why i don't watch filipino drama
Or better yet, why Filipino dramas suck.
Drama series are a big part of Asian culture, or any other culture, for that matter. They have been around for as long as I can remember, the first ones I can recall would be the historical Chinese dramas with Chinese subtitles that aired on Sunday mornings on RPN 9.
Drama series are a big part of Asian culture, or any other culture, for that matter. They have been around for as long as I can remember, the first ones I can recall would be the historical Chinese dramas with Chinese subtitles that aired on Sunday mornings on RPN 9.
Different countries in Asia, I've noticed, have some sort of pattern or preference when it comes to which dramas they would air. Korean dramas are very heavy on the romantic side, while Japanese dramas tend to be more on the serious side, most of them being medical dramas. I haven't ventured into the Chinese dramaland, though, but maybe one day I will.
My native Philippines also has its own penchant for drama. Mara Clara was the first drama I could remember. It aired back before I was four years old, and my mom's cousin, who babysat me, would always watch it right at 3 pm after the three o'clock habit. Always. Without fail.
But in my opinion, in my very OWN honest opinion, Filipino drama is one of the least entertaining to watch. And I'm Filipino, so I'm not being racist, standoffish, or konyo. Here's why:
1. The plot gets recycled all the time
Let me tell you some of the main gist of Filipino dramas: There will be a child that gets separated from its rich parents. That child goes to a poor family, while the real parents adopt or have another child. The child that stays with the rich parents is mean as hell, and the separated child won't hurt a fly. The rich kid bullies the other child without knowing that she (it's usually a girl) is her sibling or her parents' real child. Once she finds out, she'll be ten times meaner.
Or the typical rags-to-riches story, where someone steals all of one person's riches, and the main character gets revenge or the parents/grandparents discover one day that the main character is the true heir of their rich company. Or the whole marry-someone-rich kind of thing.
And there's always the jealous other woman/other man who tries really hard to break up the two main protagonists, and does all the means like kidnap for ransom in a warehouse, killing someone, pretend that they share a kid and blah blah blah. Or the "in" plot nowadays: adultery.
Or they could have some sort of physical deformity and they have something that would transform them into someone prettier, so their bullies would all of a sudden befriend them, or get their crush to like them. But they have a guy/girl best friend that knows about their true identity but still loves them no matter what. Ending: the ugly person gets together with the best friend when the effects stay permanent.
Tweak in a little bit of variety, like a former flame or the husband's family doesn't like the mother, but the same old story is still there. If you've seen one, you've seen em all. Rinse, repeat.
I see a lot more variety in other Asian dramas, although some are the same or similar, and there are the endless Korean/Japanese/Taiwanese adaptations. But they are not recycled drama after drama after drama. I see more creativity from other countries because some of them are novel or manga based, and it's not the same people writing the same shit shows over and over again.
2. It's always the same actors
You will hardly see any fresh new faces on TV from the Phils. If you do, it's usually the child/grandchild/niece/nephew of some other TV star, that just looks like said TV star. Nobody really scouts for new talents or actors from acting schools, or even host auditions for outsiders. They always keep it in house or use the same actors all over again. Eula Valdez. Cherry Pie Picache. Cherie Gil. Christopher De Leon. Judy Ann. Piolo. Vic Sotto. Marian Rivera.
Or they could use "actors" from Filipino versions of western reality shows like Pinoy Big Brother, or on shows like Starstruck and Star Circle Quest, Star Magic, in which contestants are the family members of current actors, anyway.
I mean, sure, some actors in other Asian industries would use the same actors for lots of drama series, but there are some shows with new actors here and there.
3. The same actors always play the same roles
If you know actress Maricar Reyes, she always plays the rejected ex-girlfriend. Gladys Reyes always plays the bitchy girl. Coco Martin is always some poor man's son. Judy Ann Santos is always the good girl. Marian Rivera is always the protagonist paired with Ding Dong Dantes. Everyone else is just the supporting actor/actress.
I understand there are so-called 'love teams' and are very common, but other countries mix up their actors and actresses and get them to portray different roles, and people love them just as much, if not more. It just goes to show that most stars in the Philippines are one trick ponies.
