Copycats

 One Saturday morning, I stroll around the stalls called SM to look for a pair of slippers. I amuse myself by looking on their so very affordable buys in the hope I may be able to find out better things for myself. You know, my budget cannot go elsewhere but SM.

 

I finally found a pair of slippers, the brand is Icelander, and the appearance really was an obvious imitation of Islander.  I look randomly for more items along the line of stalls. I come across with a backpack which has a label called Neki, the bag looks good one would mistake it as an orig Nike. I look on the lines of jeans. I found there Lives which is ostensibly a desperate attempt to copy everybody’s craze, Levis.

 

As I continue walking to nowhere, I go inside a music store to find out vcd sets, one of these is branded Sany. Maybe, they are the offspring of Sony and Sanyo. The thing which I wouldn’t surely miss is the truckloads of cassette tapes and vcd`s. There, I found out local and foreign titles ranging from movies,cd`s,videoke discs, and mp3`s. I imagine how many record companies here and abroad missed large profits and how many artists were deprived of their royalties. This is only actually one of my apparent concerns.

 

When I look at the titles and covers of the albums, I could hardly identify which is a local or foreign material. I suppose they all look the same. And to hear the sound, styles of the local artists are almost the same with foreign singers. This is, however, with the exception of Yoyoy Villame and Freddie Aguilar whose voices are distinctively pinoy sounding.

 

Really, Pinoy will always find a way to copy things and characteristics, which are foreign. From slippers to jeans to music.

 

Well, this country can be said as a country of copycats. Today, inside a mall or a university you could easily find clones of the latest hot item over the MTV. They were like vampires as if pulled out of the boob tube.

 

And now, who are we to scream out for more tourists and foreign visitors? Do they have something new and exotic things to find out here in the Philippines?

 

The Americans and the Europeans would likely choose our neighbors Malaysia and Thailand as their ultimate destination. Why? Because these two countries have unique things and people to enjoy with. In the Philippines, how can they enjoy our styles of architecture when our buildings in Makati are patterned after the buildings in their homelands? Singers? There`s nothing new to find in the Philippines. Our tiseltown is filled with Streisands, Mariah Carey, Houston, Elvis Presley, Barry Manilow, Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion,Ricky Martin, and Shakira. Name any foreign artist and you will find yourself groping with so many impostors. You may not know it but the Americans just simply love the music of Yoyoy Villame whose voice sounds so exotic to their ears. Not only the Yankees but also twenty-eight countries love the song Anak of the famous Freddie Aguilar.

 

As I continue with my funwalk as I would call it, I pass by a bookstore. My eyes began to drool as I, myself, a self-confessed wide reader and really wild at that, ha-ha, went inside and glazed my eyes over the stacks of books on the shoulder-high shelves. I was amazed to find out so many books authored by foreign writers I could hardly find books written by Filipino masters. Well, Pinoys really just can`t have enough of Ludlums, and Kings`. When I stepped out of the bookstore, I have with me some Sheldon`s , uh-hu.

 

As I went back home, I am so glad I can now answer the challenging question posed on me by a professor. What is the distinctive identity of this nation? I guess, people who are no less than copycats. Whew! (11-03-03)