Why Romance Dominates in Philippines

                         

After work, I sit on my throne (my sofa) and turned on the TV, I noticed, there is only one Pinoy soap operas was all about. When I looked for Tagalog novels at a bookstore to read, I see nothing but only one genre that rules among all. Romance. As an aspiring writer, it's undeniable that the genre is the powerhouse of all. In fact, no matter how many people said it's cliche, still a lot of us watch or read lovestories. Of course, love is the greatest thing in this world, it's the source of joy, unity and peace aside of the "kilig" it gives to the audience. As the line in the song said, "you never live until you love." But, it's not the thing I wanna explain here but its overall dominance in Philippine cinematography and literature, as if we have forgotten the other genres. I observe, it's the only mainstream here. Prove to that, romance novels get more reads than anything else of Filipino readership in Wattpad. If you talk about foreign films and fiction, they like romance as well but you can see many also consider fantasy, action, science fiction, horror, etc. It's not that I dislike romance, actually, it's one of my favorite, but like how menudo is my favorite dish, I will also lose my appetite if that's the only meal I eat everytime.

So how does romantica is the overall dominant in Philippine art? Upon asking this to myself, I came up some answers. I do believe, it's because of our conservative culture. We were preached sex is evil especially outside in marriage. Lust is a deadly sin, no one will question. In fact, married couples still get back-stabs rumors if they will display public affection. From that thinking, we see malice and intrigue in romantic relationship, we hint it could lead sexual affairs. We see it's bone chilling and evoking because of that perception. But, malice and intrigue makes the romance more interesting aside from the emotional satisfaction it could give. I think it's always the best to be an open-minded and to explore in different areas of life. Spread the good vibes, shower the love.