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James Soriano Disturbed You? Good

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I get it. The infamous viral James Soriano opinion piece provoked a massive “Kung sino?” snort from people. With their response they are proving him right.

Sometimes there is a fine line between making a point and speaking from your high horse. I try to be aware of that line when I write but I am sure I have crossed it a few times for some people. Mr. Soriano makes the point that English is the language of the learned. Let's explore that point. I have lived here in Manila for almost 12 years. Media is something I analyze over and over in this blog. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that my degree is in that vein.

One of my major beliefs is that your mass media is not there to educate you. They are there to attract you. Two different things. Mass media are beholden to their sponsors and not to you. In short mass media is not telling you what you need to know but what you want to hear.

Marshall McLuhan is famous for his quote the medium is the message. I can tell you from where I sit. That in this country the language is the message. First of all. Compare the news that the over the air channels provide in Tagalog with ABS CBN News Channels news. The intonation of the Tagalog broadcast resembles pro wrestling commentary. The tone of the English broadcast sounds more like golf commentary. Why? You are reaching completely different mentalities when you select in this country what language you will use. If you totally disagree with me or James Soriano be prepared to argue the case that there is no such thing as language bias. Take a cue from non verbal cues. Just like the traits are different when you tune into golf and when you tune into wrestling.

People's Tonight. Headlines in English but stories in Tagalog.

If you don't buy the tone of voice argument then explain to me why is there no newspaper of record in this country in Tagalog. I am no big fan of the Inquirer, The Philippine Star and Manila Bulletin. But they are text book Columbia School of Journalism compared to their Tagalog counterparts.

Here is an exercise for you. Those who do understand Tagalog (I do to some extent) . For the next week expose yourself to an adequate amount of Tagalog media. Newspapers and tv news. Then try to imagine yourself as one who totally avoids English media and only gets information from Tagalog sources. What would your perspective be like? What would you be missing out on? What blind spots inherent in Tagalog media would therefore be your blind spots?

Those of us who can and do seek English sources of information are exposed to a plethora of perspectives on numerous topics. I won't try to dictate to you what I view to be width or the narrowness of Tagalog media but try it for yourself. What would it be like if that is all you had to go on? That is why his point that most people seem to ignore is that if you are serious about learning then you are better off with a daily diet of all English sources than all Tagalog. It's all a question of values in those that tend to stick to only Tagalog. My view here.

Whether you like it or not, media is a reflection of the audience it is trying attract. Kris Aquino is the way she is because a ton of people buy into her emo pseudo victim act. The audience wants that so Kris delivers. Based on her endorsement contracts boy does she deliver. I don't mean Boy Abunda either.

If by now you still believe that English and Tagalog are just interchangeable let me ask you a question. Would Willie Revillame work if he did exactly the same show only in English? My personal opinion: you can't spell Revillame without "lame".

If the answer is no then don't shoot James Soriano for being the messenger. He held up a mirror to this country's face. The country did not like what it saw and blamed the mirror and the mirror holder. In the immortal words of Colonel Nathan R. Jessup " You can't handle the truth".


What do you expect from a population that is honestly convinced Journey owes it's career to Arnel Pineda? What do you expect from a country that does not encourage soccer yet feels self entitled to being in the next World Cup? What do you expect from a population that rewarded a convicted plunderer second place in a free election for president?

Ed

https://cerebralinsights.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/the-language-that-is-filipino/

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/688/Why_Are_Our_Filipino_Newspapers_So_Dumb

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/tag/newspapers

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1161/Three_Reasons_Why_I_Avoid_Reading_The_Newspaper

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1097/WHY_Because_We_Are_Dumb_

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1017/Hypocrisy_of_the_Recognition_and_Admiration_of_Efren_Penaflorida

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/986/Graceful_Exit_Monday

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/943/What_part_of_beyond_reasonable_doubt_do_you_not_understand_Erap_related

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1141/Reason_1642_Why_We_Dont_Subscribe_To_The_Inquirer

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/915/I_Wish_This_For_The_Philippines

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/399/Sometimes_You_Cant_Defend_The_Philippines

jack nicholson, tom cruise, truth,

Marshall Mcluhan

Language, learning, identity, privilege

I think

By JAMES SORIANO

August 24, 2011, 4:06am

MANILA, Philippines — English is the language of learning. I’ve known this since before I could go to school. As a toddler, my first study materials were a set of flash cards that my mother used to teach me the English alphabet.

My mother made home conducive to learning English: all my storybooks and coloring books were in English, and so were the cartoons I watched and the music I listened to. She required me to speak English at home. She even hired tutors to help me learn to read and write in English.

