Is being special a privilege in show business and elsewhere?

The issue is now being laid on the table.

It concerns, generally, the public reaction if not acceptance of Persons with Disabilities (PDWs) or any perceived as outcasts or physically deformed or imperfect being appearing in the glitz and glam world of cinema.

Is it a round peg on a square hole?

Is it incongruent to the demands of a discriminating society?

Take for instance, Down syndrome stars Krystel Go and Earl Amaba headlining a film project such as “I’mPerfect” in a big festival as the 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival that made it a major event.

The movie even won Krystel the Best Actress plum for her role as a special girl who falls in love with her kindred.

And the audience has diverse reactions on Go’s feat even overshadowing the screen demi-goddesses in Angelica Panganiban in Quantum Films and Cineko Productions’ “Unmarry,” Nadine Lustre in Star Cinema, The IdeaFirst Company and Viva Films’ “Call Me Mother” and Bianca de Vera in ABS-CBN Studios, GMA Pictures and Regal Entertainment’s “Love You So Bad.”

​How dare netizens conclude that Krystel won by sympathy votes.

“Naawa lang ang judge sa kanya (The judges just took pity on her),” they noted.

​What if Chairman of the Board of Judges, former member of the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP) mentor, social entrepreneur, filmmaker, book author and polymath Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr. and his jury’s consensus said that Krystel could act consistently given the motivation and context by her director Sigrid Andrea P. Bernardo to breathe life to her character role-playing?

Angelica is a competent actress herself, no doubt about it, as proven in her previous portrayals in various media platforms and genres but this time, the board of judges has unanimously decided to bestow the award to Krystel.

What gives?

The most important thing is that both Go and Panganiban and among Nadine and Bianca were given the equal share of the limelight regardless of their physical forms.

That the types of Krystel and Earl are also in the mold of glitzy and glamorous gods and goddesses of the local firmament.

That is what we call inclusivity, a very important description in a democratic sphere of existence.

The question, however, that could linger for the longest time is this: Will the kinds of Gos and Amabas persist and sustain in this evolving process of socio-economic, cultural and political acceptance among special people onscreen.

At the moment, “I’mPerfect,” according to unofficial box-office data—a report by vlogger, comedian, producer, TV host, entertainment reporter Ogie Diaz–is among the top earners in the 2025 MMFF lineup.

What’s next?

How about the implicit and innate bully in humans?

Would they really and honestly say that the Krystels and Earls are “artistas” we must patronize the same way we attribute and regard the likes of Piolo Pascual, Vilma Santos, Christopher de Leon, Bea Alonzo, Dingdong Dantes, Barbara Perez, Marian Rivera, among other living talents, who are considered beautiful people?

Can the likes of Krystel who is also beautiful in her own right be casted in a regular role quintessential of representations of ordinary quotidian as leading lady or love interest in a common rom-com, of, say, Joshua Garcia or Daniel Padilla or conversely, the likes of Earls as love team of Barbie Forteza or Maris Racal?

The answer lies in the deepest sanctum of our hearts and minds.

Historically, the so-called non-conformists to the usual mold of glitz and glam stars have been with us since time immemorial.

Carmen Rosales might be mestiza but her outward appearance was sharp but she was adored.

The late Superstar Nora Aunor was the perfect example of the outsider from the Hollywood mold of beauties but she won the million adulations of the Filipino masses with her true Filipina look.

She might be a TV star but Joe Berry, the midget protagonist in GMA Network’ “Onanay” etc.  has gained a cult following.

There are many cases of “outsiders” (extra or fairly talented) to mention from the usual template of the classic beauty who are successful and can command fandom in showbiz.