Unless you are living under a rock, it’s unlikely for you to have not seen the Kara Mia memes that constantly appear on your social media feed and timeline.
As soon as GMA Network released the trailer for the upcoming series early in the year, an avalanche of memes and parodies started to spread like wildfire with netizens making fun of the main character’s odd appearance: a young woman with two faces.
And yes, they are getting weirder each day.
But for the members of cast, it’s a welcome publicity.
“It’s actually nice to know that people show interest in our show even before it airs,” lead star Barbie Forteza told Manila Standard in an interview during the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo where they headlined a mall show.
In almost all the memes that flooded the Internet, it’s Mika deal Cruz’s face that serves as the highlight, punchline, if you will.
“It’s been my dream to be a comedienne,” Mika, whose face appears on the back of Barbie’s head, said in jest. “It’s a nice feeling though, we are already providing them entertainment this early.”
“They have questions that really make us wonder, too. They ask questions like, ‘How do Kara and Mia brush their teeth?’ Perhaps, we can incorporate these questions and suggestions in the series,” Mika continued.
The 20-year-old actress said that the cast and production team don’t take these memes negatively, even if it’s obvious that some of them had the intention to bash the series because of its rather unusual plot.
“The time will come that their perspective on Kara Mia would change. But for now we’re just welcoming their queries and suggestions. I just have one concern, sana ginandahan ko na young ngiti ko sa trailer. Kumalat na eh, sana yung best face ko na lang yung nandun. But it’s really fun seeing those memes online.”
Explaining the plot of the fantasy drama, Hazel Abonita, the series’ Senior Program Manager, said that Kara Mia is a high concept television series. The story follows Barbie portraying Kara, a kind-hearted girl who deeply cares for her sister; while Mika plays Mia, the face behind Kara’s head who has strong jealousy over Kara.
“It’s based on a true story from India and an urban legend in Great Britain. It follows the lives of two sisters born with Disprosopus or craniofacial duplication, a congenital defect where they have two faces but share only one body,” Abonita shared.
“Until today, the origin of this condition, which is one of the rarest malformations in humans, is still unexplained, whether it is mythical or medical,” added.
The urban legend, according to Abonita, inspired their team to do Kara Mia. They just incorporated a touch of fantasy to make the story more interesting for the viewers.
“So, we actually encourage people to share their memes with us including their fan-made trailers. We’ll do a compilation of those most definitely,” Abonita ended.
