The shutdown that triggered everyone
If you're not from around here, you probably are not aware about the shutdown of one of the major television networks here in the Philippines. The shutdown triggered a lot of emotions from the Filipinos. Some angered, some were ecstatic, some were just sad that they won't be able to watch their favorite TV shows. As for me, I just watch the drama (and the comedy that comes along with it) unfold. And unfold it did.
First I saw were photos of the station's actors and actresses, maybe other staff too that worked behind the scenes, posing with their closed fists resting on their chest, with a sad face (or maybe that's angry face, I can't really tell.) Then, there were actors that posted their video reaction or plea regarding the station closure. There were two that I saw. But there's one that stood out the most.
The video reactions
This actress' video became the most sensational videos for the last couple of days because of the somewhat confusing line of thoughts in her statement. If you search "bawal lumabas" on google, you'll find a lot of video clips about it. I'd rather not talk about it because that's not really the gist of this post. I thought that she just lacked the articulation. Maybe she was on to something, she just wasn't able to express herself.
What I'd like to talk about is how she (or her talent manager) reacted on the negative feedback and reactions that her video received. She was bashed and bullied on social media. There were talented people that made efforts in making fun of her by making a song out of her statement. They even brought it to the next level, there are reggae, jazz, acoustic versions. There were some who made it into a dance video and tiktok clips. There are still others who edited the video to make it look like they're talking to her.
If you come to think of it, how will this girl get out of this? Everywhere she goes, people are making fun of her. How will she recover. Remember, she's already feeling low because her source of income has been shutdown. And now, this. I agree, all these were hilarious. But we don't really know how she feels about it. Other than she did react on her video saying that she too did not understand what she was saying. To me, all these videos and clips are going a bit too far already.
A Positive way to react to a negative reaction
But just today, I found a video still making fun of the confusing statement. Only this time, it was her. What a very clever way to stop people from making fun of you, than to make fun of yourself, right? People made videos about her, she took it to yet another level. She made an official music video, made an entire new song out of it. I'm not a fan of the music video, I just like they way they counteracted.
In doing so, she took their fun. And not only that, she will most likely earn from it. Haha! Who's laughing now? She just hit two birds with one stone. Her manager surely is a great strategist. Truly, you should not fight fire with fire, otherwise people will get burned. I got that from the movie Spies in Disguise.
In the showbiz industry (not that I'm in it to know this), bashers will always be in the package of fame. How you react to them will make or break you. Trolls will always be out there. Taking any chance they can get to let people down. It is up to the celebrity (or their manager) to use this to their advantage.
An epic comeback, indeed
Kudos to whoever came up with the idea of that song and music video. It's an epic comeback, yes it is. The lyrics though aren't that well crafted in my opinion, maybe they were rushing to strike the iron while it's still hot. But it's a pop song (I think it is) so it will surely creep into your mind, making you sing it over and over and over again (at least according to the Trolls World Tour movie). They say the only way to make that endless loop of song playing in your head is to sing the entire song. So good luck.
I still think the actress needs to take a course or two about articulation and public speech though. She has a beautiful heart, (at least according to the photos I see of her helping the needy during this pandemic) I hope she also takes the time to train herself more in public speaking. Or at least in expressing her thoughts.