Dubsmash

Days ago I came across in my Facebook the word dubsmash. This is accompanied by shared videos. Unmindful of what's going to happen, curiosity led me to open some videos of ordinary people lip-synching familiar lines or songs from popular personalities.

Described as a new mobile app that lets you record a video of yourself, synced to a preselected sound clip, such as a well-known quote from a movie, television, among others, is another man's innovation in his constant search for something new and unique.

Though officially launched last year in Germany but made a peak just recently in the Philippines. It has copyright and legality issues but these do not in any way stop its popularity for even celebrities are riding on this craze.

At first, I was amused because the lines at some point have marked a distinct memory in me. Take the case of Nora Aunor's "Walang Himala" film. The revealing line "Walang himala, ang himala ay nasa tao, nasa puso ng lahat" immortalizes the film. And who can forget "My brother is not a pig" which is from her movie "Minsa'y isang Gamugamo." Criticizing the American military presence in the Philippines, it entered in the 1976 Metro Manila Film Festival and won five awards at the 25th FAMAS Awards, including those for best picture, director and screenplay.

The brilliant breakdown in the climax of the film "Filipinas" where Maricel Soriano's character as Yolanda shouts out "Walang Bagong Taon! Wala sa pamilyang ito ang magbabago! "and made her Best Actress if only for that monologue alone. The emotional encounter of characters of Maricel and Zsa Zsa Padilla in "Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin" when she confronted Zsa Zsa about the infidelity of the former's husband. "May isa akong tanong sa iyo, prangkahin mo sana ako. May relasyon ba kayo ng asawa ko?" "Relasyon?" "Relasyon. Kerida, kabit, No. 2, mistress, relasyon!" Such building up of emotion led to a brutal killing of Zsa Zsa's character.

Even Kris Aquino has no excuse. Her oftentimes candid and tactless lines are being followed by some. Her unique mannerisms and vocals would make her subject to imitation. A certain degree of overacting if dubbed would create humor to some as if we are being brought to the celebrity's highs and lows. But at some point also that it is in the proximity to the emotion and intensity that makes one appreciates the output.

Obviously this craze requires an amount of skill. One needs to synchronize the voice so he has to have the full grasp of the lines and the required emotions. The place of dubbing, however, doesn't require much preparation as it can be done wherever you want.

It makes all the more humorous when a male voice is done by a female or vice versa. When it is perfectly dubbed, there is really the element of positive reception and admiration.

Thanks to Jonas Drüppel, Roland Grenke and Daniel Taschik, our young have the chance to recall or reminisce significant people and their works that mark in our psyches. But just like other fads, parents must be aware and keen on exercising prudent supervision over their children as they can be exposed to the vulgarity of language as well as actuations that carry off-putting implications.

Let's accept that there are lines or moments in movies that we can very much relate with. We have experienced them or if given a chance would love to experience. At some point in our quest to spice up our lives, we imagine how it would be in a situation that is very much different from what we think and do.

Realistically we cannot be somebody. But like the power of imagination, we can be, for a few seconds, in somebody's world, assuming a persona whom we share attributes with or our complete opposite. We find the uniqueness of others and assimilate into our own. We drive a certain feeling of creative accomplishment and amusement-sealing in a certain void inside, and spicing up one's mindnumbing life.

“Realistically we cannot be somebody. But like the power of imagination, we can be, for a few seconds, in somebody's world, assuming a persona whom we share attributes with or our complete opposite. We find the uniqueness of others and assimilate into our own. We drive a certain feeling of creative accomplishment and amusement-sealing in a certain void inside, and spicing up one's mindnumbing life.”