I'm a keen student of the use of Propaganda and that is probably the appeal of Showbiz to me (that is, besides Politics, another propaganda-driven enterprise). Most of the reality we see is mostly propaganda, especially politics. And once you see the "script", "reality" loses credibility, like what is happening to the mainstream political press where it is not so taken seriously anymore these days. While the gullible would still be expected to be the majority, there would come a time when you are not sure anymore, like now. When the tricks have been revealed, the magic is gone. You can feel the shift in the dynamics & everybody can appreciate the true reality more clearly once the propaganda was unmasked.
Same in Showbiz. If you have read the biography of the Rolling Stones, you would have known the various tricks to propel their popularity. When they were just starting, their manager hired people to scream, to present a fake popularity which the gullible entertainment press lapped up & consequently wrote about a hot new band, triggering the subsequent bandwagon of real fame (they still had no money to bribe in the beginning so the innocence of the press was genuine).
Reading the Comments in this blog actually led me to discover another propaganda mirage. One of the biggest propaganda creation is the so-called Korea Wave. At a time when the so-called Korean boybands supposedly sold hit albums after hit albums (when nobody could be heard singing their songs), the local producers thought there was a new trend so they created their copycats as usual instead of investigating who was the real buyer of the albums. While previous trends (which up to then only came from the West) produced local hit groups, nobody among the Kpop copycats succeeded. Was there really a trend, or just a propaganda ruse? True, songs from boybands a la One Direction were hot locally in the airwaves- but why the immediate demise of the local kpop copycat bands? Were some here, who were supposed to know better, still not capable to distinguish the true from the fake before committing their cash to a supposed trend?
One could expect novelty as an initial kick to a phenomenon but when a bandwagon did not arrive for the fake one, the ruse would eventually implode. Like what has happened with the Koreans. Actually, if you read the propaganda sites created to pretend popularity, it is humming the usual pretend narrative as if nothing happened. But, as a reader once commented, it took a little blog like ours which pricked the balloon of propaganda. Suddenly, reality focused: low-rating of kdramas, no Korean melody in the airwaves (no budget to support their own albums for a decade?). That is how flimsy the "popularity" was, you don't have to do much, just redirect the attention to the fact. This also happened in Peru: if you read Korean propaganda, they were very popular in Peru. But this blog discovered that they were shown there for almost a decade, true- but all those time, they were in the bottom of the Peruvian charts, earning 1-2% rating, managing to be noticed slightly only when the Pinoy teleserye Bridges of Love (Puentes de Amor) was shown there & consequently upgraded Asian profile. One can only guess the reasons how they managed to be shown for a long time there with those low ratings and it's definitely not due to their popularity. What was clear was, as one reader put it, their lack of shame in pretending popular & clinging kapit-tuko in a market which has been resistant to them for a decade. What better proof of unpopularity?
Frankly, all of these should have been something to just laugh about. But unfortunately, they were apparently willing to sabotage a fellow Asian- the Pinoys- just so they could delude themselves & believe their own propaganda (read Tales of SABOTAGE in the sidebar). Part of the kapit-tuko package of delusion? It's obvious they will sabotage (more assiduously) for a long time yet.
These are interesting times because they are undertaking big efforts to reshape back reality to the narrative of their propaganda. Their propaganda machine is doing double-time in regaining whatever momentum they thought they had. Unfortunately, the basic reason why they didn't suceed, & won't suceed again, is (as one reader put it) they didn't look the part. They can't change how they look no matter how Plastic Surgery advances, or how strong the propaganda noise, so we know how this still would end up.
But at least, we could learn from their propaganda tactics. We definitely should be wiser before we commit our cash to a supposed trend. Also, we could definitely use the modus operandi of using fake fans. One can always blame fake fans as scapegoat- they can be as noisy or combative when protesting for you no matter if you are a permanent inhabitant of the bottom of the ratings like when they protested the Pinoy teleserye "La Promesa" in Peru when they sensed the Pinoys had more appeal to a market which rejected them for a decade. Oh, anyway, the fake fans don't have to be combative always- they have their other uses too. They can be ordered to mob you no matter how unknown you are in the airport.
Same in Showbiz. If you have read the biography of the Rolling Stones, you would have known the various tricks to propel their popularity. When they were just starting, their manager hired people to scream, to present a fake popularity which the gullible entertainment press lapped up & consequently wrote about a hot new band, triggering the subsequent bandwagon of real fame (they still had no money to bribe in the beginning so the innocence of the press was genuine).
Reading the Comments in this blog actually led me to discover another propaganda mirage. One of the biggest propaganda creation is the so-called Korea Wave. At a time when the so-called Korean boybands supposedly sold hit albums after hit albums (when nobody could be heard singing their songs), the local producers thought there was a new trend so they created their copycats as usual instead of investigating who was the real buyer of the albums. While previous trends (which up to then only came from the West) produced local hit groups, nobody among the Kpop copycats succeeded. Was there really a trend, or just a propaganda ruse? True, songs from boybands a la One Direction were hot locally in the airwaves- but why the immediate demise of the local kpop copycat bands? Were some here, who were supposed to know better, still not capable to distinguish the true from the fake before committing their cash to a supposed trend?
One could expect novelty as an initial kick to a phenomenon but when a bandwagon did not arrive for the fake one, the ruse would eventually implode. Like what has happened with the Koreans. Actually, if you read the propaganda sites created to pretend popularity, it is humming the usual pretend narrative as if nothing happened. But, as a reader once commented, it took a little blog like ours which pricked the balloon of propaganda. Suddenly, reality focused: low-rating of kdramas, no Korean melody in the airwaves (no budget to support their own albums for a decade?). That is how flimsy the "popularity" was, you don't have to do much, just redirect the attention to the fact. This also happened in Peru: if you read Korean propaganda, they were very popular in Peru. But this blog discovered that they were shown there for almost a decade, true- but all those time, they were in the bottom of the Peruvian charts, earning 1-2% rating, managing to be noticed slightly only when the Pinoy teleserye Bridges of Love (Puentes de Amor) was shown there & consequently upgraded Asian profile. One can only guess the reasons how they managed to be shown for a long time there with those low ratings and it's definitely not due to their popularity. What was clear was, as one reader put it, their lack of shame in pretending popular & clinging kapit-tuko in a market which has been resistant to them for a decade. What better proof of unpopularity?
Frankly, all of these should have been something to just laugh about. But unfortunately, they were apparently willing to sabotage a fellow Asian- the Pinoys- just so they could delude themselves & believe their own propaganda (read Tales of SABOTAGE in the sidebar). Part of the kapit-tuko package of delusion? It's obvious they will sabotage (more assiduously) for a long time yet.
These are interesting times because they are undertaking big efforts to reshape back reality to the narrative of their propaganda. Their propaganda machine is doing double-time in regaining whatever momentum they thought they had. Unfortunately, the basic reason why they didn't suceed, & won't suceed again, is (as one reader put it) they didn't look the part. They can't change how they look no matter how Plastic Surgery advances, or how strong the propaganda noise, so we know how this still would end up.
But at least, we could learn from their propaganda tactics. We definitely should be wiser before we commit our cash to a supposed trend. Also, we could definitely use the modus operandi of using fake fans. One can always blame fake fans as scapegoat- they can be as noisy or combative when protesting for you no matter if you are a permanent inhabitant of the bottom of the ratings like when they protested the Pinoy teleserye "La Promesa" in Peru when they sensed the Pinoys had more appeal to a market which rejected them for a decade. Oh, anyway, the fake fans don't have to be combative always- they have their other uses too. They can be ordered to mob you no matter how unknown you are in the airport.
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