Are pickup lines the new 'bugtungan'?

By AMANDA LAGO, GMA News

Published February 16, 2012 2:43pm

Pickup lines are definitely the new “in” thing, especially now that it’s love month.

What used to be a dating ritual performed by suitors to impress their potential lovers is now used to boost the entertainment value of social interactions, romantic or otherwise.

Television shows and movies continuously incorporate pickup lines to beef up commercial appeal and comic effect.

Even the intense Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago who can silence and shame even the most brilliant lawyers is known for her clever inclusion of pickup lines in speeches that cover more serious topics, to the amusement and amazement of many.

Indeed, these overly cheesy, intentionally mawkish, typically one-line exchanges have transcended their original purpose to become a pop culture icon.

"iJuander" airs Monday nights at 10:00 PM on GMA News TV Channel 11 and every week explores the stories behind different aspects of Philippine culture. The show is hosted by reporters Cesar Apolinario at Susan Enriquez. Watch this clip from their January 30 episode about pickup lines. A Jan. 30 episode of GMA News TV’s iJuander even broached the idea of pickup lines being a modern version of the ancient art of bugtungan, Filipino rhyming riddles that make use of the literary device of defamiliarization.

The two certainly have their similarities. “Makikita natin na may pagkakaugnay siya, may pagkakahawig [ang pickup line] sa bugtong…Makikita mo dito, katulad sa pickup line, may paglalaro ng imahen,” said pop culture expert Jayson Petras.

As pointed out on the show, both pickup lines and bugtong are forms of entertainment, and both are types of riddles.

However, when it comes to structure, the two are very different.

With bugtungan, the description or metaphor is given before the actual objects being compared are revealed, as in the case of the following bugtong: “Lumuluha, walang mata. Lumalakad, walang paa,” to which the answer is “ballpen.”

Also, with bugtungan the answer is expected to come from the addressee, not the one who gave the riddle.

With pickup lines, it’s the other way around. The one who gives the line is also expected to supply the answer.

Also, the objects of comparison (one of them being the addressee) are made known first; the comparison or description of the objects only follows as in the pickup line “Teddy bear ka ba?” (where the objects of comparison are the addressee and a teddy bear), to which the answer is “Ang sarap mo kasi yakapin.”

Another noticeable difference between the bugtungan and pickup lines is that the former, perhaps due to its more ancient nature, doesn’t inspire the same excitement in its audience as the latter does.

In fact, when the iJuander team went around the city giving random people bugtungan to solve, all but one of ten people were not able to give the correct answer.

“Marami tayong pinagkakaabalahan. Marami tayong pinagpapaguran, pinagpapawisan. Marami tayong alalahanin so in a sense nabawasan ‘yung panahon natin para mag-isip pa lalo, paganahin ang ating imahinasyon, patalasin ang ating isip,” said language expert and Palanca award winning writer Eros Atalia.

The iJuander team asked National Artist for Literature Virgilio Almario to weigh in on whether pickup lines are the modern bugtungan.

His verdict? After listening to a round of pickup lines, Almario said that pickup lines are not modern versions of the bugtong. Rather, they are more similar to the romantic poems of yore.

“Hindi siya bugtong, ngunit isa lamang siyang paraan ng paghahambing. Lahat ng literatura ay gumagamit ng paghahambing… [Sa romantic poems] halimbawa, isang lalaki sa isang babae, ang ginagawa niya, inilalarawan niya ‘yung babae sa isang paraan na kahalihalina at naiiba,” Almario said.

“Halimbawa si Jose Corazon de Jesus, pinakadakila nating makata, nung 20th century may tula siya na inihambing niya ang kanyang girlfriend sa bituin,” he added.

Ultimately, whether they’re pickup lines or bugtong, these practices certainly allow the Filipino imagination to explore, and, in the case of pickup lines, express love or longing in a creative, lighthearted way.

“Nakakatuwa din na gumagamit sila ng imagination, hindi basta, ‘Uy, kursunada kita,’” Almario said. –KG, GMA News

@SusanEnriquez & @CesarApolinario host iJuander,a myth-busting program that re-introduces Filipinos to interesting aspects of Pinoy life and culture. iJuander airs Monday nights at 10:00 PM on GMA News TV Channel 11. Follow iJuander on Facebook or Twitter.

Tags: bugtong, pickupline, riddle, literature