tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25270829807155675042024-03-05T14:42:37.530-08:00Pop Ate My HeartReading pop cultureGio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-50120686323423321222014-04-25T09:22:00.003-07:002014-04-25T09:36:03.622-07:00DROWN ME IN TESTOSTERONE: A Review of ON THE JOB (Erik Matti, 2013)<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0.5in;">
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>SEPTEMBER 13, 2013</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Right now, so much praise has elevated Erik
Matti’s ON THE JOB to somewhat an instant classic and is even often called one
of the best Filipino movies in years. It’s a culmination of the current
Philippine film scene, no doubt. I’ve seen it coming its way as a result of
much (late) advancement in local cinema and from a director who has hop
scotched from the independent scene to the mainstream, specializing in horror
(VESUVIUS, 2012; PA-SIYAM, 2004) and action (GAGAMBOY, 2004). A fusion of both
genres made Matti’s notable film TIKTIK which proved its existence and
screenings as a groundbreaking event in local cinema. This is due to its
prominent use of CGI that produced very seamless images we have never seen
before (in a local sense). There is no doubt that Matti’s ambition of taking
cinema one step further is manifested once again with ON THE JOB – but with
these mentioned films, what grounds are we really breaking? What is newly-given
in the cinema of Erik Matti?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Perhaps, first and foremost (and like TIKTIK)
it is a technical achievement. Half of the actors are mediocre, and while there
are superb actors like Joel Torre, Leo Martinez and a surprise turn from Joey
Marquez, the film’s use of Star Magic stars has wasted its potential. They
appear like lost rich people, awkward in their physical environments and
attached to their ASAP moments. But the performances are covered up by rich
detail in cinematography and production design. J. Pilapil Jacobo of the Young
Critics Circle has lambasted the film’s writing and performances but gave
credit where credit is really due: it is the
film’s stylistic look that elevated its status, thanks to Jay Halili as
editor, Erwin Romulo as musical scorer, Richard Somes as production designer,
and Ricardo Buhay III as cinematographer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Kudos to Matti then for breathing new life to
the medium of film in the local scene, but in a wider perspective, it is only
an aesthetic make-over and not much of an advancement to the content and
politics of film – two aspects of cinema Filipinos usually take for granted. Aesthetically,
we were only able to catch up on Hollywood trends that would forever debunk our
local cheesy 90s action filmmaking. And Matti’s mastery of combining
conventions of not-so-distant genres made way for a new fusion of genres – the
action and crime thriller. Matti’s direction gave the film its power and a
masterful flow but concept-wise, it is a mere repolishing of old conventions
that have defined the action genre.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">And as an action film, it bears not only
familiar elements but sexual politics – the rule of men in a crime-ridden
world. In a cinematic space where men are criminals, of course the heroes are
also men. And as spectators, while we follow their pursuits, we take their
macho sexist culture as our own. As a gay film viewer, the action genre is a
pain to see just as long as its straight men take the gays and women as
secondary personalities, subordinated if not oppressed and beaten. Women in OTJ
are mere secondary figures who provide sexual tension and their clumsiness is
the men’s downfall (take for instance the example of Shaina Magdayao’s
character). While at first I was delighted to see Vivian Velez as the femme
fatale, a mysterious woman in control of a bunch of men, in the wider scope of
things, she is of course a villain and revealed as a subordinate of the
patriarchal menace that is the politician (Leo Martinez). And what can I say
about the derogatory use of the word “bakla”. Is this a mere reflection of the
lower class or a manifestation of Philippine cinema’s patriarchal ideology?
Laura Mulvey would love to deconstruct such a film, especially since it’s
released in the age of feminism and queer theory! How backward are we in our
generation to produce such a sexist film, insensitive to a whole prolonged
movement of gender issues and sexual struggle? Or a better question yet, in a
feminist’s perspective, do we really need another film like ON THE JOB?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Hannah Espia’s TRANSIT is rumored to be OTJ’s
rival in conquering the American Academy Awards’ Foreign Language section.
Seeing the film after OTJ, TRANSIT is everything I wanted the former to be: a
film that showcases masterful use of technical but has crafted a rich story
that has a genuine struggle for women, in a space where they are only aliens
surviving for their families. With its machismo, the testosterone festival that
is OTJ is not a necessary movie in this era. And if we’ll only hail it for
looking good, a true progression to our local cinema will never take place.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-85278570535399728502014-04-16T07:02:00.001-07:002014-04-16T07:21:19.605-07:00THE DENIAL OF FEMALE DESIRE IN LINO BROCKA’S “BONA” (1980)<span style="color: white;"><br /><br />October 4, 2012<br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Photo courtesy of Video 48</i></span><br /><br /><br />This year, Lino Brocka’s BONA (1980) was brought into the spotlight once again when the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) decided to create an updated version of the film through a stage satire. It was directed by Soxie Topacio and the comedic actress Eugene Domingo played the eponymous role, while newcomer Edgar Allan de Guzman reprised the role of Phillip Salvador’s showbiz-wannabe. Despite relocating the story from the slums to the lower-middle class of Manila, from an oppressive 1970s regime to a clean and fully-Americanized era, both film and play revolve around the idea of the obsessed female fan and her fate after choosing what she desires in contrast to what her family expects for and from her.<br /><br /><br />“Obsession” is an international title given to Lino Brocka’s BONA (1980). This is probably because it is about a young lady’s extreme obsession with a man who isn’t really a superstar with a high-profile character. Or perhaps because it also attacks the film’s star’s (Nora Aunor) aggressively loyal fan following. Obsession isn’t the most notable element in the much-lauded 1980 film. It tackles issues of poverty, fanaticism and choice and how these overlap and affect the lives of the characters. Possibly, Bona is accused by her family for being hopelessly obsessed and beyond herself. But obsession is not in itself an empty extremist concept. It is rooted in desire, in passionately going for what a person wants. And it is evident in the film, through her complete elimination from her own home and the eventual abandonment of her idol, that Bona’s choice to escape her expected role to follow her desire has led to her alienation. BONA is a film centered on this female desire, and how society perceives it as something unaccepted, especially when it is against expectations. What the play proves is that 32 years on, it seems what Filipino women want remains in question. <br /><br /><br />Patriarchy manifests itself well in Lino Brocka’s film. Both in the middle class and the slums, women are forced back into the households to fulfill their duties as mothers, wives and helpers. And once someone like Bona willingly escapes her role to follow what would satisfy her, she is driven out of the picture. The Philippines is a strictly patriarchal country and women are indeed oppressed in this society by keeping them in gender roles provided by the patriarchal system. As a social realist film, BONA reflects all these atrocities within the patriarchal setting of Martial Law. But is it possible that BONA suggests a filmic solution to the suppression of women’s rights? Using writings on feminist film theory (particularly that of subjectivity, desire and spectatorship) and Marxist feminism, this paper aims to find the real situation within the patriarchal setting during the Marcos regime (1972-1985) with regards to the oppression of women’s desire that is represented in BONA and how women can liberate themselves from this situation.<br /><br /><br /><b>BONA: A Result of 1970s Contradictions</b><br /><br />Set in Manila, BONA is about a middle-class young woman who’s a fan of a poor bit player in films named Gardo. She leaves her family to serve the man and is scolded several times by her father who forces her to return home. To Gardo, she is not a love interest but a helper. Despite her efforts for attention and affection, he continued his habits of drinking and womanizing but still Bona did not leave him. Her insistence to stay with Gardo led her brother to drive her away from the family completely. But when she returns to Gardo, he’s planned on leaving her and his house to marry a rich woman and go to America.