Not so with a lot of Philippine pop songs. At least that was the finding of a group of brainy scientists called Brain Gain Network headed by a friend of mine, Dr. Francisco (Paco) Sandejas. Let me quote from an article he just e-mailed to me:

"One night a couple of weeks back, my wife and I were driving back home and listening to a new pop FM station that my nephew recommended as the newest and coolest acoustic rock station. As we were enjoying the music while chatting, we noted a new popular Filipino song whose title and artist escape me now. The melody and music were very pleasing to listen to but what we remember most distinctly was the song’s message. It went something like this: ‘I really love you, but you love someone else. Whatever happens, I want you to know that you are my true love and I will wait for you even if you prefer someone else.’ Our initial reaction was to laugh as it reminded us of those stereotype spoof American country Western songs with such titles as ‘I Married Our Prom Queen But She Ran Off With The Milk Man Because I Still Live With Mama.’

"As our laughter died down and came closer to home, I started to wax philosophical and asked Christine why there seemed to be so many songs in the Philippines about unrequited love, songs that some people might brand as ‘loser’ or ‘martyr’ songs. Clearly, Filipinos are sentimental folks and that is part of our charm – we are a people who like to sympathize and who love to love; but, even from this perspective, the song we heard seemed a bit too much. I’m sure that if Cameron Diaz sang one of our love songs in her Karaoke scene, she would be branded ‘Loser’ with a capital ‘L’. The American Top 40 does have its share of love songs but it would seem that Americans don’t have nearly as many hit songs about unrequited love. The world’s most competitive economy doesn’t show evidence of this kind of ‘martyr complex philosophy’ in most of its music.

"Now I ask: Could music we listen to be affecting our ability to win women, to better jobs, to have strong industries, or to be a more successful people?"

To make a long story short, Paco and his fellow "Brainiacs" conducted an in-depth research on the effects of pop culture, specifically music culture, on the economic/IT competitiveness of nations. After going through the lyrics of numerous songs composed by Filipinos, they found out that a large proportion wail about unrequited love and reveal a deep-seated defeatist attitude. Paco and his colleagues conclude that a "false humility" complex accounts for our inability to put our best foot forward internationally. In his words: "My take away for engineers, technology entrepreneurs, and Filipinos, in general, is that because of the wrong type of humility, we, individually and as corporate entities, fail to convince our customers in the US and around the world that Filipino engineers, scientists, and even professionals are up to competing with the best in the world. While making sure we balance against the temptation of becoming too arrogant, condescending, disrespectful of others, or just plain boorish, we should learn to market our talents and the capabilities of our companies with CONFIDENCE. Of course, we should back it up by training ourselves and preparing to compete. The horse Seabiscuit and similarly great human athletes, reminded us that at the highest levels of professional sport, winning no longer depends on talent, strength, and endurance but more on heart, confidence, and the desire to win. We have to possess the same fire in our bellies if we are to succeed in our careers."

Again this informal study suggests how important it is for media and entertainment professionals to positively contribute to nation-building. In this connection, I am happy to announce that media and entertainment professionals from the Philippines are being invited to join a pioneering program at the Institute for Media and Entertainment (IME) in New York City. The IME is dedicated to research and instruction that advance the life-long career of media and entertainment executives. The institute emphasizes personal ethics as a core resource for professionals and their organization.

Come October, 2004, IME will launch the Media and Entertainment Program, which is an intensive three-month interdisciplinary curriculum that prepares men and women for management careers in the media and entertainment industries. The MEM Program combines graduate-level courses and face-to-face interaction with industry leaders to give students an invaluable foundation for their future roles in these industries. Those interested in the program may check the website www.instme.org or call telephone (212) 421-9600 in New York City. For comments, my e-mail is bvillegas@uap.edu.ph.