An anonymous reader asked, "Why do you hate ABS-CBN?"
Whatever gave him/her that idea?
I don’t hate ABS-CBN. What I hate is their –and all TV networks for that matter- exploitation of what is so wrong with our culture. It creates a feeding frenzy so much like sharks feeding on one another after one of them is found wounded and bleeding.
Our country has been bleeding as far as history can recall. We’ve been exploited by the Spanish, the British and the Americans. It was the Americans who introduced corruption and nepotism in Philippine governance. How did they do it? By conniving with the elite. The elite, in turn, used the conquistadors to hold on to their wealth and status.
So it is today that the elite continues to manipulate and influence so that the majority of the country’s wealth would continue to filter to them. The Wowowee stampede was a glaring example. ABS-CBN clearly was exploiting the poor by feeding on our bad cultural trait of looking for dole-outs and the easy life.
They try to cover up the exploitation by saying they just want to make people happy or help the poor. Yet, look at the TV shows they air: gossips, toilet humor, voyeurism, soap operas (Korean and otherwise) and entertainment programs that feature talents who have no talent whatsoever; none of which have any socially-redeeming values. They’re aired to feed people what they want, so they can earn money from the sponsorship. Mao Tse Tung was wrong in saying that "religion is the opiate of the masses." It’s inane TV shows.
GMA-7 fares no better. The only difference is they have has-beens hosting shows. One of them invited people to watch their lunch-time show since there "was no stampede here," thereby treading on the sensibilities of the families of the stampede victims. Their news programs almost gloat at the misfortune of ABS-CBN, yet their TV fare is just the same mishmash but with merely different personalities.
As I had mentioned in previous articles, it’s all about ratings. The higher the ratings, the higher the sponsorship fees. This means they wont air programs that teach, that inculcate values, that encourage hard work and the building of character, because these are not popular.
So ABS-CBN feeds on the desire for junk, while the masses feed on the junk. A feeding frenzy thus ensues. Unless ABS-CBN and the other networks own up to this fact, there will be no lesson learned from the Wowowee stampede.
May 2nd, 2006 - 8:54 am
I think that Wowowee is pretty corny, and to a much graver flaw of character, deceitful. I know of some people that are big fans of the show, and every time I try to point out the show’s apparent lack of decency, I get told of how I’m ignorant of the Filipino condition.
The decency I speak of stems from sincerity, which the show obviously lacks, given by how it shoves the desperate state of its contestants down our throat via pre-game life bios (usually accompanied by some sad, sappy background music). The way it tries to twist our emotions is rather sinister, I think, and is definitely insincere.
But like you say, it works. And it bothers me so. I don’t see how this type of blatant, insincere melancholy can bring out a cathartic experience in our Filipino people.
We all know that the organizations that really care spend their money on community projects, not hiring minimally-clad dancers to add a tinge of lust to a so-called ‘family’ show.
I’ve heard some contend that the show gives the poor Filipinos a sense of escape at least. But this, like you said, only perpetuates a state of mendicancy, where the best they can hope for is to win this lottery? That’s a grand illusion.
So let’s at least recognize Wowowee for what it really is, a game show, and not give them credit for being some sort of Robin Hood organization, giving money to the poor with the intent of sincerely helping them out. If that were true, then they would forsake any profit! But that fancy stage lighting didn’t pay for itself, and I doubt any of those faux-celebrities that host the show (same goes for the producers, etc.) live with "ends to meet".
The stampede in February came as a wake-up call to me. I didn’t realize the hysteria over these so-called dole-outs, as you called it, that has developed. It makes me rather weary, and even sad, that this is the best some of our people can expect.
And it makes me angry that other people would exploit it, like ABS-CBN, or even the watery-eyed viewers who approve of it.
March 16th, 2009 - 3:50 am
Greetings,
Where are you from? Is it a secret?
Thank you
Charlie
March 21st, 2009 - 2:32 pm
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT I WATCH TFC ONCE IN A WHILE WHEN I WANT TO BE UPDATED ON RECENT EVENTS AFFECTING MY HOME COUNTRY.
