Introduction
Wil Time Bigtime is a Philippine television show broadcast by TV5 from Monday to Saturday, having premiered on October 23, 2010. The show is hosted by Willie Revilame and produced by Wil Productions. Formerly known as Willing Willie, Wil Time Bigtime is a variety game show in which participants take part in a series of games with the winner taking home a jackpot.
Controversy
Since its inception, Wil Time Bigtime has aired a number of shows that can deemed offensive and bad for society and this is one of the reasons why the show had to change its name from Willing Willie to the current name. First, the show consists of in-house girls who manage the show and appear onscreen (Bahala Na Si Batman, 2011).
These ladies are frequently scantily dressed and many viewers have opined that their dressing may promote acts of incest and rape. Most of these girls are regularly involved in feuds and this has sometimes led to temporary suspensions. Authorities have also mentioned that Wil Time Bigtime and similar shows draw their audiences by offering a quick source of cash, hence benefitting from the poverty of Filipinos (Bahala Na Si Batman, 2011).
The most notable act that was very offensive and amounted to child abuse occurred recently when a 6-year old boy performed a macho dance to show off his talent. This is an erotic dance in which the performer wears few clothes, in some cases, the performer wears only a boxer. In this specific case, the six-year old boy known as Jan-Jan performed the lewd dance on national television, and to the shock of viewers, the host and audience were so mesmerized that they told to reluctant Jan-Jan to perform the dance numerous times (Bahala Na Si Batman, 2011). This caused a big controversy with major sponsors pulling out and forcing the government and private organizations to investigate the matter. Eventually, the show was slapped with several sanctions that forced it to make a number of changes, plus the name (Chikkadora, 2011).
Defense of the Show
Despite having a number of scenes that can be considered offensive, the owners of the series have every right to create, distribute, and market the television show. First, the constitution grants every member the right to self-expression, onstage or offstage. If a person wishes to express himself or herself through dance or choreography, then they should be allowed to do so. Any hindrance towards the creation of this show would be a violation of the freedom of speech and expression.
After creation, the owners have the right to distribute their product television stations and private viewers that are willing to purchase it. This action can only be blocked if the owners have infringed copyright acts or violated any terms, clearly, the creators of Wil Time Bigtime have not done any action that may warrant the blockage of the distribution of their product. If television networks feel that the show violates some terms of its service, the it can either choose not to buy it or place a parental restriction feature.
Lastly, the creators of Wil Time Bigtime still have the right to market their product as long as it satisfies all legislation on marketing, for which it has not. similar to creators of other shows and movies, the creators of Wil Time Bigtime deserve every right to market their product in as many places as they want.
Reference List
Bahala Na Si Batman. (2011). The most offensive and tasteless show on Philippine television — bar none? Web.
Chikkadora. (2011). Wil Time Bigtime Promises a Lot of Firsts in Their Show. Web.