Monday, January 8, 2007

Soap Operas

Do you like to watch soap operas or any series on TV? Soap operas or dramas can be very addictive. If you just sit down in front of the television for an hour and you get the story, you'll want to know what happens next. To know what will happen, you have to watch it again the next day, right? Yup, it is the same for me.

I used to watch ‘Yo Soy Betty, La Fea’ or 'I am Betty, the Ugly' a few years ago. It is a Spanish show and they spoke in Spanish. Gracias or muchas gracias were the first few Spanish words that I've learnt from watching the show. I also used to go to school the next day and discussed the show with my friends who watched it too. We used to laugh about Betty’s antics or what Armando or Patricia said to Betty. Betty is smart but physically unattractive as she wears big glasses and has unruly hair. She is also head over heels in love with her boss, Armando. Patricia is kind of like her enemy.

After the show ended, I never really followed any soaps anymore. But now, there is this Indonesian series called ‘Bawang Putih Bawang Merah’ shown on TV3. I watch it because my mom switches on the TV in the afternoons. She followed the story at first but got sick of it as Bawang Putih also known as Alya was always crying! I didn’t like her crying very much too. The cast of ‘Bawang Putih Bawang Merah’ are good-looking and their acting were mediocre but it can still grab the attention of the viewers. No wonder it is one of the popular shows in Indonesia. It won some Panasonic award or something; I’m not quite sure.

But I have this one and only one question. Why, oh why does Bawang Putih cry all the time??? Can’t she stand up for herself and fight against the evil Bawang Merah (Siska) and finish the problem for once and for all? And I’m tired of seeing Bawang Merah’s smug look on her face each time she makes Bawang Putih suffer. Okay, since I am so dissatisfied with the show, the question is why am I still watching it right? Hehe… Well, I don’t watch it every afternoon, only some.

Then there is also Alya’s fairy. She is like a guardian angel to Alya and I wish I had one too. Everybody would like a guardian angel too! Frankly, I think that Alya is still alive for the story to go on is because of the fairy who had helped her a thousand and one times. Without the fairy and Alya’s stupidity, there will be no Bawang Putih Bawang Merah show.

This drama is a modern version of the Malay folktale Bawang Putih Bawang Merah where Bawang Putih can sing beautifully and Bawang Merah has a horrible sounding voice. One day, the Sultan went out on a stroll and he heard beautiful singing. Then, I guess someone told him where the singer lived and he went to the house.

Well, Bawang Merah tried to persuade the Sultan that it was her who sang. The Sultan did not want to be fooled so he asked that the 2 sisters sang. Bawang Merah sang first. Oooh, how horrible she sounded! Next was the heroine, Bawang Putih’s turn. The Sultan fell in love with her at that moment. You know what happens next then. The Sultan and Bawang Putih got married and lived happily ever after.

10 comments:

  1. i thought in the malay folklore, bawang merah is the baik one, and bawang putih is the evil stepsister?

    did you watch the black and white movie? "buai, laju, laju..." hehehe...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Soap operas, I admit, are addictive stuff. Once, I got hook into a love story telenovela that I never I thought I'd become. Later, I'd regret how I wasted my time in front of the television. Right now, I made myself more productive by being online or do the extras. If I really wanted to relax, I rather read. Reading is relaxing for me...
    Thanx for sharing this, Jo :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. hahahah... you also watched yo soy betty, la fea last time? hhahaha... all my frens were crazy about that show. but betty still look okay after the makeover. not exactly pretty... coz she got big body frame. and i dun like armando la... yerrr...

    ReplyDelete
  4. To mudslinger:I also thought that Merah was the good one and Putih the bad one. Maybe there are 2 acceptable versions.When I checked Wikipedia, I read that there was this 1959 Malaysian musical where Latifah Omar was the good Putih and Umi Kalthom was the bad Putih. You can read more of the folktale here.

    To Dodong:Yeah, soap operas can be bad for you. It makes one neglect other things cos one have to watch it every single day just to follow the story. I think I'll discipline myself and maybe watch, like, only 2 or 3 times a week.

    To erlynda:Haha! The story is funny, that's why it's so popular. Betty looked much better after the makeover. Armando not bad la...ok only. :p Oh, so you watched it too la? hahaha!

    ReplyDelete
  5. LOL. I also watched Yo Soy Betty, La Fea when it was on tv for the 1st time. Very funny. I hate that Armando though. The other sweet blonde guy who was into Better was much better but his hair looked like a toupee. Hehe. Mostly I like Betty's chuckles and her colleagues.

    ReplyDelete
  6. There was another blond guy? Hmmm, I don't remember his character that much. In fact, I don't remember him at all! =) It was years ago. Yeah, Betty is actually a sweet gal with unfortunate looks. But, she did get the guy in the end. =D

    ReplyDelete
  7. hey, i'm just a random..
    i completely agree with ur thoughts on d show. i was at first intrigued by it as i'm a malay living overseas and am amazed at the craze that was this show in my recent visit to malaysia. so, i decided to obtain copies of episodes of the show. at first, i loved the fact they were all such eye-candy's~! but looks can only take the show so far. it has no substance; and really dumbs you down to its level if u continue 2 watch it~! it has made me ponder about so many things...in a negative way, too. so, alya is perceived as the smart one..apparently achieving higher academically than siska. SO WHY DOESN'T SHE THINK to fight for herself against oh-so-beneath-her-Siska, right? plus, i've never once seen her even look at a text book to study~! another thing, people in this show jump into conclusions so unbelievably quickly..such typical mentalities! eg. Ferdi is constantly so quick to deny Alya's confessions of the truth. Another point, sure, i get why ALya's father is hardly home, but doesn't he sense SOMETHING? if i were alya, i would've told him everything on a private conversation on d mobile where the evil ppl wouldn't track me down! LOL i can go on, but u get my point. sadly enough, i still watch it. maybe it's cos i like to have a break from western society once in a while..but that's the only reason! so there's my ramble for today..do excuse me now..~Suraya

    ReplyDelete
  8. Haha! Yeah, the actors and actresses definitely look extremely good in the show.

    I don't think Alya is smart at all. I think she's plain stupid and yeah, I never caught them studying even once! And her schoolbag looked light and empty. That was really fake.

    In fact, everything in the show is fake and it's as though the viewers are that dumb to believe what they can do. Is there anyone so stupid to hold a very private and confidential conversation in view of everyone? Can't they hide somewhere where NOBODY can ever find them?

    Thank God the show is over. There's a new, stupid show on, anyway. Ratapan Anak Tiri. It's just the same like Bawang Merah, Bawang Putih. Stupidity and slowness are the highlights of the show.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Haha aww I'm missing out on a new stupid show~! Gah there's my chance to critisize and laugh at yet another indo/malay show...Hmm perhaps i'm not missing out on too much by not having any malay-infused entertainment in my everyday life over here. But damn i like pointing at the judgmentalness, typicalities, social-status-consciousness, predictablity, b_tchy facial expressions, etc etc..despite the pointlessness in doing that lol ~Su

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hehe...it's fun right dissing such stupid shows? It's still a mystery to me as to why such shows are popular. Even my dad is following this Anak Tiri show!

    Yeah, I'm also sick of those facial expressions be it stupid or triumphant ones.

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are appreciated. Let me know you stopped by! :)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...