IN A TIME of deep political polarization, netizens would rather spend their energies doing something real rather than virtual. But if it cannot be helped, one on social media presses the buttons to ensure that his news feed carries only civil posts. Orone turns away from fundamentally
contentious political discourse. Those are not your only available options, however.
Why not maintain an anonymous account whereby you can keep an eye on entertainment a world away from politics together with a like-minded national, even worldwide, following?
The Play! pool introduces Broadway Janitor, or Mang Jani to his more than 50,000 followers on Twitter. A self-confessed fan of AlDub (the portmanteau of popular love team Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza) and Eat Bulaga’s hit Kalyeserye, Mang Jani has for almost two years now, intrigued and entertained his fellow fans with his funny, witty and sometimes, naughty tweets. His is one of the very few fan accounts
followed by Maine herself, with the Dubsmash Queen exchanging tweets with him a couple of times.
Who is he, exactly? What does it feel to be simultaneously famous and incognito? Why would a family man suddenly fall into the vortex of fandom and spend a good amount of time literally leading a big division of fans? Is there more to being a fan than its stereotypes?
He stepped into a Cebu mall cafe, picked an all-day breakfast item from the menu, and read a complimentary copy of the day’s Philippine Daily Inquirer before we launched into the interesting evening conversation that you can read below. If not for the show business topic, the interview was like a scene from an investigative journalism film.
Mang Jani’s true identity remains under wraps, but he does give us a few pieces of his mind and heart. (JAB)
What prompted you to open the Broadway Janitor account and what was the first Kalyeserye episode you watched?
I was in the hospital as I was waiting for my wife to give birth. The way it works is that your wife is in the delivery room while they ask you to go straight to her room so didto ka mag-wait. I was there with my mother, and she was already into Kalyeserye so she switched the channel. I remember the July 21, 2015 episode, the day my wife gave birth to my second child. The episode was nag gukod-gukod gani sila sa barangay.
I thought it was corny at first. When we went home with my son … it was one of those nights when I was sleep training my daughter, the eldest in her room … it was so boring and I had to wait for her to sleep so I would watch YouTube videos because during that time, episodes were already uploaded man. So mao na to. I thought it was cute and it was fun. I saw the whole week’s episodes that I missed and then I caught on and then I liked it. But it wasn’t until later that I opened the account.
So, how when did your Twitter account start?
I already had Twitter but it was a personal account. I was following these political pundits. It was very noisy. And I wanted to stalk the Kalyeserye characters as it was already getting noisy on my feed so I opened a new one and told my wife and
followed only specific accounts so it would be cleaner.
Why the name?
Alden and Maine were on splitscreen. I think daghan man na sila og story arcs where si Maine would be kidnapped. During the early stages, it always happened that Alden would be at Broadway tapos the direction would show him nga sad, of course. I’m not sure if you have noticed that Alden is a very physical actor so the way he would show that he is sad is he would literally sit on the floor. He would slump ba (laughs). He would cry and I thought that it was very unmanly for the KS (Kalyeserye) Alden character. At that point, he was already saying that “chivalry is not dead,” he was already claiming that he was chivalrous. But I don’t think that it was particularly chivalrous. I would have wanted for him to stand up so he would look for her. So I thought my character would be that janitor in Broadway, you know who would just be like lurking around, being very frustrated over this guy who would sit on the floor all the time because I have to clean it.
The account was really very critical of Alden’s character in Kalyeserye. If you dig down to the posts, it was a criticism of how the character was handling the situation, mostly. You would know the whole thing because you knew they went through this whole walay klaro relationship. And Broadway Janitor would always be that guy who would call him out. And I suppose there’s really a few people who do that on Twitter kay mahadlok man sila nga ma-bash.
Why hate KS (Kalyeserye) Alden?
I thought he could have handled the relationship better. I’m very old-fashioned that I put the responsibility on the man. And for the most part it was not clearly defined what they were. They went into that whole jealousy arc. It was very traumatizing to fans and for those who really loved the show because all the frustrations and emotions were there because the relationship was not really defined in the first place. He sort of played things by ear. He did not do the hard task of clarifying the relationship with her, which I thought would have gotten rid of so much unnecessary emotional baggage in there.
At what point did you start liking Alden’s character?
I’m actually not sure (laughs). I think it was the December 19, 2015 episode. I remember that day because it’s our wedding anniversary. And during that time I missed the show because I was out with my wife. And I was really just frustrated with the characters. But everybody was already tweeting me during that time so when I replayed it, it was the first episode that he finally said “I love you” to Maine’s character. And I think it was unscripted, so he did that on his own. That was the turning point I suppose, that I was already liking the character because I thought then that he was already standing up as a man, making sure Yaya Dub was clear who she was to him. All the time before that, wala juy klaro.
Why do you think AlDub and Kalyeserye became phenomenal?
The whole show was very unique. I think it was a new form of storytelling, and it was very original. That’s the appeal right there, the novelty of the whole thing. There had been a lot of analysis of what it was, I think what I would favor would be the fan analysis that it was a joke. That was the appeal, the satire. It was a criticism to what is normally portrayed on Philippine TV. They made fun of it and they are really good at it. Second thing, is it appeals to today’s generation with the concept of a relationship that is very fluid. If you put under a microscope two people, who obviously look good together and whom you are so sure would end up together, the kind of relationship that they have become very intriguing. If you go on Twitter, and ask young kids it’s not clear to them if people are in a relationship, boyfriends or girlfriends, it doesn’t work that way. Mura siyag ambot, wa ko kasabot. I think ma blurry gyud ang lines, that “no label” thing ba. The whole dynamic of what is real or what is not, it’s very intriguing in this era of fake news.
