Why is it hard to be a Youtuber in the Philippines?

Ok. 2 weeks ago, I have decided to become a Youtuber. It’s not an easy decision because my life is partly a close book.  I am the reserved one in the group. I will never be that crazy guy. I don’t even have a Facebook account. But passion has its own breath…its own life. You can never deprive yourself on the life that you must take.

But putting that passion on Youtube is hard work. It really is especially if you are from the Philippines. As far as I’m concerned, we only have few popular Youtubers like JamichTV (500K Subscribers), Mikey Bustos (130K Subscribers), Petra Mahalimuyak (108K Subscribers, who is inactive for 6 months now and decided to become a mainstream star) and LloydCafeCadena (180k Subscribers). Let us take Jamich for example. They are very popular in the country but they only have 500K subscribers, which is only a drop of PewdiePie’s number of Subscribers (27 Million). Ironically, Pewdiepie is not well known in the country. Some of the Filipino Youtubers gained subscribers only after they were featured on mainstream media.

Why is it hard to be a youtuber in the Philippines?

1. Philippines will always be a Twitter and a Facebook nation. Play a Big Brother episode and it will trend worldwide. How is that even possible for that certain hashtag to reach worldwide trend? Not all Filipinos watch Big Brother. Unbelievable.

2. Internet connection is not that good in the Philippines. A typical Filipino would rather look at pictures than play a youtube clip. If it buffers, he will just get pissed and throw his phone somewhere.

3. If you are doing some monologues and improvs, a typical Filipino will appreciate if you look really really funny. The Filipino humor will never be that smart and deep. They will take sarcasms as they are. They may laugh only if provoked by the laugh of another person. Most will not appreciate the humor of O2L guys, iisuperwomanii, and even PewdiePie. They will just raise their eyebrow.

So, making a name on youtube is nearly impossible. But I don’t give a fucking damn. I will not stop making videos. Boo ya!

Stuff Worth Watching: Last Train Home

I just heard the radio announcer earlier that the Chinese Government and the Philippine Government are planning to rekindle their “friendship” despite the territorial issues against each other. In my opinion, this is a good news because I always believe that the Chinese people and the Filipino people are very much alike.

Last night, I watched the documentary film, Last Train Home. It’s about Chunyun or the migration of the Chinese people to their hometowns during  the Chinese New Year. It’s actually the largest human migration in the world. We are talking about 2 billion people here.

The makers of the film featured one small family out of the 2 billion migrant workers in China during the Chunyun. They have featured a lot of realities about the family of a migrant couple, how they struggled to provide food for their family while balancing it with their broken relationship with their daughter. Not to mention, they have to undergo the very stressful process of Chunyun.

We don’t have Chunyun in our country, but we have the same human problems with China especially the fact how poverty can sometimes break a family.

These film is really a stuff worth watching.

Stuff Worth Watching: Babies

I don’t like newborn babies. I like them when they reach their first year. But that changed when I watched this documentary film, Babies.

I highly recommend this documentary.

No plot.
Some universal truths.
Awesome cultures from 4 countries.

…and a whole lot of cuteness.

If you need a feel-good movie, give this a try!

Stuffs worth watching Part 1

Here are some of the Documentaries I have watched last week:

1. Yaxin and Vlado introduced me to this awesome documentary called, SAMSARA. These are the sort of films that do not have plots. Everything depends on your interpretation. I also have to suggest that when you watch this film, you should be with other people for an exchange of thoughts. My Interpretation: The film is actually about the downfall of humanity and how humans failed to be humans especially in this generation.

2. Koyaanisqatsi (Life out of balance) shared the same theme with Samsara. The difference is that the former was filmed in the 80s. Still, there is no plot. My interpretation: Humans failed to embrace nature. Instead, they have exploited it. Everything is instant, even in the 80s. Everything is fast paced. At the end of the day, we are not happy and never achieved contentment. Suggestion: You should compare/contrast Koyaanisqatsi with Samsara. Reflect on the changes that occurred within the 20-year gap of 80s and 00s. 

Other documentaries with the same theme that you HAVE TO WATCH are the following:

• Baraka
• Powaqqatsi
• Naqoyqatsi

3. Born into Brothels is about a group of kids who were born in Calcutta’s Red Light District. Zana, a british girl who is helping the kids gave each of them a camera and taught them the basics of photography. You will see in the film some of the works of the kids which were actually showcased in New York and some parts of the world. I find the documentary really inspiring that I wanted to do the same project in my area. Watch out for it!

4. Exit Through the Giftshop. “What was it about?”, asked my friend. “It’s about the world’s greatest graffiti artist”, I answered. They laughed with some sarcastic remarks. I don’t have any idea why they laughed. Probably they are wondering, “who in the world will do a documentary about a graffiti artist?” Well, it was indeed a weird theme for a documentary. But one thing I like about the movie is that PEOPLE ARE ACTUALLY FIGHTING FOR ART. They take risks just to show the world their one-of-a-kind creations. It takes a lot of courage to be a street artist. One reason is that it’s illegal. But they have to do it, or they’ll die. You know what I mean, right? I feel for them. I’m an artist in my own way too and not being able to express what I love doing is worse than death. Probably this is not really the theme of the documentary but this is what it left me after watching it. (I will make a separate post about this)