The Philippines and the Global Flow of Media Products

Cabahug, Eugel
Ortiz, Levi
Patalinjug, Shaila
Peñas, Kristina Marian
Rivera, Jireh Mae A.

Schedule: MWF 8:30-9:30 GR446 MC

Mediascape is the flow of media products between nations participating in

the trade. It is the "distribution of the electronic capabilities to produce and

disseminate information".

Mediascape describes the way that visual imagery impacts the world. Such

imagery comes from books, magazines, television, cinema, and, above all,

advertising that can directly impact the landscape and also subtly influence, through

persuasive techniques and an increasingly pervasive presence, the way that people

perceive reality.

Looking at the media consumption trend, Philippine mass media operate on a

commercial, free-enterprise system. It is dependent on advertising revenue and

entertainment-oriented programs. The media are generally free from government

control, but can face pressure from business and political interests.

Television (81%) and radio (65%) are the most popular media; with TV as

the main source of information. Mobile phones are also popular and the use of SMS

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is widespread. The Philippines is the “text capital of the world” with a mobile phone

penetration of 103%.

Broadsheets are popular among policy and decision makers. In Mega Manila,

12 percent read broadsheets and a bigger 25 percent read tabloids. There is also

higher tabloid readership in National Urban areas, with broadsheet readership at

9.4 percent and readership for tabloids at 16.3 percent (2007 4As Media Factbook).

The Philippines is also one of the “heavy” social media users in the world

with (as of 2015) more than 47M Filipinos as Facebook users. The country toppe d

the 30 economies survey with an average of 3.7 hours spent in social media. The survey

involved people from 16-64 years old.

Appadurai suggests that the rapidness, sheer volume and scale of this scape

flow to the point that it has affected political cultures, more simply put, how people

live. There are four points that we would like to focus on to stress the effect of

mediascape that are quite true in relation to the Philippines.

In our day and age where everything and anything can be seen easily on

television, heard readily on radio, read quickly online or in print, it is no surprise

that people have a hard time differentiating between the realistic and the fictional

landscapes. People are made to believe what they see on television for instance, the

audiences find it difficult to separate reel from real. One perfect example would be

that of the love teams that are very popular in the Philippines today – AlDub.

Moreover, what the different actors and actresses portray in the television, Filipino

audience also desire to have or at least experience it for themselves, thereby

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affecting their lives and ultimately their political cultures as time passes. Such is the

formulation of the mediascape that Appadurai suggests to have created a

disjuncture and difference in the Global Cultural Economy.

Next to that, the competition posed by Hollywood to the local cinema

industry in the Philippines is literally out of control, which prompted an industry

analyst to wryly observe: “it (Hollywood) is bulldozing the local market”. Because of

this, the local cinema industry suffers from unreasonably high government taxation.

It leads to a limited production budget and time, making it virtually impossible for

locally produced movies to compete against Hollywood movies that are supported

by seemingly inexhaustible funds and distributed worldwide.

The “Hallyu” or the commonly known “Kpop Wave” has been really of great

influence in the Philippines. Most Filipinos make Korean culture as an inspiration to

their work in doing movies, music, art and more. In the past few years, a Filipino

movie entitled “Kimmy Dora” depicted the Korean culture in its story. Aside from

that, a number of Filipinotoda youths today are influenced by the Korean looks –

hairstyle and clothes preferences. In the field of dancing, many Filipino dancers are

blending their actions with the movements seen in kpop dances.

Lastly, advertisements and promotional campaigns such as WoW (World of

Wonders) and It’s More Fun in the Philippines has reached out a wider audience

across the globe through the advent of internet. Hence, it brought in more tourists

from North America and Europe. The rise of tourism has effectively brought new

income streams to mounta

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