Thursday, September 23, 2010

of glee, charice, and third world spite



It may be a little bit late writing now about the very first appearance of Charice in the second season premiere of the pop-culture hogging television series, Glee? But what’s not to write? The show about high school oddballs resuscitating a glee club that is led by a Spanish teacher simply attracts anyone’s attention—it begs for one.

If that isn’t compelling enough, a storyline that may not be as seamless as we want it to be but remains truthful to the human psyche, there are the outrageous and amusing musical numbers. In these dreary times, this is the breather we need.

And for Filipino viewers, the inclusion of the little girl with a big voice, Charice, makes the show even more watchable. Why? The 18-year-old Filipina, who goes by the name of “Sunshine Corazon” in the series, embodies one the most enduring life stories in history: the rags-to-riches tale.

For someone who is shunned by her own homeland—losing in what is ironically a talent show to a lesser skilled fellow with smooth moves and good looks, only receiving a collective sigh and modest cheers in numerable performances—her bagging this upward shot to fame in another country is well-deserved. (Of course, you know the story, so there’s no need diving into details).

It is a shame, really, that it is only now that most people come to acknowledge her, even praise her for what she has achieved, but do these same people even regarded that she would get this kind of success before? No, I don’t think so. (People’s eyes are glued on Pacquiao).

If yes, she should have won that talent competition by a wide margin, she should have signed an album deal the minute she was done with the said competition, she should have sung in line with the supposedly talented cookie-cutter performers in variety shows and not behind them, and lastly, if not for third world spite and excessive superficiality, she should have disregarded the thought of going under the needle to “soften her jaw-line.”

It seems to me that it is the majority of my fellow countrymen’s fault that Charice has made it big in the international scene. We disregarded and pushed her that she fell on her knees on American soil, until the universe conspired and made television icon Ellen Degeneres and then entertainment magnate Oprah Winfrey get her up on her feet.

Hah, the wheel has indeed turned!

Anyway, this is just something I have to share. Though many still think of the contrary, I believe this is not going to be another 15-minutes-kind-of-fame. With her undeniable talent, she will be staying. Even ahead of the rest who have once deemed her irrelevant.


3 comments:

Master Clutter said...

i really do hope that Charice will be here to stay-- so that she can shove her success to all her haters' face.

i just hate the idea that charice is not really fully embraced here in her own country. why can't they be proud of her?

anyway, i share your sentiments here. ^^

Roxy said...

I hear ya, I wasn't really interested in glee but when I heard about charice getting in the show, I started watching it ;P

Charice is a very talented young woman, she deserves the success she's having right now ;)

It is somewhat true that Filipinos kind of pushed her away... but just so you remember charice is not the only talented filipino singer in the philippines, I believe that we should appreciate and treat all of them equally because they all worked/working hard for their dreams and ambitions to be successful in the showbiz industry ;)

Nice Blog :P

Bullfrog said...

@Master Clutter: Why can't some embrace her? Let's just say that some people's judgments are clouded by mere aesthetic standards. (e.g. a singer should look like this... like that...)

@Roxy: That's true. You have a point there. And thanks for visiting.