Episode 6

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In Episode 6 of Survivor Blood vs. Water, members of each tribe had a lot to think about from the previous episode. The things that happened after the switch up on the last episode, had quite an affect on the members actions and emotions.  Tribe Coyopa had some internal conflict that reflected the last vote-off. Dale’s daughter was previously voted off which obviously hurt Dale very much and it was easy to see. Not only was he upset about the vote-off, but he was also  worried that they were planning on voting him off next. He had no real bases for this thought except for the fact that the last person voted off was his daughter. So he had a motivation to make an alliance in order to save himself. He tried to make an alliance with Jon in order to save himself. He even gave Jon a fake “idol” in exchange for Jon to save him from elimination.

The Hunahpu Tribe was having a lot of trouble with their food situation and rationing. The tribe failed to ration their rice and this created some issues. With a week to go, they barely had enough food to last them a couple days.  This not only will make the tribe frustrated and agitated, but they will not have enough energy to complete the next challenges. In order to receive another bag of rice, The Hunahpu Tribe had to give up all of their comforts to get one bag of rice. Hunahpu was basically starting from the very beginning which created a lot of tension.   This could have been a problem caused by Groupthink. This is when a group has problems with their efficiency and it is defined by Yale University Psychologist, Irving Janis. He calls it, ” a mode if thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative course of action. It also refers to a deterioration of mental efficiency reality testing, and moral judgement that result in-group pressure.” This can inhibit the flow of information and promote carelessness. Which was basically what happened when the tribe failed to ration their food.

In the next challenge, they had to run through a series of obstacles blindfolded. They had to find a mask and memorize it. The next part of the challenge was to use puzzle pieces to recreate the mask. The reward of this challenge was a BBQ. So the fact that  Hunahpu won the challenge definitly helped the fact that they didnt ration their food.

Good Ole Dale

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This week on survivor the Hanuphu tribe continued the spiral downward. After their immunity challenge then Hunahphu camp was trying to decided what do especially since they did not have any rice left and they had probably were going to have to have to give something up in the proposition they made towards Jeff the host to receive something for their rice. During this episode there was a lot of members in the tribe that were plotting against each other and some members so the group that were not on the same page as others. They expressed conflicts of the cultural-ism dimensions of collectivism, individualism and high power distance.

The commencement of the episode started off with Coyopa tribe on a high and having a magical feeling about how much they were on top while most members of Hunuphu were not happy. As a tribe you as supposed to show unity in your decision for trying to get ahead but Jeremy was not happy with the decision to possibly trade something for rice. After Jeff brought the rice in exchange for their comfort items Jeremy let his feeling be know, mainly behind the scenes. He showed anti-collectivism. Collectivism is understanding that the different perspectives and individuals personal achievement should be rewarded. Jeremy does not understand why the group is not working together despite the odds and putting their individualism to play so that they would survive on their own. I think Jeremy felt he had done so much for the group so why did his tribe not value his opinion and did not ask him for one. Jeremy also did not understand why the tribe should be so collective in their decisions on the rice, he felt there possible could have been another way and his tribe felt the consequences when it rained.

After the immunity challenge and Natalie volunteered herself to go on exile island. I personally did not understand in the beginning why she did that, because that island looks like no fun. As the episode progressed it showed that Natalie was using this to her advantage and foreshadowing to the future when the tribes would combine. She was looking towards alliances and how being an individual will help the alliance she is apart of and strengthen bonds for later.

Good Ole Dale from the beginning felt outcast-ed from his tribe and knew there was going to be the possibility that he would be voted out. He played the big man card and exaggerated in forming new alliances by saying he had a immunity idol. While Keith was just chilling in a corner with his. Dale was excersising high power distance he accepted the difference in power in his tribe and how the king pins of his tribe were gunning to get him out. And tried to change that. In the end it did not work out for him and he was voted out.

NonVerbal and Julie

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In episode 5 of Survivor Blood vs. Water we see the hidden agendas behind all of the tribe members.  Because Hunahpu was careless with their food, they decided to barter with Jeff to get another bag of rice.  This greatly angered Jeremy, in the sense that he felt his tribe was strong enough to go without food for a day and was capable of continuing their domination in the challenges, and would hopefully win food at the next reward.  But because group work is not a dictatorship, he is forced to go with the democracy.  Hunahpu had to give up every piece of reward they had won over their 2 week stay in Nicaragua in exchange for a bag rice.  This consisted of: their tarp that kept them dry, pillows and blankets for warmth and comfort, hammocks for leisure time, their hatchet, their extra bowl, and their flint, leaving them with only one flint, a machete, a bowl, and their rice; taking them back to the very beginning.  Because of their lack of a tarp, they were unfortunate enough to fall victim to a torrential down pore causing one of their tribe members to break.

Due to cold rainy weather, Julie, girlfriend of everyone favorite survivor, John Rocker, was succumbing to the elements.  This is where we see a great deal of nonverbal communication.  Julie is seen with her sweatshirt over face curled up in a fetal position like a baby whining and groaning in agony.  This was quite amusing because I have no idea what she expected signing up for the show if she couldn’t handle one night in the rain.  To my surprise, she stuck it out and cheered her team on as they won immunity.