In school I learned to think in English. We used English to learn about numbers, equations and variables. With it we learned about observation and inference, the moon and the stars, monsoons and photosynthesis. With it we learned about shapes and colors, about meter and rhythm. I learned about God in English, and I prayed to Him in English.

Filipino, on the other hand, was always the ‘other’ subject — almost a special subject like PE or Home Economics, except that it was graded the same way as Science, Math, Religion, and English. My classmates and I used to complain about Filipino all the time. Filipino was a chore, like washing the dishes; it was not the language of learning. It was the language we used to speak to the people who washed our dishes.

We used to think learning Filipino was important because it was practical: Filipino was the language of the world outside the classroom. It was the language of the streets: it was how you spoke to the tindera when you went to the tindahan, what you used to tell your katulong that you had an utos, and how you texted manong when you needed “sundo na.”

These skills were required to survive in the outside world, because we are forced to relate with the tinderas and the manongs and the katulongs of this world. If we wanted to communicate to these people — or otherwise avoid being mugged on the jeepney — we needed to learn Filipino.

That being said though, I was proud of my proficiency with the language. Filipino was the language I used to speak with my cousins and uncles and grandparents in the province, so I never had much trouble reciting.

It was the reading and writing that was tedious and difficult. I spoke Filipino, but only when I was in a different world like the streets or the province; it did not come naturally to me. English was more natural; I read, wrote and thought in English. And so, in much of the same way that I learned German later on, I learned Filipino in terms of English. In this way I survived Filipino in high school, albeit with too many sentences that had the preposition ‘ay.’

It was really only in university that I began to grasp Filipino in terms of language and not just dialect. Filipino was not merely a peculiar variety of language, derived and continuously borrowing from the English and Spanish alphabets; it was its own system, with its own grammar, semantics, sounds, even symbols.

But more significantly, it was its own way of reading, writing, and thinking. There are ideas and concepts unique to Filipino that can never be translated into another. Try translating bayanihan, tagay, kilig or diskarte.

Only recently have I begun to grasp Filipino as the language of identity: the language of emotion, experience, and even of learning. And with this comes the realization that I do, in fact, smell worse than a malansang isda. My own language is foreign to me: I speak, think, read and write primarily in English. To borrow the terminology of Fr. Bulatao, I am a split-level Filipino.

But perhaps this is not so bad in a society of rotten beef and stinking fish. For while Filipino may be the language of identity, it is the language of the streets. It might have the capacity to be the language of learning, but it is not the language of the learned.

It is neither the language of the classroom and the laboratory, nor the language of the boardroom, the court room, or the operating room. It is not the language of privilege. I may be disconnected from my being Filipino, but with a tongue of privilege I will always have my connections.

So I have my education to thank for making English my mother language.

WHY? Because We Are Dumb

(double click to see the comics in full size)

Bart Simpson: "I can't believe it, but it looks as though television has betrayed me."

Once in a while, somebody will publish something that is very close to what I have been saying for sometime. I saw this article in our local newspaper. I used to read this Nestor Torre before but when his reviews always revealed the climax of a movie, I figured my reading time is best spent elsewhere. I agree with his starting point. He concludes that regulators and TV stations should get together to "undumb" the audience. At best I think it's a two way street. Like a chicken and egg question. At worst, this culture wants dumb, this culture will not appreciate anything that is not dumb so give them dumb. A lot of what I want to say on the topic is here. http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1017/Hypocrisy_of_the_Recognition_and_Admiration_of_Efren_Penaflorida



This culture does not value intellect, learning or dignity . TV stations are only answerable to one group . Sponsors. Sponsors want a large audience . They don't want a discriminating audience but a large audience .I don't care about the mandate of the KBP. Because who really is serving the public good? By providing shows that will enlighten? None as far as main stream consumption . Media does not shape the audience. The audience is attracted based on what the programmers perceive will attract that audience.The dumb shows, dumb audience and the high ratings are both a vicious circle and a self fulfilling prophecy. Make a long story short. If programming is based on perception of audience and programing is dumb then the audience is perceived as dumb. And the proof of that is the size of the audience attracted. Dumb sells. Something that requires brain cells does not sell to the extent that dumb does. If you think my critique is solely on TV guess again. Filipino newspapers have not escaped my gaze. http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/688/Why_Are_Our_Filipino_Newspapers_So_Dumb





You want proof, we are dumb? These shows appeal abroad only to Pinoys who are abroad. Other cultures do not find any hidden worth in them. You know why? There is nothing of value there for them to find. Calvin and Hobbes (The comic strip above) has resonated for so long because it is such a mirror to our reality. Another excellent parallel to the state of dumb TV is the film The Running Man. If you never saw the film you might describe it as some dumb muscle film with Arnold Schwarzenegger sprouting corny one liners. I actually saw this movie the day it came out 23 years ago. I had no idea that 23 years later I would be calling it genius for what it predicted.


