Emotions for sale
Emotions for sale
Updated 01:20am (Mla time) Nov 17, 2004
By Michael Tan
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the November 17, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE STORY is now well known. A 12-year-old Filipina named Faye allegedly won honors for the Philippines in two international scholastic competitions but had received no recognition or support from Filipinos, even after she and her mother were robbed in Australia. The article contrasted Faye's situation with the celebrity status bestowed on Jasmine Trias, the Filipino-American runner-up in an "American Idol" competition.
I first got the story last Oct. 31 through an e-mail, entitled "Misplaced Priorities Can Mislead a Nation," but decided not to feature it because I had serious doubts about its authenticity. My reservations arose partly from my instincts as a mass media person, and partly as an anthropologist with a special interest in what we call urban folklore, concocted stories or rumors that gain wide currency until it is accepted as the truth. I was particularly suspicious about the international competitions: while such events would probably have received less attention than "American Idol," they would still have caught the mass media's attention. Moreover, the long chain of mishaps, one following the other, that Faye and her mother met just seemed too fantastic, a typical characteristic of the many urban myths circulating.
Now the whole affair has been exposed as a hoax, leaving a very embarrassed Bread of Life Ministries (BOLM) which had been largely instrumental in publicizing the case. But I have great respect for BOLM and join them in their appeal to the public to be more forgiving and understanding, especially now that we know the mother was going through an emotional upheaval. Moreover, I did want to react to comments to the effect that this could happen only in the Philippines and that we are a nation of con artists and gullible victims.
Tearjerkers
Such scams, if I may use a strong term, are common throughout the world, an inevitable product of our times. As early as the 1950s, Western social scientists have been writing about how, in our modern times, emotions have been commodified, turned into "objects" that can be bought and sold. In this 21st century, with cell phones and the Internet, the market for these commodified emotions will expand even more rapidly.
This phenomenon is closely tied to the development of capitalism with its need to sell its mass-produced products. To do this, they realized effective advertising needed to appeal to people's emotions. Later, business people realized the potential not just in using emotions to sell products but to market emotions as well.
Emotions are a different sort of commodity. They're commodified partly because business people know that people enjoy a good laugh, or a good cry. Print and broadcast media thrive on the selling of these emotions as they are built into news and feature articles (yes, including opinion columns), sitcoms and the many soap operas, as well as in movies.
All these shows' ratings thrive on the human need for vicarious pleasures, meaning we share in the emotions depicted in media. We watch the latest episode in a soap opera and cry our hearts out. We join long lines to catch the latest horror film, whether it is "Feng Shui" or "Nightmare on Elm Street Part VI." And, wonder of wonders, we actually feel better after a good cry, or a good scream.
Reality shows are only the latest developments in this need for vicarious emotional pleasures, the intensity of the emotions heightened by our knowing that we're not just watching actors. We hold our breath watching "Fear Factor" as someone is lowered into a glass box with icy-cold water and given a minute to escape. We retch like contestants do when they try to eat as many cockroaches as possible in three minutes. And again, we feel good from feeling awful!
Reality or fantasy?
When we go through a particularly trying period in our lives, when nothing seems to go right after a partner's betrayal, a job demotion or a floundering business, a problem child -- all happening at the same time -- we joke about how we should write about it and turn it into a “telenovela” [TV soap].
It seems Faye and her mother were also grappling with one tragedy after another and, in response, spun this tearjerker for public consumption. Whether for money or for attention or for both, the point is that they knew their story would sell. It was reality TV gone awry.
For an emotion to sell, or to sell something, it needs to be anchored on reality. The story of Faye and her mother appealed because it tapped into the public's own frustrations with a government that is indeed lacking in priorities, with a society that does give singers and actors greater recognition than bright kids and scientists. There are so many other themes in the story reflecting our convoluted angst, for example, how Faye supposedly beat Germany and the United States. Wow, a Filipino beating these giants -- it makes a good feeling at a time when so many Filipinos slave away in those countries as service workers.
Faye's story warns us about the pitfalls of playing with people's emotions. Cause-oriented organizations, charity groups and religious groups have to be particularly careful because they, too, tap into this commodification as well with their press releases, solicitation letters and even homilies and sermons.
Perhaps the story of Faye can be transformed into a modern day parable. There are lessons to be learned here, of why we wanted so badly to believe the story, amid growing cynicism, despair and misplaced priorities. At the same time, the story should be there to remind us to be more vigilant about how emotions can be too easily exploited, sacrificing truth and reason.
Remembering 1904
This last section has nothing to do with the Faye story. I want to promote an event organized by the University of the Philippines (UP) in Baguio City to commemorate the centennial of the St. Louis Exposition. That exposition included a Philippine Reservation where 1,100 "primitive savages" were imported from the Philippines for exhibition, all to justify the US colonial experiment in the Philippines.
UP Baguio's "Revisiting the Fair: A 21st Century Look at the 1904 St. Louis Fair" will be held on Nov. 18 and 19 at the campus' Bulwagang Juan Luna, with lectures from several historians and social scientists, including Raymundo Rovillos, Oscar Campomanes, Stephen Totanes, June Prill-Brett, Patricia Afable, Deirdre McKay, Padmapani Perez and Antonio Buangan, a descendant of one of those who were exhibited in the States and never returned home.
Three films will be shown: "Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs and Empire," "A World on Display" and "Bontoc Eulogy."
For more information call Marlon or Bryan at the Cordillera Studies Center 442-5794 or e-mail cac@upb.edu.ph.
