How Mike White's experience on Survivor: David vs. Goliath likely influenced The White Lotus

Slate

An exchange from the premiere of the fall 2018 Survivor season, which featured White as a contestant, looks like it shaped his approach to The White Lotus, says Andrew Bundy. "The parallels between Survivor and The White Lotus start right at the beginning, with a group of strangers on a boat being ferried to a remote locale where they will live off the land and its people as if they own both," says Bundy. "But Survivor is a fantasy series where, ultimately, winning is all about blending in, hoping people won’t notice you enough to want to vote you off or put a target on your back—evoking Armond’s theory that the hotel staff exist to be invisible helpers for its guests. The White Lotus’ manager has slotted himself right in the middle of the resort’s Davids and Goliaths—the same as White’s admitted strategy on Survivor. But when he comes head-to-head with Shane’s Goliath entitlement, Armond puts a target on his own back, and Shane never stops pressing his advantage." Bundy adds: "White might have identified as a David when he first set foot on the beach, reverting to his old, ostracized, middle school personality when being 'surrounded by people who are all Baywatch attractive.' But his tenure on the show made him realize that he was, in fact, a Goliath, and seasoned enough storyteller to note: 'Nobody’s going to be rooting for us! We’re the Goliaths. I want to be a David! But you’re not a David anymore! You are a Goliath.'"

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