Filipino Escapism: Deconstructing the Karaoke as a Simulacrum of Escape
Nikki May A. Rivera
University of the Philippines
narivera1@up.edu.ph
Introduction
The perpetual state of the Philippines as
an underdeveloped country, with its underside
economic progression, makes the Filipinos
skeptical towards a fast and convenient
economic mobility. The livelihoods of most
citizens do not satiate their needs as the
minimum wage of a factory worker does not
even suffice for a family of three. In everyday
reality, the consumer society consumes more
than what is needed of his/her demands. Such
mismanagement in resources causes deficits
which can eventually lead to scarcity.
The strong desire to escape the believed
everyday reality of the masses stems from
societal tensions. Such tensions can be
socio-political or socio-economic factors that
materialize from the capitalist inclination of
the country. The aspired high modernity,
which only favors the elite class of the
Philippine society, thrusted the lower class
behind the height of advancements. Inability
to subvert from this type of society prompts
the masses to stir away from the idea of
subversion and instead resort to escapism
which according to Peter Vorderer, is an act of
“leaving the reality which they live in a
cognitive and emotional way due to
unsatisfying life circumstances” (311).
One of the most common escapist
strategies used by Filipinos in veering away
from the hardships of life is the act of singing.
Being fond of melodic artifacts, Filipinos treat
singing as a medium for acquiring the state of
well-being which most, if not all, members of
the lower and working class are deprived
of–at least of their subjective semantic
1
appropriation and material aspirations of
‘well-being’. The popular notion that singing
certainly ameliorates stress is very much
welcomed by the masses as the act of belting
high notes and humming tunes are considered
congenial alleviating activities for oneself.
The simulation that is singing is
normalized by the innovation of the Karaoke
machine. The karaoke is a simulacrum that is
widely considered as a medium of escape
propelled by its exhibition of the narratology
of sexualized women, mythology of euphoric
drinking, and its popularization of the My Way
syndrome which have been treated as
hyperrealities by the masses.
Karaoke Machine
The advancement in technology paved
the way for digital and virtual simulations
which provide different hyperreal experiences
to the masses. Karaoke is only one of the
many commodities that create a
representation of hypersignified existence.
The machine offers a simulation of enjoyment
and celebration legitimized by performances.
Such performative activities conceal the real
act of singing where the idea of role-playing,
according to Adams, is “satirized revealing
the simulated character of acting”. The
performance, she added is, is the hyperreality
that is being simulated (510).
The songs, the microphone, the melody,
the speakers, and the score-gaming aspects of
the karaoke are the contributing factors that
aid in the success of the simulation. These
signs and symbols do not actually mediate
reality or even modify and alter it, but they
are projected reality based on non-existent
lived experience. It lets people to believe that
such signs and symbols are fundamental and
relevant in how we understand life as it is.
Mythology of Euphoric Drinking
The karaoke machine is usually seen and used
in KTV bars where alcohols are mostly served;
however, not all can afford the cost of KTV
bars¹. Most of the masses rent karaoke on
special occasions where it is placed near the
drinking table. Drinking and singing are
significations of happy celebrations to most
Filipinos as alcohol and karaoke are
inseparable. Alcohol provides an illusional
realm which alters the cognitive state and
brain activities as it interferes
neurotransmitters. The ‘drink to forget’
mythology actualized by popular masses has
been a prevailing tendency of the problematic
population. Liquors is treated as a break out
from difficulties and its ubiquity with karaoke
justifies that the two are perfectly fit
combination for a simulation. This
conventional activity portrays the mass
orientation of alcohol and karaoke as a
getaway.
The illusory paradigm² provided by
ardent spirits is fortified by the reproduction
of the drunk self on the screen of the karaoke
machine. Upon picking up the mic in his/her
drunk state, the singer enters the first stage of
simulation which creates a profound copy.
Baudrillard calls this stage as a reflection of a
basic reality (368).
As the quality of the voice is being
amended by the machine, companions cheer
for the turnout and merrily sing along. The
technological aspect that is auto-tune is
2
superimposed on the voice of the singer
making it sound so blended and in accordance
to the right melody. This masks the
non-existent pleasing voice quality which the
machine delivers through its speakers. The
perversion of the voice is what Baudrillard
referred to as the second stage of simulation.
It hints the existence of an ambiguous reality
but never reveal what is real.
The scoring facet of the whole simulation
legitimizes the credence of the perceived
pleasant vocal skills as the ‘high score’ is
attributed to the aptitude of the performer to
belt high notes and to hit such musicality with
ease. The score prompts the drunk singer to
believe that the result of the performance
equates him/her to the original singer who is a
professional and popular unlike him/her. The
karaoke then serves as a vehicle to “overcome
performance anxiety or even foster musical
appropriation”. The drunk performer is
considered as a pastiche by imitating, in terms
of performance, the popularized singers. The
aesthetic of nostalgia is being validated as the
lyrics flow out of the vocal activity. This
aspect of scoring modified vocal skills is what
Baudrillard called as the third stage of
simulation or the masking of the absence of
reality. There is no vocal excellence, yet the
numbers flashed on the screen suggests that it
is at par with renowned artists.
