Pinoy Big Brother Teen Plus Edition made it's over-hyped premiere tonight on ABS-CBN, hosted by Toni Gonzaga, Mariel Rodriguez, and Luis Manzano, and after watching it, I'm with mixed emotions, both positive and negative, which is normal and usually happens after watching any show on ABS-CBN, because most of the time, I'm filled with negative emotions after watching just because of the perpuation of worship for Filipinos raised outside the Philippines that is a continuing theme on this network, and that is the thing that spreads the low self esteem and lack of pride in the Philippines that plagues the country. 
It is kind of fun seeing how people interact with different personalities, and it's one thing to be a Filipino, and to be of European descent. That doesn't make you any less Filipino. But it is quite another thing to glorify it, and to stamp it on people's monikers and exploit as a marketing ploy for their public personas. "The Spanish Stallion" "The Italian Lover" "The German Import"and from the last one, "The British Outcast"?It's true that they're of European descent, but they're also FILIPINO, and isn't this is PINOY Big Brother?
The fact they're Filipino despite their different backgrounds is the thing that should unite them all, but as usual, the producers at ABS-CBN are of fond of labeling Filipinos with these labels to glorify their upbringing outside of the Philippines. It's like exploiting their European descent to feed on the insecurities of Filipinos, because they know that if the masas know that so-and-so is of European descent, they're the new 'idol' of the country, the new Sam Milby, the new Gerald Anderson. It's great that we're so open-minded to people from other countries in the Philippines, and we're respectful of other people's cultures and we're so open-minded and so friendly to them, but it's quite another thing to put them on a pedestal just because they were raised outside the Philippines, or just because they're of European descent.Needless to say, there were four really likable people that we liked, a lot, hehe, Alex, Linda, Ejay, and Jeriel:
Alex AnselmuccioThis guy was really kind, and you could tell he had good manners and a good upbringing and is humble.
Linda BacklundThis girl was shy, but very friendly and genuinely nice to people and down to earth, and I really her.
We really want one of these two to win, Alex or Linda. They're the most likable people on that circus of a show, hehe.
Ejay FalconSame thing, kind humble down to earth person.
Jieriel PapaThis girl was so kind and friendly, and down to earth, and I like that she's funny.
Kevin FloodThis is the Filipino raised in Spain. I thought it was absolutely horrible that they called him the Spanish stallion and made a big deal of the fact that he grew up in Spain, because it's just that if this is a Filipino show, you should recognize him as a Filipino. If he didn't have a lot of things to identify with as Filipino growing up in Spain besides Isabel Preysler, then this is the opportunity he would have to connect with his Filipino heritage, and to identify him as Filipino. He will only learn to be proud to be Filipino if other Filipinos accept him as Filipino. But when other Filipinos call him a Spaniard and a 'Spanish stallion' which sounds ridiculous, then he won't feel connected to his Filipino identity, because his own Filipino people don't view him as one of their own. His citizenship is Spanish, his mother is Irish, but he is Filipino because his father is Filipino. But what happens? The glorification of him as a Spaniard, as a "Spanish stallion." I thought this was PINOY Big Brother? Jesus Christ. It's the same thing that happened with Sam Milby, or Gerald Anderson, but worse.
It's the glorification of all things foreign that plagues the country's self-esteem, and that's what I don't like about this show, that I loathe about this show. I wish the people who work at ABS-CBN would just educate themselves, and to realize that what they put on their shows and how they portray things affects the entire country, and Filipinos around the world. For Filipinos who don't have enough money to get a proper education, and for even those who do who pay more attention to TV hosts and celebrities than their teachers, the only outlet they have to learn about the world is through TV, and if TV is teaching you that everything and everyone foreign is better than anything or anyone Filipino, then how will the national self-esteem of the country ever be lifted?
Nice pretty girls:
Beauty Gonzalez
Valerie WeignmannAnd we liked the deaf girl, she was nice, and I thought it was really brave of her to do this show, considering how insensitive the national culture can be sometimes to people's disabilities. Let's see what happens later on this semi-fun, semi-annoying circus, hehe. It's like I don't really wanna watch it, but I'm intrigued to see what happens despite that I'll be so irritated while I'm watching it, it's a double edged sword, hehe. But if I get too irritated, I'll just put in my DVD of Pasion de Gavilanes or put on a Rufa Mae Quinto movie, and then I'm alright and back down to earth, hehe. Pinoy Big Brother Teen Plus Edition Multiply
Also, they call one of them "The Inchik Girl"? Some said Kevin's father is born in the Philippines but is Spanish with 'lahing pilipino'? No, Kevin's father is Filipino period, because he was born in the Philippines. It's just like saying that Pilita Corrales is a Spanish woman with Filipino blood, that is ridiculous, because if you ask Mamita, she'll tell you right away that she's Filipina and proud of it. It's your country that makes you who you are, not your bloodline. And, 'Filipino blood' is any blood that comes from the Philippines, whether it's Malay-Austro, Chinese, or Spanish.