BUT, I HAVE TO SAY THAT I AM UTTERLY DISGUSTED BY SOME OF THE PROGRAMS. I NOTICED THAT FILIPINOS HAVE THIS WEIRD, SICK OBSESSION WITH CELEBRITIES. MAYBE NOT SO MUCH AN OBSESSION THAN IT IS AN ‘INFATUATION’. MOST OF THE PROGRAMS (AND I AM REFERRING TO THE MAIN CHANNEL) CONCERNS CELEBRITY GOSSIP! CHISMIS! AND FRANKLY I AM TIRED OF IT, I AM SICK TO MY STOMACH! WHY DO WE CARE AND HAVE TO KNOW EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING ABOUT FILIPINO CELEBRITIES. SURE, WE AMERICANS ONCE IN A WHILE LIKE TO INDULGE IN ‘ACCESS HOLLYWOOD’, ‘THE INSIDER’, ‘ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT’, ETC, BUT THESE SHOWS ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO THE FILIPINO CELEBRITY GOSSIP PROGRAMS WHICH ARE JUST OVER-THE-TOP. IT’S TOOOOOO MUCH INFORMATION AND ALWAYS SOMEHOW FEATURE THE SAME CELEBRITIES. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH FILIPINO CELEBRITIES DON’T KNOW WHERE TO DRAW THE LINE OF WHAT TO AND WHAT NOT TO SAY. NOTHING IS PRIVATE ANYMORE; THEY WILL TALK ABOUT AND ADDRESS EVERYTHING AND IT IS DRIVING ME INSANE.
March 21st, 2009 - 2:33 pm
I KNOW THAT AMERICANS HAVE AN INFATUATION TOO WITH ANGELINA/BRAD, JULIA ROBERTS, JEN ANISTON, ETC BUT THESE PEOPLE ARE SOOOOOOOOOOO PRIVATE, IT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY. THEY ARE RESPECTED FOR MANY REASONS BUT A LITTLE PART OF IT IS DUE TO WHAT THEY’VE HELD BACK FROM THE PUBLIC EYE.
DO YOUR PROGRAMS EVER FEATURE “ORDINARY” PEOPLE? RARELY! SHOWS FROM LIKE ‘RUFA & AI’, ‘SHARON’ AMONG OTHERS RARELY FEATURE ‘NORMAL’ ‘ORDINARY’ PEOPLE. THEY ALWAYS HAVE CELEBRITIES TALKING ABOUT WHAT THEY EAT FOR LUNCH, WHAT THEY DO FOR BREAKFAST, WHAT THEY WASH THEIR FACE WITH, FRAGRANCES THEY WEAR, ROUTINES THEY HAVE, ETC. IN OTHER WORDS, NONSENSE. NOTHING THAT HELPS US FILIPINOS IN ANYWAY. SOMETIMES I FEEL, PAYABANG LANG YUNG IBA. TAKE FOR INSTANCE, OPRAH. SURE SHE HAS CELEBRITY GUESTS BUT SHE ALSO HAS ORDINARY PEOPLE ON THE SHOW. ELLEN DEGENERES TOO; SHE’LL HAVE CELEBRITY GUESTS BUT SHE’LL ALSO FEATURE ‘ORDINARY’ FOLKS. AND YOU KNOW WHAT, THE ORDINARY ONES ARE OFTEN TIMES THE MOST INSPIRING.
I FEEL LIKE IT’S THE SAME CRAP WITH YOUR SHOWS. THERE ARE FAR MORE IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE TO TALK ABOUT. TOPICS THAT ARE “FOOD FOR THOUGHT”. TOPIC/ITEMS THAT WILL ENABLE PEOPLE TO BE MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THEMSELVES AND THE WORLD AROUND THEM. NOBODY CARES ABOUT WHICH A/B/C-LIST CELEBRITY’S DAUGHTER HAD A FAIRYTALE BIRTHDAY PARTY, OR WHO DID WHO WRONG IN THE JOMARI-POPS-MARTIN DRAMA, OR HOW BEA AND HER EX LIVED IN THE SAME BUILDING (OR WHATEVER), AND THE RIDICULOUS LIST OF TOPICS CONTINUE.
FILIPINO CELEBRITIES ARE WAY TOOOO OVER-EXPOSED. THEY ARE OVER-RATED. AND THE PERSON WHO TOPS IT ALL IS KRIS AQUINO. I CRINGE AT THE SIGHT OF HER NAME, AT THE THOUGHT ALSO. I CAN’T STAND HER. SHE MAKES ME SICK. HER VOICE IS ANNOYING AND HER PERSONALITY IS ANNOYING. WHY THE HECK DO YOU HAVE THIS SNN SHOW? IT’S A WASTE OF TIME. IT’S TOO MUCH LIKE THE BUZZ. MARIRINDI NA YUNG UTAK KO!
