Unyil the puppet and 'Betty La Fea'

Unyil the puppet and 'Betty La Fea'

From Media Indonesia

As an observer of the development of the children of the nation, frankly I am rather disappointed with RCTI, the TV station which aired an episode of the Si Unyil puppet show titled Mom, where are you going again on April 28 at 10 a.m.

In this episode, Unyil was indoctrinated by his mother and his schoolmates to watch a Latin TV series called Betty La Fea. Unyil tried his best to remember the names of the show's characters, even at the expense of not keeping up with his chores in the family' shop. Unlike a Latin TV episode, which shows us the good and bad sides of life, this Unyil episode was not at all edifying to children.

Betty La Fea portrays a secretary at the fashion company Ecomoda. She always dresses decently but is always humiliated and insulted by her fellow employees, particularly Marcells and friends, who wear sexy dresses and sometimes just have a bad attitude. There is another character, Armando, the company's director, who pretends to love Betty. He makes use of her intelligence and cleverness for the sake of his own power. It is not Betty's looks or personality that makes Armando love her.

The negative moral message in this Latin TV show is that decently dressed people are humiliated and despised by others, who are badly dressed and ill-behaved. The positive message is that one's smartness and cleverness will always earn other people's appreciation and respect.

Is this the value we wish to inculcate into the nation's children? I don't think Betty La Fea is intended for all ages. It must be an "adults only" TV series. If I may suggest, it would be better for Si Unyil to bring up the themes prevalent in the 1980s. Another alternative would be to rebroadcast the episodes that were aired in 1980s.

As a loyal viewer of RCTI, I hope that this particular TV station can present interesting programs with positive moral messages for the children of the nation.

AP WIRMAN

Jakarta