You Can’t Shoot What You Don’t See
I realized just how difficult it was to hold back a cringe when a cousin’s friend told me how she despised local films and television shows in general. I asked her why and all she could say was a very specific, “They’re just so bad.”
I admit that many of our movies and TV shows are disappointing and some are downright disgusting. But I believe that we still have a lot of quality shows. I asked her which TV shows in particular she found unsatisfactory. She replied, “Our teleseryes are pretty bad.”
“Which teleseryes?” I was curious.
“Our teleseryes. All of it.”
Now, I love teleseryes. At any given time, I religiously follow at least one local drama series.
“Did you see Tayong Dalawa when it was airing? It was really good.” I asked.
“No.”
“Imortal?”
“No.”
“Magkaribal?”
“That’s the one starring Claudine, right?”
“Gretchen.”
“I saw the trailer once.”
“Encantadia, Kung Mawawala Ka, Basta’t Kasama Kita, Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay?”
She didn’t answer.
“What was the last teleserye you watched?” I asked.
“I don’t really watch them coz, you know, I think they’re bad.”
Well, here’s what I think. It’s OK to criticize. Quality is often subjective. Entertainment is a matter of taste and taste is tricky. What is effective to me might not be the same to another.
What is not OK is to criticize without seeing, hearing, feeling, experiencing what it is being criticized. How could one say something is bad when they did not even give themselves a chance to see it. It’s just unjust. You can’t shoot what you don’t see.
I also have the same sentiments. I love local TV, but I just hate how generic it goes, especially when it comes with the story lines of soaps and series. On a lighter note, I am becoming more appreciative of our local movies, mostly with indies. ^^
Agree. I’ve been an avid follower of some of the telenovelas you mentioned. Actually, I watch local and Korean telenovelas and I think they have their own good qualities.
marami kayang local films and teleseryes na maganda, lalo na mga kapamilya teleseryes hehe
ang panget is ung mga kapuso teleseryes hahahaha
nakakainis kasi may mga tao na ayaw sa local films and tv shows, cuz of colonial mentality.
KAY TAGAL KANG HININTAY!! THE BEST PINOY TELESERYE EVVEEERRRR!!
OMG! me, too! I loved loved the entire thing — story, how it was shot, acting performances. #Win
no teleserye for me since i started working. anyway, gusto ko lang makisali. labs kita okey ka lang and my amnesia girl are my favorites.
Mahilig ako sa teleserye before hehe. Pinaka-favorite ko yung Kung Mawawala Ka 🙂 Miss ko na ang GMA teleseryes na sina Sunshine Dizon, Angelika dela Cruz at Tanya Garcia pa ang mga reyna 😛
I don’t like the way local shows romanticizes everything, share the same cinematography as every other show, and use practically the same sound effects. This, of course, applies only to the ones I’ve seen. Haha. And the only foreign shows I watch are comedies. They can get really rude at times.