Primetime Brain Drain

Primetime Brain Drain

(From FB post of Teddy Adarna on 03/24/2025)

Once upon a time in a nation rich in culture, heritage, and unpaid jeepney fares, there was a great people called the Filipinos. They were kind. Resilient. Musical. And now—thanks to mainstream media—chronically entertained and intellectually constipated.

It’s not your fault, kabayan. You didn’t choose this life. You just turned on the TV one lazy afternoon, and boom—“Ang Probinsyano: Year 17”. Next thing you know, you’re 42 years old, emotionally invested in Coco Martin’s 17th character arc, and you still don’t know what the minimum wage is.

Welcome to the Philippines, where the drama never ends and the news comes with dance numbers.

Teleserye Time Warp: Where Plot Lines Go to Reincarnate

How many times can one woman lose her memory, get kidnapped, become a nun, come back as her twin sister, and still find time to fall in love with the same man who caused all her problems in the first place?

Answer: Infinity.

Teleseryes don’t end. They just evolve like Pokémon with trauma.

Filipinos don’t even watch these shows anymore—we survive them. They are emotional marathons with no medals, just migraines. The formula is simple: one evil kontrabida, one innocent girl with tragic bangs, five slaps per episode, and a dramatic soundtrack playing during every bathroom scene.

Celebrities: National Currency of Distraction

Have you ever wondered what’s more important than inflation, education, or the crumbling MRT system?

Who Kathryn Bernardo unfollowed on Instagram.

Celebrities in the Philippines aren’t just famous. They’re divine beings. They cry on cue, endorse every possible product from shampoo to sardines, and break up in public like it’s a national emergency. 😂

We know their love lives, eating habits, zodiac signs—but couldn’t name one senator’s policy if it slapped us across the face.

The media will show a celebrity’s birthday in a mansion with twelve cakes, six dogs, and a baby gender reveal via drone—but won’t show you where your taxes went. Because that’s boring. And as we all know, thinking is bad for ratings.

Noontime Shows: Where Brain Cells Go to Play Dead

Let’s take a moment to honor the national institution that has shaped generations: the noontime variety show.

Where else can you witness:

 • A man in drag scream at grandmothers for prizes?

 • A random contestant win a refrigerator because she cried on cue?

 • A 12-minute commercial disguised as a love song?

It’s a fever dream wrapped in sequins.

There is a special kind of genius required to fill three hours of programming with games that go nowhere, jokes that offend everyone, and moral lessons wrapped in karaoke. That’s not TV—that’s performance art from another dimension.

The News: Fake Deep, Real Dumb

What happened to the news? Once a pillar of truth, now a glorified infotainment buffet.

Breaking news? More like breaking your will to live.

They’ll cover three politicians fighting like toddlers in Congress, followed by a segment on “Top 10 Cutest Celebrity Babies.” Somewhere in between, a poor barangay burned down—but who cares when Heart Evangelista just posted an #OOTD?

And don’t get me started on the anchors. Perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfectly useless questions.

“Ma’am, anong feeling niyo habang lumulubog yung bangka ninyo?”

Well, Karen, siguro hindi masaya?

We’re Not Entertained—We’re Trapped

Here’s the twist, folks: It’s not just about fun. It’s about forgetting.

For every hour you spend watching TV where rich people slap each other in mansions they didn’t pay taxes for, that’s an hour you didn’t spend asking real questions.

Like:

 • Why is education underfunded?

 • Why is the healthcare system a punchline?

 • Why does the traffic last longer than your last relationship?

Because questioning things is dangerous. Better to pacify the masses with “It’s Showtime,” a love team, and a new teleserye where the mother turns out to be the long-lost daughter of the evil twin who has amnesia but still sings.

Final Thought:

Mainstream media has mastered a dark art: turning national suffering into a musical number. They’ve weaponized kilig. They’ve industrialized chismis. They’ve made distraction a civic duty.

So before you sit down for another episode of “Batang Quiapo,” ask yourself: Am I being informed, or am I being sedated with glitter?

And if the answer is the latter—turn off the TV. Read a book. Question authority. Or at the very least, switch to NatGeo.

Because this country deserves citizens—not just fans

Source: [(18) Teddy Adarna - Primetime Brain Drain Once upon a time in a nation... | Facebook]