The excitement brought about by singing
in an inebriated state represents the escapist
aptness of the masses. The coming together to
the party, the exchange of narratives regarding
life updates, relational commonalities
associated with the celebrated occasion and
the journey away from everyday routine such
as work signify the collective propensity
towards escapism.
The consumption of these goods (karaoke
and alcohol) is a “manipulation of cynical
signs and commodification of empty images”
from which productivist culture base its
symbolic order into simulations. Fredric
Jameson’s late capitalism code resulted into
commodity being signs (Smith, 60). The
karaoke and alcohol are signifiers of
preferences towards desire and such desire is
reproduced and materialized by the consumer
society into commodities used for simulation.
The act of renting or purchasing the karaoke
is an indication that the need to sing is
fulfilled but singing without the karaoke is the
same with singing on the karaoke. The
machine only offers a simulation of
enjoyment and the experience of ‘real singing’
with the technological reproduction of self as
performance quality is enhanced.
Narratology of Sexualized Women
Imageries of nude women are flashed on the
screen of a karaoke. In mass oriented
Philippine karaoke, popular bold stars such as
Maui Taylor and Diana Zubiri are exhibited
on the screen albeit non-existent lyrical
semantic connection. Even when a
particular song suggests a lively and bustling
connotation, the virtual presentations of
seductive and provocative women are
exhibited. It not only convolutes the entire
essence and content of the song but also
implicates the sexualization of women as
tools for the attainment of ecstasy. They are
not only casted as eternal victims of men’s
ploy (Moi 119) but are also used as tools for
the enhancement of virtual simulation of the
karaoke.
Women are used to sexually satiate the
male singers through the portrayal of their
sexualized body parts. In most KTV bars,
waitresses wear daring clothing articles as a
strategic marketing maneuver. They are
paraphernalia used for luring customers who
are mostly males in orientation. In some
cases, female singers are also ‘rented’ along
3
with the karaoke machine to serve as
entertainment commodities in front of the
drunk men. With their skimpy clothes on,
consistent song requests are placed for them
to perform. This is not a virtual perpetration
of the male sexual figments but a live and
more actual aspect of the karaoke simulation.
The prevailing objectifications imposed
in such scenarios are what Kate Millet’s
essentialism scrutinizes. The biologism of
women that is femaleness is used to gratify
the sexual desires of customers in KTV bars.
The gender play is also evident as women
serve the males or the customers. The myriad
of social practices suggest that women must
assume the inferior position, the one to serve
rather than the one to be served. This is what
Millet called the aspect of female nurture that
is femininity which is aspired to instructed
behavioral imperatives by the patriarchy.
Further, Kristeva wrote that femininity is a
position that women assume because of
patriarchal conventions (82). The gender
performances such as the wearing of
provocative clothes are one of the many
manifestations that justify the successful
implementation of the said patriarchal
conventions. Also, as Toril Moi wrote,
Kristeva assumes that “woman can never be
used in a non-ideological way” (43). The
cultural practice of karaoke nights aid in the
internalization of these socially constructed
behaviors imposed by the patriarchal regime
in the country.
The gender dimorphism, being
heterosexually biased, implies that it is natural
for men to desire the opposite sex: the
women³. This dimorphic discourse, which
explains the dichotomy between the body and
the desire, is formalized in the karaoke. The
programmers and innovators of such machine
presuppose that majority of the singers are
male who take joy in singing as they drink to
celebrate. As such, being masculine (male)
and liking the feminine (female) is always,
presumptuously, assumed by the conservative
patriarchal Philippines society as a natural
standard for gender expression.
Femininity according to Kristeva must be
a mask that “dominates/resolves a masculine
identification” (53). Contrary to this, the
feminine performatives shown on the karaoke
machines not only do not mask the masculine
dominance but also fuel the male gaze and
fulfill their sexual fantasies. These
narratologies of women render the karaoke
experience worthwhile and boost the vibe of
singing as if the fulfillment of the experience
is only dependent on sexualized imageries.
The sexual hyperrealities experienced by
men are internal wishes of escape. The desires
to go to KTV bars and to sing on a karaoke
are propelled by the exhibition of nude
women whom they salivate and thirst for. The
animalistic maleness, which is commonly
attributed to aggressiveness and sexual
activeness, is very much apparent in these
activities.
Apparently, these representations of
women not only diminish their capacity to
subvert the patriarchal order, but it also
mystifies their agency for probable
emancipatory actions. It silences the inherent
abilities of women as social and intellectual
agents for development, other than being a
sexualized subject. It is a double negation,
which does not equate to a positive outcome,
on the part of women for their oppression is
being used to fake a reality, to deceive the
masses that such fulfillment of sexual
fantasies is true when in fact it is only a
simulation of a simulacrum that is karaoke.
