Soap in our eyes

It was 7:10 on a school night, and I was stuck in the horrendous traffic of Makati. So there I was, all annoyed and wanting to just get out of my car and walk (or jog) home to Quezon City. Why did traffic have to be so difficult today?! I shrieked. It could have been any other day, but nooooo! It was a weekday, for crying out loud! Why couldn’t the traffic have just waited for the weekend to worsen?

I was late, late, late. And I just had to be home. You know the feeling when you’re so frustrated that your emotions are boiling over and you just want to scream at the top of your lungs?

When I looked at my watch, it was already 7:30. I had just missed my first soap. Yup, you read that right. I desperately wanted to get home for my much-awaited soap operas. I was already terribly late for my seven o’ clock soap, but I still hoped to catch the 7:30 and 8:00 teleseryes.

Tough luck.

I got home at about 8:20, just managing to watch the last few scenes of the last of my soap operas. I was crushed.

Definitely, the Philippine boob tube has never been the same since we were bombarded by soap operas that have eventually become a part of our lives. Now don’t tell me you haven’t followed one, or even heard of one — be it Pangako Sa ‘Yo, Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin, Sa Dulo ng Walang Hanggan, Sana ay Ikaw na Nga, or even Marimar. You can’t ignore them even if you tried.

In the first place, soaps are roosting in primetime. How else can you compete with that? They have the most sought-after time slots. It’s the time when Filipino families gather around the television set or the dinner table where they watch these programs. This is the time when yuppies and parents get home from work, right after the rush hour. Right on time!

I remember my mom saying that her officemates rush home just to catch these soaps. Imagine dignified, hardworking office-goers hurrying home just to sit back, relax (?) to see Rosalinda and Fernando Jose kiss on the screen. It does happen, believe me. My brother once came home from work asking our helpers who Yna, Angelo, Adora and General were. He asked if they belonged to Sana Ay Ikaw Na Nga or Sa Puso Ko Iingatan Ka.

Wrong, of coure, but what could my brother do? He never had a knack for those things, anyway. But he did say his officemates were again talking about those characters in the office.

But see how even non-fans are now aware of these shows? It just goes to show that these types of shows have really caught us — hook, line and sinker.

And don’t think that it is only in the Philippines that soap operas have wreaked havoc. Remember the Young and the Restless or perhaps, the Bold and the Beautiful? And who could forget Marimar, Maria del Barrio, Rosalinda and Camila? Moreover, who could disregard the sexy Monica Brava or amusing and endearing Alicia in more recent skits?

Don’t get the impression that we just pirate the ideas from other countries and have foreign shows "Tagalized," we also had our Flordeluna, Ula and Mara Clara. After quite some time, Tagalized Spanish telenovelas were the "in" thing on prime time — remember the Thalia, a.k.a. Marimar, craze? Soon after, other Tagalized telenovelas sprouted like mushrooms. Thalia did not stop making waves with Marimar, but Maria la del Barrio was also aired here, then after quite some time, Rosalinda became the next best thing. For a time, Thalia was the "crush ng bayan," an icon among young girls and adolescent boys alike.

Then, local television stations produced their own teleseryes once again. There was Mula sa Puso, Esperanza, Ana Karenina and Saan Ka Man Naroroon.

What exactly do these shows have that attract the common tao? Filipinos love action. Filipinos savor controversies and intrigues. Filipinos just have to know what’s going on; something just has to happen. We feel bored, fidgety and impatient looking in the face of stagnancy. Chismis may be the word for this, but Filipinos really have a knack for thick plots — "spiderweb plots" that have many twists and turns; very puzzling and confounding. They are strangely satisfying for us.

Filipinos also love melodrama. Isn’t it true that for every soap opera there is a love angle? A love team (or even triangle) is probably one of the most, if not the most important, ingredient to an effective and potent soap opera. Indeed, love makes the world go round — and makes TV ratings higher and higher. The more controversial the love team or love story, the more viewers it draws. The lead character/s of the show/s just have to be hot items all through out.