4. Some aren't even really actors. They just look good.
Or have some sort of foreign background, or does some modeling gig. Take Spanish-Chinese Ellen Adarna. She's very beautiful, yes, but she got a breast surgery and all of a sudden she is now an actress. The girl can't act, she just looks good on-screen.
And did you know that Sandara Park of 2NE1, or Dara as she is more infamously known nowadays, joined Star Circle Quest back in the early 2000's and had some acting roles? She was not made for acting. She would've made Kristen Stewart proud. Her expressions were blank, she could barely speak any tagalog, yet the people would fawn over her because she's a foreigner. She'd just appear like a ditz yet she gets acting gigs. Oh c'mon. I don't know how her acting career is going for her nowadays, but those roles she used to play made me cringe.
I don't hate Dara, but for Philippine TV, it's looks over quality acting. Philippines also has its own idol-casting problem. And I think it's much, much worse.
5. Not another mermaid series...again.
I am so sick of Dyesebel. I know it's already a Philippine fantasy icon, but pleeeeease, for the love of god, we've seen enough of this goldfish. The two main channels, ABS-CBN and GMA7, both made remakes of the series. Five movies of the same character is more than enough.
Not to mention the mermaid spin-offs like Marina and Agua Bendita. Oh puh-leeeease. When will people get tired of this shit???
6. The series go on and on forever
Do you know the current (as of now) series Be Careful With My Heart? The show is still freakin' ongoing for two and a half years now. The episode count is 622. Six. Hundred. Twenty. Two. It's trying to rival One Piece's fifteen years' worth of episodes by accomplishing it in two and a half years.
And the infamous original Mara Clara had twelve hundred episodes. It started when I was four years old and didn't end until I was nine. That's five years in elementary school.
That's a common thing in Filipino dramas. An average drama would last a least a hundred episodes, and they're not even that good. They just cook up whatever situation they can think of just to make the episodes longer and longer (and more unbearable). They're not being creative anymore. They're doing half-assed episodes just to stretch the drama, instead of making shorter, top-quality ones. The succeeding episodes aren't even related to the main plot anymore. There's an episode every single day, instead of a more palatable weekly airtime.
7. It's a cliche galore
There will always be some sort of gunfight with goons that don't even know how to do their jobs. There is always a happy marriage ending, with the villain dying of gunshot (or went mental). The good family always lives in a barrio, in some countryside wearing long skirts or those farmer garbs. The rich family owns the whole land, and they can buy you, your friends, and this club. When you're portrayed as ugly, you either have a big nose, thick eyebrows, crooked teeth, dark skin, or all of that.
It never ends.
8. They talk in a prehistoric language no one ever uses
No Filipino nowadays would ever call or introduce their parents as "inay" or "ama" unless that's their nickname, or they are being really formal. No one uses "maaari", "nais", "iniibig", "minamanman" or whatever cheesy old word they can think of. No. People use "pwede", "gusto", "love", or "tinitignan", even TANGINA. No one talks like dramas in the Philippines, ever, unless you want to be called feeling or tanga.
In other dramas, some would talk how they would normally talk to others, especially in western series. The conversation flows more smoothly and natural. Filipino drama just sounds like fake crap. And the only people who would shout while in angry trysts are people in the public market.
9. The unrealistic image of poverty and wealth
In which poor area have you seen a girl with shiny, bouncy curls? They don a full makeup complete with rosy-pink blush and eyeliner. They look as fake as their lashes. Kim Chiu and Julia Baretto both played the poor girl, yet their makeup looks better than mine on most occasions. And even in the countryside, young girls don't wear gypsy skirts or those conservative tops. It's so hot in the Philippine countryside, they would boil in those garbs. I have cousins in the country and they don't dress that way.
As for the wealthy ones, no one wears a full tux or ball gown at home, in their mansion of six million rooms, yet they're always seen lounging around in their study. In reality, rich people dress up to about looking as clean and sosyal as they can, but only a loon would dress up in ball gowns everyday.
10. The death scenes. In fact, any scene
The I-gave-everything-up-for-you scene, the what-do-you-want-me-to-do scene, the let's-bully-the-hero scene, the public ostracizing scene, the face slap scene...URGH. They're all overused and abused. The drama factor is a little too high up. There will always be one. In every episode.
