A HERITAGE OF CUTENESS

By: Ron Jacob Unabia It s always tempting to impute, unlikely virtues to the cute. -- PJ O Rourke, humorist.

Its better than action movies. Its better than those cringe-inducing crime shows (Think of SOCO or Case Unclosed). Its better than the tragic ephemeral sitcoms. Its better than risky adventure or travel documentaries. In short, its better than other genres any middling creative committee can devise.

What Im talking about is the present proliferation of television shows that featuregasp! cheesy and young love teams. I mean those JoshBies, JhaBeas, JuliElmos, KathNiels and other romantic duos who have made it big in the Romance genre.

These love teams have established broad iconography in the contemporary Pinoy pop culture everything from afternoon dramas, to primetime teleseryes, to blockbuster movies, to studio albums to showbiz talkshows, to urban billboards. They have invaded almost everything when it comes to entertainment. Gone are the days of the classic yet iconic tandems: Guy and Pip, Richard and Dawn, Romnick-Sheryl, Rico and Claudine, Jolina and Marvin etc. Almost everyonefrom plump 5 year-old kids to members of the working classesadmires them.

So how did it start?

This trend, I believe, started when GMA-7 launched a group of promising young stars wittily called as Tween Stars ( Tween, which I mistakenly thought as a contraction of the classic novelty song Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini). Then, ABS-CBN, instinctively followed suit with their second generation of Mara Clara stars, Kathryn Bernardo and Julia Montes, being paired from Albie Casio (who is now a teenage father) to Daniel Padilla (whose father starred in Mistah with the his late uncle Rustom) to Coco Martin (Isnt he too mature?). Since then, these major TV networks continued to experiment their versatility and, of course, chemistry.

When they came out, a certain craze swept the landscape of Philippine television. It was like Meteor Garden on acid. They were selling like pancakes. Suddenly, the likes of John Lloyd Cruz and Angel Locsin had to take the backseat. The creative committees of both ABS and GMA may have thought to strike while the iron is still hot: Hey, This is business. Lets give the people what they want!. We can only imagine.

So why are they famous?

Of course, we will not deviate from the fact that ours is an extremely visual race. We tend to idolize and glorify the people who look pleasing to our retinas. Its the same instinct that makes us have a crush or worse, fall in love with someone who looks like Phil Younghusband or Cristine Reyes even if we know at the back of our minds, that it is only infatuation.

Its also the same thing that makes us adore some good-looking celebrities even if theyre not that inclined when it comes to talents. But the reality is, on this day and age, there are no more rules to fame. Which is why we invented Starstrucks, Big Brothers, and those reality-search shows which exist for nothing but worthless fabrication of more showbiz transients. To be famous to a certain demographic, all you need is a terrifying degree of visibility and the sheer brazenness to act-like-youre-dying in front of the cameras.

These rising stars possess them all: the face and arguably the talent (take note: arguably). Thats the reason why we treat them as supehumans and faithfully follow them like saints. Example, if youre a die-hard fan of someone like Elmo Magalona, you cant help but watch all his shows and be awed by his genetic predisposition to rap, just like his intensely nationalistic father.

But again, in this day and age and on this side of the world, face value is the most important element of popularity. Forget the singing, the dancing, and other things that are synonymous (or related to) with talent.

But did it ever cross your mind that it might already be deeply rooted in our culture to admire artistas that are blessed with good looks?

I didnt grow up in the 80s but I know how Bagets dominated the Philippine Cinema. Yes, those were the days when wearing short pants and knee-high striped socks were considered fashionable. Such is their esteem that it even merited a sequel with the late Francis M. joining the gang. A revival was made by TV5 but it couldnt match the magnitude of popularity of the original.

Then there was Guwapings, a triumvirate that included the young and dusky Jomari Yllana, Mark Anthony Fernandez and Eric Fructuoso. They were one of the most celebrated Regal babies in the 90s. Their popularity is such that they even had their own movies Guwapings, D First Adventure and the sequel Guwapings Dos.

But how about cuties in teenybopper shows?

Im not an expert in the history of Philippine television so I dont have the proper intelligence to track down its roots. What registers in my memory is Ang TV. But its a gag showthe antecedent of Goin Bulilit ( thought it seems to be more of a descendant of Goin Bananas). But I do remember Tabing Ilogyou know, John Lloyd Cruz, Kaye Abad, Jodi Sta. Maria, Baron Geisler and others. But it presupposes the fact that I was not a fan of the showNo, not even Gimik. For at the time of their broadcast, I was still stuck in the ugly gossamer of innocence. And my only idea of entertainment was Cartoon Network.

In this industry, recognition and face value works in the same page, in which we already know. No matter how abysmally talentless some of our favorite celebrities are, we dont seem to bother. As long as their presence in our television frame still remains, we still patronize them. Sometimes, it even comes to a point of obsession. We let their likeness and their perennially smiling and attractive simulacra to be omnipresent, just like sunlight and oxygen. Gone were the days when the qualifications for an artista to forever be praised were talent, wisdom, and the willingness to continuously improve their craft. No, not in this era, where being gwapo and maganda already deserves a star in the Eastwood Walk of Fame.

But as mentioned, celebrities of today no longer need justification to be famous. But there are certainly expiration dates. Time will come when their fame hits the saturation point and everythingas in everythingwill vanish in thin air. Thats why some teenybopper stars in recent showbiz history are forced to reinvent themselves. They tend to take more daring roles, something like, no holds barred. Its because their cuteness, their appeal to the masses, had taken

its toll on them. And they later realize that the business that was once a haven for them is cruel. Very cruel.

Now that Tween Hearts had already ended and the Mara Clara stars are taking more mature roles in primetime, I heaved a heavy sigh of relief. At least they will now know that surviving in showbiz is beyond good looks and pa-tweetums. Soon, we will bid adieu to the pa-tweetum roles of Kathryn Bernardo, Julia Montes, Barbie Forteza, Bea Binene, Julie Anne San Jose, Elmo Magalona, Jhake Vargas, Joshua Dionisio, Enrique Gil, and Daniel Padilla.

But just as when we thought this trend is already nearing its end, here comes Jairus Aquino and Renz Valerio.