ramblings, random musings, fascinations, rants, raves and revelations

Earlier, I was watching Wowowee with my good friend Ate Mabel. Willie Revillame and Roxanne, Janelle and sino nga yong isa? in tow, they have made bodies to girate to the Adoodoodoo, Ibukas mo at papasukin ko? [ I'm not sure of the titles ] like boneless uods [ worms - talaga namang walang bones diba? ].  You can see people in all smiles, clapping, singing, dancing, stomping like being freed from captivation. There were contestants of a Bikini Open in the audience, Senior Citizens, TFC's and a buch of retards [ *pun intended].

There was even a time that out of curiosity, I joined my Tita from Makati in her usual gala - mode sa studio. I enjoyed it, pero siyempre I was hiding most of the time sa camera. Mahirap na makita ng madla labas na ngalangala ko sa kakatawa [ he he he ].

For us, watching Wowowee can be very entertaining. The answers that some contestants give are quite absurd and amusing. For example:

What is the English of "sariwa?" The contestant's answer: "Thank You!"

Another one: "Sinong Michael ang kumanta ng kantang 'to?" Answer: Michael Learns [ the contestant was not only wrong, he also forgot the full name of the band Michael Learns to Rock ].

While certainly Wowowee can elicit laughter from all of us, given these amusing albeit stupid answers, the truth it shows is quite disturbing. One can say that what we have and what we see in Wowowee is a real example of our country's literacy and educational aptitude and competence.

We draw entertainment and laughter at what is actually real and depressing about our country. We laugh at the people who are unable to properly translate English to Tagalog or vice versa or know certain seemingly obvious facts.

Of course, this is not to say that other game shows do not have their fair share of amusing answers. We often hear funny answers as well from other shows such as Game Ka Na Ba or even the now gone The Weakest Link, this brings me to my next point: what makes Wowowee interesting, however, is the personality of its contestants.

There are contestants that hail from other parts of the country. Moreover, unlike other shows where its contestants are more or less economically well off, most of the people who play Wowowee are often from "poor communities." Some contestants even reveal certain events in their personal lives in the show.

Some of them say that they do not have enough money to pay for their kid's tuition. Some doesn't even have money to pay for their fare. I even remember a contestant suddenly showing doctor's prescriptions after she was just asked to introduce herself.

To these people, Wowowee then becomes a beacon of hope. They see in Wowowee something that they perhaps cannot see in other areas of society: an opportunity for them to make their lives better. People have turned to Wowowee to lift themselves from their personal state. They see in this show a source of salvation. To what extent has this idea gone? One can only look back and see what happened in ULTRA. [ I remember pinagawayan pa 'to ni Kuya Bong at Roan ].

Wowowee then continues to entertain us. We still draw laughter from the answers of some contestants just as we get entertainment from any other game show. But perhaps we can also remember that what we see in Wowowee is reality. We see people who do not possess the same educational and literate aptitude that most of us have and we often find that amusing. More so, we see a television show that has become the beacon of hope for so many desperate people who only wish to make their lives better. Is this good or bad? You be the judge.

*Haayyy... kawawa naman tayo.