Only stupid people watch Pinoy Big Brother

It’s curious how, on one hand, the wokedom of ABS-CBN supporters and fandoms get all their panties twisted over toxicity and “gaslighting” and, on another, are all agush over the artificial goings-on in a reality TV show like Pinoy Big Brother.

PBB is cheap entertainment. It suckers young people who are starved for attention into acting like idiots in front of TV cameras to pique the voyeuristic impulses of the morons who tune in. There is no talent input into the show — only animals out for blood. It is the equivalent of a human sabong (cockfight). The human participants in this televised psychological bloodsport are primed for battle by their respective howling fans and placed in an environment conducive to eliciting the reptilian impulses that make for a good show.

PBB is also a cheap factory for lucrative Kapamilya celebrities. Counted amongst its products are famous personalities like Bianca Gonzalez and Kim Chiu. Both are indentured to ABS CBN to the tune of millions of pesos which means the corporation makes even more money off “talent” incubated in the PBB house. Despite the millions they are paid, these celebs seem to feel that they owe their whole being to the Corporation seeing how they used their personal brands (at great cost to their respective sanities) to campaign for the renewal of their employers’ franchise to broadcast.

The short of it is that while audiences get off on celebrity bad behaviour on PBB, the crooks at ABS-CBN laugh all the way to the bank. Indeed, the forced isolation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown is perfect for crooked programming like PBB. The show alone is testament to the hypocrisy of “activists” who put ABS-CBN on a holy pedestal and sing praises about how this corporation aims to be “in the service of the Filipino people”. The truth is, whatever “public service” ABS-CBN pretends to deliver to Filipinos is funded by the dishonest cash generated by shows like PBB.

Evidently, the business of broadcasting trash like PBB is a brilliant business model. The show virtually sells itself. On social media, one or another “influencer” issue commentary on events going on in the PBB “household” to signal virtue. Footage of an incident involving participant Justin Dizon treating fellow “housemate” Jie-Ann Armero, badly, for example, went viral as an outrage fad on social media and generated a lot of idiotic chatter. Much of this chatter was marked by social media personalities expressing outrage over Dizon’s behaviour. Not surprisingly, Dizon had, as of this writing, been “evicted” from the household after being voted out in the digital polls that are part of the PBB operating rhythm. This would most likely fuel even more online chatter as the usual who’s-who of virtue-signalling “wokes” exchange digital high-fives over social media.

Recall the rhetorical question issued by the famous Jedi warrior Obi Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness): Who’s the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him? Consider that much could be said about the crooked intent of reality TV shows like Pinoy Big Brother. Then consider how even more could be said of the idiots who watch it.

benign0

benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.