And those are my main reasons for not watching any Filipino series. I don't hate it just because I'm Filipino and not proud of my country, but just because they aren't really that good. I believe you are better off watching other things that wouldn't eat up your time as uselessly as Filipino drama.
This is what appeals to the Filipino masses, but it could really use an upgrade. This may be the only entertainment most Filipinos have, and for that reason, I think they deserve more than drama garbage. Quality over quantity.
A lot of Filipinos may go all defensive after reading this and say so many negative things when their culture gets attacked, but I don't care. Filipino dramas, for me, are at the bottom of the barrel. This is my own opinion. I have experienced it first hand and it's really not my taste.
But hey, if you like it, I won't judge. I have some friends, my boyfriend's family, even my own family really loves watching those dramas. They all have TFC and GMA network subscriptions. My grandma watches it all the time.
It's just that I'd rather use my precious drama time for something more worthwhile.
Or the typical rags-to-riches story, where someone steals all of one person's riches, and the main character gets revenge or the parents/grandparents discover one day that the main character is the true heir of their rich company. Or the whole marry-someone-rich kind of thing.
And there's always the jealous other woman/other man who tries really hard to break up the two main protagonists, and does all the means like kidnap for ransom in a warehouse, killing someone, pretend that they share a kid and blah blah blah. Or the "in" plot nowadays: adultery.
Or they could have some sort of physical deformity and they have something that would transform them into someone prettier, so their bullies would all of a sudden befriend them, or get their crush to like them. But they have a guy/girl best friend that knows about their true identity but still loves them no matter what. Ending: the ugly person gets together with the best friend when the effects stay permanent.
Tweak in a little bit of variety, like a former flame or the husband's family doesn't like the mother, but the same old story is still there. If you've seen one, you've seen em all. Rinse, repeat.
I see a lot more variety in other Asian dramas, although some are the same or similar, and there are the endless Korean/Japanese/Taiwanese adaptations. But they are not recycled drama after drama after drama. I see more creativity from other countries because some of them are novel or manga based, and it's not the same people writing the same shit shows over and over again.
2. It's always the same actors
You will hardly see any fresh new faces on TV from the Phils. If you do, it's usually the child/grandchild/niece/nephew of some other TV star, that just looks like said TV star. Nobody really scouts for new talents or actors from acting schools, or even host auditions for outsiders. They always keep it in house or use the same actors all over again. Eula Valdez. Cherry Pie Picache. Cherie Gil. Christopher De Leon. Judy Ann. Piolo. Vic Sotto. Marian Rivera.
Or they could use "actors" from Filipino versions of western reality shows like Pinoy Big Brother, or on shows like Starstruck and Star Circle Quest, Star Magic, in which contestants are the family members of current actors, anyway.
I mean, sure, some actors in other Asian industries would use the same actors for lots of drama series, but there are some shows with new actors here and there.
3. The same actors always play the same roles
If you know actress Maricar Reyes, she always plays the rejected ex-girlfriend. Gladys Reyes always plays the bitchy girl. Coco Martin is always some poor man's son. Judy Ann Santos is always the good girl. Marian Rivera is always the protagonist paired with Ding Dong Dantes. Everyone else is just the supporting actor/actress.
I understand there are so-called 'love teams' and are very common, but other countries mix up their actors and actresses and get them to portray different roles, and people love them just as much, if not more. It just goes to show that most stars in the Philippines are one trick ponies.
4. Some aren't even really actors. They just look good.
Or have some sort of foreign background, or does some modeling gig. Take Spanish-Chinese Ellen Adarna. She's very beautiful, yes, but she got a breast surgery and all of a sudden she is now an actress. The girl can't act, she just looks good on-screen.
And did you know that Sandara Park of 2NE1, or Dara as she is more infamously known nowadays, joined Star Circle Quest back in the early 2000's and had some acting roles? She was not made for acting. She would've made Kristen Stewart proud. Her expressions were blank, she could barely speak any tagalog, yet the people would fawn over her because she's a foreigner. She'd just appear like a ditz yet she gets acting gigs. Oh c'mon. I don't know how her acting career is going for her nowadays, but those roles she used to play made me cringe.
I don't hate Dara, but for Philippine TV, it's looks over quality acting. Philippines also has its own idol-casting problem. And I think it's much, much worse.
