Post by LATAGAW on Sept 24, 2005 10:41:29 GMT 8
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Saturday, September 24, 2005
Libre: Exploitation and ‘Pinoy Big Brother’
By Mel Libre
Seriously Now
The primetime reality show "Pinoy Big Brother” has become a runaway hit with its non-celebrity housemates getting exposure enough to cause envy even among showbiz people. Another indicator of the show's strong audience support is the popularity of its theme song, "Pinoy," which is being hummed by nearly everyone I meet.
This reality show is not a product of Filipino creativity but is a franchise that has become as lucrative for its producers as McDonald's and Pizza Hut are for their stockholders.
Of course, the idea is not that novel, for other reality shows such as "Survivor" and "Amazing Race” have proven to be more entertaining. The two shows provide challenges to their participants. There, intelligence, resourcefulness and camaraderie, among others, are of value and luck and the right group or partner could spell the difference.
Soon enough, MTV prodded a whole lot of celebrities to expose their daily lives to the world, including Ozzy Osbourne and his family and Jessica Simpson and her husband. A slew of wannabe celebrities have joined the bandwagon.
A well-made movie "Truman," which starred Jim Carrey, showed how one can go to the extreme by creating an entire community for a child to grow in and whose every move was shown on television. That child grew up not knowing that the people around him were actors and actresses paid to play assigned roles.
Only when an actress caught Truman’s eye that he realized that every thing was staged and that his life was actually dictated by someone who played God. That someone was the director of the reality show and who claimed Truman to be his own creation.
The "Big Brother" concept is a take-off from the Truman movie, though this time individuals with diverse personalities are placed under one roof with cameras monitoring their every move, even the most compromising ones.
The first episodes allowed the viewers to discover the personalities of the housemates, their commitment to the rules as instructed by "Kuya" and their relationship with one another. For 100 days the housemates will expose their true selves and may even enter into intimate relationships with one another.
These individuals are willing to be "detained" in exchange for fortune and fame. A franchisee in one Scandinavian country even asked permission to include a pregnant woman as a housemate hoping to gain more viewers, as she was expected to deliver the baby in a live telecast. In that situation, they could make the baby the next star, thus turning Truman, the movie into reality.
"Pinoy Big Brother" is the worst thing to happen on television. It is exploitation of the highest level--all for the ratings, and all for the revenue from commercials.
It comes, therefore, as a challenge for network owners, producers, directors and writers to come up with more original concepts instead of simply relying on Western productions that border on trash.
(September 24, 2005 issue)
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Saturday, September 24, 2005
Libre: Exploitation and ‘Pinoy Big Brother’
By Mel Libre
Seriously Now
The primetime reality show "Pinoy Big Brother” has become a runaway hit with its non-celebrity housemates getting exposure enough to cause envy even among showbiz people. Another indicator of the show's strong audience support is the popularity of its theme song, "Pinoy," which is being hummed by nearly everyone I meet.
This reality show is not a product of Filipino creativity but is a franchise that has become as lucrative for its producers as McDonald's and Pizza Hut are for their stockholders.
Of course, the idea is not that novel, for other reality shows such as "Survivor" and "Amazing Race” have proven to be more entertaining. The two shows provide challenges to their participants. There, intelligence, resourcefulness and camaraderie, among others, are of value and luck and the right group or partner could spell the difference.
Soon enough, MTV prodded a whole lot of celebrities to expose their daily lives to the world, including Ozzy Osbourne and his family and Jessica Simpson and her husband. A slew of wannabe celebrities have joined the bandwagon.
A well-made movie "Truman," which starred Jim Carrey, showed how one can go to the extreme by creating an entire community for a child to grow in and whose every move was shown on television. That child grew up not knowing that the people around him were actors and actresses paid to play assigned roles.
Only when an actress caught Truman’s eye that he realized that every thing was staged and that his life was actually dictated by someone who played God. That someone was the director of the reality show and who claimed Truman to be his own creation.
The "Big Brother" concept is a take-off from the Truman movie, though this time individuals with diverse personalities are placed under one roof with cameras monitoring their every move, even the most compromising ones.
The first episodes allowed the viewers to discover the personalities of the housemates, their commitment to the rules as instructed by "Kuya" and their relationship with one another. For 100 days the housemates will expose their true selves and may even enter into intimate relationships with one another.
These individuals are willing to be "detained" in exchange for fortune and fame. A franchisee in one Scandinavian country even asked permission to include a pregnant woman as a housemate hoping to gain more viewers, as she was expected to deliver the baby in a live telecast. In that situation, they could make the baby the next star, thus turning Truman, the movie into reality.
"Pinoy Big Brother" is the worst thing to happen on television. It is exploitation of the highest level--all for the ratings, and all for the revenue from commercials.
It comes, therefore, as a challenge for network owners, producers, directors and writers to come up with more original concepts instead of simply relying on Western productions that border on trash.
(September 24, 2005 issue)
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