MANILA, Philippines — It probably cannot be avoided that television dishes out shows that feature characters we’d rather not invite in to the house. Many contrabidas are shaped by writers and directors in molds that are almost inexistent. The equation usually followed is: the more vicious, the more despicable; hence, the more visually desirable.

These characters are portrayed with so much shadiness to make the lead stars shine, oftentimes rendering the protagonists’ performances dismal and lackluster. This is true of many local telenovelas and fantaseryes where viewers cringe at the demonic nature of many antagonists. Some characters even outdo the devil. In the process, because the said characters are far more colorful and quotable than the lead stars, they become grist for imitation among children.

Even if it is not totally okay, we can probably live with that. The villains are, after all, deliberately painted to be what they are in order to effectively counterpoint the stars. It is standard formula. Kids will ultimately gravitate toward the protagonists, especially when evil is punished.

What is objectionable is when evil is glorified, and when the leads are sanctified for their excesses and infractions. Oftentimes, their misdemeanors spill over to real life. The gossip programs peel their natural traits and characteristics naked for all to see, scrutinizing even the most mundane activities they get into like shopping, eating, marking their birthdays or where they went for a swim. And in the end, the misdemeanors are sugar coated, passed on as commonplace and therefore, fashionable to copy.

Many stars are marketed by their home networks to be prim and proper but figure in one domestic controversy after another, usually not of their own making but concocted or magnified by talent managers and PR men desperate to get their wards in the limelight.

Children regard television as more potent a source of information than school, their favorite stars more ideal role models than their own parents. It does not help that the economy forces both parents to be more absent from the homefront, leaving the matter of role modeling to characters on television who keep the child company for periods longer than the parents can.

This is why when a celebrity is idolized for what he or she stands for in media to the point that a child accepts and venerates everything about the idol, the star, the manager and the TV network become inextricably linked to the child’s life. Being so demands responsibility that far outweighs the need to increase ratings and revenue.

We often ask: why then is there need to dig up the most unfortunate and clandestine episodes of a star’s life and launder them in public through prime time gossip shows and newscasts? Why should a star’s private life be fodder to TV viewers’ voyeuristic tendencies?

Television, indeed can be like a knife that can be employed to do good or bad. Regrettably, there are many things not worth copying on TV today.

Being the medium of choice among many Filipino children, at least until they have full access to cyberspace, television should be self-regulated. Its usage at home should be dictated intelligently by parents and TV set owners; its programs and stars by the networks that produce and market content and ultimately the landscape of television carefully overseen by government and moral authority.

(If interested in the advocacy for family-friendly television, visit anaktvweb.com or email the foundation at anaktv_seal@yahoo.com.)