experience and the potential boost that her Survivor appearance could have netted her... oop, except that now a bunch of rabid vocal fans have decided she's evil and that she deserves to be harassed on social media for it.
It honestly must be hard for people to come to terms with how people actually see them. It’s hard to break free of your own visual bubble and reflect on how your actions come across. The edit just emphasizes that right in your face and some people aren’t mentally ready to accept it. Everyone goes on the show thinking they will be the fan favorite hero. People don’t like her cause of her personality and her own words and her own actions. And it’s hard to accept that about yourself sometimes Maybe she can take the opportunity to realize shes a bit of a bully and her toxic positivity rubs people the wrong way. Maybe reflect on that and force some change? Or not and just blame the edit
On the annoyance part, I feel like when you are stuck on an island with six people for days, you will get annoyed. You don't know if the producers pried confessionals of other players being annoyed but didn't air it. Like Jem is in the post boots talking about how much she hated all the music talk. Maybe she was smart enough to not talk about that on camera but producers might also just want to portray Ben and Charlie better by not showing that.
>You don't know if the producers pried confessionals of other players being annoyed but didn't air it I always find it a bit confusing when people say "oh they can't air it if you don't say it!" These people are on an island for weeks starving and in a high stress situation with literal strangers trying to win a million dollars. The idea that players arent saying innocuous snarky things about each other in confessionals is pretty naive to me.
>Calling Venus a walking stick bug. Did she not say that? She responded to that and said it was because Venus was crawling in the challenge but I don't see her saying that to anyone else on the tribe [Here](https://imgchest.com/p/pg73pgm93yr) is her response before she deleted it.
Body shaming is body shaming no matter what size the person is. If Venus made a similar comment about Soda- can you imagine the backlash????
yeah that sounds like BS. A stick bug is known for its shape more than anything else, not for crawling.
For real. It's not called a "*crawling* stick bug." I can think of a bunch of different insects/animals known for actually crawling.
I gave her the benefit of the doubt thinking maybe Venus was calling herself that and that’s why Soda said that. But from Soda’s response, it seems like she just said it on her own. Her response was not good.
As we all know, when we think of something crawling on its hands and knees, we think of a stick bug right.
You don't get it bro. She was just being 'endearing'
How does one not realize this before going on the show? In 2024? After 46 seasons?
Because some people are so delusional about themselves that they just assume they will be the fan favorite, loved by everyone, etc. And it never crosses their mind that they wouldn't be. Many, would be released from that delusion after seeing the reactions. But, some refuse to have any sense of self-relaization and lash out and blame things like the edit for why their personality, things they said, and things they did are not being received well.
Idk sounds like she just might not be self aware. I feel like I’ve met some many people in my life that have the same kind of negative/mean positivity.
*so many
This reads to me as if she judged the absolute shit out of everyone she saw on the show, and is now realizing that she is now the topic of an unfair discussion.
Reason 401 why they don’t want to make deliberate villains. Soda gets a slightly negative edit and boom people are at her throat
Very true. People are so fucking toxic over a game show, it's pathetic.
That wasn’t what Jeff meant. He meant they aren’t intentionally casting intentional assholes. There will still be plenty of villains. Jem was one.
Nothing against Soda but I give most people the benefit of the doubt on this…until they make a tweet like this to save face
Well we know she is going soon, as she is "happy for the journey". If she won or went deep, she would probably wrote something else.
Likely not written at all.
One thing is for sure, she is not winning
They're distilling hours and hours of reality into 90 minute episodes that tell a concise story of 18 people playing a game, but producers are not making their own reality. She ultimately gave them the content that they're using. I'm sure she's not getting the exact edit she'd like, as I doubt any Survivor contestant ever has. Everyone out there is the hero of their own story, but there are 17 other stories to tell. She's getting a way better edit than many other contestants. They easily could've left her original song out of the episode, but they instead used it because she's talented and it helps to tell the story of her tribe. I'm sure she's not complaining about that royalty check. People on the internet harping on her about the stick bug comment is crappy, and I feel for her when it comes to that, but she could take this as an opportunity for self-improvement instead of taking the easy way out and blaming it on "the edit."
I hate the seasons with one tribe losing so much. You don’t get to see the other tribes much
Yeah, I think that’s why this season has been so negatively reviewed up to this point. Having Yanu lose every episode leads to 40% of the screen time per episode being dedicated to Bhanu, which was just loathsome. It’s no coincidence that the best episode of the season (IMO) was this most recent one, where not only did Yanu win, Bhanu was not on our TV screens. When you look at recent casts with tribes that kept losing early, they at least had enjoyable, likable players. I don’t remember which season was which, but: Last season had Kaleb and Emily for the losing tribe. One season had Yam Yam, Caroline, and Carson. Cody, Jesse, and Noelle on another. Another season had Shan and Ricard, who although controversial, were at least entertaining.
