Friday, August 19, 2011
Trusting the audience
So that's how being a spokesman to someone feels like. Imagine having to defend someone else's position regardless of your own opposition.
For really stubborn people like me, that is pretty hard to take. "Asian audiences can resist Western influence," are you kidding me?
But just like everything else, it is a matter of getting used to. You stare at the proposition long enough, go through it over and over again until you get the hang of it.
I remember thinking of examples to prove our position. All Serena and I could come up with are points for the other team. Then we got a little creative. :)
Thank God, it's over. :)
Speaking of getting creative, that's what the local media must do. As it is, the form is second-rate, the content is predictable. I'm guessing this is one of the reasons why western media is such a hit. It trusts its audiences more.
The last movie I saw was "Babae sa Septic Tank." The Eastwood cinema was full packed, and with people who are obviously satisfied. Every now and then, there are movies or television shows that offer a breath of fresh air. This every now and then has just got to be more constant. Local audiences are gonna get used to them after a while.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
"Speaking of getting creative, that's what the local media must do. As it is, the form is second-rate, the content is predictable. I'm guessing this is one of the reasons why western media is such a hit. It trusts its audiences more."
ReplyDeleteTRUE x200%!!! What I don't like about the local offerings, particularly in movies, is that it's always the same corny premise (especially in romance films). I used to watch Pinoy films in high school but the "sawa" factor kicked in soon.
I hate how the local producers of these mainstream films (I'm looking at you, Star Cinema) don't seem to respect me as an audience. I hate how they assume that we can't appreciate or maybe even understand more complicated scenarios and relate with dimensional characters. It's like they don't bother trying new things anymore. Anyway, nandyan naman yung "stars" nila to pull audiences in. Grrr.
Haha sorry nag-rant na :))
"Speaking of getting creative, that's what the local media must do. As it is, the form is second-rate, the content is predictable. I'm guessing this is one of the reasons why western media is such a hit. It trusts its audiences more. "
ReplyDeleteSo true! I find most Filipino shows and movies so cliche. I don't even bother watching them because in my head all of them are basically the same.
I think there's a lot of potential out there. I believe the Philippines has a lot of budding young artists who are eager to capture and share their views to the Filipino audience. I think the only thing really standing in the way is the issue of money. Movie producers and TV companies only go for the money makers. I hope one day they pay attention to other talents that have a voice and that can be truly influential and game changing. Until then, I suppose the rest of us will just have to wait and see.
Yeah, Icy, thank God it’s over! You guys really did kinda scare me! :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I haven’t seen “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank” but I heard nothing but praises about the movie. I remembered one point during our debate (it kinda hurts to look back, but what the hell, heheh) when we talked about Slumdog Millionaire. Like that Hollywood movie, I heard that “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank” is also a poverty porn.
I most definitely agree with your take on creativity and the inherent need for the local media to produce more creative content. I also find “poverty porn” a very interesting concept. I think a lot of indie films nowadays delve on the concept of selling our poverty to Cannes or Sundance or Oscars. Evidently, they achieve in doing so, because what could be more interesting to rich foreigners other than seeing the lifestyle of poor people?
Maybe we could say the idea of doing poverty porn could be a form of creativity – a “breath of fresh air” to snag our attentions from the ever-clichéd local romantic comedies. I only have one concern about it, we ought to stop frequently exploiting the wonders of poverty porn and come up with more ingenious ideas instead. :)
Lately, the trend that I’ve been noticing in movies is that the riskier ones actually do better. Audiences (myself included) look for novel concepts and presentations, and I’d like to think we enjoy challenges and depth in whatever content we encounter. One example of this kind of movie enthusiast for me would be Christoper Nolan. Inception was a mind boggling film, and a lot of audiences left the cinema scratching their heads over some parts of the film. But those questions and the debates encouraged by the uncertainties he left behind (while still backed by a solid premise) are exactly what made it a brilliant movie for me. Even superhero movies are taken to a new level now (again I would cite the Nolan’s Batman trilogy). So, I completely agree that given the developments in and sheer magnitude of the movie industries (local or foreign), they need to raise the bar with every offering so they can differentiate themselves, and it is crucial that they recognize audiences as capable of appreciating and even challenging the films. Trust works both ways – they need to trust audiences if they want audiences to trust and pick them.
ReplyDeleteI agree as you said speaking of getting creative, that's what the local media must do. As it is, the form is second-rate, the content is predictable. I'm guessing this is one of the reasons why western media is such a hit. It trusts its audiences more.
ReplyDeleteTherefore, we must learn how western media to build a trust of audience effectively. And this way we can use also to build confidence of audience through the eastern media.
Like Serena I'm also into movies that are fresh, up-to-date and are of significant relevance. The movie Wall-E for instance was somehow interesting to watch. Who would ever knew that the first 30-40 minutes of film only consists of sounds and gestures? Love affair between two robots (or vacuum cleaners, haha)? And has a nice touch on ecological undertone?
ReplyDeleteI once read that Pixar make such good movies because the investment is crucial that's why they tend to exceed both in storylines and graphics. True enough they survived knowing these elements are essential in having good sound reputation and live in the long run.
I concur that movie makers should raise the standards of film making if they want to survive in the ever changing landscape of media technology.
-MJ Ramos
I couldn't agree more with everything you said, Icy! :) Local media should really stop underestimating its audience. Like what Serena and MJ said, movies that have thought-provoking concepts are now proven to have the capacity to be a hit. People not just want to be entertained. We also want our minds to be challenged. That is why I also hope that our local producers and film productions realize this. I already saw Ang Babae Sa Septic Tank, and thank goodness for this breath of fresh air in our local cinema :D
ReplyDelete