Because again, there's no such thing as a Filipino race, but there is a Filipino people made up of the mixture of several races: Malay Austronesian, Chinese, and Spanish being the major three recent ancestries of most Filipinos. The Filipino of mostly Spanish descent or Chinese descent is just as Filipino as the Pinoy of mostly Malay descent, although to most Filipinos due to a grand miseducation on a national scale about the history of our country, the only true Filipinos are those of Malay descent, which is ridiculous because in the formation of this country, the three ancestries that formed it are of the three. It is the three (Malay-Austronesian-Aeta, Chinese, and Spanish), and the unique combination and mixture of the three that makes up the unique history and national identity and the culture and the people of the Philippines.
And we love Vilma Santos, we love you, you are a Philippine goddess, a great actress, a humble down to earth woman with good values, but your son is incouragible, Mamita, hehe. He needs to be brought down to Earth and to be taught the value of humility, because Luis Manzano is so mayabang, and he is conceited and full of himself, it's just there in the way he acts and talks to people with disregard of their looban ng tao. It's one thing to be a confident person, but it's quite another thing to cross over into conceitedness, and Luis definitely does that. But it's logical, he's just following the footsteps of his father, Edu Manzano, who acts in the same conceited way. Perhaps that's one of the reasons why Vilma divorced him, although we do know the real reason, that has to do with someone's orientation.We were so turned off by Luis's comment to Alex Flood on that show about cooking for the boys, but because our cousin and our nephew are actors for ABS-CBN, and our god-cousin also, and our other cousin worked as a commercial director and in PR for them, we happen to know some secrets about Luis (and other actors) that I won't share here, but it explains what he said to Alex Flood, the Filipino from Spain, when he was talking about cooking for the girls, Alex said, "not just for the girls", and Luis said "I hope not for the boys!" But Luis was acting that way because those who are most vocal against gay people are usually trying to cover up something about themselves that they're afraid of other people finding out about. Men who are really heterosexual don't have to go around proving to everybody else how "manly" they are, because they have nothing to be afraid about because they're secure of their sexuality. They're straight, they know they're straight, so there's no overacting to show everybody how straight they are. If a guy really was straight, then it wouldn't upset him so much if people might think he's gay or asks if he's gay, because he knows he's straight, so it's like nothing to him, because he knows he's straight, so it's no issue. But those who get really mad and upset when people think they're gay are usually gay, because those who make a big exaggerated display of "macho-ness" are hiding what they're most afraid of deep down. This is something that's somewhat known here in the U.S. and Europe, but most Filipinos and Latin Americans are still unaware and uneducated of this duality and are convinced that if a man appears "macho", then of course he's not gay, but appearances are not always what they seem...
I was watching that scene again, and it's quite obvious, because I understand the nuances of Spanish speakers (that it's what's said behind what's being said), that Alex Flood was trying to be honest and say in a subtle way that he's gay, and was secure of himself as such because you have to remember that same sex marriage is legal in Spain, so being gay is more accepted there than it is in the Philippines, and he was coming out as gay in a subtle way with the way he hinted it, but when Luis said what he said, he just shut the door on it, because what he said sent the message that this is a hostile environment for gay people to be honest about their sexuality, and if you look at all the shows and all the things that have happened revolving around ABS-CBN lately, their network isn't a place where it's okay to be gay. They send mixed messages, because Rustom came out, and they show sympathy for him, probably because they don't want to look unsympathetic. But if one of their lead actors is speculated as gay, they show outrage and throw around libel. So one side is, they accept Boy Abunda as gay and they accept people as gay when they act like women and are effeminate, but when one of their lead actors is speculated as gay, they show outrage, which also sends the message that being called gay is bad and a negative thing. That's complete hypocrisy. And it's no wonder that all of closeted gay actors on ABS-CBN of which there are many, trust me, continue to stay in the closet, because their network is a hostile environment for openly gay actors (Boy doesn't count because he's a host). GMA, on the other hand, aired an episode of S-Files that featured a same sex union between to women, and featured a gay character on their most important TV show Marimar, that educated people by breaking the usual stereotype since he wasn't a typical hairdresser (like most are on ABS-CBN's shows), and was part of the story as he was in love with Dingdong Dantes' character. We do have family that works on both networks, so we take no sides, but we do agree with tolerance and respect for people of different backgrounds, and we're grateful that GMA took the higher road. But just watch what happens, if ever the issue comes up in the future and entertainment reporters ask him if he's gay, he'll say no, because Luis already sent the message to him that he won't be received positively as gay in the Philippines if he is honest about it. Raymond, yes I'm talking about Ruffa's younger brother, hasn't even come out yet even though his family and everybody else who works in the entertainment industry already knows about his American boyfriend, and that says a lot about how far the Philippines has to go as far as tolerance of different people is concerned.
JC de Vera about why he and Yasmien Kurdi are not yet a couple: "Hindi sa hindi kami magkasundo... Kung hindi kami magkasundo, e, di sana hindi kami tatagal? Basta meron kaming personal differences na once na pinilit mo, sasabog."
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