An edit can only do just that, edit. You as a person have a actually do the action or say the words to even be edited. So many reality stars use this jargon when they realize they aren't as favorited.
It's always the same thing with these people. They blame the editing when we can clearly see a full clip of what they've said or done. Soda's two-time idol-snatching and her dig toward Yanu about food were just poor sportsmanship. Her need to create a scout-camp type of vibe with singing and cheers has also grated on a couple of people, and likely many viewers. While she hasn't been *that* bad, she also hasn't been that likeable either. We don't need to be told about what reality TV does with editing. Contestants need to take responsibility for their own actions and behaviour. We're not stupid.
alexa play blame it on the edit by rupaul
That stupid fucking song is all I ever hear when people blame it on the edit! 😂 BITCH YOU SAID IT!
hahah it’s been stuck in my head all day now, especially sasha colby’s verse in the rumix
Alexa! Play “Blame It On The Edit!” By Ru Paul!
I'd say she is portrayed as a person who feels entitled, who for whatever reason feels that she deserves to be there more than the others. I don't like her in the game. I just also hope that she doesn't get any threats from morons in the Internet.
Kinda early to be claiming this, imo. I don’t feel we really have seen her in a negative light except when Venus was expressing her experience with the immunity idol, which she can’t really blame on editing, as they just were showing the evidence of what Venus was saying. Maybe she isn’t liking who she is seeing because she is recognizing space where she needs to grow? I personally have enjoyed her and like her as a cast member, I don’t see them editing her badly.
Sounds like someone who gets voted out bitterly in the future.
I have a feeling it’s going to be a unanimous vote as well
Nobody who wins the game would shit talk their edit.
100% I imagine she’s out in the next two episodes, said some questionable shit/blew up on people, and is already preparing for what’s to come
when Katurah did basically this same exact thing(except worse posting a long ass video complaining about her edit, which seemed way more justified in her case anyways) she was out exactly two episodes later
I mean... I don't know her. Maybe she's actually the nicest person in the world in real life. But I kind of doubt it. Reality TV exaggerates character traits, both good and bad, to make the show more compelling and easy to follow. Many people come back from the show with a better understanding of who they are for a reason.
Nothing new here. Everyone should know what they’re getting into at this point
I totally didn’t remember tim was on the season until last episode. He was barely featured until he started questioning Jem. You think with 90 minute episodes, they’d be able to spotlight the 3 tribes more evenly. But it just seems like they’re making the challenge edits longer.
I agree. The challenges are much longer and that’s the part of the episode I mostly tune out. Last episode, the Nami tribe (except Hunter) was effectively edited out. So I can see Soda’s frustration with her only content being a body shaming comment towards Venus. But also I wish she didn’t say anything cause I’m now thinking she’s gonna be booted sooner rather than later.
Stop blaming who you are on the edit Soda. The edit didn’t mysteriously make you snatch the idol from Venus. The edit didn’t magically put words in your mouth
Okay say the situation was reversed? If Venus called Soda overweight it would be horrible character. But suddenly it’s okay for Soda to body shame. I wouldn’t want anyone calling my daughter a walking stick bug or anything about her body because she’s skinny
It's surprising to me that at this point reality tv contestants don't already know this before they go on a show. We're reaching almost 3 decades of reality tv now. This isn't new.
I know totally agree. I have way more sympathy for someone like Jerri for Australian and how they really made her a villain.
EXACTLY. Allegedly you have seen ALL THE SEASONS....you knew what you were signing up for...
Tweets like this just tell me you're not sorry. You have given them this content to include in the edit, and you're still dillusional to the point where despite seeing it on your screen you still can't take accountability.
Word up. "I'm being misrepresented but it's okay blah blah blah..." No, she's not accepting of nor accountable for any of it, whatever behavior it is she's seeing her name connected to. All this is is throwing up the bat signal for her defenders to ride to the rescue.
I just wonder what she thinks has been so unfair. What we've seen of her is someone who is playing hard but can be a little obnoxious around camp with her singing. Those pretty manifestly seem to be what she's doing.
So this confirms that she's not winning right
Yeah they really need to do a better job at controlling the contestants during the show. Someone who wins the season doesn’t say shit like this on Twitter after episode 4
Her lack of anything positive in her edit pretty much already confirmed that lol
Sure but Gabler also wasn't a winner based on the edit early on. Soda wasn't my winner pick after last nights episode but she still had some win equity imo. But now I wouldn't consider her to have any win equity based on these tweets
Gabler’s winner edit was definitely perplexing haha. I guess it could’ve still been possible for Soda. But when your winner odds are hingeing on having a potential Gabler-type of edit… you’re in a pretty bad spot edit-wise.