<br /><br /><br />Women introduced in Brocka’s film occupy different roles. There were prostitutes and well-kept middle-class women who were either working or studying. But the ones that populate the slum setting and even the bourgeois household of Bona are seldom housewives and helpers that are shown as helpful homebodies. Bona herself was assigned by her father as an assistant to her mother, with a job of cleaning and cooking.<br /><br /><br />The conditions of Filipina women in the 1970s were not so different from these portrayals. Religion’s strict ties with society have produced this conception of the Filipina. Catholicism was (and even today is) still strong and patriarchy has been strengthened as a result. The passive Maria Clara type is the normal Filipina type and the sexually independent woman is immediately a whore. As Gemma Tulud Cruz (2005) wrote</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">These figurations of the Filipino female are also a throwback to the configuration of the Filipino woman through religion, specifically the emphasis on the Virgin Mary of the Annunciation, by the Spaniards, who colonized the Philippines for more than three hundred years. Interestingly, as Nira Yuval-Davis (whom Schüssler Fiorenza quotes) posits, this religious configuration of the Filipino woman is also implicated in the Spaniards' nationalist discourses, for it can be traced to the attributes of Maria Clara—the Filipino version of the doncella (the image of the perfect woman of the Iberian Peninsula in the fifteenth century), which the Spaniards used to subjugate and domesticate the Filipina.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: white;">From the Spanish era, it would still be evident in the 1970s that women are still restricted to domestic roles that didn’t grant them equal rights to professional careers. These views would also lead to the notion of the “weaker sex” and violence against women. The shift would begin with women’s liberation movements. 1970s feminist group MAKIBAKA (Malayang Kilusan ng Bagong Kababaihan) organized local feminists and, along with nationalist organizations like Kabataang Makabayan, contributed to social awareness programs that fought Marcos’ dictatorship. MAKIBAKA echoed the anti-imperialist and anti-fascist cries of their radical subsidiaries, while protesting the atrocities inflicted specifically on Filipino women such as sexual trafficking, domestic violence, and other forms of systemic oppression (Castillo, 2007).<br /><br /><br />The passive Maria Clara type would be reinforced in 1950s and 1960s cinema with the rise of the action genre, particularly films of Fernando Poe, Jr. that produced stereotypes for women of different ages “culled from Biblical characters and also represent the ideal Filipina: nurturing, caring and upright” (Jamon, 2004). In the earlier years of cinema these images were the norm for female characters, but during the 1960s and the 1970s these were complicated by the rise of Second Wave Feminism and the ‘bomba’ genre, and the insurgence of social realism in cinema. Second Wave Feminism found its way to the movies of America, where it liberated the woman roles – from domestic roles of the 1950s to the overtly sexual and independent of the 1960s. In the Philippines, the sexual revolution produced the bomba genre. Bomba was overtly sexual melodrama that was even promoted by the Marcoses as a means of blocking audiences from the social movements occurring during their administration (Dela Cruz, 1988). But social realism now was also working its way towards prominence, with the films of Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal, Celso Ad Castillo, Marilou Diaz-Abaya, etc. Inspired by New Wave Cinema, these directors would make the films that would shift views on women from objectification to real different situations. BONA then, with its focus on a woman’s desire and men’s opposition towards it, is a product of its time and is appropriate for an era of such contradictions.<br /><br /><br /><b>Feminist film theory in the Philippine setting</b><br /><br />Contradiction is itself a relevant matter in feminist film theory. In her groundbreaking essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, Laura Mulvey (1975) laid bare the masculinity of Hollywood cinema and the so-called “male gaze”. Hollywood films are transfixed into a male spectatorship and the women are recognized for their “to-be-looked-at-ness”. But she suggests that women in film can escape this viewpoint with a counter-cinema. That of course is not immediate since the masculinity of Hollywood cinema has been well-established in the earlier years of film, but as she said:</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">There is no way in which we can produce an alternative out of the blue, but we can begin to make a break by examining patriarchy with the tools it provides. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: white;"><br />Feminist film theorists have followed suit, examining women’s representations and finally achieving favorable images of women from films such as Martin Scorsese’s ALICE DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (1974) and Woody Allen’s ANNIE HALL (1977). New Wave Cinema urged questions on women in the direction of Hollywood cinema and the 60s to the 80s marked a shift in the views on women in cinema towards more complex but not always uncomplicated images and voices. Brian McNair claimed that representations in film “must resonate with changes taking place in women’s lifestyles and values to succeed in emerging marketplace of empowered female audiences” (2002, p.121). The feminist movement has instilled itself well upon social discourse and upon film itself.<br /><br /><br />While the second wave feminism has been criticized for focusing on white women exclusively, the studies and discourses have influenced women apart from Western capitalist societies and have even spawned the “Third Wave” of the ‘90s to present. As also reflected in Third World Feminism, women’s liberation in countries like the Philippines is deeply connected to nationalism. In the Philippine context, pre-Hispanic ideologies are attributed by a residual form of female predominance (i.e. the concept of “babaylan”). This may be acknowledged as the source of ascendancy of women in political affairs and other aspects such as contemporary culture and social life especially during the post-WWII period. The emergence of feminism in cinema during the 1970s to the 1980s has served to strengthen female characters and has threatened to demolish machismo in local films (David, 1995). There was a lot of focus on woman-centric films ignited by directors Lino Brocka, Celso Ad Castillo and (especially) Ishmael Bernal. Female directors like Lupita Kashiwahara, Marilou-Diaz Abaya, Laurice Guillen and Olivia Lamasan also ventured into the film industry, with Diaz-Abaya helming the “first Filipino feminist film” MORAL in 1982. Not to mention, the two biggest stars of the period were women who also starred in several roles directed by the directors mentioned - Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos.<br /><br /><br />But of course, while the “New Woman” emerged in Philippine cinema, patriarchy also found ways of reasserting itself. The traditional genres and stereotypes still proliferated during this period, especially with the resurgence of the action and the bomba genre. In her analysis of 10 Tagalog movies with different portrayals of women, Pennie S. Azarcon dela Cruz (1988) observed that women in these films are exclusively dependent on men for happiness and fulfillment and safety at any entanglement and that they are “good” if they’re kind and submissive and when their devotion is only directed towards family life. Women were also portrayed as materialistic, ambitious and gullible, and are considered as sexual objects that must fulfill a man’s sexual needs (pp. 114-127). Philippine cinema has always given women a passive, subversive role that lacks sexual agency, especially in the light of the Filipino’s grip on religion and the patriarchal setting that feeds on it.<br /><br /><br /><b>Female Desire in BONA</b><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Throughout the history of cinema, women have always been objectified by men. Cinema establishes gender politics by assigning roles that are appropriated by men and women as a means of sustaining order in society. The woman in this setting is expected to be passive – she appears in accordance to man’s (who is perceived as “active” and “determining”) fantasies of her. Woman’s “to-be-looked-at-ness” in film is something feminists have studied and tended to defy, deconstructing the masculinity of cinema and finding ways for the entrance of female desire and subjectivity. The argument of Laura Mulvey (1975) in “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, with regards to male objectification, states that</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">an active/passive heterosexual division of labor has similarly controlled narrative structure. According to principles of the ruling ideology and the psychical structures that back it up, the male figure cannot bear the burden of sexual objectification. Man is reluctant to gaze at his exhibitionist like. Hence the split between spectacle and narrative supports the man’s role as the active one of forwarding the story, making things happen.