5. Not another mermaid series...again.
I am so sick of Dyesebel. I know it's already a Philippine fantasy icon, but pleeeeease, for the love of god, we've seen enough of this goldfish. The two main channels, ABS-CBN and GMA7, both made remakes of the series. Five movies of the same character is more than enough.
Not to mention the mermaid spin-offs like Marina and Agua Bendita. Oh puh-leeeease. When will people get tired of this shit???
6. The series go on and on forever
Do you know the current (as of now) series Be Careful With My Heart? The show is still freakin' ongoing for two and a half years now. The episode count is 622. Six. Hundred. Twenty. Two. It's trying to rival One Piece's fifteen years' worth of episodes by accomplishing it in two and a half years.
And the infamous original Mara Clara had twelve hundred episodes. It started when I was four years old and didn't end until I was nine. That's five years in elementary school.
That's a common thing in Filipino dramas. An average drama would last a least a hundred episodes, and they're not even that good. They just cook up whatever situation they can think of just to make the episodes longer and longer (and more unbearable). They're not being creative anymore. They're doing half-assed episodes just to stretch the drama, instead of making shorter, top-quality ones. The succeeding episodes aren't even related to the main plot anymore. There's an episode every single day, instead of a more palatable weekly airtime.
7. It's a cliche galore
There will always be some sort of gunfight with goons that don't even know how to do their jobs. There is always a happy marriage ending, with the villain dying of gunshot (or went mental). The good family always lives in a barrio, in some countryside wearing long skirts or those farmer garbs. The rich family owns the whole land, and they can buy you, your friends, and this club. When you're portrayed as ugly, you either have a big nose, thick eyebrows, crooked teeth, dark skin, or all of that.
It never ends.
8. They talk in a prehistoric language no one ever uses
No Filipino nowadays would ever call or introduce their parents as "inay" or "ama" unless that's their nickname, or they are being really formal. No one uses "maaari", "nais", "iniibig", "minamanman" or whatever cheesy old word they can think of. No. People use "pwede", "gusto", "love", or "tinitignan", even TANGINA. No one talks like dramas in the Philippines, ever, unless you want to be called feeling or tanga.
In other dramas, some would talk how they would normally talk to others, especially in western series. The conversation flows more smoothly and natural. Filipino drama just sounds like fake crap. And the only people who would shout while in angry trysts are people in the public market.
9. The unrealistic image of poverty and wealth
In which poor area have you seen a girl with shiny, bouncy curls? They don a full makeup complete with rosy-pink blush and eyeliner. They look as fake as their lashes. Kim Chiu and Julia Baretto both played the poor girl, yet their makeup looks better than mine on most occasions. And even in the countryside, young girls don't wear gypsy skirts or those conservative tops. It's so hot in the Philippine countryside, they would boil in those garbs. I have cousins in the country and they don't dress that way.
As for the wealthy ones, no one wears a full tux or ball gown at home, in their mansion of six million rooms, yet they're always seen lounging around in their study. In reality, rich people dress up to about looking as clean and sosyal as they can, but only a loon would dress up in ball gowns everyday.
10. The death scenes. In fact, any scene
The I-gave-everything-up-for-you scene, the what-do-you-want-me-to-do scene, the let's-bully-the-hero scene, the public ostracizing scene, the face slap scene...URGH. They're all overused and abused. The drama factor is a little too high up. There will always be one. In every episode.
And those are my main reasons for not watching any Filipino series. I don't hate it just because I'm Filipino and not proud of my country, but just because they aren't really that good. I believe you are better off watching other things that wouldn't eat up your time as uselessly as Filipino drama.
This is what appeals to the Filipino masses, but it could really use an upgrade. This may be the only entertainment most Filipinos have, and for that reason, I think they deserve more than drama garbage. Quality over quantity.
A lot of Filipinos may go all defensive after reading this and say so many negative things when their culture gets attacked, but I don't care. Filipino dramas, for me, are at the bottom of the barrel. This is my own opinion. I have experienced it first hand and it's really not my taste.
But hey, if you like it, I won't judge. I have some friends, my boyfriend's family, even my own family really loves watching those dramas. They all have TFC and GMA network subscriptions. My grandma watches it all the time.
It's just that I'd rather use my precious drama time for something more worthwhile.
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