MANILA, Philippines?When David Archuleta?s ?Dadiger? (dad-manager) was recently rapped for bearing down too severely on his ?American Idol? finalist son, show-oriented TV programs revived the always controversial issue of control-freak ?stage parents? for its latest airing?and spanking.
Excessively manipulative parent-managers are deemed ?dangerous? to their children?s physical and psychological health precisely because the talents involved are relatively defenseless and vulnerable minors.
As the flap over young Archuleta?s dad shows, the problem keeps rearing its pointy head in show business?for various reasons. Some stage parents are failed star-wannabes who try to realize their dreams through their children, especially when the kids themselves aren?t too keen on becoming performers.
It gets worse when some stage parents force their kids to become the family breadwinners, while Mommy and Daddy (not to mention Lolo and Kuya and Tita and cousin Bruno!) live the good life of pensionados.
Worst of all, some stage parents squander their kids? earnings, neglect their education and work them to the bone?even as the ?dependents? fatten up like porky pigs.
Mom-and-pop ?monsters?
IN our writing-directing-producing career, we?ve encountered some mom-and-pop ?monsters? who?ve shocked us with their blithe exploitation of their own flesh and blood.
A popular child star we once worked with tearfully confided to us that her fat-as-pigs family refused to allow her to stop playing kiddie roles, even if she was 13 years old and already had her period. They kept fobbing her off as a 10-year-old so she could keep making money for them.
Another unfortunate performer, only 14 years old at the time, was forced by her mother to audition for a rather sexy show we did, and we were shocked to see someone so obviously young being made to do so?by her own mother, at that. We put a stop to the ?sexy? audition and chided the girl?s mother. Years later, the 14-year-old did become a star, but she was already old enough to make up her own mind about the roles she chose to play.
Yet another adolescent talent we pity is a big name who has been forced to work too hard for a number of years, because her folks want her to maximize her income-generation potential ?while the show biz sun shines.? The tragedy is, the young talent used to have a fine singing voice, but her excessively rigorous work schedule and all those sleepless nights have ruined her vocal instrument, and made her stellar future decidedly dodgy.
The three young ?used, misused and abused? talents we?ve mentioned are all female?but this doesn?t mean that young male talents have an easy time of it. Quite a number of them are seduced or compelled to take the quick route to stardom by agreeing to become the ?boy toys? of power players or brokers in the biz.
Some people may say that this is OK because the young talents involved are male, so ?they will lose nothing? and ?isang paligo lang yan.? But, they?re grievously wrong, because the psychological effects of ?shacking up for stardom? are dire on the male psyche.
Bikini Showdown
CUBA Libre Bar recently staged the Fantasy Wear competition for Starmall?s Heatwave Bikini Showdown 2008.
Nine sexy ladies and 11 muscled men participated. The Bikini Showdown?s grand finals was held last night at Starmall Alabang.
?Damdaming Bayan?
?Damdaming Bayan,? the popular public affairs program which Joe Taruc has anchored over dzRH for many years, can now be seen on TV from Monday through Saturday, 7-9 a.m., over Channel 67?s RN Radyo Vision.
Karen Golfo joins ?Manong Joe? in discussing the hottest issues of the day in a light vein. RHTV Radyo Vision airs on cable channels under a partnership program of the Manila Broadcasting Company and CubeiTV of Infocom Technologies Inc., a subsidiary of PLDT.
