Readers weigh in with favorable comments, acerbic reactions

GAIRANOD. Just telling it like it is.

Thanks to our readers for completing the communication process by reacting to some of our articles in this space. We particularly appreciate the favorable comments on our review of “Ilustrado.”

Some readers agree that GMA’s next “heroic” teleserye could (should?) be on Ninoy and Cory Aquino.

Thanks, too, for all of the “happy” feedback on our “Christmas Is A Frisky, Warm Puppy” story for young readers. Yes, we agree that young Filipinos don’t get to read enough age-appropriate stories, so our annual Yuletide tales are our way (with our cowriters) of helping make up for that slack.

As for queries about a compilation of the best of Saturday Special’s Yuletide stories, we are coming out with such a book in time for Christmas 2015.

On the other hand, not everything is sweetness and light as far as some readers’ more acerbic reactions go, like all the people who dissed our “subjective defense” of “The Voice Kids” winner, Lyca Gairanod. They felt that it was done at the unfair expense of some of the tilt’s other finalists, which was not our intention at all.

Also definitely downbeat were some readers’ reactions to our critical notes on Coco Martin, Kris Bernal, Alden Richards, Liza Soberano, Enrique Gil, etc.!

Clearly, we’re not going to win any popularity contest—but, all we can do is hope that our “tell it like it is” notes might eventually prod deficient actors to finally work hard to get their acts together—like Piolo Pascual did on “Hawak-Kamay,” to viewers’ great delight!

Back to positive mode: We’re happy to hear that our articles on colonial mentality and balanced TV programming (“Too Many Teleseryes” are being discussed in some classes. The first step is to acknowledge that those problems do exist (some still can’t see the forest for the trees). So, the more the issues are discussed in different fora, the closer we’ll get to mitigating them.

Quite a number of viewers here don’t think that entertainment products are important, because they’re made “just” to divert viewers and help them pleasurably pass the time. But, many sociologists and psychologists disagree, pointing out that the subliminal effects of the shows and films we watch cannot be gainsaid—precisely because they’re (powerfully) subliminal.

In a country where stars are elected to the Senate and the presidency, the entertainment industry’s power to influence and persuade shouldn’t be pooh-poohed away!