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: white;"><br />Yet this does not acknowledge the emergence of the women’s film and the possibility of the female gaze. Even in Mulvey’s “Afterthoughts”, she finds female desire to be possible only once the male gaze has been adopted. Mary Ann Doane (1987) suggests that the desiring gaze of female characters either lacks an object or results in punishment for the female gazer, and hence, spectatorial unpleasure. As a result, Doane notes "the woman's exercise of an active investigating gaze can only be simultaneous with her own victimization" (p. 136). Women can enjoy a certain female gaze but they are not in the determining position. De Lauretis also argues that narrative functions to “seduce” women into femininity without their consent. The female subject is made to desire femininity. Here, de Lauretis turns Mulvey’s phrase around: not only does a story demand sadism: sadism demands a story. She refers to the ways in which the female characters in VERTIGO (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958), but also in a ‘woman’s film’ such as REBECCA (Hitchcock, 1940), are made to conform to the image that man has of them (Smelik, 2007).<br /><br /><br />Bona is the central character of the film. She decides for herself and she’s the protagonist we identify with. In the first four minutes, we find her mixed within crowds looking at an event/person. We first see her watching the procession of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, rather bewildered by the scenery. This is cut to Bona witnessing a film shooting and avidly checking for Gardo, the bit player she obsesses over. These scenes would suggest a parallelism between the Black Nazarene and Gardo – both have fans who devote themselves completely to their idols. The film immediately reveals that the perspective belongs to Bona, and we will see the film according to what she sees and experiences. According to Maria LaPlace (1987), “The woman's film is distinguished by its female protagonist, female point-of-view and its narrative which most often revolves around the traditional realms of women's experience: the familial, the domestic, the romantic - those arenas where love, emotion and relationships take precedence over action and events” (p. 139). Similarly, Mulvey (1981) discusses in her later essay “Afterthoughts on Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” that “the female presence as center allows the story to be actually, overtly, about sexuality; it becomes a melodrama”. In BONA, the central character is de-eroticized and does not function as a spectacle to be looked at. By her appearance, Nora Aunor embodies her more as a common Filipina rather than a well-to-do bourgeois lady. She isn’t an erotic woman here, but she resembles more the Maria Clara type through her conservative gestures. We see how she sees Gardo and realize in her actions the desire to be with him. Gardo then (as the intention of Lino Brocka) becomes the sexual object to be looked at. Bona is the bearer of the gaze and Gardo is the spectacle. Yet looking is not the only action Bona does to demonstrate this. Similar to the Noranians’ treatment of their idol, Bona left her familial responsibilities and her bourgeois lifestyle to live with Gardo in his small house in the slums of Manila. Significantly she took the responsibility of being Gardo’s helper. Her sacrifices and her eventual resort to enslavement are pitiful, because the audience (especially when it’s a Noranian, or any other avid fanatic) identifies with what she had to give up. This contributes to the melodrama and thus this images Bona as victim despite being the center of the narrative. Her stay with Gardo, her role as helper/mother, their confusing relationship and the intervention of Bona’s family fulfills LaPlace’s claims of what a woman’s film is with BONA.<br /><br /><br />After she was scolded by her father for spending the night at Gardo’s house without permission, Bona returns to a drunken Gardo. She carried him to his bed and while he spoke in gibberish, Bona told him that she’ll stay with him from that night on. Gardo responds by mistaking her as his deceased mother and apologizes for his drinking. This is not the only time Gardo would compare Bona to his mother. The morning after that night, Bona gave Gardo a bath and in his stories, he compared her to his mother. He said that like Bona, his mother loved to give him baths and that she touched his skin the way his mother used to. The image alone of Bona smiling and tickling the grown man while he’s being bathed is a sign of Gardo’s immaturity that would affect his decisions later. This also reveals Bona’s newfound role as mother to Gardo, not as girlfriend, that would also mark the start of her “pagpapaalila” or enslavement. Bona seems to understand this as a sign of affirmation: she is now willing to play mother just to stay with him. What this suggests is that a woman can enjoy her freedom to desire once she conforms to certain gender roles assigned to her. Upon finding Bona, her father immediately hunts down Gardo and orders him to marry her because he thought Gardo forcefully took her away from home. He is startled to learn that it is Bona who willingly came to stay with Gardo. This causes the father to be intensely angered that he chased the fearful Bona until he suffers a heart attack. Her father’s anger is also related to differences on social classes between Bona and Gardo. Gardo is, in her father’s words, “isang bit player na hampaslupa’t walang malamon” (a bit player who’s a tramp with nothing to eat) while Bona is from a bourgeois family who’s a “reynang tatamad-tamad pa” (a lazy queen). Between Gardo and her father, it is evident now that whoever Bona chooses she will be forced to accept what the man wants her to be. But in the end, she chooses Gardo.<br /><br /><br />The effect of her unlikely choice is that she would continue her role as maid/helper to the man. She now cooks his food, cleans his house, gives him a bath and carries his things to the film set. Bona’s self-torture and patience wouldn’t end there. Many times over, Gardo took home different women. And because she remains obedient to Gardo she serves these women, too. Bona’s desire towards Gardo does not reciprocate, because Gardo would devote himself to his small parts in films, his womanizing and his drinking. But then one night a naked Gardo gets up from bed, wakes up Bona and demands a massage from her. While Bona was massaging his chest, Gardo grabbed her hands to make her stop. In this sensual scene, a switch of gaze was suddenly apparent – Bona now is the object of Gardo’s male gaze, he recognizes her as a sexual being. This would then lead to their only sexual encounter. In that moment, one could infer that Gardo’s treatment of Bona was beginning to change. Yet by morning, it seems this encounter (not different to the other women Gardo took home) was only casual and it didn’t really matter to him. Bona on the other hand was looking at Gardo as if expecting some remarks about last night, because it was a glorious moment for the fan who finally gained the attention of her idol. But for Gardo it’s like nothing happened. The hopeless situation of Bona intensifies in this scene, because the spectator can clearly see that she’s just a utility for Gardo. As Roland Tolentino argued in his analysis of Richard Gomez in DYESEBEL (Mel Chionglo, 1990), the woman in film can only be functional as long as she can be used for the merriment or misery of the male character (2000, p.24). Bona enters the situation in control of her choices but because of her blind passion and passivity towards Gardo, she’s become a mere object for him to use sexually and domestically. It is reflective of how Nora Aunor’s fans love it when she needs them. <br /><br /><br />Despite fighting for Gardo throughout the film, it’s clear that the bit player didn’t acknowledge her efforts. Towards the end, her family would give her up completely. Bona returns home after learning that her father died. Her mother and sister welcome her and they take her to the coffin. Suddenly, her older brother enters the frame and starts beating her around the house until she’s outside. Similarly, Bona’s father beat her with a belt earlier in the film when she didn’t go home one night. This happened again when she was being forced back home at Gardo’s house. The brother now commands her to never come back or he’ll kill her. This is the consequence of her freedom to leave and choose Gardo. She’s now denied by her family, the last resort she could take is Gardo. But as she returns to his house, she finds his new girlfriend Katrina. Katrina was there to tell Bona that Gardo’s things need to be packed because he’s going to live with her. Gardo then affirms that he is marrying Katrina and that he’s planning on selling the house and leaving Bona. This further disturbs Bona who doesn’t have anywhere else to go. He tries to reason with Gardo but he didn’t mind her.