PLEASE TRY TO HAVE MORE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. PROGRAMS THAT WILL BENEFIT YOUR VIEWERS. CHANGE IT UP A LITTLE, PLEASE! YOUR CHANNEL, YOUR SHOWS ARE TOO CENTERED ON CELEBRITIES THAT IT’S GETTING TO BE RIDICULOUS AND TIRING. I’D LIKE TO THINK WE FILIPINOS ARE BETTER THAN THAT…
March 22nd, 2009 - 7:27 am
Change4TheGood,
Thanks for your comments! I thought I was waging a lonely battle against these media giants who give Filipinos programs that they want instead of what they need. For example, do we really need another Boy Abunda/Kris Aquino show?
April 16th, 2009 - 9:42 am
I hate that biased station so much! No one can deny how they made those black propaganda to destroy the image of Ex-President Estrada. Don’t get me wrong as I’m not a fan or even sympathizer of him. I just could see how maliscious that station is. If you couldn’t respect even the country’s Most respected leader, how much more to those ordinary people? Didn’t you know that other asian countries was shocked on how we disrespect our leader? to be controlled by this station? Now we reep what we sow. More countries look at Filipinos as an inferior, stupid and aweful race. We should never let this inferior Station control us to the point of singing languages we couldn’t even understand! Wake up!
April 25th, 2009 - 1:56 am
abscbn is the worst TV station!! very biased!! i hope people from abscbn will read this!!.. this station needs a major ovehaul!! aside from corny comedy shows like banana split where the jokes are copied from Saturday night live or mad TV they have some awful TV hosts like Kris aquino and worst they patronize gold diggers like gretchen bareto and ruffa gutierez!! wtf.. even their news program is very one sided.. i had enough hearing their coverage about Ted Failon’s wife.. I pray for the repose of her soul but you guys from abscbn keeps showing repeatedly those biased opinions against the police.. this station doesn’t have a sense of responsibility!! as a leading station they should be fair..
but all those things above are nothing compared to their very nonsense soap operas.. SANTINO?? who the hell listens to an opinion of a five year old boy about life!! these writers are the dumbest amongst all writers.. why can’t ABSCBN hire more intelligent writers!! why can’t they make series like heroes and prison break, i understand that they dont have the big budget for the special effects but for me what matters most is the story.. I hope they make more realistic and people-can-relate shows!! not to mention their version of fear factor and ugly betty!! wtf!! to summarize it all ABSCBN is all about the money!! they dont care about their shows as long as it makes money no matter how dumb it is.. I HATE ABSCBN!!
June 24th, 2009 - 4:11 pm
when I listen to kris aquino and boy abunda on their talk shows, I can only pity our millions of kababayans who admire these two phony celebrities.
kris aquino and her terrible English is one of the most important reasons why Filipinos will never master the language to any respectable level. oh my goodness, listening to her is like rubbing broken glass in my eyes.
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I feel especially disgusted at the incredible riches made by manufactured tv idols like willie revillame of wowowee.
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its sad how pinoys love the rich, famous and powerful people despite the ugly truth about their personal lives and cynical beliefs. this is especially true for political families and showbiz dynasties.
take the deposed president estrada and his numerous families. why the hell do people love him? he’s got oodles of illegitemate children and mistresses. even w/ his long showbiz career, upright people should not even admire this person because of the lie that he lives and perpetuates.
his type is anathema to honest people who try to make good in life.
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people like erap, willie, kris, boy, etc. are all hypocrites and capitalize on the ignorance of the masses. they project their images on television but hide the fact that the showbiz life is no good.
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those celebrity politicians are a special social disease because they come from the showbiz industry that has never proven itself to be a positive role model for the Philippines.
I love my country, but I really hate showbiz and MEDIA politicos
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Why showbiz in the Philippines is the country’s biggest disease. I dare any of you to disagree:
1. if hayden kho’s videos were never uploaded, people would still admire him and vicky belo.
2. the truth is: the showbiz culture behind the scenes is all about sex, drugs, and image before morals.
3. remember donita rose and her nude photos while they were partying years ago? this is just scratching the surface. that goody two shoes image was a lie.