Any part of Maine’s character that you hate?
Well, with Maine, it would be hard to think. Siguro I thought her character would have been better if she came to a point where she could be independent from her Lolas. But even down to the last part of the show, where she is already married and already had kids, she was still very dependent on her grandmother. And I thought it was a missed opportunity on her character to really go full circle. She started as this young girl who can’t speak and is very dependent on her Lola and the plot turned out okay. But in the end, she could have done better, insisting on a more independent Maine, away from her Lola.
Did you expect AlDub fans’ reception of you as Broadway Janitor?
Don’t get me wrong. Although I criticize the characters, I really praise them when they are really good. I could remember it was December 19, 2015. It was weeks and weeks of cheering the boy on and he was finally doing the right thing. I think that is where the attraction to the Mang Jani character comes in, because he doesn’t mince words. Tapos he calls out things that shouldn’t be, and at the same time, praise gyud when it’s deserving. That is why I think many people are drawn to the account.
Could they be at least realistic models for young and upstart Filipino families?
Absolutely. That is why the frustration comes in. I think so many people are looking up to them. I feel it was a very good opportunity to model what would have been a very successful marriage, especially for young people.
How does it feel to live a life incognito while at the same time being a celebrity?
I am trying to think at which point the followers started coming in and I can’t remember. Well, the good thing about being incognito, nobody really knows you are him and I really like that. The character himself is a janitor. Everybody will always have the idea of who that is, the guy you just passes by the hallway, doesn’t talk to you. He just cleans. But he starts to tell you things about marriage, about gentlemanly behavior so you just start to pay attention. But immediately you have very low expectations what this janitor can tell you, so I like that. If you come out saying you are this and that, this is your work and this is where you come from, people immediately judge you based on that.
What are your plans for the account?
I don’t know (laughs). Well, they have a new soap coming up and it’s primetime. I don’t think I can catch it because I have to go to work and spend time with my family so I don’t know what’s going to happen and I really like Kalyeserye very much, I really fell in love with the show. I really miss them in the noontime show. I’m not sure how their teleserye will turn out.
Tell us your thoughts about the following: Fatherhood?
I think this is cliché but I think it is really a blessing and a privilege to be a father, and at the same time, a very big responsibility. I have a very high regard of God and I think one of the symbols of what he claims of Himself is a father, and I think if we ever get to a point where we know him, I think knowing the heart of your own father, it’s very telling of what kind of heart the Lord has.
Children?
I like kids, a lot. I really, really like children.
Politics?
Tired of it but one of the attractions of this secret life is the fact that you put out so much love and admiration for two people who you are very sure love each other. And this starts to bring people together. You look around and we are in a very divisive environment and there are very few topics we can agree on like falling in love or being in love, trying to find out where this love goes. This just brings people together. Among the fans, it’s a very clear secret rule that they should not play politics, if anyone talks about it, he or she gets called out. They are very intelligent people, the fanbase, and politics only divides us and we steer clear from that.
Wife?
My wife is my most cherished blessing. Most of my insights that I share comes from a place of love that I share with her.
Fandom?
I’ve never been a fan of anything else apart from this, in a sense that I am very involved. This is my first fandom so I don’t have the reference as to how people actually do it. I’ve made friends in the fandom. I have three very close friends that I talk to sa Twitter and they are very far–one is in USA, two are in Singapore. And this whole idea of the show bringing people together, I think that’s how it has blessed me that it has given me friends from faraway places.
These three persons you are talking about, do they know you personally?
Yes.
Have you met Alden and Maine in person?
No.
If ever you get the chance, what would you tell them on your first meeting?
I don’t know. But when that opportunity arrives, I know that I would not want to go. There is this part of me that wants to maintain an objective perspective of this whole thing. There has been openings before but I intentionally did not go to maintain the distance.
When did you get the idea of letting your wife take over the account once in a while?
It started when I asked her to write something for Maine since it’s a difficult thing to impose on a man. When she wrote it, people got interested in her than on me actually. She used to have a Twitter account and I would talk to her but people had no idea it was her. But eventually, she could not keep up, with the kids, the house and the job. So she deleted it.
How would you react if one day you’d wake and the whole archipelago has already found out that you are Broadway Janitor?
I would definitely delete the account. But I hope it never happens.
If someone would approach you and ask if you are Broadway Janitor, would you admit it?
No (laughs). I would really deny it to death! I like being anonymous, obviously.
In your own words, how would you describe the man behind Broadway Janitor?
I think I’m a husband and a family man who likes to observe people.
How do you feel about Philippine TV in general?
To be honest, a lot of people have been criticizing the industry because of its recycled plots, etc. I think they make the mistake of comparing the Philippine shows with those by Hollywood. I think it’s a wrong approach, I think what you need to do is to try to understand the appeal to its audience and I think If I were to think about what’s the common theme it’s really about relationships. My favorite show is “Homeland” and it’s all about stories and plots and angles, trying to piece them together and tie them together in the end. I don’t think that would ever appeal to the Filipino audience. What appeals to them would always be about relationships in real details.
How would you move the character of Broadway Janitor forward?
I really like that McDonald’s commercial a year ago where they showed a scene of Maine just sitting on stage and the lights were turning off and everybody’s going home and she was just there. And then a janitor walks by and he says hi then bye to Maine. I think I would really like that. He is just really very supportive of them.
