GMA. ABS-CBN. TV 5. These are the main players in the television industry. They may have different kinds of shows, varied types of actors and actresses, but one main thing that they have in common is their target market, which is the masses, and the means that they target the market, which is most often done through the teleseryes and noon-time shows.
But in this aspect, I would like to focus on the addicting teleseryes that we all grew up watching. When I was in grade school, I would often watch the prime time teleseryes. Back then, the most loved teleseryes were Pangako Sa’Yo and Mula sa Puso. I can distinctly remember the plot and the love teams until now! The immense power of television is simply amazing. In a way, they dictate our lives. For instance, since the teleseryes are on prime time (7-9pm), the people wouldn’t do anything but watch during those hours. Back when my family was addicted to soap operas, we would eat at around 6pm. Sakto, we’ll finish at around 6:30. 6:30-7pm was “fix everything” time. And when it is 7:00 sharp, we would go to the sala and watch our favorite soap operas. This occurrence can be analyzed through Marxist lens. In class, we talked about the culture industry and how culture can be commodified. In this case, the culture industries are the prominent players in television, GMA, ABS-CBN AND TV 5, which manipulate the consciousness of the people. The teleseryes serve as “the ephemeral narcotic that diverts people’s attention from their real problems and idealizes the present by making the experience of its representation pleasurable” (Marcuse). Instead of doing other productive things, the people are glued to the television because they find the shows interesting and entertaining. The television can be their sweet escape from their chaotic realities.
In another point of view, the talk can be analyzed in the feminist perspective. As mentioned in the talk, the television is the king, the soap opera is the queen and the wife or “Misis” in Filipino is the lead character or “bida”. The television is the king because it is powerful. It caters to the people in a sense that it is free, affordable and accessible. The soap opera is the queen because it is the means by which the people are glued to the television. These shows are mostly about love and romance. It has a formula of serial + cliffhanger= stickiness. Lastly, bida si misis in the sense that these soaps target the women. Women seem to be fond of watching romance rather than the men. Moreover, as the one who takes care of the household, the women are mostly in command when it comes to matters that concern the house. Kumbaga kung sa pamilya na bilang sa class D and E, kung ang mga tatay ay nagtratrabaho, usually ang mga nanay ang nagaasikaso ng kanyang pamilya at mga gawaing bahay. It is the wife who usually wakes up early in the morning, prepares the food and does household chores (e.g. laundry, iron the clothes etc). If she is to help her husband, it would usually be in a form of paluto or carinderia. And as she takes care of his husband and her children, the only “break” that she has is when she watches the soap operas. In a way, she is empowered by watching those teleseryes. No one can deprive her of watching these soaps because she has done her fair share of work in the house. She is the one who dictates the soap operas that the family can watch. But in a way, these women are part of the manipulation of the culture industry, as exemplified by a manly character such as the king. So in the bigger picture, the society is still patriarchal and the women are just the bidas to some extent.
No comments:
Post a Comment