Reality in a Box

Last week, racked out hottie Danni Boatwright outlasted, -witted, and –played a group of jungle bound Americans in Guatemala to end another grueling season of CBS’s no longer so runaway hit franchise, “Survivor.” Her fortitude has earned her 1 million dollars and a new car.

Contestants spend 39 days in the sweltering jungle of El Peten, a forbidding environment known both for the beauty of the jungle and age and complexity of Mayan tradition in which the land is steeped. Contestants were required to run mazes, climb trees and balance on rounded platforms.

"Survivor: Guatemala" is part of a now well-known entertainment genre known as “reality TV.” As the name of the genre implies, the environment in which the game is played, the challenges faced within it, and the perfectness of the teeth and abs of the contestants are carefully crafted to closely mirror the lives of

actual Guatemalans, who, if they are lucky, will leave the sweltering jungle for 39 days, and who outwit competitors during challenges such as civil war, poverty, health care shortages, and the ghosts of long dead Maya chieftains who still roam the jungles at night in the hopes of winning 66 cents per day for the duration of the contest.

Heartfelt congratulations to Ms. Boatwright on her hotness and newly acquired millionaire status, to CBS for the conclusion of another successful season, and to the members of the "Survivor" consuming public for thier unbelievable ability to keep a straight face while calling this show "Reality."