Before we proceed, I would like to set some things.
First, let us define child abuse. As stated in Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC),
"States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child."Therefore any action that is physically, mentally, and sexually violent and a result of neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment, or exploitation shall be defined child abuse.
Let us now try to see with objective eyes what happened during the March 12, 2011 episode of Wiling Willie. This episode's Bigat10, one of the show's segments, featured talented children aged 6-10 years old.
Based on the several videos I have watched, these facts can be stated:
1. Jan-Jan performed the "Macho Dancer" dance six times during the episode prompted by Willie Revillame's signal (twice) and by the music alone (four times).
2. No adult in the show stopped him from performing the "Macho Dancer" dance except for Willie Revillame because this was required of him as he was the show's host.
3. When JanJan was dancing the first time, Willie Revillame cut the performance after less than a minute. Performances would usually last from 1 1/2 to 3 minutes unless Willie decides to cut it short.
4. The production staff who kept on playing the music that Jan-Jan danced to was not conspicuously instructed by Willie Revillame. The music played, except for that time when Jan-Jan was about to perform, without conspicuous cues from the host.
5. Jan-Jan started showing signs that he was about to cry after he said that his father "owns" a hair parlor and Willie Revillame clarified what Jan-Jan had just said.
6. Willie Revillame commented that JanJan's dance was like that of the Burlesk Queen character.
Looking at all the obvious, observable facts in the videos found in Youtube, it is clear that:
1. Willie Revillame's comment about the performance being similar to the dance of the Burlesk Queen character gave a different color to the performance of JanJan.
2. The child JanJan was never coerced in the video to perform the dance against his will.
Okay, let us straighten things out some more.
I know that as adults it is our job to guide the children to determine what are morally right and wrong and what are socially acceptable and unacceptable.
In my humble opinion, if there is something that we can accuse Willie Revillame of is that the comment he made was altogether foul and gave the unwholesome, vulgar color to the otherwise harmless performance of JanJan. This comment caused a ruckus in the audience and the television viewers.
We don't know if JanJan is aware or not of the connotation of the dance steps he performed on national television. We don't know if he knows that these dance steps are vulgar.
If he does not know this, then we might have just ruined more the child's innocence. After all, to the child, what he at least knows is that he is just performing to an audience who cheered him on for his dancing skills and not because of the vulgar connotation of the dance steps he performed.
Sometimes, we have to think twice before we act on certain things such as this. How much will it affect the child? What will his parents say if JanJan asks, "Tay, Nay, ano po yung macho dancer?" What now do we tell our children whenever they perform other steps which are, to our adult, corrupt eyes, vulgar?
We have truly just abused these children even before they get to understand the world when they are ready to accept these new knowledge.
You can check out the following videos and share your comments on my post here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4AOdpWU6w0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jmLgn2tCNo
Everyone in the audience who laughed AT THE CHILD and not with the child, the host, the production staff that kept on playing the music to make the child dance more, the auditioning staff WHO ARE AWARE of the child's requisite talent, and the parents who taught him the dance and encouraged it to be done sans crying and the ones watching the TV who cheered and clapped at the ludicrous display of mainstream ABUSE... are all guilty of this ignorance. The mantle of shame is upon OUR culture that has brought to fore this pornographic display of misery which has gone as far as embedding it in a child's mind. OUR CULTURE needs to change.
ReplyDeleteIgnorance is never really bliss.
ReplyDelete