I’m sure you’ve heard of Gee Canlas before, the bubbling beauty and queen of online comedy. I’ve always loved Gee and her effortless ability to make people laugh with her funny and relatable videos. However, after I watched December Avenue’s official music video for ‘Bulong’ and saw Gee take on a much more serious role in it, I fell in love with her even more.
In ‘Bulong’, we see a woman with mental health issues and how her partner chooses to love her unconditionally despite the struggles that come with it. Watch the full video here if you haven’t yet:
Gee is friends with the manager of the band, Koi Busalla. And when they came up with the concept for the video, he knew Gee would be able to pull off the thought and core of the story with Eo Marcos. Gee shares, “When I heard the song, it immediately struck me as a hugot song; but when paired with the storyline, I realized it was going to be a big step away from the usual funny antics I play on TV and on GeeTV.”
That is definitely true. But there is nothing wrong with that as Gee did the job splendidly. Being someone with mental issues myself, this video really struck a chord in my mind and heart, and I was so surprised to see Gee portray the emotions so well.
“We were really careful to portray it with sensitivity and honesty, knowing a lot of people would be able to identify with the condition,” she says.
Gee puts it so perfectly: “Mental health issues are probably the most easy thing to dismiss or judge simply because a lot of people don’t understand it or are scared to speak about it. Although Koi and the band were the ones who came up with the concept, the message sunk through to me that you just never really know what a person is going through. One person can look completely fine on the outside, but might be going through a really rough time in this regard.”
Gee also gives some advice to everyone out there who might be too quick to judge or too quick to shrug other people off: “There’s always room to be more kind and patient with people and if someone voices out or shows signs of anxiety, depression etc. that sometimes, all they need is someone who truly cares that would listen and hear them out. In this case, it speaks of acceptance and loving without condition. I think there is something very powerful and healing about it.”
So far, the response of people with the message and the actual video has been really good. Know of any other artists who are creating awareness for important issues? We’d love to talk to them! 😀