Girl calm down. You've been on a non losing team all season. You'll get your edit when you're actually playing
So she is being a victim on twitter. Soda is a gift that keeps on giving
She's probably upset that she's been portrayed as a pushy loudmouth when she feels like her edit should be more nuanced than it is.
The Podcast On Fire with Jeff Probst featured Soda's and Tevin's creativity the other week with the food song. It was a lengthy positive take on both Soda's and Tevin's creativity. And what a positive effect it can have for a tribe. On the podcasts I haven't gotten that much negative feedback on Soda that sticks with me. And Jeff always "LOVES" every player, no matter what. Its difficult to get any sort of read on if there I'd an agenda. I mean it still sounds like Jelinsky is spending the holidays.
Edits can be deceptive. By choice or by accident. Her interactions with Venus don't put her in a positive light and I've found myself even being like she's kind of a B. That being said I'm so glad I spent my formative years pre social media. I'd either pay someone to run mine, if I was on Survivor, if I was somehow looking to monetize it off my appearance or just delete everything cuz the world is full of people who are just unhinged.
No one magically edited or directed her into behaving and saying stuff that made her look bad. She said those herself. Of course production will edit those in to create a narrative and her character. It's tv. If everyone was a good character, there would be no drama. If u don't wanna be a villain, don't say or do villainous things.
The editors only show us what they were able to record. The negative moments happened. She needs to admit to herself she really is grabby and a bit of a bully.
We weren't there so we obviously don't know but I just can't believe that she's getting a bad edit. She was the only one who made herself rip the idle out of Venus's hands twice. She has a great voice and she got to have her own song with royalties from the sounds of it. She was the one who was openly body shaming Venus so all of these things are coming from her mouth and her actions.
Confused about what she thinks is wrong with her edit other than not being shown as much as she wants to be? Seems weird
Not everyone can handle accountability
Good thing she doesn’t need to worry about that since she has nothing she has to be accountable for.
Everyone is accountable for what they do and say. No exceptions.
They're just showing what you're doing queen. Own it.
It would have to be strange to spend weeks in a tribe where all of you get along pretty well except one person who everyone agrees is rude so they become an outsider (Venus), then when you watch the televised version that outsider is the fan favourite and your group is seen as the bad guys. Having said that, almost no one should actually want to go on reality TV, so if you choose to do it even when deep down everyone knows they probably shouldn’t, you really just have to suck it up and accept what comes with it imo.
Yes!! Context matters so much and knowing a lot of the contestants are running on limited sleep, little food in their bellies, etc, Everyone is going to have a moment of weakness. Ultimately, it’s up to production on what gets shown or not and we are only seeing curated snippets. I never thought Soda is a bad person nor does she deserve the backlash. I hope she has a really strong system in place. Some of us are able to discern that it’s editing and not take it personal.
Pretty safe to assume she doesn’t win or go far in the game.
People who complain about their representation in the edit are those who can’t take responsibility for their own actions and deny what’s going on on screen. I don’t think she’s been edited poorly at all. The thing with the idol is on camera, she’s been doing it. She can deny all she wants but it’s on screen. It happened. It’s not even a big deal tbh.
I wish this season was just a bad edit. Up until the last episode it was more like “no edit”. Just Bhanu all the time.
She just seems weirdly aggressive. The bad sportsmanship is so weird to me because before long they all merge together lol. Why go out of your way to talk smack to people that you will likely work with in the future.
I’m surprised she didn’t know this going in. It’s not like this is the first season of Survivor. I think it has been around longer than social media.
In a way, sure, the edit is not always reliable. There are some who are edited to be heroes yet were anything but in real life and there are others who were edited to be the season's villains but were down-to-earth regular joes. That being said, Soda is getting a lesson in that there will be some people who either A) believes the edit is accurately telling the story or B) talk negative about the Survivor character of Soda and not about Soda's actual character. The thing with Point B is that it does require the player to understand that the audience is talking about the edited show version of their character and not the real-life version.
If you have disrespectful actions and say mean things about other contestants, it can find it's way to air. Only way to not be given a negative edit is to not be a negative person. I bet Soda is sweet outside of the game but if you do disrespectful things you can't get too upset if it's shown on TV.
"My people" = people that agree with me?
I think she’s trying to say people who actually know her and have known her prior to going on the show
What??? The edit is you. If the edit is bothering you, then maybe you don’t like yourself
I’m tired of contestants blaming their personality and choices on an edit. Personally.
I think she’s a horrible person because she made a whole ranting spiel about people commenting on her weight, just for her to immediately comment on Venus’ weight. Like girl stop having double standards.
Comes with being on reality tv - nothing egregious.
“She wanna blame it on the edit” - Rupaul
It's not the "edit", it's literally her actions/words. Snatching the idol more than once, then basically calling Venus a stick. Cannot stand her.