PBB

i never thought i’d be hooked on the latest reality tv show craze that is Pinoy Big Brother.i cannot say i’m that addicted but i find myself nowadays curious of the show’s latest developments.i’d say the ABS-CBN network has once again hit gold with this one.the show’s been off to a slow start, with lots of negative write-ups plaguing it’s day-to-day episodes.but alas,those write ups arose enough interest for the show to survive, and lo, it’s now booming in the ratings.

there’s the factor of being the first in the country, the controversy and the uncertainty, not to mention the prizes at stake.but personally speaking,there’s something intangible in the show that has hooked up households to their tubes at primetime every night.the show has turned out to be so…so…so… pinoy!coupled up with the technology of live streaming, the number of fans swelled.it’s like each viewer has found at least one among the participants with whom they can relate.in the common soaps,people would be imagining theirselves in the shoes of the characters they’re watching, but this one has allowed them to do more than that.the viewers’ attachment to the show went beyond imagination and being able to relate,all because the show’s supposedly real. no matter how many isinuations of the show being scripted comes out, the public just would not accept it, simply because the happenings inside and outside of that PBB house are not too complicated to be true.

in the show there’s the pinoys’ fave underdogs as well as the antagonists that pinoys could not live without.there’s also the class of culture and social differences, the gender and morality issues.forums about PBB showcased how people would react when they see themselves on tv, and the influence of growing up in the Philippines is very evident on the reactions.

a participant gets stabbed in the back and he/she would have the viewers’ sympathy regardless of the truth in what’s being said about him or her. a participant backstabs another and he/she gets the ire of textvoters. a female participant kisses an oh-so- gorgeous male participant and she’s labeled as shameless, she kisses another gorgeous participant, this time a female and she becomes immoral to the eyes of many. the initially best looking guy on the show garnered an instant following, one gossip of him being gay and his popularity went down the drain.a guy and a girl participant fell in love with each other in a matter of days and they’re considered desperate.

that’s how cruel pinoys can be.

a participant gets hold of a guitar,sings his lungs out and voila, he’s an instant fave among the music loving pinoys.a participant gets sick and everyone else hovers over him, all concerns forgotten. someone’s father passed away and the half the country mourned with her.one participant tells a sob story and support overflows unsolicited.a tear shed and a tissue would come out of nowhere. a plea of poverty and everyone would be voting for him to win.

that’s how sensitive and caring pinoys can be.

in the current state of the country, one really could not blame anyone who gets hooked up on something like this.scripted at times as it may seem, overall it’s still real.it speaks of a true blue Filipino trait in the name of ‘pakikisama’,and seeing that unfolds on tv is something many of pinoys could not resist. it reminds them, us of how we are as pinoys, and how (despite everything that’s happening) life goes on…