“Ang Teleserye ng Totoong Buhay”: Tracing Althusser’s Ideological Interpellation in the Everyday Performances Staged in Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition

Proponent/s Name/s (Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial)

• Janzze A. Capule, De La Salle UniversityFollow
• Katrina D. Del Rosario, De La Salle UniversityFollow
• Bridget Candice B. Manuel, De La Salle UniversityFollow
• Fatima Beatriz C. Ranolo, De La Salle UniversityFollow

Document Types

Paper Presentation

Research Theme (for Paper Presentation and Poster Presentation submissions only)

Media and Philippine Studies (MPS)

School Name

De La Salle University Senior High School Manila

Track or Strand

Humanities and Social Science (HUMSS)

Research Advisor (Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial)

Almanzor, Sylvelyn Jo, A.

Start Date

25-6-2026 10:30 AM

End Date

25-6-2026 12:00 PM

Zoom Link/ Room Assignment

Online- https://zoom.us/j/94569671692?pwd=Fj3c3ELOebE6QbqbJOOH9wMuildoEc.1 Meeting ID: 945 6967 1692 | Passcode: research

Abstract/Executive Summary

With a reputation for staging reality, Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition functions as a highly controlled environment where the performative labor of housemates is transformed into a site for reinforcing Filipino values. Utilizing Louis Althusser’s theory of interpellation and Barthesian semiotics, this study examines how the program shapes the identities of the final twelve celebrity housemates and their subsequent roles as laborers within a media-driven ideological state apparatus. Through a qualitative textual analysis of 12 episodes from Day 86 to Day 98, the research deconstructs the everyday performances of the participants—who were strategically formed into the season’s final duos—to uncover underlying myths of Filipino identity embedded in their dialogue and actions. Findings reveal that PBB functions as a pedagogical tool that rewards diligence and obedience through constant self-regulation, validating “authenticity” only through a housemate’s adherence to surveillance and a closed reward system. Beyond internal dynamics, the study argues that the act of spectatorship facilitates a secondary interpellation of the audience, naturalizing loyalty to authority and the endurance of hardship as inherent moral virtues. Ultimately, the research concludes that these televised behaviors are choreographed responses to narrative demands rather than spontaneous expressions of personhood. The program does not merely represent the Filipino public but actively reconstitutes it by blurring the line between curated performance and genuine cultural value.

Keywords

Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition; ideology; interpellation; Louis Althusser; second-order semiotics

Initial Consent for Publication

yes

Statement of Originality

yes