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.