<br /><br /><br />This would lead to the infamous ending of the boiling water, Bona’s response to her oppression by the men around her. Her resort to violence signifies her eruption and her response to the denial of her desire by men. In his review of Brocka’s BONA and JAGUAR (1979), Alain Garsault (1981) says that<br /><br /><br />Bona, despite living conditions in the slums, tries to be true to her feelings and fails. But in making a last desperate effort, Insiang, Bona and Poldo are able to salvage their human dignity – the only thing of value to which the poor, the enslaved, the oppressed, can lay claim (p.180).<br /><br /><br />It is Bona’s last blows for dignity after she realized that Gardo has exploited her all along. We wouldn’t know what happens next after she pours the boiling water but we’re sure it is her own way of resistance from Gardo.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><b>Conclusion</b><br /><br />Lino Brocka’s 1980 film BONA is a woman’s film since it tackles the situation of a woman during the height of feminist film theory in the Philippines. It has received accolades here and around the world because of its social realism, its direct attack on religious/superstar fanaticism and also perhaps because of a very infamous ending. Through the years it has gained more and more discourses and even an adaptation into a stageplay directed by Soxie Topacio and starring Eugene Domingo as the titular character.<br /><br /><br />Along with other social discourses on film, feminism both in the era when it was made and also within its social context, is arguably in a state of contradiction because of the reassertion of patriarchal modes into the cinematic form. In BONA, we get an alternative woman’s film. We identify with Bona as the central character in a struggle with the several men in her life. The film begins with the protagonist pursuing her desire in Gardo through her independence from the dictates of her patriarchal family from which she manages to escape. But as the narrative moves closer and closer to its end, we find that Bona just got herself into another oppressive situation. Upon choosing her desire to escape her strict father, she’s still enslaved in feminine tasks when she moved in with Gardo, doing the cooking, cleaning and she even started working. The furious father and the brother, as opposed to the caring mother and sister of Bona, are violent men who found Bona’s disobedience as a grave matter and decided to eliminate her from the household. The brother blamed Bona for the death of the father who forcefully tried to claim her back so she can help in the family. Gardo on the other hand accepted Bona not as an equal but as a utility he can use for comfort and utility. Bona is found bearing the gaze while Gardo seemed to be the sex object but Bona still had to conform to perform feminine tasks so she can preserve her gaze, and satisfy the desire to be with him.<br /><br /><br />Bona becomes a rupture in the system of patriarchy in the film when she chose to escape gender expectations of her father. But the narrative moved along to the reinforcement of traditional patriarchal modes for women. This is reflective of the backlash towards women’s lib that rose during the 1980s with the reinforcement of patriarchy. Gardo symbolizes this reinforcement when he accepted Bona but seduced her to serve him. Bona’s resistance then (as exploited female) is the elimination of Gardo using the tool that used to give him pleasure – warm water. While feminist critics have explored various media in search of feminist challenges to patriarchal institutions using the “female voice” (Gledhill, 1994), the “female action” is often overlooked. BONA proves that despite the continuous reassertion of the oppression of women, a solution can be made and that is the elimination of the oppressive patriarchal institutions not just through a voice but through action.<br /><br /><br />This is how feminism is connected to Marxism in the Philippine context. While women are engaged in the liberation from patriarchy, so is the struggle of revolutionaries against bureaucrat capitalism. And both these struggles are interwoven to battle against the bigger culprit: US Imperialism. In feminist film theory, the source of patriarchal modes that continue to attack feminist counter-cinema spring from Hollywood machismo. Feminism should not exist fighting for gender issues alone, but also capitalism. Like Bona, millions of workers are also exploited by selfish men who don’t really care about the conditions of the working class. Garsault (1981) wrote in his review of two Brocka films that the protagonists in his films are “situated within a framework, and with other people, and cannot be considered separately from them” (p. 180). The relevance of BONA lies in the fact that it is set in the urban poor sector of Manila where a bourgeois woman chose to live a working-class life and understood the reality of oppression towards her womanhood and dignity. It is the working class’ responsibility to revolt against these oppressive forces that continue to use the bodies of the poor for their own benefit. It’s not enough to let these voices shout and be heard. There must be action – a collective action that would liberate the thousands of Bonas suffering everyday. <br /><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><b>BONA (NV Productions, 1980)</b><br /><br />Directed by Lino Brocka<br />Produced by Nora Aunor (as Nora Villamayor)<br />Written by Cenen Ramones<br />Cast: Nora Aunor ... Bona<br />Phillip Salvador ... Gardo<br />Marissa Delgado ... Katrina<br />Raquel Montesa ... Nancy<br />Venchito Galvez ... Bona's Father<br />Rustica Carpio ... Bona's Mother<br />Nanding Josef ... Nilo<br />Spanky Manikan ... Bona's Brother<br />The Peta Kalinangan Ensemble<br />Joel Lamangan ... Director (uncredited)<br />Original Music by Lutgardo Labad<br />Cinematography by Conrado Baltazar<br />Film Editing by Augusto Salvador</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: white;"><b>REFERENCES</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">Castillo, M. (2007). Flight of the filipina phoenix: The rise of pinay feminism. Retrieved September 25, 2012 from http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/international/Rise-of-Pinay-Feminism.html<br /><br />Cruz, G. T. (2005). Journal of feminist studies in religion. Retrieved September 25, 2012 from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_feminist_studies_in_religion/v021/21.1cruz.html<br /><br />David, J. (1995). Fields of vision : critical applications in recent Philippine cinema. Manila : Ateneo de Manila University Press<br /><br />Dela Cruz, P. S. A. (1988). From virgin to vamp: Images of women in Philippine media. Manila: Asian Social Institute in cooperation with the World Association for Christian Communication<br /><br />Doane, M. A. (1987). The desire to desire: The woman's film of the 1940s. Bloomington: Indiana <br /><br />Garsault, A. (1993). Slum triptych: The struggle for dignity: A review of jaguar and bona. In Hernando, M. A. (Ed.), Lino Brocka: The artist and his times. (pp. 180-181). Manila: Sentrong Pangkultura ng Pilipinas. <br /><br />Gledhill, C. (1994). Image and voice: Approaches to Marxist-feminist film criticism. In D. Carson, J. Dittmar, & R. Welsch (Eds.), Multiple voices in feminist film criticism. USA: University of Minnesota<br /><br />Jamon, R. L. (2004). The women of Fernando Poe, Jr.: Portrayals of women in FPJ films. Master of Arts Thesis College of Mass Communication of University of the Philippines<br /><br />LaPlace, M. (1987). Producing and consuming the woman's film In C. Gledhill (Ed.), Home is where the heart is. London: British Film Institute Publishing<br /><br />Mulvey, L. (1989). Visual and other pleasures. London: MacMillan<br /><br />McNair, B. (2002). Striptease culture: Sex, media and the democratization of desire. London: Routledge <br /><br />Smelik, A. (2007). Feminist film theory. In P. Cook (Ed.), Cinema book. London: British Film Institute<br /><br />Tolentino, R. (2000). Richard Gomez at ang mito ng pagkalalake, Sharon Cuneta at ang perpetwal na birhen at iba pang sanaysay ukol sa bida sa pelikula bilang kultural na teksto. Pasig: Anvil Publishing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Ang akdang <i>Urbana at Felisa </i>ni Presbitero D. Modesto de Castro ay isang “book
of manners” na gumabay sa mga Pilipinong kaugalian sa pagtatapos ng panahon ng
mga Kastila. Sa anyo ng mga liham sa pagitan ng mag-ateng Urbana at Felisa,
naipaparating ni de Castro sa mambabasa ang GMRC ng panahon – isang manual kung
paano magiging “sibilisado” sa kalungsuran ng Maynila at pati na rin sa lahat
ng lugar na nasasakupan. ‘Di nakakagulat na ito’y nailimbag sa papatapos ng era
ng mga Kastila. Naisakatuparan na ang planadong pananakop ng Espanya sa
Pilipinas at hindi man sila naging matagumpay sa pagpapanatili ng kanilang
pamumuno, nagawa nilang tuluyang mailubog ang kamalayang Filipino sa mga
banyagang ideya’t pag-aasal. Ang akda’y labis na nakatulong sa pagpapanatili ng
isang Katolikong ideolohiya sa mga Filipinong masasakop naman ng liberalistang
pag-iisip ng mga Amerikano. Magpasangayo’y buhay na buhay ang mga parangal ni
Urbana sa ‘baguntao’, mga paalalang marahil ay idinirekta ni de Castro sa mga
henerasyon ng kabataan na (marahil sa palagay niya) nawawalan ng moralidad sa
pagdaan ng panahon. E sa ngayon kaya? Mula sa Maynila papalabas sa kanayunan,
patuloy ang ganitong edukasyon para sa isang marangal at sibilisadong kolonya.
