Cop show
Hitting a bit close to home?
PNP chief Director Oscar Albayalde is upset about “Ang Probinsyano.” (I have not watched a single episode of the series). Supposedly, the show’s continuing portrayal of policemen as brutal and corrupt leaves a lot to be de sired. At least from the PNP’s perspective.
The police response was, as seems to be the case when dealing with suspects, disproportionate. The chief first threatened legal action versus the producers. After public backlash, he backtracked saying all he wanted was a dialogue to convey his views.
Naturally, the backlash focused on many objectionable features to the very idea of filing legal action against a fictional show, including freedom of speech, thought control, propaganda-ism, and authoritarianism as well as, since it seems it needs repeating the mere fact that it’s fictional.
A dialogue was the next bubble floated by the chief. But that proposed dialogue, even though it seems milder and probably harmless, is objectionable.
Albayalde conveying displeasure while in a private dialogue with producers? Isn’t there a danger that whatever he says could be construed as a threat? Wouldn’t that constitute censorship?
Why can’t he just jot down notes, organize them into coherent points, and circulate it? That way, shared openly and without any attempts at secrecy, there would be less chance of being misconstrued.
What else can he say, anyway, that hasn’t been expressed? Will he suggest that the superiors in the force be depicted as decent humans instead of as ogres? Will he suggest the depiction of the force as squeaky clean and deserving of praise and adulation? Hero worship? (Well, that’s really what all of us citizens want, except that the force keeps disappointing us.)
All of those ideas, thought control. Censorship. And really, so far from reality, that ordinary citizens will suddenly realize they’re being force-fed another fantasy world.
The producers, writers, and actors of this show, and any for that matter should be free to express themselves and their ideas. That is the essence of our constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression. If they abuse their freedoms, there are mechanisms in place to address those abuses. But certainly, calling up the producers and asking for a dialogue is not one of those.
If the producers want to introduce a subplot where the cop becomes gay, why not? If they write his character to suddenly become a pimp or a drug runner, well, that’s been done before. If the cop is made to win a reality show and become a successful ramp and commercial model because of his physique and gorgeous good looks, well, hello Neil Perez, that’s based on real life.
If the cop is made to enter the flesh trade and start selling his body to lecherous clients... (Maybe not that. That’s my future award-winning novel plotline right there, so perhaps the show can steer away from that direction.)
My point is that it isn’t for representatives of the state to nix themes or plots of a television show, theater production, or speech. It isn’t for police to pitch ideas on how they want fictional characters to be portrayed.
Stick to doing a great job for the country, if that is how you feel you are performing. Keep running after bad guys. Persist in resisting corruptors. Stay the course in protecting the weak, the elderly, and the victims. And if the rest of the world agrees with your performance assessment, then they won’t believe a mere television show.
But of course, if ordinary people see it every day in their very real, ordinary lives, would you blame them if they believe what they’re watching on the boob tube?
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