November 26, 2007

The Amazing Race 12 - Love/Hate

I know. It's been a while since I TAR-blogged.

I'm having a love-hate relationship with TAR right now. First, the love:

I'm absolutely head-over-heels in love with Kynt and Vyxsin, the Goth couple. They were getting close to surpassing some of my favorite teams (BJ and Tyler, Ken and Gerard, Steve and Dave, Lynn and Alex) but last night they did it. Between Kynt's color guard routine and Vyxsin cradling her poor little chicken at the pit stop, I found good reason to place them in the number one slot.

I love Donald and Nicolas. Donald's feisty attitude and his foul mouth kicks a whole bunch of ass. I love Nicolas' easy relationship with his grandpa. It reminds me of my relationship with my maternal grandfather. After almost 19 years, I still miss him.

I love the new U-Turn. It's a much better alternative to the Intersection.

I love Phil with wet, spiky hair.

I love footraces. There's been a bunch already this season.

I love meltdowns. Even if it's a Racer I'm not fond of, I still love them. (See exception: Flo)

And now, the hate:

Azaria and Hendekea. I was mildly annoyed by them until her little "retard" remark last night, and now I want them GONE.

Entitlement complexes. No, it isn't "unfair" when one team continually comes in first. It's called RACING. I can handle whining about who yielded or u-turned whom, but entitlement? On the Amazing Race? Um. No.

Unkind treatment of animals. Look, I get it. Many cultures around the world view animals as sources of food, clothing, and other necessities for survival. They're not kept as pets nor are they treated as human equals. Hell, there are plenty of arguments for poorer treatment of animals in our own country than the treatment of animals in many other parts of the world. Still, chickens forced into mesh sacks, or young goats strapped into baskets on the back of a bicycle? Are there no other tasks to be performed among the culturally-rich people of Burkina Faso? Is there nothing in Ireland more interesting than screaming at a donkey to carry some peat several yards? Yes, I understand there is much to be learned about ourselves from seeing how people in other places live, but could we not focus more on the people and less on the animals in such brutal ways? The "Teach or Learn" detour, for example, was one of the best and most fascinating I've seen on any season of the Race so far. Seeing regular old Americans learning to communicate with people from a completely different culture is no less than amazing. I'm not suggesting eliminating animals from the Race legs entirely, I just think it's getting out of hand.

A little more Color Guard Kynt would make me feel a whole lot better.

About using the animals..totally trying to make drama I'm sure. Think about all the past times when dealing with an unpredictable animal makes people show their characters. But now it's getting boring show something fun like the plate smashing or silk painting.

About the Goths: liking them even more. Vyxsin's breakdown actually made me like her more. My husband pointed out that she was the only one of the bunch to even comment and be affected on the conditions and the graciousness of the people in Africa because when you are in a third world country it's the most obvious thing you can notice if you care about people.(according to him because he's the one who's actually been anywhere remotely close to that.)

Overall loving this edition so far.

Hey Lee, thanks for commenting!

I agree with you - the entire episode was awful. I think there were many alternatives they could have explored to highlight the rich cultural fabric of Burkina Faso. Most of my vegan/veg friends were appalled by the route they took with the animals in this episode. Especially after they'd already done the donkeys and the camels. Like, ENOUGH ALREADY. Are you vegan or veg, by any chance, too?

I'm going to keep watching, but I can definitely see how this last episode would turn you off from watching anymore. I usually do periodic recaps/commentary, so come back for updates if you're interested! :)

I cannot get enough of Kynt and Vyxsin. I was just so proud of him for totally going to town during their dance, and I felt for her when she was having her minor breakdown about the living conditions.

I cannot abide any whining about yielding or u-turning. Hey, it's a race. If it's PART OF THE GAME, it's fair. Whether you like it or not.

I agree, Kynt was awesome, and your Color Guard analogy is perfect. Snerk.

The animal thing is bothering me too. It's one thing to have Shecky the Comedy Camel and people getting dumped out of donkey carts, but putting them in situations where they are practically abusing the animals is completely different. Ugh.

I've been a HUGE fan of The Amazing Race since the first show. I've actually arranged my schedule so I wouldn't miss it. After the show with the chickens and the goats, I'm done. Hope to never see anything like that again. For me, it's not entertaining, it's just too disturbing to watch. Loved the show for years, but now I'm done. I'll watch Extreme Home Makeover - or anything - but The Amazing Race. I just don't trust the show anymore. I realize that's how those people live, but I'll never watch something like that again. Just my take.