Updated 01:20am (Mla time) Nov 17, 2004
By Michael Tan
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the November 17, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
THE STORY is now well known. A 12-year-old Filipina named Faye allegedly won honors for the Philippines in two international scholastic competitions but had received no recognition or support from Filipinos, even after she and her mother were robbed in Australia. The article contrasted Faye's situation with the celebrity status bestowed on Jasmine Trias, the Filipino-American runner-up in an "American Idol" competition.
I first got the story last Oct. 31 through an e-mail, entitled "Misplaced Priorities Can Mislead a Nation," but decided not to feature it because I had serious doubts about its authenticity. My reservations arose partly from my instincts as a mass media person, and partly as an anthropologist with a special interest in what we call urban folklore, concocted stories or rumors that gain wide currency until it is accepted as the truth. I was particularly suspicious about the international competitions: while such events would probably have received less attention than "American Idol," they would still have caught the mass media's attention. Moreover, the long chain of mishaps, one following the other, that Faye and her mother met just seemed too fantastic, a typical characteristic of the many urban myths circulating.
Now the whole affair has been exposed as a hoax, leaving a very embarrassed Bread of Life Ministries (BOLM) which had been largely instrumental in publicizing the case. But I have great respect for BOLM and join them in their appeal to the public to be more forgiving and understanding, especially now that we know the mother was going through an emotional upheaval. Moreover, I did want to react to comments to the effect that this could happen only in the Philippines and that we are a nation of con artists and gullible victims.
Tearjerkers
Such scams, if I may use a strong term, are common throughout the world, an inevitable product of our times. As early as the 1950s, Western social scientists have been writing about how, in our modern times, emotions have been commodified, turned into "objects" that can be bought and sold. In this 21st century, with cell phones and the Internet, the market for these commodified emotions will expand even more rapidly.
This phenomenon is closely tied to the development of capitalism with its need to sell its mass-produced products. To do this, they realized effective advertising needed to appeal to people's emotions. Later, business people realized the potential not just in using emotions to sell products but to market emotions as well.
Emotions are a different sort of commodity. They're commodified partly because business people know that people enjoy a good laugh, or a good cry. Print and broadcast media thrive on the selling of these emotions as they are built into news and feature articles (yes, including opinion columns), sitcoms and the many soap operas, as well as in movies.
All these shows' ratings thrive on the human need for vicarious pleasures, meaning we share in the emotions depicted in media. We watch the latest episode in a soap opera and cry our hearts out. We join long lines to catch the latest horror film, whether it is "Feng Shui" or "Nightmare on Elm Street Part VI." And, wonder of wonders, we actually feel better after a good cry, or a good scream.
Reality shows are only the latest developments in this need for vicarious emotional pleasures, the intensity of the emotions heightened by our knowing that we're not just watching actors. We hold our breath watching "Fear Factor" as someone is lowered into a glass box with icy-cold water and given a minute to escape. We retch like contestants do when they try to eat as many cockroaches as possible in three minutes. And again, we feel good from feeling awful!
Reality or fantasy?
When we go through a particularly trying period in our lives, when nothing seems to go right after a partner's betrayal, a job demotion or a floundering business, a problem child -- all happening at the same time -- we joke about how we should write about it and turn it into a “telenovela” [TV soap].
It seems Faye and her mother were also grappling with one tragedy after another and, in response, spun this tearjerker for public consumption. Whether for money or for attention or for both, the point is that they knew their story would sell. It was reality TV gone awry.
For an emotion to sell, or to sell something, it needs to be anchored on reality. The story of Faye and her mother appealed because it tapped into the public's own frustrations with a government that is indeed lacking in priorities, with a society that does give singers and actors greater recognition than bright kids and scientists. There are so many other themes in the story reflecting our convoluted angst, for example, how Faye supposedly beat Germany and the United States. Wow, a Filipino beating these giants -- it makes a good feeling at a time when so many Filipinos slave away in those countries as service workers.
Faye's story warns us about the pitfalls of playing with people's emotions. Cause-oriented organizations, charity groups and religious groups have to be particularly careful because they, too, tap into this commodification as well with their press releases, solicitation letters and even homilies and sermons.
Perhaps the story of Faye can be transformed into a modern day parable. There are lessons to be learned here, of why we wanted so badly to believe the story, amid growing cynicism, despair and misplaced priorities. At the same time, the story should be there to remind us to be more vigilant about how emotions can be too easily exploited, sacrificing truth and reason.
Remembering 1904
This last section has nothing to do with the Faye story. I want to promote an event organized by the University of the Philippines (UP) in Baguio City to commemorate the centennial of the St. Louis Exposition. That exposition included a Philippine Reservation where 1,100 "primitive savages" were imported from the Philippines for exhibition, all to justify the US colonial experiment in the Philippines.
UP Baguio's "Revisiting the Fair: A 21st Century Look at the 1904 St. Louis Fair" will be held on Nov. 18 and 19 at the campus' Bulwagang Juan Luna, with lectures from several historians and social scientists, including Raymundo Rovillos, Oscar Campomanes, Stephen Totanes, June Prill-Brett, Patricia Afable, Deirdre McKay, Padmapani Perez and Antonio Buangan, a descendant of one of those who were exhibited in the States and never returned home.
Three films will be shown: "Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs and Empire," "A World on Display" and "Bontoc Eulogy."
For more information call Marlon or Bryan at the Cordillera Studies Center 442-5794 or e-mail cac@upb.edu.ph.
posted by Dante at 3:50 PM
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