The Amazing Race Is Not Just Another TV Show

The CBS tv reality show Amazing Race begins again this weekend with its first ever All-Star show.

For those of you not familiar with the show, it follows teams of contestants who race around the world. The last team each week to make it to the designated “pit stop” for that part of the race, is eliminated from the show.

The last team standing wins $1 million.

It first began airing on September 5, 2001- and was rightly overshadowed in the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks. But it is also fitting that this show began when it did. It is truly a window into what is going on in our ever shrinking world.

There have always been American tv shows depicting other parts of the world. From Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous to the Today Show’s- Where in the world is Matt Lauer?- Americans have been transported to other parts of the world.

But Amazing Race is the first show to truly show globalization at its finest. The contestants engage, many times, in commercial activities in other countries (selling or buying items, eating in restaurants.) As a viewer, it’s easy to see that we really aren’t that different from each other.

The countries the show has visited is impressive. From Wikipedia:

Continent	Countries
North America	Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, United States (including Alaska, Hawaii± and Puerto Rico)
South America	Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay
Europe	Austria, Finland, France (including Corsica), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy (including Sicily), Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom (including England and Scotland), Vatican City°
Africa	Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, Zambia
Asia	People’s Republic of China (including Hong Kong), India, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mongolia, Oman, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam
Oceania	Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii (USA)±

° Vatican City fielded a Fast Forward in Season 1; however, it was neither used nor shown

How quickly is the world shrinking? A few seasons ago the show featured the winner and runner-up of another reality show, Survivor’s Rob and Amber. In several of the countries, including one time in a market in the middle of nowhere South Africa, they were recognized by normal people on the street with questions like, “aren’t you Rob and Amber?”

In South Africa!

And yes, they were on a first name basis with “fans” from around the world.

Globalization seems obvious when watching the show. But you can also see the strains. In one season, the frustrated contestants could not find anyone in rural China who understood English (somewhat of a rarity on the show, actually.) One stop in Senegal portrayed the poverty that is Africa, something not shown that often on the show.

Amazing Race has also encountered political sensitivities in some countries. From Wikipedia:

During Season 3, the production visited Vietnam; while there, the flags used were a solid yellow, to avoid confusion with the former flag of South Vietnam which differs from the current flag of Vietnam. The flag of the former South Vietnam is used as the “official” flag of some expatriate Vietnamese communities in the United States, and is something of a holdover from the Vietnam War. It is a potentially politically volatile subject, and the producers avoided unintended comparison by using the solid yellow color scheme with no red striping. In Season 10 when the show visited Vietnam, the flags were yellow and white.

You don’t have to be a contestant on the Amazing Race to do your own around the world tour. It’s surprisingly not as expensive as you might imagine. All the airline partnerships offer some sort of package. Take the Star Alliance (United’s partners). They offer three levels of around the world tickets- based on the amount of miles you fly. For instance:

Mileage	Coach	Business	First
29,000	$3,800	$7,400	$9,800
34,000	$4,400	$8,450	$11,200
39,000	$5,150	$9,950	$13,200

The prices listed above are in US dollars for departures originating in the United States. They do not reflect any additional taxes and are subject to change without notice until ticket is purchased.

They also list out possible itineraries- though the destinations are your choosing and you can change them at any time. There are some “rules” though- you have to complete the travel within a year and you can have a maximum of 15 stopovers in different cities. It’s a deal! (even in business class)

29,000 MILES: CHICAGO - SAN FRANCISCO - HONOLULU - AUCKLAND - CHRISTCHURCH - SYDNEY - SINGAPORE - BANGKOK - DELHI - FRANKFURT - ROME - MUNICH - MADRID - LONDON - NEW YORK - CHICAGO

34,000 Miles: CHICAGO - TOKYO - BEIJING - BANGKOK - KATMANDU -SINGAPORE - BOMBAY - FRANKFURT - RIO DE JANEIRO - BUENOS AIRES - SANTIAGO - MEXICO CITY - CHICAGO

39,000 MILES: CHICAGO - MEXICO CITY - SANTIAGO - RIO DE JANEIRO - MADRID - FRANKFURT - JOHANNESBURG - SINGAPORE - SYDNEY - AUCKLAND - HAWAII- CHICAGO

So, before you think that Amazing Race is just another tv show, consider its long term implications on the American psyche and the far reaches of globalization.

And then go and book your own around the world adventure.