Read one imdb user's breakdown of the film. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093894/usercomments Prophetic, 3 November 2004 8/10 Author: obiwan-27 (lckrause@gmail.com) from New England *** This review may contain spoilers *** I entered my first comment on this film almost five years ago. Then, the ideas presented in the movie still seemed mostly fictional, if indeed they could ever transpire at all. Not any longer. Now, the politics, society, and media in The Running Man seem very close to home indeed. Consider the following factors, which were mostly absent in 1987 (the year The Running Man came out) that are present today: Concern with, as Richard Dawson's character Damon Killian puts it, "traditional morality." CHECK Entertainment in the form of extreme reality, including pain, fear, and discomfort on the part of contestants. CHECK Cameras everywhere. CHECK Restricted travel for citizens at the whim of the government, controlled by a centralized computer system complete with barcoded passports ("travel passes" in the movie) and sanctioned under the guise of national security. CHECK An increased intermingling, bordering on incestuous, of government and media. CHECK Computer-generated graphics that are advanced enough to manipulate real film footage (such as the "digital matting" of Ben Richards' image onto the stunt double). CHECK Jailing of conscientious objectors or detractors of the current administration. CHECK Flagging economy further widening the gulf between the wealthy and not-so-wealthy; increasing numbers of fringe groups reacting to the tightening noose of big government; civil unrest brewing just under or at the surface of nearly every sizable public event regardless of its origin or intent. CHECK, CHECK, CHECK Then again, maybe it's just a movie based on a Stephen King novella. But just to be safe, I'm moving to Switzerland. If I can leave you with one thing, just remember, if TV is dumb or if media is dumb it's because we are dumb. TV is so much part of our lives that who really analyzes it's effect on a society? Well I will leave you with yet another quote from Running Man which says it all. Video provided in Multiply version of this post.


Damon Killian: This is television, that's all it is. It has nothing to do with people, it's to do with ratings! For fifty years, we've told them what to eat, what to drink, what to wear... for Christ's sake, Ben, don't you understand? Americans love television. They wean their kids on it. Listen. They love game shows, they love wrestling, they love sports and violence. So what do we do? We give 'em *what they want*! We're number one, Ben, that's all that counts, believe me. I've been in the business for thirty years. Ben Richards: Well, I may not have been in show business for as long as you have. But I'm a quick learner. And right now, I'm going to give the audience what *I* think they want.


Ed

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1017/Hypocrisy_of_the_Recognition_and_Admiration_of_Efren_Penaflorida

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/864/_Dont_Point_the_Finger_At_Willie

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093894/usercomments

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/688/Why_Are_Our_Filipino_Newspapers_So_Dumb

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1097/WHY_Because_We_Are_Dumb_

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kFXIETlJoU

http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20100325-260840/Least-common-denominator-TV-programming

Viewfinder
‘Least common denominator’ TV programming

By Nestor Torre
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 23:46:00 03/25/2010

Filed Under:

Television, Entertainment (general)

MANILA, Philippines—The unprecedented popularity of television is both a boon and a bane. That the biggest TV networks now command an audience of millions is a testament to the medium’s utter viewability and vitality.

On the other hand, that very viewability and 24/7 accessibility have often resulted in a stultifyingly "least common denominator" kind of programming, with many popular shows providing the video equivalent of popcorn—momentarily yummy, but offering little in terms of substance and sustenance.

The industry mantra seems to be: "Keep it simple, stupid; that’s all the simpletons out there want, need—or deserve."

For this reason, some TV shows attract similarly "stupid" or "stupid-making" workers, and lack of depth and sensitivity is in fact preferred, because the simpletons "know" what viewers go for. The dumb leading the dumber? You bet—and, as the "stupid" shows’ robust ratings reveal, they’re pretty smart and savvy, after all.

Of course, some viewers find them really shallow and, in fact, downright demeaning to watch. Unfortunately, they’re in the distinct and churlish minority, so the channels can do spectacularly well without them and their stuffy, snitty ilk. And the situation remains as "hopeless" as ever.

Is there any way out of this desultory conundrum and downward spiral of ever diminishing returns? Well-meaning do-gooders and reformists mistakenly believe that errant or irresponsible TV workers can be "shamed" into more responsible behavior. They forget that TV is a game of numbers, and thus far, the least-common-denominator guys are winning the battle by a mile. They have the numbers, because their "stupid" shows appeal to the many simpletons out there. So, dumb yourself down and join the fun!

