Friday, February 23, 2007 Capillas: Shameless promos and more lousy pol ads By Stephen Capillas The Lowdown
FIRST of all, some shameless plugs: As I'm writing this, high school and college students are watching the Oscar nominated documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" at the SM City Cinema 1 and if you or anyone else don't have anything better to do today or tomorrow, better catch it while you still can.
The film showing sponsored by Xavier University High School Batch `89 in partnership with Mindanao Community Development Innovations, Inc. (MCDI), E. Pelaez Ranch, Inc., Mapawa Nature Park Corp. and Duka Bay Resort, Inc. features former US Vice-President Al Gore narrating the ill effects of global warming on the world scene.
Organizers earlier assured that Xavier University, Liceo de Cagayan University, Corpus Christi School and the Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School committed to send their high school and college students to watch the Oscar-nominated documentary.
The film runs until tomorrow so make this movie a must-see for you, your family and friends. At the risk of sounding like a televangelist, I'm saying that if this movie doesn't change you at least it'll improve your perspective on the environment by a few notches.
For ticket sales and reservations, call Ms. Liberty Rajal at telephone numbers 857-2660 or 8572730. Look to this paper's Billboard section for more details.
Second promo for today is the "West Side Story" musical to be staged at the Rodelsa Hall in Liceo de Cagayan University at 7:15 p.m. tonight. Sure it does compete for public attention with the Apo Hiking Society concert in Limketkai Atrium--though it is scheduled later at 8:00 p.m.--but for the sake of local theater promotion and the benefit of the school's Safer River, Life Saver Fondation. If you can spare the time, please catch the show as staged by the actors handled by director Benjie Diola.
For ticket inquiries call Grace at 8584093-95, local 107. Final promo for today is the march rally by Cagayan de Oro media in protest against the death of Mindanao journalist and Lightning Courier editor Hernani Pastolero and the other media practitioners who've been slain since the assumption of President Arroyo in power.
Methinks the convergence point is at the usual City Kiosk area in Divisoria. This corner is urging fellow media practitioners to join in solidarity in this event if only to denounce the continued inaction and inutility of the Arroyo administration in ending the violence not only against the Filipino media but also militant members.
Now that everything's been laid out, let's get on with the show.
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Okay we've nearly had our fill of political advertisements from the candidates in this year's elections and we've barely even reached the end of the first half of the election period.
But for purposes of entertainment and cleansing the palate, let's look at some of these campaign advertisements and retch now shall we?
Political advertisement No. 1: That seemingly innocent advertisement about the inequality of education among the country's youth until a child was approached by the "dancing lady" former Sen. Tessie Aquino Oreta.
Maybe she can teach the child the "Boom Tarat Tarat Zubiri" routine while she's at it and probably convince Kris or her husband James Yap to join in the campaign--that is if Tita Cory doesn't have anything to say about it.
Political advertisement No.2: The so-called "People's Dragon" Sen. Joker Arroyo ad which uncannily reminds us of the "Dragon Katol (mosquito coil)" commercial being showed in the noontime program Eat Bulaga.
You know, the one which shows a white American cowboy talking about "Dragon Katol" and how it's supposed to ensure that the "lamok (is) siguradong tepok (mosquito good as dead), " the latter word pronounced by the cowboy as "TAY-POK."
The similarity to the "Katol" commercial is reinforced by the breathing fire dragon image played out in the ad and the tagline "pag-bad ka lagot ka! (If you're bad, you're dead). What is he, a senator running for re-election or somebody's idea of Jack the Ripper?
Political advertisement No. 3: Okay, so House Minority Floor Leader Francis Escudero owns what looks to be at the very least a snazzy political commercial propelled by hard-driving rock music to greet the public with.
But anyone familiar with the group Sandwich's song "Sugod (Onward)" will tell you it's a ripoff. Bad si Escudero, he may not even pay royalty to Sandwich for the song and the same thing goes with Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri for "Boom Tarat Tarat."
Let's not even mention Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay's ad, it's not worth commenting on.
Really if all of these candidates want to make a good political commercial they need not look further than the "Nation" paint advertisements which showed a disembodied female voice berating two obviously stupid men for trying to spoil a beautifully painted high wall either by urinating or placing a political poster on its surface.
That "Nation" paint commercial may just as well serve as a reminder for politicians and other candidates not to pollute our wall--in this case the national airwaves and print media--with their half-baked, half-assed and poorly conceived political commercials.
Let's do ourselves a favor and turn off or switch to cable whenever we see their bright faces on TV or radio. Let's not waste time plastering their faces with their commercials--airtime is so expensive these days.
For questions and comments please send to sunspot12002@yahoo.com or warpath1232@yahoo.com.