Yes, soap operas have the tendency to present exaggerated situations and curious characters. But, that, at the same time is what makes these shows eternal hits — more worthy for public viewing and consumption. And even the most exaggerated story only plays up real life. Somewhere in the dramatic scenario, even if it doesn’t fit perfectly, the viewers will see a part of their problems and predicaments — a dash of their own lives in it. No matter how evil or saintly the character is, the viewer is likely to see a resemblance between him and this TV creation — no matter how slight. The audience will be able to relate to the story.

For a teleserye follower, missing one or two episodes means getting lost or waylaid in the story. Since the soap opera is aired every day, the viewer would surely want to indulge every day. The challenge to the production staff of the show is to continually add spice to the story, making sure every episode has something new and exciting to offer. This makes the story go by so quickly that it is hard for the viewer to follow once episodes are missed. This too, makes it a tedious task for the creative branch of the production to come up with new characters and new scenarios.

Just like in real life, one can never successfully avoid problems and life’s tough journey. It’s a bumpy route, but we just have to pass it, bump after bump. Not knowing when the end comes.

Some may think it is frivolous and outright shallow to watch these telenovelas, but hey, it’s still entertainment. And how they make us laugh, and cry! And how they make us loathe the scoundrel, villain or villainess just as the lead character does, or even more. One character actress who played villainess once shared that when she was in the mall one time, her hair was pulled and she was tapped a bit too hardly with an umbrella by people just because she played the rouge in a soap opera. Oh, how Filipinos get too caught up in the TV shows that they even internalize how the lead character must’ve been hurt or maltreated by the villainess!

While we’re at it, the antagonist has to have a particularly devious look. He or she is the tormentor, the enemy of the bida who is forever oppressed. Haven’t you noticed that the enemy usually holds a cigarette in hand and never smiles? Or if ever he or she does smile, it would be a wicked and scheming one. The antagonist archetype for the ladies is one who wears the nice clothes. She wears sexy lingerie to sleep and drinks red wine. She is made up all the time, looking fresh from the parlor always. She never appears fat or chubby, but always thin and sexy. For the men, the antagonist wears a grungy, mean look. Just like traditional leading men or action stars, he owns a leather jacket. He is not chubby or old. He has a pistol around his waist! He oftentimes wears sunglasses, too. And he is usually wealthy. The lead characters are usually conservative. They look squeaky clean and wear ordinary, common clothes. The lead character is the one who gets maltreated by the antagonist. Funny how the characters are either black or white. Good or bad. No in betweens or grays here. It’s either you are the exploited or the one who exploits. But of course, things have changed in the modern telenovelas. These days, the terror that the aggressor sows comes from hi-tech explosives and highly scheming plots (at least sometimes). The bad guys are presented as completely heartless and cruel.

One more familiar theme in soap operas is the rags-to-riches and princess-to-pauper stories. The rich fall from grace and the pauper usually gets rich, not to mention the last laugh. It’s a bit weird because things can happen so suddenly.

For every soap opera there is one heartless character who is beyond remorse and seeking vengeance seems to be really important. The slaps on the face plus hair pulling are a must. Fight scenes in the pool or underwater is a must as well. Cliché scenes include walking on the beach (for lovers) and gun fights in car chases involving goons and the good guys.

In telenovelas, the language used is more flowery and poetic than in real life. Somehow, the dialogue is much more colorful than the average conversation — even if the lead characters were young.

It is noticeable, too, that when the character is well off, his or her family name tends to sound Spanish like Villamiz, Montenegro, Buenavista and the like. The not-so rich use Filipino-sounding surnames such as Macaspac. The breakfast menu in Filipino TV shows has been noticeable, too. A family who is well to do would feast on the ubiquitous toasted bread, hotdogs and orange juice.

I had never been fond of soap operas until my cousins suggested I watch them with the reminder that these would be addictive. I tried watching recently, and soon enough... well, you know.

Give it a try — if you dare. But hey, you might see yourself in Monica Brava, Felicity, Amor Powers, Olga, Katherine, Benjie, Clarence or Angelo. At any rate, you will get to watch Filipino talent on TV. And if you miss it tonight? Don’t worry, there will still be Monday. Just avoid the rush hour.

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E-mail me at mayen_juico@angelfire.com.