Surviving Antarctica Reality TV 2083 by Andrea White
Reviewed by KeriRatings
Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content
LANGUAGE
VIOLENCE
SEXUAL CONTENT
ADULT THEMES
Ratings Explanation
Language: Four common swear words and four uses of the name of deity.
Violence: The government uses Court TV as the judicial system. Criminals are considered terrorists and have no human rights. Near drownings, beating and sometimes crucifixion is used as punishment. A young woman was beaten because she tried to help a dying contestant on a Reality TV show. Many contestants are allowed to be maimed, injured, suffer disease and are even killed as part of the entertainment. A horse is eaten by a killer whale. It’s blood and guts float in the water. A seal is shot for food. The pony is killed by the hungry dogs. A survivor’s toes are frostbitten, amputation is considered.
Adult Themes: Children being used on a survival show for the entertainment of the masses. TV has become the crime deterrent and educator. A contestant has lost both parents. A young man must decide whether or not to intervene with the government to save the contestants and stand up for their rights.
Synopsis
In the year 2083, our nation’s government has turned to television to fight crime and educate the masses. All programming is meant to be so captivating that citizens will be glued to their screens instead of looking for trouble. To boost ratings, the Secretary of Entertainment has decided to use children as contestants in her next installment of the TV hit, Survival. This series has contestants literally fighting for their lives while reliving history through episodes such as The Alamo, World War II and The Plague. This time, five 14-year-olds have been chosen to relive Robert F. Scott’s 1912 expedition to the South Pole (this was a real expedition and selected entries of Scott’s journal are used throughout the story). What they don’t know is that they will be all alone without a camera crew. To save the lives of her crew, the Secretary has had cameras implanted into one of the eyes of each contestant, unbeknownst to them. She has also scripted several catastrophes to mimic the original expedition as well as help boost ratings. As the children embark on their journey, they encounter all of Antarctica’s beauty and danger. They quickly learn to depend on each others’ skills for survival. True to her nature, the Secretary delivers catastrophes and hardships for the contestants. Back home the public becomes enraged as they watch children facing certain death. An editor named Steve is faced with the opportunity of secretly intervening and must decide whether or not to follow his conscience even if it means being beaten and being sent to prison. Through the heroic actions of many, the children are rescued and the public is forced to take a good look at their values and government.
I am not a big futuristic fiction fan so this book took me off guard when I found myself still engrossed in it two hours later. I appreciated how the contestants learned important life lessons and self-reliance as they had to completely depend on each other to survive. I also liked that Steve had the courage to stand up against terrifying odds to do what he felt was right. A great book to help young readers examine their values and priorities.