AS AN entertainment reporter in Manila in the 1970s, I remember the stiff competition that Filipino movie stars were giving their Hollywood counterparts. Tony Ferrer as Agent X-44 was as popular as Sean “James Bond” Connery. Divina Valencia and Stella Suarez flourished in the sex genre. Nora Aunor and Tirso Cruz III on one hand, and Vilma Santos and Edgar Mortis on the other, were the most-mobbed teenage “love birds.”
It’s a completely strange niche that Filipino movies now occupy. All it takes is a visit to the cinema theaters in the malls to realize how hard-pressed it is to find a Filipino movie being shown. Scan the titles and they’re mostly Hollywood blockbusters, with a sprinkling of European and Asian films. It’s no longer uncommon to see Pinoy films with English titles.
Today’s generation, I am sure, would like to see a bird’s eye view how it was in our childhood days.
The 1950s and ‘60s were the golden decades for the Philippine movie industry. The major studios like Sampaguita Pictures, Premier Productions and LVN were bursting at the seams with star talents, while fans seemed to have an insatiable appetite for drama and comedy. Dolphy and Panchito were already tickling us to laughter in those decades.
But it seemed that there were always forces that conspired to clip the wings of this nascent industry and prevent it from ever soaring. First, there was the United States whose Hollywood culture pervaded every facet of Philippine Society, showcasing the best-of-the-best movies. The most any Filipino movie could ever hope to rate was as copycat.
The second reason the Philippine movie industry was doomed from the start was the highly stratified Philippine society. The rich and well-off, including the middle class, never really patronized the local movie industry. Thus box-office receipts came mostly from those in the lower strata of society – the so-called “bakya crowd” who enjoyed Tagalog movies.
Third, because the movie industry had to cater to the tastes and standards of the “bakya crowd,” the quality and content of its products reflected that bias. Storylines were unimaginative and predictable, comedy was slapstick, and the acting was either mediocre or overly dramatic.
Fourth, since the late ‘70s, the industry has become a magnet for all sorts of unsavory characters – pimps, gangsters, cross-dressing homosexuals, and the like – further diminishing its chances of gaining acceptance from the more respectable segments of society.
Lastly, much of the industry’s bad practices in those days have now exacted their toll. Most Filipino movies today are cranked out within one month, with a predictable mixture of comedy, sex, drama and star-value so as to do well at the box-office. Producers are averse to innovation or risk taking.
But of course, there are serious movies today, the “indie films” that do not win the commercial patronage they deserve. They have to win awards to gain public attention and regain ROI (return on investment).
The “bakya crowd” has become so poor they could no longer afford a movie ticket, now costing more or less two hundred pesos. And so they content themselves with old or free movies on TV and on websites.
Add to that the proliferation of cheap pirated movie DVDs that sell like hotcakes. It is no surprise then that this industry is dying. Will it be born again? (hvego31@gmail.com/PN)
