For the last 60 years, Philippine Teleseryes have made its way to the top of the success ladder. Networks like ABS-CBN, TV5, and GMA all earned tremendous accolades with their shows. Countless stories, iconic characters, and quotes that have made their way to the modern Filipino Pop culture. The golden age of Philippine Teleseryes was truly an amazing one. But did you notice anything with the countless shows? It is either a “poor loves the rich” romance story or an adopted child that finds it out at the worst possible time. Either someone has amnesia or a main character gets kidnapped. It is repeated to death and has become very formulaic in every TV show out there. The success that made Filipino Teleseryes strong is the same success that’s alienating them with regards to their formula. Filipino Teleseryes are in a state of creative stagnation and this essay will prove just that. This essay will discuss the Filipino Teleserye formula, the Filipino’s watching habits, and how it has remained successful despite the repetitiveness. This essay will also aim to answer two questions: Are Filipino Teleseryes really in a state of creative stagnation and if so, is this such a bad thing? Let’s start with the first thing in the list, the Filipino Teleserye formula.

The Philippine Teleserye’s compliance to a formula makes for repetitive shows. The appeal of repetitive shows has reconfigured the audience to be accustomed to rehashed plots. But, there is a lingering question here: If the shows are insanely repetitive, then why do people still watch it? Well, according to Hermino (2013), these shows are popular because they are attuned to our attitudes, values, and experiences as people. These shows have been less about storytelling and more on providing the viewers something to relate to. The constant use of common TV tropes produces these repetitive and almost similar shows just with a fresh new cast and a new title. Similarly, Bayobos (2014) states that the constant use of common TV tropes such as the star-studded cast, use of obsolete Tagalog words, and constant stereotyping leaves us in this exact state of dramas unless we decide to level up. And he is right. The constant repetition of the framework makes for an entirely repetitive show. Here’s an example: The typical poor loves the rich love story will often revolve around a premise like this. The poor is a nice child, smart, and loved by her family who all of a sudden makes her way to a school for the rich. The poor is then bullied by the other kids and the main bully is the opposite of the poor main character. The rich bully likes another rich, handsome boy but the rich boy likes the poor girl and this will make the rich girl angrier at the poor girl. But by the end, the poor girl and the rich boy will live happily ever after.

Another one would the action genre. The show usually starts by introducing the main hero as another poor person that does good and is loved by everyone. Then all of a sudden, the main hero will be ambushed by the men of the villain but he will escape alive. The villain will be the revealed usually while smoking and demonstrating his evil plan. The main hero will try to kill the villain while going through his henchmen. The main hero will not get hit by any bullets and will be completely safe even if surrounded by hundreds of men with guns firing in every direction. He will then confront the villain, kill him, and finally win. You see how simple the Teleserye sounds if you read the entire premise? This very simple plot is extended to 3-4 months or even repeated just with a brand new set of cast members. Ceniza (2014) adds that the constant use of drama clichés makes watching Pinoy TV an utter joke. The constant serving of the same dynamic just left most of us used to the shows, no longer caring if it has been repeated or not.

There’s a very familiar term coined by Filipinos with regards to their extreme TV watching habits and that term is “Telebabad”. That term was around even before I was born and I was born in 1998 so that should say a lot about the TV watching habits of Filipinos. Now why are we even talking about terms and habits? Well, because like the earlier paragraph, Telebabad is one of the factors that contribute to the creatively stagnant state of Philippine Television. Every night we have a so-called “Teleserye Block” that starts from 7:30 PM onwards and from this time, the big three has Teleseryes running simultaneously. You just have to open your TV set and put your mind at ease. Or at a mind-numbing state that only watches it as a part of a routine. Caguiat (2013) states that people line up to the television set whether they are having dinner or cleaning plates. The people are still glued to the programs no matter happens because they must know the next part of the episode. This is the very reason Telebabad was coined. The fact that watching TV hinders people from performing their basic responsibilities is a sign that the TV watching habits of Filipinos are a problem. But how does this contribute to the creative stagnation of Teleseryes? Well, having eyes on a TV show makes for high ratings and that itself is a sign that show like this are liked by the masses. Therefore, more shows like this are being produced. The main problem that Telebabad gives is rewarding formulaic and repetitive writing with high ratings and basing criticism off the numbers.

