WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO PLAY SAFE?

THE 5 REMAINING TEEN HOUSEMATES

MY BIG FOUR

The term “playing safe” came out as the widely used term in the recent episodes of PBB-TEP. Many of those who are accused of being playing safe are the actual and evident strong contenders like Robi and Rona. Too bad that Rona and Valerie were matched up with Robi in the previous eviction nights thereby leaving supporters with a divided choice on who to vote. Nevertheless, sensible and intelligent viewers pick Rona, Robi and Valerie as their three choices for the Big Four but unfortunately, only Robi has stood the challenge.

What does the term “playing safe” really mean? In being playing safe, does it imply that one doesn’t show his real self? That he is plastic? Or does it mean that one is only careful not to commit mistakes to avoid suffering the consequences or punishments? How do we measure a person’s capability to be real? Can we call someone who shows his bad side and keeps on committing mistakes a real person? Is someone unreal if he happens to excel in all the things that he do? In the quest to find out who among the housemates are showing their real self, do we have to reach the point of praising a brat for her ill-mannered actions just because "nagpapakatotoo lang siya" and brand a goodie, rule abiding guy as plastic and playing safe just because he is responsible of his actions and is able to control his outburst of emotions? With all the questions to consider, for me the term “playing safe” came out as a double standard.

In my quest to search for an answer, I went back to the basics and queried on the objectives of Endemol in staging Big Brother. Endemol.com stated that the purpose is basically to see how people react when brought into contact and forced into close confinement with people who lie outside their "comfort zones", strangers that is. Since the housemates may hold different opinions from each other, express different ideals, or come from a different group of people, it is likely that we can see a multitude of different social attitudes. The format is ideally suited because the viewer sees how a housemate reacts from inside the house through the constant recording of their actions, and also what they feel on the inside through the Confession Room. The outcome can often result in violent or angry confrontations, providing additional entertainment to the public.

Nevertheless, Big Brother is a social experiment that aims to find out how different people react in a given situation based on their respective familial or cultural backgrounds. The daily or weekly tasks provides a learning experience and aims to test their character as to patience, creativity and camaraderie and later on to develop a better sense of person of the housemates from its previous being or state. In short, they have to conquer the tasks and learn from it and become better persons. Therefore, at the end of the season, it is expected that the remaining housemates were able to complete the tasks, has maintained a law-abiding character and are already able to open up, socialize and interact better than when they first entered the house. It is also expected that the housemates must have a clean house-citizenship; a reflection whether they have remained law abiding inside the house. The prize only serves as a reward to those who have abided with the rules, interacted well and learned from the tasks. Its not for those who are financially challenged. Nominations are based on personal convictions but the housemates are encouraged to nominate based on the actual performance inside the house and not only because of social status.

The Big Brother house, just like a regular community has rules that the housemates have to follow. The rules serve as a guide on how the housemates should live their daily lives inside the house. Therefore, that section clearly disagrees with the common Filipino notion that the Big Brother house wanted the housemates to utmostly show their real self (magpakatotoo). Instead, Big Brother aims to provide both positive and negative reinforcements to test a person’s character whether they can remain calm, prudent and good mannered despite the challenges and eminent danger of being noinated. It is therefore a test to verify the housemates’ sense of self-preservation and accountability to the other housemates. Therefore, the term “magpakatotoo ka”, “pagiging totoo” and “nagiging totoo lang ako” should not be the basis of a housemate’s stay in the house. A housemate should perform a task properly, abide with the house rules and learn from the tasks that has challenged them.

In Robi’s case, people accused him of not revealing his true self. As an Atenean myself like Robi, we were trained henceforth to be passionate and responsible with our work, careful with our actions and face its corresponding consequences, abide with the rules, being able to emphatize by becoming men and women for others and consider everybody as a personal accountability. Big Brother told Robi that he has already seen him as an Atenean but not as Robi himself. Big Brother didn’t realized that the Atenean he saw in Robi is already the Robi he wanted to see. Growing up in a school that fosters strict values formation, it is not unusual to see that students, Ateneans in that case, have already assimilated the values inculcated upon them and lived their lives the Atenean way. That is why people can easily spot a person who comes from Ateneo because of their ways and actions. Its simply the Atenean way. It is very difficult to separate a person from being an Atenean because both comes together. There are maybe other aspects that define a person but taking out the Atenean in him would only make him cease to exist as a person. It is therefore quite unfair that Big Brother uttered that statement and accused Robi of being playing safe without really thinking about it. Maybe Big Brother has to attend Ateneo and find out for himself.

As in the case of being playing safe, basing on the Big Brother rules and guidelines, the better way to remain inside the house is to play safe. To play safe means to be careful of your actions, plan your activities, abide with the rules, avoid committing mistakes, accept a fault, be prim and proper and interact with the other housemates as to not offending nor hurting them…… all of which are covered by the house rules. If one has committed a mistake, they get to have a punishment or even forced eviction. Therefore a housemate has no choice but to be “good” to stay longer in the house. The aspect of revealing their true self will just come out naturally as the days and the activities unfold. Sigmund Freud even stated that "no human nor superhuman can remain superficial for more than half a score of weeks (score is 20, so half a score is 10) if continuously treated with reinforcements, the reality of his inside will inevitably come out". It basically implies that given the tasks inside the house, it is impossible for anyone to remain superficial or plastic amidst all the tasks and that a person's real character will eventually come out once provoked. If they claim that Robi is plastic or playing safe, I wonder how he has managed to keep his impulse, be calm, patient and prudent up to the end. It only justifies that he has already portrayed his real identity henceforth and that people just failed to notice it.

The bottom line is, Big Brother is not a venue to showcase your real self or bad attitudes. It is not a charity that doles out prizes to poor housemates. It is a competition wherein a reward is given at the end and a social experiment with guiding rules to abide with. Therefore, it is expected that you really have to play safe to stay up to the end.