Popularized My Way Syndrome
Frank Sinatra’s song My Way had been dealt
4
and belted with utmost controversy in various
occasions. The social phenomenon of My Way
killings was publicly popularized through the
karaoke. Palash, in his article on the
International Business Times, wrote that there
have been at least 12 killings from 2002-2012
caused by disputes that arose in the advent of
a My Way performance. Such violent quarrels
usually take place in KTV bars4 but others
have debated that it is perhaps due to the
aggressive nature of the song5. The
outrageousness of this phenomenon prompted
the karaoke owners to ban Sinatra’s hit track
and to remove it from the jukebox repertoire.
The hyperreality of the horror death
experienced by singing is simulated through
the song itself. As the performer picks up the
mic and the song hit its first tune, a different
paradigm is then created. The melodic
rhythms and aggressive lyrics are factors that
set the atmosphere where the singer
encounters the first stage of simulation. The
performer detaches his/herself from the world
of the celebration and enters a different
temporal and spatial realm where the karaoke
and the microphone simulate his identity in
the form of lyrics and melody. The emotional
aspect of the song is attached to this electronic
identity of the singer which fuels the escapist
desire. Palash wrote that according to a
musicologist from the University of the
Philippines–Vern de la Pena–singing My Way
is a “magical moment that separates the
Filipinos from their ordinary lives”.
The Filipinos’ creative engagement and
emotional investment in popular songs depict
the means of how they articulate personal
identity. Through the delirious interpretation
and recitation of the text, they can express
thoughts and feelings. The machine also
convinces that the performers are excellently
wonderful singers albeit professional vocal
training. The audiences are also simulated to
participate and ridiculously support such
vocalizations (Drew, 52).
The song is an ecriture that textualizes the
male dominance pervasive in its lyrics. Its
mode of musical composition is very
patriarchal in orientation as it asserts the
masculine figure and legitimizes the
instructive behavioral imperatives of women.
The notions that a man must be strong and
must have to “have the balls”–which are
commonly perceived and acknowledged
gender specifics–are being validated by the
textual composition of Frank Sinatra’s
musical piece. The electronic simulation
processed by the karaoke machine enhances
the arrogant tendency of the masculine male
with its provision of a simulated paradigm.
Moreover, this arrogant tendency is gratified
by the audiences’ cheers and gaieties
bestowed to the performer. It stimulates
stigmatic courage and aggression that can
ignite violence.
The popular phenomenon of My Way
killings in the Philippines have created a
horror to many karaoke enthusiasts,
dissuading them to perform Sinatra’s musical
piece. The machine conjures the false promise
of stardom and abject performance terror. The
hyperrealities of violence, horror, and death,
are all electronically simulated through the
song by the karaoke. The virtual reproduction
of the ‘arrogant self’ through the attachment
of the lyrics creates a hyperreal egotistic self
whom audiences can either be appeased or
irked and aggravated with, depending on the
melodic manufacturing of the voice.
Conclusion
Because of various life circumstances and
difficulties spawned by socio-economic and
socio-political tensions, Filipinos internalized
the normative tendency for escapism. This,
according to Vorderer is the act of detaching
oneself from the adversities of the everyday
5
lived realities. One of the mediums used by
the masses is the karaoke which gratifies the
escapist desire of the Filipinos through the act
of singing. The technological simulation of
the machine electronically reproduces the self
in a demystified fashion where the self (or the
singer) encounters a different dimension
signified by the mythology of euphoric
drinking, narratology of sexualized women,
and the popularized My Way syndrome which
are all hyperrealities that fortify the ecstatic
experience of using the simulacrum that is
karaoke.
Bibliography
Adams, V. Karaoke as Modern Lhasa Tibet:
Western Encounters with Cultural Politics.
Vol 11. Princeton University. 1996. Print.
Baudrillard, J. Simulacra and Simulation. Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994.
Print.
Butler, J. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the
Subversion of Identity. USA: Routledge 1990.
Print.
Drew, Rob. Karaoke Nights: An Ethnographic
Rhapsody. Walnute Creek , CA: Altamira
Press. 2001. Print.
Millet, K. Sexual Politics. New York: Simon
& Schuster. 1990. Print.
Moi, T. Female.Feminine.Feminist. New York:
Basil Blackwell. 1989. Print.
Palash, G. Karaoke Killings: A Bizarre
Phenomenon in East Asia. International
Business Times. Retrieved on May 15, 2016
Smith, M.W. Reading Simulacra: Fatal
Theories for Postmodernity. Sumy Press.
2001. Print.
Vorderer, P. Reception Motivation: Why Use
Recipient Media Entertainment. USA:
Routledge. 1986. Print.
NOTES
1. Most KTV bars offer private rooms to
rent available for number of hours which cost
more than the usual rent of karaoke machines
per day.
2. Drunk statte which the drinker enters
upon receiving the bodily effects of alcohol.
3. Butler rejects this proposition and says
that gender is really performative. She wrote:
“It is not a stable identity which various
acts follows; rather gender
is...instituted...through stylized repition of
acts” (171).
4. The natural atmosphere of KTV bars
are commonly violent since people are
assumably under the influence of alcohol.
The lyrics is very arrogant in connotation as it
evoke feelings of pride. The lyrical
composition of the song goes:
“For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way”.