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Originally posted by Sistermadly
I beg to differ. I've watched it since TAR started (Frank & Margarita 4-EVA!), and the whole eating disgusting foods until you puke/drinking blood thing wasn't there in the beginning.
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I've said this before, but I still think there is a difference between the gross tasks on TAR and on Fear Factor.
On Fear Factor, the gross stunts occur every episode and exist solely to see if the contestants can stomach something gross.
On TAR, they do not occur every episode (I can think of two this season -- the spicy soup and the blood drinking, which was on a Fast Forward that allowed the team to avoid the soup) and they are tied in some way to the local culture. That soup is eaten in Hungary, although not in such large amounts. But you've got to make a challenge out of it.
It seems like the "gross things" in TAR have been things that Americans would find gross but that locals would either consider normal (although maybe in larger portions than would be normal); challenges to show one's strength, courage or power (like the pig's blood); or maybe even delicacies (thinking back to the octopus in, was it Korea?).
I've always viewed the "gross" tasks in TAR as being about getting Americans -- both those participating in the race and those watching -- to recognize that ours is not the only culture in the world and that what we consider abnormal or even gross may be considered very normal elsewhere. In fact, I think that is the gist of a lot on the TAR, and it's one of the reasons I like it. (Are you paying attention, Kendra?)