Deal or No Deal?

I’m very sure that every Filipino is familiar with this phrase, well actually that is not the only game show tagline that they know of. There’s “Game ka na ba?” where everyone even a 3 year-old child who hears someone saying it would instantly shout back “Game na!”. There’s “Pera o Bayong?”, “Laban o bawi?” or even the old-fashioned “Kwarta o Kahon” for the fickle-minded ones. These shows had been a part of our lunches since nineteen kopong-kopong and yes, it has been a part of our lives. So why do Filipinos like to watch these shows?
One afternoon after school I began to talk to our household help where she was telling me a story about a person who won a very big amount of money from her favorite noon time game show. She was telling me how funny the contestants were and how nice the program was. As the conversation went on I thought we were done with the game show and already talking about another topic and some other person whose name is Willie Fortune (I really thought it was the “lawyer”) but to my surprise it was still about the same show and the guy was actually Willie Revillame. She just thought his surname was Fortune because of the game segment “Willie of Fortune”. I couldn’t help but laugh. Just thinking about it makes me laugh and it still makes me laugh a little up to now. So in my quest to find an answer to why do Filipinos like watching those shows I ended up sitting comfortably on our sofa during weekends watching. Hahaha!
It was funny at first then, after sometime you’ll find yourself being frustrated on why the contestants weren’t able to answer such simple questions. Like translating simple Filipino phrases in English or solving basic mathematical problems. Hello RP education? Are we still alive or is it RIP for education? What happened to the 3rd world’s largest English speaking country? This trait has been our passport for international opportunity. On the other hand, if you think about it there is an enormous growth of the call center business in the country. Could we possibly say that Filipinos still have English proficiency? Looking though the files of my mother’s applicants for managerial position their essays could really trigger a major migraine because they really make a lot of grammatically incorrect statements such as my soul purpose in life is to be service to other, I have had became the breadwinner of all time for my family’s stake or I’m hard working and wiling to work hard, ok fine work as hard as you can! Seriously though, is this the way to impress a boss or a potential employer? Even in the internet there are messages being forwarded with funny boo-boos on pinoy-english. I do hope it will end soon.
Moving on, what’s with the game show? And why do people join? Well, winning one million isn’t that bad don’t you think? If you do get the jackpot you’ll be then dubbed as the instant millionaire. Your face will be on the newspapers and television you’ll get instant money, instant popularity and probably an instant target for kidnapping. Just like instant noodles, instant coffee, instant everything and let’s not forget instant kidney problem due to salt overload. I remember when my grandma used to cook pancit canton the traditional way for my birthday. It would take her an hour or so just to prepare all the ingredients and another hour for cooking. But I must say it is the best pancit in the entire universe (as if I had eaten pancit in Pluto or Neptune ). It is healthy and definitely worth waiting for.
Today, due to the emergence of a fast-paced life everything needs to be done in a blink of an eye. You have to be smart, you have to think fast and make decisions in a flash. And for some who finds it difficult to cope with the changing times, they just depend on their luck. Maybe one of the reasons why they join game shows. Believing in good luck makes some believe in feng shui, numerology, palm reading, card reading, face reading and all sorts of fortune telling. Some also believe that wearing Joy Lim’s™ charms and crystals would make them win the 4 million jackpot in Kapamilya, Deal or No Deal. Some celebrate Chinese New Year even if they’re not Chinese. Some buy whatever the feng shui experts say that will bring good luck. Just like my mom who recently bought 7 golden pigs now displayed in our receiving area. I’m sure others do that too because they also want to prosper in business like the Chinese. But I don’t think they just depend on luck. From my exposure to my mother’s line of work, businesses prosper because of hard work and commitment from people who work together to achieve one goal. It is more of thinking outside the box, searching for new products to sell and improving what they already have; knowing where to go and how to get there and also doing their best everyday. If people stop on complaining and start moving, I believe nothing is impossible. Probably you’ll say I’m still young and idealistic but I think the solution to all our problems are just very simple- a positive attitude and willingness to work hard. It will make us all instant millionaires in our own right. It will make us self-sufficient for life. Maybe then, we’ll not depend much on just winning in the game shows. Like an old quote I read from a book back in 2002 “No goal worth achieving is ever achieved by merely being smart. Every goal requires working hard- long hours, extra effort, more study and greater intensity of preparation”. Good luck or bad luck it will still depend on us.
We must realize that success will never come in an instant. Failures or disappointments may come our way but it will not last as long as we don’t give up. So discover your highest potential and see what you can do for yourself, your loved ones and the country. You can make a difference!

--> Published 2007 The Aesculapian Year-ender Issue