Now it’s Inquirer’s time to goof:

While he was comfortable talking about politics, Aquino wants to keep his love life private.

He said he already asked his youngest sister and popular TV host Kris not discuss his love life in public.

“I talked to my sister and I did ask her that’s the part of my life that I want to be private as it can’t develop in the public like in a fishball . I think she understood it…She texted me and apologized,” said the senator. [Maila Ager, Inquirer]

PEP, an entertainment site, entertains us all by turning it into a “brewing controversy.” Erwin Santiago reads a blog entry (over at Chuvaness) and since he probably has nothing much to write about, composed the link/flame bait.

The Philippine Star writes it correctly:

Noynoy said he had talked with Kris and “I did ask her that that is the part of my life that I want to be private.”

“(It cannot develop) you know in a fish bowl and I think she understood it and she agreed. She texted me and she (Kris) apologized… I’m used to it (his sisters being focused on him) and I’ve talked to Shalani,” Noynoy said. [Aurea Calica, Philippine Star]

Someone commented that Chuvaness is connected to the Erap camp.

This is what happens when you have nothing bad to say about a candidate. He has vanishing hair, unpressed pants and unimpressive rhetoric. Nothing heavy. So when a goofy news writer hovering about him makes a mistake, he absorbs the error.

Alin ang mas matimbang?

Marian Rivera will try to outshine Angel Locsin once again as she is crowned as television’s new Darna.

Rivera’s forthcoming role was officially announced by GMA-7 on April 23rd at the GMA Network Center. She was the lead star in Marimar and Dyesebel. Both stories were supposed to be for Angel Locsin, but she moved over to ABS-CBN 2.

Darna and Dyesebel are originally made for komiks by Mars Ravelo, but eventually became hit movies. Previously, only Vilma Santos was able to play both Darna and Dyesebel (in separate shows, naturally).

Now Gary Granada is saying that GMA Kapuso Foundation took advantage of a study tape he submitted and when compared with the jingled that came out on TV before Christmas 2008, it’s like Pinoy Ako all over again.

Granada is a talent of GMA Records, the music label of GMA Network.

Also:

Ad Agency: DDB Philippines

Creative Team:
GADC (McDo Clients) : Margot Torres / Christina Lao / Mel Montemayor
Creatives : Teeny Gonzales – ECD-Copy / Argem Vinuya – Sr. Art Director
Accounts : Tey San Diego / Wella Balagtas / Lester Obice
Producer : Irene Chingcuangco
Director : Stephen Ngo
Prod House : Provill / Sound Design
Caster : Enrich Munchua
Musical Work : “Ang Huling El Bimbo” by Ely Buendia

Actor: Gino dela Pena

It’s Marky. He’s gone. So in between talks of burial dates of people who died in their sleep or jeepney or due to old age or some heart condition, I hear people saying Marky’s dead. I receive TXT messages confirming Marky’s death.

Some articles:

It seems like it’s too early for a goodbye. So maybe, when I look up at the December night sky, I should say, hello, Marky. How is it like to be home?

Comment by Christopher Warnock:

Loren Coleman’s “The Copycat Effect” is a well researched and compelling account of how media accounts of suicide trigger off further deaths. Coleman, a well known and respected authority on suicides and the author of “Suicide Clusters” goes into exhaustive detail and carefully documents the phenomenon of copycat suicides, giving examples from Ancient World up to the Kurt Cobain, Columbine and “The Deerhunter”.

After reading the extensive documentation that Coleman provides there can be no further doubt of the existence of the suicide copycat effect. What is interesting about Coleman’s account is that he never descends into a polemic about media violence and it is clear that the media does not “cause” violence, but rather triggers off these occurrences in susceptible individuals.

To win praise this past week, Sanjaya merely had to improve a little bit from his previously weak performances. To earn criticism, Melinda only had to stumble slightly from her previously strong performances. Sanjaya didn’t become a singer of Melinda’s caliber overnight, nor did Melinda become a performer on Sanjaya’s level.

The audience’s diminished expectations for Sanjaya have, therefore, made his potential for growth unlimited, while viewers’ exceptionally high expectations for Melinda have made her potential for failure much more possible.

By underwhelming viewers and then impressing them with his growth, never mind his well-coiffed personality, Sanjaya may have found the key to winning “American Idol.” An F student has a lot of room to show improvement and growth, while any extraordinary work an A student completed will only keep them at the A level.

It’s all charisma versus talent. And mere talent can become boring. And more:

Sanjaya appears to be acutely aware of this tendency to reward those who stand out, but even if he isn’t, he’s certainly benefiting from it.

Perhaps he’s also watched a lot of “America’s Next Top Model.” On that show, Tyra Banks and her team of judges routinely drop aspiring models from the competition even though those women have looked fantastic in their photographs. Yet they still go home because, as Tyra frequently lectures her girls, some of them do not show desire, personality, and growth week after week.

Tyra tries to make an argument to the competitors and to viewers that those characteristics make good models, but that is a tough argument to make when the models with stronger pictures leave before those who stay.

Corporate Social Responsibility goes beyond charity and requires that a responsible company take into full account its impact on all stakeholders and on the environment when making decisions. This requires the company to balance the needs of all stakeholders with its need to make a profit and reward shareholders adequately…. This holistic approach to business regards organizations as (for example) being full partners in their communities, rather than seeing them more narrowly as being primarily in business to make profits and serve the needs of their shareholders. [source]

And more: Corporations that create the appearance of acting responsibly just for its public relations value are said to be “greenwashing.”

The Issue at Hand
Did GMA-7 calculate the risk and by finding the clause any resemblance to real persons or groups in fiction is purely coincidental as a sufficient safety net, proceeded to shoot and show a script depicting an ‘undocumented Cordilleran tribe’ as an object of ridicule? Did they consider that the Igorot market is negligible when it comes to affecting the bottom line so it was OK to make fun of them?

Context
Let us put this into context. I will speak of Marky Cielo and StarStruck, Asian Treasures and stereotypes or TV representations.

Marky Cielo and StarStruck:
The Quest for New Markets and Cheap Talent

StarStruck 3 was a reality show that got its contestants from around the country. Reality shows have become vogue because they are comparatively cheap to produce and some of the contestants become instant celebrities. Since these raw talents cannot command a high talent fee at the start, they are a bargain. Marky Cielo became the Ultimate Survivor of this reality show and part of the prize that he got was a contract with GMA-7 stipulating that he will be part of some of the network’s shows. Cielo is now part of the currently showing Asian Treasures.

Since each StarStruck 3 contender represented a region of the Philippines, the show was an opportunity to attract new viewers from these identified markets. Viewers were encouraged to support the contenders that represent there respective hometowns. Cielo represented Mountain Province and was vocal about his being an Igorot.

So after the show, GMA-7 was able to capture a small percentage of Igorot viewers who would understandably be watching shows where Marky Cielo would be part of the cast.

Asian Treasures:
Problematizing History

Asian Treasures is a TV show that pretends to be historical. It is a localized version of National Treasure and the Da Vinci Code. The mythical treasure amulets of the equally mythical 10 datus were scattered everywhere and the lead characters were tasked to find these treasures. According to the story, the KKK, Rizal and Bonifacio were involved in hiding these treasures.

One of the amulets were entrusted to an undocumented Cordilleran tribe. See screen capture by Jeffer.

This episode was the same one where the character played by Marky Cielo was introduced.

So the small group of viewers who were eager to watch Marky Cielo got to watch the ax- and spear-wielding war- and soot-painted warriors, too.

Fact, Fiction and Stereotypes

Betrayal