Gusto mo bang mag-artista? Why not?

How often do we hear that the Filipinos are a starstruck people? Let a movie artist pass by and in a minute, a crowd of fans or onlookers gather. Ask a Filipino child if he wants to become a movie artist and with a twinkle in his eyes, he would respond in the positive. Then, as now, a Filipino is a fan of this or that movie or recording artist. Truly, many movie and television personalities have become national figures. And what is more intriguing in our country is that the more controversial the movie star is, the more popular he or she becomes. Dismaying as it is, many of them are deliberately making some sort of notoriety to gain publicity even to the extent of destroying another's reputation.

So popular are movie stars that many of them are taking advantage of easy name recall as a passport to success in politics. The rise of former President Joseph Estrada to power is a testament to this fact. Though he fell from power courtesy of People Power II, he remains popular among the masses. Today many showbiz people, including media people, occupy elective positions from the vice-presidency down to city or municipal councils.

No doubt the entertainment industry plays an important role in the national development of the country. Not everything in showbusiness is gossip and controversy, for sure. Aside from providing jobs and taxes, it is a powerful medium of mass communication by which values and general worldviews are formed for better or for worse. Films, television shows, and songs reveal much of our consciousness as a nation. They portray our history and culture as a people. They capture our country's dreams and aspirations as well as our failures and foibles.

Not a few are claiming that the Philippine film industry is in decline. This could be attributed to the rampant piracy not only of Filipino movies but also foreign ones. Yet the television industry is on a roll. The two giants television stations are reaping billions of profits. It is in this medium that stars are now being built up and in the name of rating, another form of piracy is being done, that is, pirating stars from one station to another. Whether this is good or bad, no one can tell.

The rise of independently-produced films is a recent phenomenon. Popularly called indie films, they are produced with relatively low budget as compared to the commercially-produced movies. Yet they are not wanting quality-wise though they are directed by new or unknown directors and usually top-billed also by new stars. Some of them have won awards not only in local film festivals but also in the international arena.

Mga ilang trabaho na pwedeng pasukan sa showbiz:

• Artista
• Singer
• Direktor
• Writer
• Talent Manager
• Talent Supplier
• Cameraman
• Stillman
• Choreographer
• Makeup Artist
• Stuntman
• Production Designer
• Publicity Director
• extra

You may want to see List of Current Movies