Erik Matti on K-dramas: “Faux cinderella stories with ‘belofied’ actors”

MANILA, Philippines – Award-winning Filipino director Erik Matti sparks outrage over comment on K-dramas as he calls out Filipinos for their choice of films and series amid the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). In his opinion, Matti slammed the viewing public and says that LOCAL movies and TV shows are ‘doomed’ and have no future.
Erik Matti comments on K-dramas: “Faux cinderella stories"

Photo credit: Francisco Herrera / Creative Commons

“The daily top ten most viewed on #Netflix shows us how our movies and tv are doomed in the future. K-drama galore. Faux cinderella stories with belofied actors whiter than white. And it’s all about love in the midst of this pandemic,” Matti wrote with various ‘angry’ and ‘sad’ emojis.


The director has two films showing on Netflix: “Buy Bust” (2018) and “Kuwaresma” (2019). Both did not enter the top 10 most popularly watched shows on the streaming platform. Based on the “Top Ten Most-Viewed Shows on Netflix” as of April 17, 2020, only one Pinoy film made it to the list: “For the Broken Hearted” which ranks on second place.

“Prison Break” might be an old American crime drama but the series is currently the #1 most watched Netflix show in the Philippines.

But five Korean shows, known as ‘K-dramas’ made it to the list! Matti’s angry comment is directed towards the following shows on the top 10: “Hi, Bye Mama!” at #3, “Itaewon Class” at #4, “Crash Landing On You” at #5, “Fight For My Way” at #7, and “What's Wrong With Secretary Kim” at #8.

Top 10 series/films in the Philippines on Netflix today
Top 10 series/films in the Philippines on Netflix today. Screenshot from Netflix website.

While netizens remained courteous in their comments against the film director’s opinion, many were outraged that he would be so ‘bitter’ over the K-dramas and why Filipinos are choosing these films over more serious movies.

“Seriously? this coming from a prominent person in the film industry... Are we really doomed? You seem not to know generation dynamics? Where is the love for the ARTS in this very post? How I cope with situations is not exactly the same as yours, why decide my film therapy?” commented @@WheelSunThinLow.

“Allow us this coping strat. I enjoy your films as much as I enjoy kdramas. I know the difference & I know when & how to appreciate them. What’s ailing is the PH film industry. Not enough funds & courage for brilliant projects. Kdramas are “mababaw” but they’re pure entertainment,” netizen @MaamSyj commented.

“I love your films, sir but Kdramas teaches us a lot of good things. Like there is love even in the small gestures.. genuine ones and it's not so bad to uplift other works. It's also not a crime to fill our minds with a good story once in awhile. Try to see it for yourself,” @hfmanuelxx suggested.

“Why do you have to speak as if you've watched all of them? Hahaha i understand the ache to get an audience to watch socially relevant films but you dont have to go the the extent of seemingly stepping on their taste in entertainment. Jusko,” @fayearguson added.

Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin in the widely popular "Crash Landing on You"
Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin in the widely popular "Crash Landing on You". Photo Credit: Netflix

Others commented on Matti’s dig on the ‘belofied’ actors which referred to the Belo Medical Group of Dr. Vicki Belo where many Filipinos often go to get lighter skin, among other beauty treatments.

“What's wrong with belofied actors? Hindi lang naman sa pagiging whiter than white. If they feel good about themselves magpaganda and magparetoke, why not? And maganda naman din kasi talaga stories nila. Try watching Itaewon Class,” commented @paulapangan.

“Belofied Actors. who act better than Trying Hard Actors of Pinoy NOWADAYS. Sorry NOT SORRY. BUT KDRAMA WINS STILL,” @imsalvz commented.

— Joy Adalia, The Summit Express



6 Comments

Add a comment here
  1. Franco clearly shows he had the mettle to tackle such a daunting task and come out on top. For that reason, he's my actor of the year.

    ffmovie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm in the habit now of talking to indie movie distributors before writing a screenplay to see what types of films are selling and what actors or celebrity names attached to a potential project appeal to them. ffmovie

    ReplyDelete
  3. A large amount of the movies produced in the past, and some of them today, can actually provide education on a specific subject (e.g. Dead Poets Society, October Sky, Glory).
    123movie

    ReplyDelete
  4. . A look at the summer's hit films show that it was not the star driven heavily marketed films that did well and created a buzz, it was smaller films such as 'The Hangover' and 'District 9'. Some studies on the music industry (which has also been massively affected by online piracy) argue that pirated tracks encourage people to buy the song legally.0123movies

    ReplyDelete
  5. Who are film buyers? We're talking about broadcast TV (cable, satellite, and terrestrial), home DVD companies, VOD service providers, and mobile content providers.

    123 movies

    ReplyDelete
  6. Any good project plan (that`s an article in and of itself) will have milestones attached to it. فوز العتيبي

    ReplyDelete
Previous Post Next Post