0241A: Local Entertainment Blindness


I have never been able to get into local entertainment all that much. I maybe watch the odd indie movie here and there because of what friends tell me or media buzz around it. But on my own, I've never really felt a compelling reason to watch local TV or ask family to go see a particular movie. And so I rarely know what's going on in the local movie industry nor do I remember who is who and who does what.

This isn't about how good or bad the local entertainment industry and its creations are. It's just something that I have never really gotten into or fully appreciated for one reason or another. I'm sure that a big factor is my challenges with the language. I grew up struggling to understand and speak Filipino and so watching local stuff wasn't even an option for  me more often than not. So maybe that's part of why I am the way I am today - forever translating things I hear back into English so they make sense to me.

Then you have quirkier twists like how local movies and shows are not so easily streamed or downloaded, depending on your preference. The online world also favors Western content. I have no idea how one might possibly watch old local sitcoms like Abangan ang Susunod na Kabanata? since we didn't exactly develop a strong local video market for network shows. Our entertainment industry has made some interesting choices as well, I suppose.

I try to make an effort to watch more local stuff, but admittedly it's not easy. I don't really get most local attempts at comedy movies. Dramas tend to be overly dramatic and action movies seem formulaic and cheap. It's not a universal thing of course, there are some real gems out there. But more often than not I encounter shows and movies that just don't capture my interest or can't seem to maintain it.

Perhaps it's really more me than anything else, eh?


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