Ang liberal nilang pag-uugaling taliwas naman at mas maluwag kaysa sa
disiplinadong asal ng mga Espanyol ang umiral sa bagong panahon. Tulad nga ng
“update” ni Jose Javier Reyes sa akdang ito, makikita naman ang tahimik na
pananakop ng Amerika sa kalungsuran na tahasan namang inilalapat ang sarili sa
mga nayon, iniisa-isa ang mga probinsyanong naniniwalang nasa Maynila ang
kanilang “pag-unlad”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Sa Eskwelahan<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Ang sulat ni
Urbanang “Sa Eskwelahan” ay nagsasaad ng ilang mga paalala at pangaral para sa
kapatid niyang si Honesto na papasok na sa paaralan. Maikli lamang ang sulat
ngunit puno ng mga mensaheng talaga nama’y magagamit ng sinumang una palang
papasok sa eskwela, lalo na sa mga pribadong paaralang mahigpit sa
kani-kanilang mga regulasyon. Ito’y mga natutunan ni Urbana sa kanyang
maestrang si Donya Prudencia na pinangaralan din ng mga Kastilang prupesor. Ang
mga naipasang pangaral ay bunga ng labis na disiplinadong lapit sa pagtuturo at
pageensayo ng mga gurong Espanyol sa mga Pilipino. Sa panahong iyon, ang
karamihan sa mga guro ay binubuo ng mga Dominikong prayleng ginamit ang
katekismo bilang primarya sa pagtuturo sa mga Pilipinong nasakop. Ang mga
Pilipino’y hinulma sa panahong ito bilang mga ganap na disipulo ng Kastilang
pamumuhay at siyempre labis itong nakasira sa pagpapanatili ng Pilipinong
identidad sa sentro ng bansa. Ang edukasyon sa panahon ng Espanyol ay tungo sa
benepisyo ng mananakop, upang ganap na maging kolonya ang bansa.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Ngunit kung
titignan din sa kabilang banda, ang mga pangaral niyang ito ay tama rin naman.
May respeto si Urbana sa mga usapan ng tao nang banggitin niyang “Sa lansangan
ay huwag makikialam sa mga pulong at away na madaraanan” at ang ilang sumunod
na talata kung saan sinasabi niyang huwag sumabat sa nakatatanda. Tinuturo ni
Urbana ang mahusay na pakikipagkapwa na mula man sa pamamaraang Espanyol ay
magagamit ninuman basta ba’y may ugnayan siya sa tao. At hindi ba’y nasa
kaugalian na rin naman ng mga Pilipino ang paggalang sa nakatatanda? Itong mga
parangal ni Urbana ay may malalimang pinagmulan – ang tinatawag ni Romulo P.
Baquiran, Jr. (1996) na “lohikal na pagsasabay na pagpapanatili ng dalawang
daigdig: isang inihaharap sa mga dayuhan at isang inilalaan para sa sarili”.
Labis mang nabahiran ng kalungsuran, si Urbana ay ‘di lumayo sa tunay niyang
kultura. At sa gitna ng sulat, idiniin ni Urbana na <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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matutuhan ay magtanong sa kapwa nag-aaral o sa maestro kaya, huwag mahihiya
sapagka’t kung hiyas ng isang marunong ang sumangguni sa bait ng iba, ay
kapurihan naman ng isang bata ang magtanong sa marurunong, sapagka’t
napahahalata na ibig matuto’t maramtan ang hubad na isip, ng karununga’t
kabaitan. (de Castro, 1946)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Di ninanais ni Urbanang maging sarado ang
isipan kundi mapagmatyag at maalam, marahil isang munting rebolusyunaryong
lapit sa pag-aaral na hindi basta tanggap lamang nang tanggap kundi bungkalin
din ang tinuro para sa mas kumprehensibong pagkakaintindi nito. Sa mga ganitong
paraan, napapakita ang pakikiapid din ng mga pilitang pinatahimik ng kolonyal
na sistema.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Teknolohiya, Kababaihan at Edukasyon sa
ngayon: <i>The Updated Letters<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Sa ginawa
namang kakatwang makabagong bersyon ng <i>Urbana
at Felisa, </i>pinakita ni Jose Javier Reyes ang mga “trend” sa Maynila ng
dekada ‘oos na labis na ring nabahiran ng Americanization. Sa unang sulat,
pinandidirihan ni Urbana ang kaugalian ng kababaihang “namantsahan ng
kabalahuraan ng lungsod”. A niya, mga malalamya sila kumilos at walang galang
sa kani-kanilang pagkababae. Samakatuwid, kontra si Urbana sa liberal na
pag-uugali ng babae sa ngayon. Makikitang sa unang sulat ay nakabalot pa rin
kay Urbana ang mga turo ni Donya Prudencia ngunit sa mga susunod na sulat ay
nahawa na rin ang dalaga sa “uso”. Siya’y pala-inom na’t ‘di na masyadong
nabigyan ng pansin ang pag-aaral, wala na ring pakialam sa kanyang gramatika’t
paggamit ng wika. Ang akdang dati’y labis ang pag-aalala sa kinasasapitan ng
kanyang mga kapatid kaya binibigyan ito ng pangaral ay naging akda na ng
pansariling interes ng mga taong lungsod. Nasobrahan ang makabagong Urbana sa
pagpapasarap dahil sa kanyang kalayaan sa Maynila at marahil siya naman dapat
ang bigyan ng mga pangaral. Sa dulo’y mababasa lamang ang <i>Updated Letters </i>sa negatibong aspeto ng modernong kababaihan – ang
malayang babaeng nakikipagsabayan na ngayon sa maraming larangang dati’y lalaki
lamang ang binibigyan ng permiso. Ang kalayaan ng sekswalidad ay marahil isa pa
ring isyu sa ngayon ngunit ‘di rin naman tamang saklawin ng depinisyon ni
Urbana ang lahat ng babae sa lungsod bilang mga kerengkeng. Ang modernong
babae’y mas matalino na rin kumpara sa panahon ni Modesto de Castro.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Kung babasahin