(well, I hear she changed for the better, so good on her. we all loved Barbie Doll from Ober da Bakod and her stint at MTV)
4. mo twister also makes a career out of these scandals. what a loser. he even carries himself in such a way that being an insider to these things makes him cool. whoopee. I bet his own daughter would stay away from a creep like him.
5. if none of these scandals were leaked, they’d all continue their drunken sex orgies and laugh at normal folks who never know what really goes on.
6. I bet the ex-doctor kho was thinking “I’m so damn lucky to screw all these girls! yes!”. and I somehow think he still thinks it was worth it. haha
7. want a good test? take a compulsory drug test (a real one) for all showbiz celebs. lets see who’s clean!
8. SHOWBIZ should never be allowed to continue brainwashing the masses. willie v. would rather keep our dear countrymen poor so he will have a legion of fans and elect him to the presidency. that is the lopez family’s strategy to political domination for you! hahaha
this makes me think that those silly leftist groups like bayan muna, etc. should denounce willie’s show and abs-cbn. coz if they really cared for the masses, they’d go after those stupid game shows that DO NOT HELP THE POOR.
oh wait, they’re communist fronts. screw that. they have the same goals as willie. damn you comrade satur.
9. the Media (and military) should never carry themselves as if they were the saviors of society. I hate marcos too, but our media (and military) sure got inflated egoes after his era. goodbye balanced journalism. and $crew you trillanes.
(off topic: I think News on Q is the best news channel in the country. spoken w/ proper English, seems balanced, minimal no no sensationalism and exploitation.)
showbiz & the media = the real social cancer of the Philippines.
and that means you ABS-CBN
September 2nd, 2009 - 12:23 am
It’s great to know that I’m not the only one who has these sentiments. (I have plans to set up a site for these rants) The mainstream Philippine media has a huge impact in molding the Philippine society, and people on the business are clearly exploiting this power.
What do you say, can we start a campaign on informing Filipinos, specially the masses who do not have a wide selection of channels to choose from, on how corrupt and exploiting mainstream media has become? (On a positive note, I admire TV 5 for striving to be different although they really could use some improvement.) If people realize this, we can be empowered to choose what programs we want, and not be dictated by these big stations.
It’s really a long way to go but then great things start from small beginnings. I hope you can reply. John Paul, you are speaking what I have in mind. Kudos to you.
April 1st, 2010 - 5:42 am
I agree 101% that the program wowowee exploits people’s poverty as a means to enrich the host revillame who IMO and was just lucky he was given a break.
On top of this I also agree 102% that Filipinos have an obsession to become singers, dancers (although the way I see it is they dance like strip girls and boys on TV – very malaswa!), actors/actresses, white skin (Gluthathione consumption), Belo visits, citizen pinoy, and teleseries. As with citizen pinoy, sadly, IMO this show’s ultimate goal (besides more money and cleints), is to help America make pinas a ghost country.
I mean come on revillame can sing? wtf? and his cd’s went gold or maybe platinum? You can guess Rico Puno’s or Haji Alejandro’s envy on this toon. The only reason probably why his CD’s sell is because he became god-like to poor people and wowowee fanatics who will buy anything even if revillame sells them crap. Much like TFC’s advertisements who almost shove all their products up your throat using that very annoying announcer.
Ok why would revillame announce on TV that he will pay his workers’ air fare to Hongkong – shouldn’t that be confidential?
And OMG i always cringe everytime people spill their guts to revillame during interviews before they name the tune and get the “pasok ka na” approval. It’s surely laughable (although I pity those people for being poor) when revillame starts his daily “anong masasabi mo sa iyong anak or something?” how he plays people’s minds and how people go with the flow unabashedly. I became so annoyed with the “eto na po!!!!!!!!!!!!!” thing that my kids started to mimic him. It reminds of the cheap carnivals in pinas during fiestas where stall owners will shout “eto na po” everytime the bingo game is about to start! What frigging pathetic show.
The general stature of the Filipino masses had gone down to outright desperation to even get only 1 meal per day – this is reason enough to spill their guts to revillame who is salivating in extreme ecstasy at the sight of real people drama on TV- and the result? Pusong-mamon viewers give sympathy and then buy revillame’s products out of pity to the gut spillers and out of admiration to revillame who they think really help the poor – instead – he only helps his pocket amass tons of moolah from endorsements, tours, and shows.
All of the above play on people’s (especially Filipino’s weakness) mind that the majority of the poor only salvation is to become a Charice or that Journey singer guy.