In another bit of interesting news to come out of today, this little tweet—

.@MochaUson says she is helping promote the MMFF. | @LeilasINQ

— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) December 21, 2016

—turned into something bigger: heavily-polarizing and highly misleading online personality and pseudo-journalist Mocha Uson was announced as the official ambassador of this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival.

First of all, yes, you’re allowed to voice your dissent on this. Nobody knows exactly what Mocha’s contributions are to Philippine cinema to deserve being the rep of a slate of what look like well-crafted local films, other than the now-famous GIF of that scene in Four Sisters and a Wedding where Angel Locsin drags her out of a restaurant.

Saan na eksena to guys? (Mocha Uson being dragged down the road)

What’s worse is that it looks like the post of MMFF Ambassador wasn’t even a thing until they made her one today. It’s pretty clear, then, that it’s just some unnecessary PR move that’s more for her and less for the actual film fest. The only good thing that could possibly come from this move is that maybe if Mocha makes some effort, she can help get the rest of the masses on board the refreshing new choices in this year’s festival. Just maybe.

But otherwise, don’t let Mocha’s appointment ruin the taste of this year’s MMFF for you. What’s important here is that if we demand better local mainstream filmmaking from the big studios, then we should support this year’s round of flicks. That doesn’t mean watching every movie; just actually show up and watch the entries that interest you. We’ve been given a golden opportunity this year—now it’s on us to not fuck it up.

Photo from the Philippine Daily Inquirer