ding maigi ang bawat sulat, mapapansin ang mga pagbabago sa teknolohiya ng
komunikasyon: ang unang sulat ay tradisyunal na liham na ginamitan ng malalim
na Tagalog; ang sumunod ay ganoon pa rin, Taglish nga lang ang pagsusulat ni
Urbana (na kung tawagin na ang sarili ay “Bunny”); ang ikatlo’y ginamitan na ng
computer – mapapansin ito sa spell check ng salitang “naman” na laging nagiging
“naming” (marahil gamit niya ang Microsoft Word na programa); ang huli nama’y
gumamit na siya ng “text messaging shortcuts” na umuso sa paglaganap ng
Pilipinas bilang “Text Messaging Capital” ng mundo. Ang Americanization ng
panahong ito’y kasabay din ng mabilisang pagbabago sa teknolohiya at malabisang
pag-aangkop ng mga Pilipino dito.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Nakasaad sa maliliit na detalye
ng update ni Jose Javier Reyes ang naidudulot ng pagpasok ng makabagong
teknolohiya sa bansa. Nabanggit ni Bunny na patok daw sa Maynila ang HRM at
MassComm – dalawang kursong tinitignan nang husto para sa mga “big time” na
trabahong tulad ng call center at ang oportunidad makalipad abroad upang
magsilbi sa mga banyagang hotel, barko o restaurant. Uso sa panahon ng 2000s
(at hanggang ngayon) ang mga pag-aaral na makapaglilingkod sa ibang bansa,
katulad na rin ng nursing. Naging “in demand” tuloy ang mga ganitong kurso, inaalam
pa nga kung sinong pinakamagaling saka hahanapan ng trabaho sa Canada, Amerika
o kung saan pa. Sa pagpasok ng bagong dekadang 2010s, tinulak pa lalo ng
administrasyong Aquino ang potensiyal ng ganitong edukasyon gamit ang K+12.
Dito’y madadagdagan ang mga taon sa elementarya at sekondaryang edukasyon sa
paglalayong mabigyan sila ng mas sapat na kakayahan sa pagtatrabaho. Ang modelo
ng K+12 ay hango sa sistema ng maraming banyagang bansa kaya naman
napaghahalataan ding layon talaga ng pamahalaang magpadala ng mga Pilipino sa
ibang bansa upang paglingkuran ito. Ayon sa artikulo nina Anne Marxze Umil at
Igal Jada San Andres sa Bulatlat (2012):<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-size: x-small;">“What the K to 12 system will do is reinforce cheap semi-skilled youth labor for the global market. The DepEd talks of a so-called ‘professionalization’ of the young labor force mainly for labor markets abroad but unfortunately continues to ignore the very causes of forced migration, namely, lack of local jobs, low wages and landlessness,” said Garry Martinez, chairman of Migrante. He said the K to 12 system sadly undermines the youth’s very significant role in nation-building because it is geared toward providing cheap semi-skilled and unskilled youth labor to the global market instead of for domestic development. “Young workers, mostly semi-skilled and unskilled, make up approximately 10.7 percent of the total Filipino labor migrant population. Through the K to 12, the government will further program our youth not to serve the country but to service the needs of the neoliberal global market,” said Martinez.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Tulad noong panahon ng <i>Urbana at Felisa, </i>ang sistema ng
edukasyon sa ngayon ay nanganganib muling dumirekta hindi sa ikabubuti ng bayan
kundi sa benepisyo ng mga banyaga. ‘Di ito nakatutuwang pagbabago, sapagka’t
imbis na mapabuti ang kalagayan ng Pilipinas ay mas uunahin pa ng kabataan ang
paglilingkod sa ibang bayan. Sa ganitong pamamaraa’y ‘di halatang inilulublob
nanaman ang kamalayan ng makabagong Pilipino sa mga ideolohiyang ‘di nila gagap
at tiyak ay dadalhin na rin nila sa pagtanda’t ipapasa sa mga ‘baguntao’. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Si Urbana nga naman noon at
ngayon ay isang subersibong nilalang, labis nang nilunod sa impluwensiya ng
kolonyalismo kaya ang nilalaman ng kanyang mga sulat ay kung ano’ng kanyang
natutunan. Marahil mahalaga ring magbago naman at mamulat na si Urbana sa
katotohanan at magsulat para sa ikabubuti ng kanyang mga kapatid, ng kanyang
bayan. Nakikita kong kaya niyang labanan ang kolonyal na pag-iisip at umusbong
sa kanyang pagkalulong kung itutulak lang niya ang sarili nang husto. Kung iba
lang ang ipapangaral niya – ang pagkamulat ng kanyang mga kapatid – marahil ay
higit pa sa isang “book of manners” ang mailikha. Kailangan na natin ng bagong
(at progresibong) Urbana!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Mga Sanggunian:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">de Castro, P. D. M. (1996). <i>Pagsusulatan nang dalauang binibini na si
urbana at ni felisa. </i>R. P. Baquiran, Jr. (Ed.) Quezon City: Sentro ng
Wikang Filipino, Sistemang University of the Philippines Diliman at National Commission for Culture and the Arts<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">de Castro, P. D. M. (1946). <i>Urbana at felisa: Aklat na katututuhan ng
gintong aral. </i>J. Martinez (Ed.) Manila: Aklatang J. Martinez<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Reyes, J.J. (2008). The updated
letters of urbana and felisa. In J. Zafra (Ed.), <i>The Flip reader : being a geatest hits
anthology from flip : the official guide to world domination. </i>(pp.
183-187). Pasig City: Anvil Pub.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Umil, A. M. D. & Andres, I.J.
