Ousted Survivor Turns the Tables on Alpha Males and Happy, Furry Pirates (eonline interview with Cirie)

This is a really good interview with Cirie. Covers some topics that weren't
addressed elsewhere.
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Ousted Survivor Turns the Tables on Alpha Males and Happy, Furry Pirates
Fri., Mar. 5, 2010 12:30 PM PST by Drusilla Moorhouse

We're still reeling from last night's first blindside in Survivor: Heroes
vs. Villains. The tribe has spoken, but the latest castoff still has a lot
to say. Get all the deets-including why fan favorite Rupert isn't beloved by
his tribemates-in our exclusive interview...

Q&A With Cirie Fields


Do you believe you lost control of the game?
Maybe I'm not as smart as people think I am, but I didn't realize at the
time that I had a really good grasp on this game and things were going the
way I wanted them to. I'm so paranoid while playing that I can't see the
forest for the trees. You don't realize you're in control: I'm just trying
to hang on. I'm just trying to do what's best for me to make it further-or
what I think is best for me to make it further.

Why didn't you try to get Candice voted out?
Although I was in alliance with James, Amanda, Rupert and J.T., that's not
where I wanted to be. Hello! I've been in that alliance before. I knew Colby
and Tom wanted me gone from day one, and I heard J.T. wanted me gone from
day one. So I felt if Candice went, I'd be surrounded by a bunch of alpha
males that don't value me in this game. And the second we lose another
challenge, there's no longer a buffer-a person they don't trust, like
Candice. And they kept saying: "We gotta stay strong to win challenges." I'm
not deemed one of the stronger players. So I felt I had to fight to keep my
buffer, and to get rid of one of the people who wanted me gone so
desperately.

Talk to us about James. Was he as crazy he seems?
I think James was upset. James is an alpha male. James is a physical player.
James-like he says-is not a social player; he's not "good with the social
thing." I think it's more an articulation thing. I think he spoke a certain
way. I think there's a better way to come across with what he felt, and
because he couldn't articulate that, it made him look like a brute.
Especially when people have this idea of him as a Southern gentleman, and
all his Southern charm-they're not ready to see the upset side of James. You
don't see other portions of what goes on during these 39 days-it's
surprising to the world. But we live with these people. We're around each
other 24 hours a day. You get to see them upset or depressed or sad or
threatened. I don't think James is as bad as he came across.

Stephenie told us last week that the way James and Rupert acted at camp
really upset her. Did you have the same reaction?
That's because she's a big fan of them-like the world is. She didn't spend
24 hours a day with them. My mother always told me, "You don't know a person
until you live with them." We were all fans-I'm fans of everybody, I've
watched the show from day one. But when you live with them, you [realize]
wow, Rupert ain't so friendly! I thought James was a gentleman-that's what
he looked like on TV. People see the happy, furry pirate Rupert. But in the
game, you can't hide-there's nowhere to hide out there. If you wake up
grumpy-a lot-and you want to be in control-a lot-it's no longer TV. Now this
is our reality: Oh wow, Rupert's not so furry and happy.

Did anyone else's behavior disappoint you?
I thought Amanda was a more strategic player than she turned out to be. [In
Micronesia] we had Parvati as a buffer; there was always a third party. We
never played the game together, just she and I. I was a little surprised at
her choices and at her inability to make decisions and play the game for
herself.

Did you talk to Amanda and Parvati before the game about forming another
"Black Widow" alliance after the merge?
Absolutely not. I heard about this threatening Micronesia alliance. If there
was a Micronesia alliance, they left me out again. But I'm used to that.

How do you feel about the way Jeff Probst grilled Rupert and criticized your
social strategy during Tribal Council?
If I wasn't so in love with Jeff, I might have beat him up that night! But
Jeff is the face of Survivor, and he does his job well. My job at that time
is trying not to react or hopefully try not to dissuade any of my alliance's
votes. I've always felt like muttering, "Jeff, why are you trying to talk
them out of what I want them to do?" but I can't because everybody's
listening-everybody's watching. I don't want to persuade them one way or
another. I want to try to be neutral.

How often do people change their vote at Tribal Council based on what
somebody says?
I don't know how often it happens, but I think it's always a huge
possibility. We didn't have Erik solidly on lock about giving up his
immunity necklace [in Micronesia's famous Black Widow blindside that demoted
James to the second-dumbest player in Survivor history]. But I knew, I said
to them, "We can still get him at Tribal. When you're talking, continue to
reiterate that he needs to redeem himself." I know for a fact that won him
over. That sealed the deal. I know it's possible for people to change their
vote at Tribal and that's why I try to be nonreactive.

Source:
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b170351_ousted_survivor_turns_tables_on_alpha.html?sid=twitterfeed_kristin&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=twitterfeed&utm_campaign=twitterfeed_kristin

Brian


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