Tumbleweed: Is Philippine Television truly Filipino?

The television industry in the country has come a long way since the advent of many innovations in Television Production. New and fresher ideas arrive like throngs on buses everyday. But where did these ideas spring from?
They call it Globalization, the inclusion of a multitude of nations into one “global village.” Let us not forget modernization and all other aspects related to such.
When the hands of globalization tapped the archipelago on all its points, we never stopped dancing to the beat of these newfound “glories.” It has become, as a matter of fact, the trend which the whole world cradled--having one taste, one face anywhere.
And since then, Philippine television was never the same old story we see on T.V. It has changed—a lot.
Several Philippine Television programs are somehow stereotypes of foreign shows many would have seen through Cable television. We can’t help but admire the authenticity of these foreign programs, the twists and turns of their quintessential lives, the mentality, the attitude, the verve that is ‘in’ them.

These and more of the attributes of a typical Philippine Television show will indeed illustrate that it has its foreign roots. Where is the Filipino Identity? The Filipino ingenuity and originality which we ought to demonstrate?

Blame it on Globalization, on Modernization. The Modern Filipino has now gained global insights, affecting their privilege of choice from an infinitesimal to a humungous range of options. With the dawn of Cable television and frequent visits from far-flung cultures through imported “products”, the possibilities are almost endless. We can choose between a show promoting local products and a show promoting foreign products like Gucci and Versace, we can opt not to watch “Hiram” but watch Seventh Heaven, we can choose not to see Julius Babao broadcasting live but watch the Iraqis’ ordeal through CNN and CNBC, we can go for Fashion TV than watch the Ifugaos dance on Silip Sining, and we can opt not to watch Kris Aquino brag about her love life and see who’s dating Paris Hilton. The array of preferences seems eternal.

It is our, the viewing public, taste which affects how the Television industry will structure its shows to suit the palates of the global Filipino. They are maneuvering their programs into compositions reminiscent of the ones the viewers see on international channels. With this effort, they will not lose us because we will be satisfied by local versions of the shows we see abroad. We will be excited to see who’s next to swallow a cup of slimy earthworms on Extra Extra Challenge, we will be thrilled to see the next Grand Questor, we are eager to know why Martin left Vivian in “Lovers and Paris”, and we will be enthralled by the anonymity of the next winner in “Game Ka Na Ba?”. And then, ratings go high--the Industry survives.

Centered on the shows I mentioned earlier, we may see no essence of being a Filipino. However, these do not generalize Philippine Television. I still believe that there are indeed shows promulgating the Filipino spirit like “Silip Sining” and “CCI Asia”, “Marina” and “Mulawin”, Noontime and comedy shows, among others. I see a concoction of distinct Filipino character in these shows, the fun-loving, romantic, entertaining, creative, culturally-diverse Filipino which surpasses all that is petty in this era.

Philippine Television, in its quantitative level, isn’t that globally marketable enough to compete back-to-back with its foreign counterparts.

Being global doesn’t mean losing our roots; it’s about establishing an unswerving contact between our roots and modernization.