But now you see, something doesn’t add up. Despite the countless cons we’ve discussed, Filipino Teleseryes are still watched by millions and consistently getting high ratings. The most common reason as to why this happens is due to a very relatable theme. In an article on ABS-CBN news.com by Kathlyn Dela Cruz, it was revealed that Filipinos were dubbed as the most emotional people in the world according to a US study back in 2012. This sparked a discussion in social media as to why we reached this conclusion. After the discussion, it was noticed that most of them have the so-called “Teleserye Mentality”. Psychologist Randy Dellosa (2012) states that there should always be drama or else life would be very boring. Netizens claim that love for Teleseryes could be an influence to their extremely emotional nature. They also claim that Filipinos easily relate with Teleseryes because these shows depict not only their real lives but also what their real lives could be. The Filipino doesn’t only relate but also live vicariously through the Teleseryes due to their extremely relatable themes. The themes are very memorable to the avid watcher and it makes them not only stay but even root for the main character, making them invested and religiously watch the majority or even the whole show’s run.

A few formulas done to death, a bad habit that seems to have become a part of our culture, and a place to live out our wildest dreams. Now that we’ve discussed the factors that contribute to the continuous creative stagnation, it’s time to ask those two questions. One, are Filipino Teleseryes really in a state of creative stagnation? Yes, without a doubt it is. The ability of a college student without access to a TV to accurately describe common TV tropes should be a sign that the formula is becoming stale. But the other question is, is this such a bad thing? Well for me, if the main purpose of the Teleseryes is to entertain then let’s just leave them be. Despite the insane amount of badmouthing I’ve done, it seems that these TV shows bring glorious amounts of joy to the people that are invested to it. It may not be the greatest example of creative storytelling, but Filipino Teleseryes really know how to get to the hearts of its audiences.

Despite accepting it’s contributions and existence, we shouldn’t give Filipino Teleseryes a free pass to repeat shows again and again. But we aren’t really devoid of fresh TV shows. For every “Forevermore”, another love story that was shot to fame due to a very famous cast, we have a “Please Be Careful With My Heart”, a refreshing take on the romance genre by putting family values as the star and making romantic dynamics take a back seat. For every “Ika-6 na utos”, a TV show about two females that are fighting over a man whose main purpose is to find how many ridiculous ways can two females beat each other up, we have “My Husband’s Lover”, a story about two men in love, which is a very daring take on the unrequited love subgenre. We haven’t run out of completely new shows, we’re just lacking. And for the next generation of storytellers, the ones who grew up watching both local and foreign shows, we can only hope for the best when it comes to the advancements of our beloved Filipino Teleseryes.

References:

Caguiat, R. (2013). Modern Philippine Teleserye: Intelligence vs. lameness of the Filipino mind. Retrieved from http://www.ilovetansyong.com/2013/10/modern-philippine-teleserye.html

Bayobos, P. (2014). Why Pinoy Teleseryes will never upgrade to Hollywood level. Retrieved from http://www.8list.ph/reasons-why-pinoy-teleseryes-will-never-upgrade-to-hollywood-level/

Ceniza, C. (2014). 10 drama cliches that makes watching Pinoy tv an utter joke. Retrieved from tenminutes.ph/10-drama-cliches-that-makes-watching-pinoy-tv-an-utter-joke/

Dela Cruz, K.(2012). ‘A nation of teleseryes’: PH netizens tag on emotional tag. Retrieved from http://news.abs-cbn.com/-depth/11/24/12/nation-teleseryes-ph-netizens-emotional-tag