Willie Strikes again

An avid Willie Revillame supporter would say, they were just waiting for him to make a mistake. I'm sorry if I can't help it. He's pretty consistent. He never fails to disappoint and make a fool of himself.

Just a few months after his new show was launched, and a couple of days after my post about how miserable primetime TV has become, Willie does it again. It seems like controversy follows him where ever he goes. 

[ I posted the original video here that had over 400,000 hits but after a few days it was taken down. The video contained Jan-jan's erotic dance and showed Willie asking the poor boy to repeat it over and over. ]

It amazes me how some people think there's nothing wrong with this. How they defend it and regard it merely as a show. While it may be true that the kid was in on it a 100%, there was a judgment error made when the host of the show who had every control to stop it did not do anything, and instead laughed like a buffoon on the background and even made the kid do it over and over again.

So he apologizes on National TV, brings the child's parents to his show and makes it appear like it was nobody's fault. 

The issue was not how lewd or malicious the performance was, but the fact that they allowed it to be aired on TV for all the world to enjoy. Or probably, the bigger issue now is how our society is now able to tolerate irresponsible parenting for a few thousand bucks. 

Or the fact that we have now sank to our deepest low. From soap operas that offer no redeeming values or any substance at all, and worse thrives on plots of revenge and evil schemes to TV game shows that promises false hopes of sudden wealth while exploiting poverty and misery.

Ask yourself. What kind of society are we bringing our children into?

Also read:

http://www.betterphilippines.com/righteous-indignation/willing-willie-jan-jan-controversy-or-why-philippine-tv-sucks/

The miserable plight of Philippine Primetime TV

It all starts around 6pm, just as the sun is getting ready to set. And the looming darkness awaits to cover the world, misery at its finest. Primetime TV.

Forget the news, for years it has always been the same crap: corruption, scandal, vehicular accidents (more often than not it involves motorcycles) showbiz news, oil price hike, some celebrity breaks up with her/his partner. Nothing new with everyday's news.

Enter a "new" primetime game show hosted by none other than the infamous Willie Revillame. He leaves the giant network who honed and nurtured his talentless antics from his MTB days to Wowowee. Comes up with practically the same show with minor enhancements and voila! The whole country is awed and wowed.

Alas! Just when you think things couldn't get any worst, along comes Willing Willie. A show that not only promises to entertain but to help those who are in need. (Deus Adiova Nos Omnes)

I don't understand what passes for entertainment in this country, It seems that we have a soft spot to see people crying on the television. If the Romans were entertained by gladiators who kill each other in front of a cheering crowd, We hunger for tears and misery. We cheer for people who are best at their worst. When they miraculously sing out of tune or gracelessly dance like ducks on drugs or an elephant on tranquilizer, the adoring crowd bemused and amused while waiting for a nonchalant punchline from the master host himself.

I don't get it. Perhaps I never will. What I understand is that while it seems entertaining for many, I find it ridiculous and distasteful. I barf at the idea that the show capitalizes on human misery in its every living form. I frown at the fact that it mirrors the taste of our predominant society: the masses, the same crowd that brought Erap to the highest office in the land. 

Can you blame them? No. It's the hand that feeds the mouth that is to blame. You can't expect a child to grow healthy and strong if you keep on feeding him milk all the time. As the months go by, you introduce new food supplements, vegetables, fish, meat and vitamins. You nurture his mind with new activities, new toys to play with. 

The truth is, Philippine TV caters to only one crowd, the masses. But what producers fail to realize is that they have the power to change what the masses want. Cheap entertainment if you think about it comes with a huge prize both literally and figuratively, yet it fails to educate.

People crave for something nice and new. Would it really hurt to experiment a bit? After all, we only have 3 major networks that most people have access to. If they all come up with shows that has substance and real learnings maybe something positive can come from it.

Crossroads

While tucking him into bed, I foolishly tried to tell my 2 year old son I'm going to Singapore. I don't know what got into me, maybe I wanted to see what his reaction would be or I was hoping he would say "No Daddy..." And he did not disappoint.

Me: "Jaden I'm going to Singapore ok?"

Jaden: "No, I dike (I don't like), I dike..."

Me: "Why?"

Jaden: (in between drinking his milk) "I dike"... "No"

Me: "You want me to stay here with you?"

Jaden: (nods) "Yeah."

Me: I'm going to Singapore so I can buy you toys ok?

Jaden: (nods)

There comes a point in life when you realize, you have to do something, rather than feeling you could have done more. Its when you try to justify that its not too late, that you can still go beyond your potential and ultimately, to be able to provide for your family. And by providing, I mean not just the basic needs to survive the months ahead, but to secure a better future.

Having spent the better part of the decade trying to make it into the music scene didn't serve me well. I know that now. I was chasing a dream. I was a fool to believe I would become a rockstar. I mean what was I thinking? Maybe I wasn't good enough, with my girly voice and sloppy songwriting. Yet a part of me still holds on to that dream and I don't know when to stop, maybe I never will.

So when should you let go of a dream? Isn't that what keeps us alive? That desperate hope to make something out of ourselves? When does one say enough of this? I'm moving on. My mom always look at that phase of my life with disgust and disappointment. Claiming that being in a band destroyed me. What she doesn't know is that music kept me sane. My dream kept me going.

I looked at my son as he fell asleep and I realize, I don't have to stop dreaming. Not everyone ends up what they aspire to be but you have to try. I used to say, I'll keep on trying so when I grow old and look back at my life, whatever I turn out to be, at least I know I tried. Now more than ever, I feel there are no truer words than that. 

Building new dreams can open ways for a bigger dream. Maybe this is the fresh start I need. I can still write songs nobody is stopping me from that, and maybe someday I'll find my voice again.

And until then, I guess I have to take this road for the meantime...