But that can’t be the way to go, because therein lies perdition and retardation. That’s why TV is supposed to be a public trust that’s protected by all sorts of pledges of responsible and balanced programming—except that, the rules aren’t followed or enforced, and the pledges remain unfulfilled.

One way out of this quagmire of pap is for government regulators and industry self-regulators to do their job. But, if they fall short, who can compel them? The country’s more concerned, demanding and enlightened viewers—only, there aren’t enough of them to make a big difference.

Which is why media education is so important, but who will teach it? Our teachers? Not likely, because they too are watching those least-common-denominator shows and enjoying them.

The real solution can be arrived at only if both concerned TV workers and viewers join forces to produce and support more substantial TV programs. And work together they must, because young Filipinos’ mental and moral prospects hang in the balance.

That’s the common denominator that should motivate and inform their concerted efforts to reform and redeem what is now the viewing nation’s most popular, persuasive and powerful medium of expression, communication and entertainment.

Tags: television, values, dumb, morons, running man, learning, culture, public service

Hypocrisy of the Recognition and Admiration of Efren Penaflorida

Yes, he is all over all kinds of Filipino media. But I want to ask this question. You nation of band wagon jumpers, why now? The simple answer is because CNN says so. We would have never recognized him on our own. What I find heroic about this man and the others I looked at in the CNN showcase was that the most important thing this guy teaches is HOW TO LEARN. Like the classic Biblical quote do not give a man a fish , teach him how to fish (which also shows you Jesus' take on vegetarianism). Give the man a fish and you feed them for a day, teach the man how to fish and you feed them for a lifetime. That is what I see to all those who make investment in youth.



After seeing all this token praise for him I decided to write about this. Then I saw this article. My simple question is if we did value learning and education before as a culture. Show me where.

I see this sudden shower of attention and campaigning very hypocritical and counter intuitive of our culture. Look at our noon time TV and tell me what do you learn from that?

Look at our prime time news and what do you learn from that? You know what I learn? News should be read with intonation similar to pro wrestling announcers.


Look at what local movies and prime time shows succeed and what shows are simply not produced and you can tell what the values of this society are. Jim Rohn says the marketplace is reality. If that is true look what succeeds in the market here. Nice reality huh?



Our reality does not value education or learning or even reading. Why change now?



I have to recall an anecdote. A while back we had a flash in the pan starlet called Belinda Bright. Like many show biz types , that is not her given name. Apparently she was given her stage surname by her director who saw her reading a book between takes. What I find fascinating is based on that story, reading a book qualifies as aberrant in the eyes of the culture and worthy of a nickname.


I am not anti Filipino, I am anti dumb. Efren Penaflorida is anti dumb. There are not many like him and they are obviously not celebrated. Unlike me, he goes out and educates. He is like the Bookmobile driver in South Park who has come to life teaching the magic of reading



Point being, we are celebrating an educator which is an admirable thing. It's just that we have never done it before. We celebrate morons. People who thumb their noses on education. We had a former president who released a joke book about himself with transposed polack jokes and it made him more popular. We don't celebrate intellectuals in this country, we reward, celebrate and elect imbeciles. You are welcome to disagree with me if I offend you but better yet identify somebody of substance that the man on the street relates to that does not fit the grim portrait of shallow values I am painting.





Let's list popular figures in this country. The people who capture the imagination of our countrymen:


Joseph Erap Estrada




Richard Gomez


Sharon Cuneta

Willie Revillame

Manny Pacquaio -

All the so called spokespersons/ endorsers for products that the advertisers crave.


Fernando Poe Jr.

Tito, Vic and Joey

Sex Bomb Dancers

Rico Yan

Richard Gutierrez


I can go to any bustling sidewalk in Metro Manila and everyone will know these guys.


Now tell me:

1) who am I missing ?

2) tell me one person in my list or yours who is valued by this culture for their intellect?

3) based on the people this society values, what do they learn from them?

4) If you put Efren Penaflorida on that list, does he look out of place? Actually not fitting in that list is his strength.

A lot of the people on my list are barely literate . Even if they are, they barely show it.They don't inspire their followers to learn. Maybe the followers do not want to learn. And you tell me as a society we value people Efren Penaflorida? We have not in the past.



I rest my case.

Ed








http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091124-237986/Peafloridas-intl-triumph-indictment-of-RP-govts-failure

http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/archive09/index.html


http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/688/Why_Are_Our_Filipino_Newspapers_So_Dumb

http://cornholiogogs.multiply.com/journal/item/1004/The_Filipino_Cry_For_Attention