We hear Kris Aquino say “Kapamilya, deal or no deal?” countless times on TV, and probably, in just as many times as Kris Aquino says those words, we also hear our countrymen yell out “Wowowee!” I have nothing against game shows and variety shows. It is only that I have become very disturbed by what the Filipino people’s tolerance for these two shows say about the country and its people.

I have two points on this. One, I think the growing number of viewers and people applying to be studio contestants of these two shows is saddening. Well, maybe not for ABS-CBN, because that is what TV networks run on – ratings, lots of viewers and the like - but it is saddening because it tells us just how desperate our fellowmen are, and how our country is drowning in poverty. I specifically remember that one day when I strongly believed in this – the day the stampede at Ultra killed seventy-three. It was, to me, a big reality check. That big bunch fought to get into the Ultra, to get to see Willie Revillame, and most importantly, to win instant money. The Filipino people have become so desperate that they would jump at any chance – any instant chance – to get money. Two, I think the both of the hosts are not doing a very good job. I think they have both been wrapped and caught up in their “successes” as TV personalities that they have been transformed into arrogant celebrities. I do not know if TV producers and directors notice or they intently let foul remarks from the hosts pass. I know they are considered the higher end in our society, but that does not give them the right to deliberately, or unintentionally, imply discrimination in their field.

It is nice that most of the Filipinos have something to look forward to during their lunchbreaks and their evenings, but it is for what reason they are tuning-in that I worry.

I am a sucker for history and science. That is what got me watching this movie in the first place. I saw it a long time ago, but I was able to watch it again recently.

The movie is about a group of archaeologists on an expedition to find out what was in and what happened inside an ancient structure. They poke around at the artifacts and divide themselves into different parts of the building. Everything about their investigation started out well until they get stuck in the middle of a war between the aliens and the predators. They each die one by one, and only one survives when she teams up with one of the predators and they, together, get through war against the aliens.

“Whoever wins…We lose.” This is the tagline of the movie. The sole purpose of the tagline of each movie is to provide as much insight as possible about the film. In this case, I find it weird that the ending of the movie and the tagline do no match. The human race was caught in between the battle of the aliens and predators, but at some point in the movie, the human race teamed up with the predators. The human even used the saying “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” to be able to pick a side. I say, then, technically, only the aliens lost, because the human race won with the predators.

At some point in his or her life, a person dreams of becoming a superhero. I would like to be a regenerator or one that could be invisible if ever I was given the chance, but not being a superhero is great, too. Just like Grey’s Anatomy, I got my hands on some episodes of Heroes. It is a TV series that narrates a story of ordinary people discovering their extraordinary capabilities.

This TV series is a lot like X-Men because the “powers” were also caused by genetic mutation. Just like X-Men, I got really hooked in. In the ways I have mentioned, the series is like X-Men, but it also has some points that distinguish it from Wolverine’s world. In Heroes, superpowers or “mutants” as they call the supers in X-Men are not normal. In Heroes, it is not the time of the supers. Heroes shows us new superpowers. In the show, there is an artist who paints the future when he is high on drugs. There is a Japanese man who can control time and space, and then teleport himself wherever he wants. There is a policeman who can hear thoughts. There is even a woman whose reflection acts as a whole different person.

While watching the show, I find myself back in the “super” phase again. It reminds me of my childhood and it makes me wonder even more if the day of superpowers will ever come.

I used to think high school was tough. That, I mean, socially. My perspective on the tough crowds at school changed as I began to walk the corridors of the high school building. I realized that the term “tough crowd” only applies to other countries, but is most suited for the United States. How did I come to this judgment? Well, a lot of books, TV shows and teen movies have been feeding my mind with this, and I do not think I have ever seen a part of media that says otherwise.

John Tucker Must Die denotes the bitterness of three girlfriends – girlfriends of the same guy at school, cheated on all at the same time. They all find out the sad truth and then they ask a new student – who has witnessed the “cheating” on all three girlfriends – to get the guy hooked and break his heart, just like he did to the three. The new student agrees, and the guy falls for her – this time, it is real.

The movie sustained my interest throughout its duration, but there was one thing I hated about it: the ending. I thought the ending was horrible. You could say that maybe I am one who hopes for a happy ending, but even if I turnout to be otherwise, I would still say the ending was a mess. Sure, the guy agreed to change, and that was great until I found out what “change” meant to him exactly. He stopped lying to his girlfriends, but he still kept two at a time telling both girls that they are up for the same guy. John Tucker Must Die is a good enough teen movie, but for those that like happy endings, I do not think you would like this very much.

Nowadays, there are lots of TV programs you can watch about medicine, criminal investigations and such. I have gotten a hold of two seasons of one show I cannot get enough of, and that is, Grey’s Anatomy. It sheds some light on doctors, more specifically, surgeons, as people. Most of the time, patients see doctors as gods, and when their doctors prove to be human beings like them, they become disappointed and upset. The program shows how tough the medical field is, actually, tougher than it already looks. We are able to see how hard it is to balance the work for finding the cure for the illnesses of the patients, and the cure for the doctor’s own distractions.

You do not only learn millions of medical terms and procedures from watching the show, but you also learn lots of life’s lessons. Each operation, examination, successful surgery and bump on the medical road can easily be compared to real situations in life. Other than that, it also shows us the different kinds of people in our world in the characters of the interns, residents, attending surgeons, patients and their families.

I do not believe in the Third Person effect. I know the media is very influential and I admit that I have recently been falling weak for the media’s firm grip. I actually find myself wanting to be surgeon walking the corridors of Seattle Grace Hospital while watching the show. Here I see media taking control over me, but thankfully, I always remember to get my head out of the clouds and come back to reality. Media plays a big part in making us see reality. Although it often shows us what we have been missing in fantasy land, it also shows us what is real, in the same percent of the time it shows us fantasy.

My entries last quarter were mostly about photos. This quarter, I intend to shake the scene a bit.

We are known as the image culture. We use our eyes more than we do all our other senses when it comes to media. I will be using my eyes a lot this quarter when I watch movies and TV shows to write about in my media blog. That is one thing you need to know about defineaware this quarter. It will be all about what we see – movies, TV shows, ads, and the like. The second thing you need to know about my blog is that it will not be about jumbled topics. Expect a theme this quarter.

Our eyes are treasures. They make us see all the beauty and the color of the world, but could it also be that our eyes have been blinded by the negative influences in media? This is what I would like to find out this quarter.