The emergence of reality television provides an occasion to re-examine how forms and conventions are understood as part and parcel of a specific genre. Indeed, despite different settings, distinctive narrative strategies, and varying levels of production value, a diverse set of television texts, such as Cops, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Temptation Island, and The Mole, are described by the industry, and recognized by audiences, as examples of "reality television." Some of the hallmarks of reality television are its unscripted or "documentary" feel and the attendant reliance on "ordinary people" rather than professional actors; a heightened sense of exhibitionism, on the one hand, and voyeurism, on the other; and a thematic emphasis on contest, competition, strategy and winning. Perhaps the genre's defining feature is its explicit claim to "veracity" and "authenticity." By leveraging the genre's implicit claim to capture "reality" accurately and faithfully, media educators might fruitfully illuminate the constructedness of television texts. 

 Once the dominant force in American popular culture, network television's preeminence has diminished over the last two decades in the wake of technological innovations like the VCR and increased competition from cable television, direct broadcast satellite, and internet-related services. Considered by some to be industry dinosaurs, relics from a bygone era, American television networks struggle to attract prime-time television audiences. Where the television industry once sought to maximize audience numbers by appealing to mass audiences, contemporary industry practices stress the importance of niche markets and narrowcasting. 

 Imprecise as they are, Nielsen ratings provide some indication of any given program's popularity. What's more these numbers dictate whether or not a particular show will survive for another week, or another season. However, quantitative data of this sort--how many television sets were tuned in to a specific show at a particular time--elide a more difficult, but far more intriguing question: Why is Survivor so popular? 

 In short the level of popular discussion of reality television in general, and Survivor in particular, indicates that these programs resonate with audiences and that viewers do indeed take these shows seriously. 

 Media scholar John Fiske once remarked: "Communication is too often taken for granted when it should be taken to pieces." Our task, a pedagogical challenge as much as a political responsibility, is to promote precisely these sort of critical thinking skills in our students. Ironically, the media's apparent naturalness, its very pervasiveness, confounds our ability to critically analyze or "make strange" media form and content in a fashion that our students can comprehend and appreciate. This brief deconstruction of Survivor offers a primer on media studies. With this short tutorial students might begin to learn how representational codes and conventions create meaning, to better understand how industry structures and practices shape media form and content, and to acknowledge the ways in which audiences make use of, and make sense of, popular culture. Armed with this knowledge, students are much more than active viewers; they are informed and engaged citizens.