As of now, I’ve finally begun to find some focus with regards to my research project. Since narrowing down my research interests and preparing my ‘pitch’, I’ve decided on Survivor as a primary source, focusing on two specific episodes that feature actual Indigenous individuals from Micronesia and Vanuatu (where each season was filmed). I feel as though I’m at a bit of an impasse as far as my research goes, because finding scholarly sources that discuss Survivor are, unsurprisingly, in short supply.

What I did find, however, is an entire book about Survivor, and all the different aspects of reality TV as a genre. Matthew J. Smith and Andrew F. Wood’s compilation of essays entitled Survivor Lessons is going to be my Bible this quarter. It was incredibly satisfying to find a secondary source that catered to my research focus so perfectly (especially after the trek I went on to find it in Langson Library). One of the essays, written by professor Steven Vrooman, specifically discusses the show’s representation of Indigenous identities, which are then mapped onto American ones. Vrooman’s “Self-Help for Savages” has really provided some guidance as far as where I can take my argument. Moreover, Vrooman’s references page has provided me with a host of new scholarly sources to explore.