Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Drone




Jap Nishi asked why I was so affected when Myrtle, the PBB Teen housemate suddenly became a "princess" on Twitter's trending topic this afternoon. I replied as a jest that I cannot accept Myrtle's mom becoming the "queen" of the Philippines. But his question, like a dagger forced deep into my skin left still unanswered fundamental questions. Do I dislike Myrtle, the PBB Teen housemate because I somehow favor Jai and Joj as the big winner? Do I find the budding love team between her and Yves quite disgusting (after seeing Myrves on my Twitter every time I go online) or do I find the girl utterly repulsive because of how her fans trash the trending topics of my favorite social media with their silly key phrases.

The answer is lost beneath the layers of self-denial, since a part of me says "minsan lang sila magiging jejemon, let them enjoy the experience." But when I am reminded of how pointless and shallow the effort is; of how Myrtle the cos player and Yves the twink are bound to become forgotten celebrities when the next Pinoy Big Brother season begins; of how devoted and rabid fans turn mindless, like a mob when leaders of the fan's club dictate the next key phrase to be tweeted over and over again until it becomes the next trending topic,

Then perhaps, I have answered Jap Nishi's question.

When kids these days waste their lives like this: 







instead of learning splendid things about the world, doing their homework for school, or at the very, very least, tweeting what activity they did, or musings they had before reconnecting to the web, then there's something very wrong with how our next generation perceives life.

I am no fan of reality shows because of their tendency to overrate ordinary people. But when these reality shows begin to twist its audience's idea of fame and fortune, we might be, unknowingly, turning the devoted but uninstructed young followers into mindless, thoughtless and dreamless, 

drones. 





6 comments:

red the mod said...

The thing with reality TV is, despite the theatrics and truth distortion it creates as a consumer product, it retains a semblance of realism enough so people can still topically identify with it. The whole point of reality TV is to propagate the aspirational qualities of its characters, suspending disbelief and allowing the audience, briefly, the chance to believe that something as good and absurdly, extremely benevolent will and can happen to them. Of course, this is false and partly staged, but in the end, it affords an entertainment that is quite difficult to put aside.

MEcoy said...

i never watched their season i just know her because she's a cosplayer

Ronnie said...

I also love Jaj and Joi. :)

I used to like Myrtle because of her unique representation in the house. I'm a sucker for "branding" when watching PBB. However, my interest to follow PBB teens just waned.

Nakakalerks lang ang aftermath ng PBB Teens. MyrtleAndYvesForever MYRVES Princess Myrtle Goes To Iloilo MYRVES FORTHEWIN.

Mamon said...

Naaawa ako sa mga kabataan ngayon. iba na ang mga hinahangad nila. gusto nila ng huwad na kasikatan sa tv man o sa twitter. tapos wala na rin silang makitang tunay na huwaran. Akala nila dahil kakaiba at isang tao, dapat na siyang tularan. Nakakaawa. Sana malampasan nga nila itong yugto sa buhay nila, kung yugto man ito. at sana mamulat sila na maraming pang mas mahalagang bagay na dapat pagtuunan ng pansin - tulad ng maging isang kapakipakinabang na mamamayan ng pamayanan.

Mugen said...

Red:

I don't have any questions with the entertainment value of these shows, what alarms me is the fleeting consciousness they create.

I don't know if we're fortunate enough to see beyond the veil. But if you'd get to understand the cycle, you'd find it very harsh - to most of the champions.

Mecoy:

Myrtle is a disgrace to cosplayers.

Mugen said...

Ronnie:

Some people reach their saturation point faster than others. Lucky for you, naumay ka na bigla.

Justin:

A twisted idea of fame, mindless obedience to rising celebrities, and a culture of "vibrant" social media community are the values we teach our kids.

I'm very fortunate not to belong to this generation.