'THE TRAITORS': Problematic Or Good Actually?
28*SPOILERS CONTAINED IN THIS VIDEO FOR THE ALL OF TRAITORS UK AND AUSTRALIA*
This video is me, a millennial leftist, talking about ‘The Traitors’ Tv show.
I enjoy the show, at the time of writing this I have watched both UK Seasons, both Aussie Seasons and the US Season, so I feel like its fair to say I am a fan.
My brain is constantly questioning how I feel about a show that promotes back-stabbing, ostracism and self-interest as the route to victory.
As someone on the left, I see these behaviours as hangovers from living in a capitalist society that promotes competition and individualism as being the correct way to live, the end result of decades of Thatcherism, Reaganism and their Neoliberal project.
So should I be enjoying this show, or should I tear it down as an icon of all I despise ideologically?
Join me as I look at the show in detail, and interrogate it for its ideology, its cultural impact and its potential as a leftist learning tool.
We will look at The origins of the game itself, how it was developed from its initial creation as a psychological learning tool in 1980’s Russia, through its US adaptation, right the way through to how a 17th century dutch mutiny inspired the first version of the Traitors in the Netherlands.
We will discuss what a leftist gameshow might look like, what other gameshows may have done better, and what parts of the traitors might actually be useful to us on the left.
We will talk about Mafiosos, Werewolves, Mutineers and Prisoner Dilemmas.
And then hopefully, by the end, we will have some understanding as to whether I should be watching and enjoying the traitors…or not?
Lets do it!
#TheTraitors #thetraitorsuk #thetraitorsus #traitors #deverraders #bbc #rtl #gameshows #crystalmaze #leftist
TheTraitors
TheTraitors uk
TheTraitors Australia
TheTraitors USA
Traitors
Mafia
Werewolf
Batavia
Mike Pos
RTL
Claudia Winkleman
Rodger Corser
Bbc
Rtl
Crystal Maze
Richard O’Brien
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Verraders - Origin of tv show (dutch)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_(party_game) - Game that inspired the show
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Traitors_(British_TV_series)#Format - Uk version wiki
https://www.servinglibrary.org/journal/2/the-original-mafia-rules - The Original Mafia Ruleset
https://web.archive.org/web/19990302082118/http://members.theglobe.com/mafia_rules/ - Ruleset source
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/werewolf - Info on game creator Davidoff
https://www.eblong.com/zarf/werewolf.html - Werewolf rules
https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/the-traitors-creator-marc-pos-interview-rtl-bbc-1235480694/ - TV Show Creator Interview
https://medium.com/@Socademia/feminist-monster-theory-the-vilification-of-the-violation-of-gender-roles-82fe88c775bd - Werewolves as LGBT+
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutiny#Famous_mutinies_in_history - Mutiny Wiki
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/128824 - Batavias Graveyard
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Dash#Bibliography - Mike Dash WIki
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PuFw9xDqojgC&pg=PA29&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false - Thugs a British invention
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-channels-spirit-of-margaret-thatcher-with-his-greed-is-good-message-8968102.html - BJ Greed is good
https://www.vice.com/en/article/7xg5a9/how-game-shows-perfectly-reflect-the-era-were-living-in - Vice on Gameshows
http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/UK_Game_Show_Records - Gameshow figures
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_rhetoric - Procedural RHetoric
https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/the-traitors-bbc-most-iconic-moments-b1128641.html - Highlights of Uk season 1
https://thetraitors.fandom.com/wiki/The_Traitors_(UK) - Wiki
https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/divisive-and-uncaring-the-traitors-is-the-perfect-show-for-post-brexit-britain/ - Traitors crit
https://www.buzzfeed.com/patricksmith/to-the-crystal-dome - O’brien interview
https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2024/traitors-series-2-record-viewing-figures#:~:text=Broadcast%20viewing%20is%20increasing%20week,3%20both%20at%206.1million. - viewing figures
Prisoner’s dilemma diagram : By cmglee, http://github.com/emojione/emojione/graphs/contributors, http://github.com/twitter/twemoji#committers-and-contributors - This vector image includes elements from this file:, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=140014761
https://pngtree.com/freepng/red-devil-devil-wings_6357676.html used in thumbnail.