soap operas are the favorite pastime of many filipinos. they occupy up to four hours of primetime programming in the free channels: ABS-CBN and GMA. most of these programs are run-of-the-mill rehash of previous successes. or downright reruns. like the Darna series. every two or three years, another actress plays Darna. or the emergence of characters based on the 60s and 70s comics. in fairness to some writers, the storylines are great. however, if the story gets interesting enough, sponsors would want to extend the playing time. so instead of about three months programming, some could reach up to about six months. the story gets so chopped up, many forgot what the story was all about.
worse, is the typecasting. policemen always arrive in the crime scene too late. policemen get roughed up by rogues, or they get to be on somebody's payroll, or they do not know how to dress up or act like policemen. this has further eroded the public's trust in the policeman.
and priests, too. many are too mundane to be credible for priests. their role is that of any ordinary character. instead of portraying them as moral guides, they are painted as mere pawns in the melodramas.
the antagonists are so devious, so evil, so detestable. they do not have any ounce of goodness. and the protagonists are so virtuous, so masochistic. as if they enjoy suffering. they enjoy crying all the time. they enjoy being manhandled, slapped around.
as if the world is painted black and white. black equals evil, and white equals good. too simplistic for filipinos in the 21st century.
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