‘Kababawan’ offers priceless good feel

LEA SALONGA, of “Miss Saigon” fame, reportedly tweeted the word “kababawan” (shallowness, nothing better to feed the mind) last Sept. 26, the same date “Kalyeserye,” the highly popular noontime segment of “Eat Bulaga” earned a whopping 25 million tweets worldwide. For this, she received flak from AlDub fans who felt she was alluding to their idols (Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, aka Yaya Dub) and the three male comedians (Wally Bayola, Jose Manalo and Paolo Ballesteros).

But that’s what makes comedians click—their silly and funny antics, dialogues and moves. Not much to cater to the intellect, but mostly directed at the emotions of the viewers. People love to laugh, and laugh loud. The audience and TV viewers momentarily forget their problems and are relieved of stress, even for that short time they’re watching a funny show.

And that explains why “Eat Bulaga’s” “Kalyeserye” with the AlDub love team has become phenomenal. People love the characters, the kilig (thrill) factor, the storyline and, at the end of the day’s episode, some suspense raised as to what to expect the next day as the story continues. The segment is not just to tickle the “funny bone.” There are as well some moral lessons imparted or voiced from time to time by one or two of its main characters.

Millions of people are hooked on this segment daily, judging from the tweets received, regardless of their social background and upbringing. For the same reason, they gravitate to the kind of show where they are entertained, thrilled and get a good laugh—never mind if others think of it as all “kababawan.” Nobody can buy for these people the good feeling they get out of it.

—THERESA PILI NISPEROS, Gagalangin, Tondo, Manila