(2012). Two years is an added burden – parents. Bulatlat Online. Retrieved September
8, 2012 from <u>http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/05/30/two-years-is-an-added-burden---parents/</u></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-55409545600177707382012-10-24T21:38:00.000-07:002012-10-24T21:38:02.167-07:00HORROR FROM THE MARGINS<br />
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<span style="color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">SHAKE RATTLE
AND ROLL 13 (2011)<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: auto;" />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Tamawo<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Directed by Richard Somes<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Written by Richard Somes, Aloy Adlawan, Jules
Katanyag<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Starring Maricar Reyes, Bugoy Carino, Zanjoe
Marudo, Celia Rodriguez<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Parola<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Directed by Jerrold Tarog<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Written by Jerrold Tarog, Aloy Adlawan,
Maribel Ilag, Roselle Monteverde<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Starring Kathryn Bernardo, Louise delos
Reyes, Sam Concepcion, Ina Reymundo, Ara Mina, Lloyd Samartino<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Rain
Rain Go Away<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Directed by Chris Martinez<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Written by Marlon N. Rivera, Chris Martinez<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Starring Eugene Domingo, Jay Manalo, Edgar
Allan Guzman, Boots Anson-Roa, Perla Bautista<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></div>
</div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br clear="all" style="mso-break-type: section-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">It is often argued that the spotlight of local
mainstream cinema at the moment is no longer at the marginalized groups of
society (the poor, indigenous people, militant groups, etc.) but at the
privilege of the ruling class. It’s a saddening case then that the cries of
real oppression are muted in favor of success stories via commercial
achievements (the middle-class ideal for accomplishment) and the sugary
narratives of boy-meets-girl. But for the genre known to make oppressive forces
pay, local horror never neglected the marginalized. In fact, modern issues
still have a special place in the heart of the grotesque. Such is the case here
in SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL 13, Regal’s annual horror treat for the Metro Manila
Film Festival. (Still) chopped up to three narratives, this time it’s about a
family who retreat to the idyll province (“Tamawo”), a revival of a dead
friendship (“Parola”) and the horrors done by the 2009 storm Ondoy to rich
factory owners (“Rain, Rain Go Away”). The film is no departure in terms of
form. I’ve always thought that the cleancut digital quality of Regal’s visuals
is anticlimactic compared to the earlier films’ mood and atmosphere. In fact,
the content is quite familiar too. Since the MMFF is seen as an event offered
for family bonding, the supposedly last installment of the horror franchise is
all about families. But it’s not without its twisted reflections of
contemporary social ills.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">All episodes focus on the ideal family model:
father and mother with their children try to cope with changes in their new
situations. The family in “Tamawo” traveled from Manila to the stateside
because the father finds the city chaotic, while the couple in “Rain, Rain Go
Away” tries to cope up from the horrors of the nightmarish storm by building a
new factory and retrying their chances at having a child. The bond of two
families in the middle episode “Parola” would be disrupted by a secret affair.
It is the disruption of the family’s peace that would let the horrors push
through, but unlike “Parola”, the bookend episodes are haunted by the
unrecognized marginalized groups of people. The <i>tamawo</i>s are supernatural forces that stood in for indigenous people
in the provinces. Years ago, their crystal has been stolen by a mortal who
buried the treasure under a nipa hut. In the contemporary period, the <i>tamawo</i>s threatens a family to bring out
the treasure which the father actually discovered and hid. Only when the son
offered himself as a sacrifice that the remaining members of the family achieve
peace.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">The third episode is direct in handling a
much more recent issue regarding Metro Manila – floods. In “Rain, Rain Go
Away”, a couple is haunted by ghosts of child laborers who drowned by Ondoy
floods when they were locked-up in the old plastic ware factory owned by the
rich couple. Thinking the horror has past, the rich couple found a new home and
built a new factory (in a manner reminiscent of Imelda Marcos after the
incident at the Manila Film Center). But the ghosts of the workers haunted the
family and even took the lives of their relatives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">If this really is the last installment of the
franchise then it managed to update audiences of recent circumstances occurring
both in rural and urban sectors. A line from “Tamawo” has addressed the woes of
indigenous people regarding the proceedings in mining (especially around
Palawan). <i>“Halos lahat ng bagay sa mundo
ay nasa inyo na! ‘Eto na lang ang amin, papakialaman niyo pa!” </i>said one of
the <i>tamawos </i>in their conversation
with the father. It is pitiful of course because what we thought of as a
crystal was actually an egg that is carrying a premature embryo – the last
member of the <i>tamawos</i>. The film has
industrialization and modern society to blame for all the troubles done to the
tribe. The relationship between the upper and the lower classes would be much
more direct in the third episode. Child laborers were selfishly locked by the
couple so they wouldn’t escape the job as makers of plastic containers. Plastic
of course is known as the ultimate culprit to the flooding of the cities. That’s
why plastic bans have started in different cities in the metro, though not all.
The overproduction done by the capitalist couple in the film is the reason why
the deaths and the eventual haunting occurred.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">By putting our sympathies at the losses of
the bourgeois family, it is easy to overlook the situation of the abject
monsters/ghosts. These families sit pretty in their houses and when unfavorable
incidents arouse (such as natural calamities), they selfishly save themselves
and let the others die. But like the Ondoy victims in the third episode, the
margins have their own way of returning. The film has bourgeois families (or
people who can afford to watch Php150-200 worth of movie tickets) as target
audiences and these audiences relate to the problems of the families they
watch. But listen closely to the line said by the maid in the final episode <i>“Makakalimutan natin ang lahat pero ang mga
patay… hindi sila nakakalimot!”. </i>We may stay at our comfort zones for long,
but the ones from the margins will continue to haunt us until their voices are
heard.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-31230690599614106312012-10-24T21:32:00.000-07:002012-10-24T21:33:40.369-07:00THE REVENGE OF THE FORGOTTEN<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s15.postimage.org/8pqc3dt8b/Kimmy_Dora_4.png"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://s15.postimage.org/8pqc3dt8b/Kimmy_Dora_4.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>Kimmy Dora and the Temple of Kiyeme</i></b></div>
<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Alas, the new Eugene Domingo film was another crowd-pleasing success. It is expectedly so since Eugene, after numerous accolades and a string of noteworthy comedic performances, has established herself as the new It-girl of local cinema, a megastar. Kimmy Dora and the Temple of Kiyeme for the second time around was carried by her very theatrical performances (she played three roles). But this one’s pretty inferior. The laughs weren’t louder than the first and despite having a more adventurous plot and gag-filled mishaps, the script felt more predictable. The production was at least an improvement, letting Eugene enjoy the costumes and the audiences enjoy the beauty of Korean culture. Gags aside, the very departure of the film is its inclusion of a horror element. Employing this for additional spice, the film also introduces a relevant feat of repression. So the plot goes like this: the Goh Dong Hae family experiences the haunting of a deceased family friend who happens to be the patriarch’s (played by Ariel Ureta) Korean ex-girlfriend. The spirit goes on to take the souls of the men in Kimmy and Dora’s lives and the twins must let her soul rest in peace in order to retrieve the souls of their father and boyfriends (Zanjoe Marudo and Dingdong Dantes). </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It can be argued that the horror element of vengeful ghost is only an excuse for conflict in an otherwise predictable comedy. This aside, the film extinguishes the eruptions that could’ve given the film a little more action. Consider Kimmy’s frustrations of taking responsibility for almost all the family’s mishaps. This has been the issue of her character since the first film. Towards the end of the sequel, she is still the only one who seems to be providing solutions for the film’s major problems. Kimmy is an independent working woman who represents a new high regard for the working Filipina in the corporate ladder. Domingo portrays her with frosty bitchiness a la Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestley with emotional troubles and desire for only money and success. It’s also interesting how the anguished female ghost takes back hilariously at the men. Her needs were taken for granted as the story left her side for the horror one. The horror story conflict is resolved and we are left once again with escapist bourgeois comedy. Since the film isn’t really interested in feminism, well what other issues could this film raise?