The Other Side
Sikat, maaasahan, masipag, at magaling sumayaw.
Such descriptions are always present in your favorite reality shows. These words hype up or raise the stock of the show’s contestants in order for them to win over more fans. They appeal to a popular sensibility, and it is not surprising for promoters to throw around such catchphrases in an effort to raise certain individuals’ popularity.
Which is why I thought that several freshmen Sanggunian candidates were running to become the next housemates in Pinoy Big Brother.
A campaign video should at least attempt to explain a candidate’s platforms and plans to his or her constituents. What we saw during the recent freshmen elections, however, was the complete opposite. In the campaign ad of IBIG-Agila’s two freshmen SOM candidates, the candidates just danced and strutted around and put make-up on screen. If the goal of the video was to broaden students’ understanding of school politics, then I daresay it had miserably failed. The two candidates’ poor showing in the recent elections hopefully signaled to everyone involved in the video’s creation that they completely missed the point.
The party that commissioned the video should have at least taken its ideologies and principles into consideration. Had it failed to do even just that, then the least IBIG-Agila could’ve done was to take a look at the video before publication to see if the video met the party’s own standards.
The next group of people to take a look at is the production team in charge of creating the video. I will be the first to admit that Mustachio Productions is one of the more respected student prod firms and they have done brilliantly in some of their output. So, for them to miss the mark completely in the production of this video is beyond me. Could this be what the client wanted? Did people just want to enjoy the green screen? Still, as a production firm, it is their duty to know exactly what to do and what the point of the video should’ve been.
For the candidates, I’m not certain if the video was imposed on them. But regardless, this must be a rude awakening for them as they enter the realm of college politics. They have to realize how concrete and feasible ideas are given premium here over trivial fluff that has nothing to do with the job they’re aiming for.
All campaign materials are subject to Comelec approval before posting. Although I understand that they have no say in the content, it is also their duty along with the Sanggunian and all the upperclassmen involved to guide these freshmen on how to properly go about a campaign.
But perhaps this is precisely the problem of Ateneo politics. For this video to bypass so many people—who all failed to see the problem in it—is in itself a problem. This reflects the sorry state of the political culture in the Ateneo. This same culture boasts to be the breeding ground for future Philippine presidents—a disturbing reality.
But the situation has all the makings of a reality TV show. In order to win, all you have to do is care.