</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Let’s return to the ghost itself. The reason for its horrific rage was because Mr. Go Dong Hae left her as an adolescent and married a Filipina when he chose to study in the Philippines. This Korean girl Sang Kang Kang (cosplayer Alodia Gosiengfiao) locked herself up in her room to die. The choice of the Korean man isn’t much of a surprise for the contemporary Filipino setting where a “Korean invasion” has been occurring in the past decade. Sun Star Cebu (2011) reports “in 2010, Koreans overtook Americans as the biggest group of foreigners to visit the Philippines. More than 740,000 Koreans visited the Philippines last year, accounting for 21 percent of all foreign tourist arrivals, according to the Department of Tourism.” Koreans enjoy life here in the Philippines because they can absolutely afford it. And with their continuous travels to the country, a cultural shift may take place. Kimmy and Dora themselves are what Sun.Star Cebu calls the “Kopinos”, the Korean-Filipino children born from the previous generations of the two countries’ budding relationship. They are even bound to continue the two countries’ relationship by forcefully marrying a Korean tycoon’s son, which was comically lifted because the groom-to-be is a gluttonous damulag.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But then also, what could this imply on Filipinos? You dare not ask for the obvious: we are enjoying a great deal of Korean culture. From pop music (KPop), “Koreanovelas” to Korean restaurants and shops, well it is indeed a subtle invasion. It only piles up to our own colonial mentality, especially the teenage group. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sang Kang Kang’s vengefulness is a Korean response to this Kopino phenomenon. An interesting fact about her is that she is a part of the ethnic groups of their country. One could imagine how disappointed the uncolonized Koreans are to the ones who left for newer lifestyles elsewhere. Of course, the film ends on a positive note. The ghost was cast away and they failed to please their father’s insistence of a continuation of Korean-Filipino relationship (coz after all, it was only all about money). If only the horror element of a vengeful forgotten culture has been taken seriously, we would have seen a modern horror film that challenges the negative outcome of Korean-Filipino ties.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">References:</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /><br />Sun.Star Cebu. (2011). Help on the way for Kopinos in Cebu. Retrieved August 20, 2012 from <a href="http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2011/03/13/help-way-kopinos-cebu-144575">http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2011/03/13/help-way-kopinos-cebu-144575</a></span></span>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-46965566362823317102012-10-24T21:26:00.000-07:002012-10-24T21:28:55.161-07:00 AFTERTHOUGHTS ON “Women and Gays in a Zombie-infested Paradise (review of ZOMBADINGS)” <span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The dynamism of film is forever a mystery to the avid viewer of cinema. What was once a well-beloved classic has been proven to be a mediocre and cheesy film from a period that is gravely important to document in the books. Such is my impression with Jade Castro’s ZOMBADINGS, a film that at first seems like a total hands-down moment for the local LGBT community made in a time when views on gender and sexuality have been shifting – until it proved to be not.<br /><br /><br /><br />It all started when I heard from Jade Castro himself in a screening of the film. According to him, he was inspired by the film AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (by John Landis, 1981) where a “man is being transformed into something he’s not”. Remington is indeed a young man “cursed” into homosexuality (from a mental illness, now a curse!) and only the power of a straight father who has not bed a single twink can save him. I get the picture, but when you realize he’s likening a live human being (a label gay activists have been fighting for decades to be treated as) to a monster is something else. Well I get it - monsters and gays are both considered “other” in a clean-cut patriarchal society. FRANKENSTEIN, Ricky Lee’s AMAPOLA... it’s all over popular culture. But do we really have to repeat that notion and translate it into a film that is very unsubtle yet also problematic about the whole gay issue?<br /><br /><br /><br />Enter the case of camp. As he said so in interviews, Castro intended ZOMBADINGS to be camp. There was Roland Tolentino’s review of the film that questioned this. He says here<br /><br /></span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hindi pwedeng magsimula ang isang proyekto na maging camp. Kailangan itong maging resulta o in hindsight na persepsyon. Hindi ako lalabas ng bahay bilang stereotipong parloristang bading dahil hindi ito magreresulta sa “dobleng camp.” Mananamit ako, at dahil labis ang pabalat na ukay-ukay o high fashion, halimbawa, maari akong maging camp.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Ang Zombadings ay mulat na camp, ito ay campy pero hindi camp. Ang nangyari sa pagpapatingkad ng proyektong maging camp ay negation ng camp. Walang irony o disjuncture sa dalawang pinagtatapat na mundo dahil naglapat ang pagpapatawa (intensyonalidad at resultang primaryo sa box-office) sa object ng pagpapatawa (ang kabadingan). (2011)</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />He ends the review by stating that ZOMBADINGS only reinforced stereotypes. Remington was a mere reinforcement of the “screaming faggot” stereotype that must be abolished in the straight man’s way. “Nag-kwento lang, at nag-reaffirm ng kwento”. It has pandered to a serious issue for some beef and ended up laughing at it.</span><div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />From what I know, the best camp films didn’t initially intend themselves to be camp, because the label’s supposed to be what a film is avoiding – to become a joke. Yet the praise the previous camp films had influenced the Aughts in a way. It made a new generation of filmmakers go for the lessons of the past and imitate a trend, try to recreate an effect that would score an audience. Yes of course, it had its moments of pure gay eye and ear candy. Yet upon having all these bloated ideas exploding, the advocacy turned out to be lip service. You can ask the film itself – are you or aren’t you?<br /><br /><br />ZOMBADINGS is at times celebratory yet at times still brutally homophobic, and it ends up where it started – gays are still sissies looked at as a joke. It’s very problematic and unaware of what it stands for. The kid in the last scene says it all. He sees a golden gay walking on the street. The kid stops and points at him, telling his mom “Bakla, oh”. Just when you thought a negative remark would be blurted out, he immediately praises him with a face utterly forced to say “Ang gandaaa”. Would that be a sign of change? As Tolentino said, it is indeed still a big box of a film entrapping homosexuals into traits and keeping them there. The makers of ZOMBADINGS only made it taste so sweet. - Gio Potes, September 2012<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Reference:</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Tolentino, R. (2011). Mulat na camp at kawalan ng irony. Retrieved July 11, 2012 from http://pinoyweekly.org/new/2011/10/mulat-na-camp-at-kawalan-ng-irony/</span></div>
Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-48303636715364400762012-10-24T21:23:00.002-07:002012-10-24T21:24:26.521-07:00MYTH OF JAPANESE HEROISM<br />
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">THE DAWN OF FREEDOM (1944)<o:p></o:p></span></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 150%;">Contemporary audiences are used to the
stories of </span><i style="font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 150%;">lolo</i><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 150%;">s and </span><i style="font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 150%;">lola</i><span style="font-family: Cambria, serif; line-height: 150%;">s about their encounters with
Japanese soldiers. They easily dismiss the WWII as a grueling period caused by
Jap soldiers who are destructive and atrocious. Even history tells us so
because it is in the consensus of all these stories that the 3-4 years of
Japanese occupation was a devastating moment in our history. As people living
seven decades after the Occupation, we rely on these accounts and consider them
as facts. But it is of course, a matter of perspective. The Americans who
“saved” us from the Japanese are in for their condemnation because they were
also bombed by the superpower, plus they have a colonizing agenda. But what if
you ask what the Japanese thought about it? Enter THE DAWN OF FREEDOM (1944).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">The film starts with a devastating
introduction – the declaration of Manila as an “Open City”. From there, we
proceed to two narratives woven together: one is the war encounters of Andres
Gomez; the other is about his kid brother Tony’s friendship with a kind Jap
soldier. Andres who was once faithful to the American flag found his way to the
Japanese army after a brief encounter and belittlement from his leaders. When
he left his home in Manila, his brother Tony was crippled by an automobile
driven by an American officer but a Japanese soldier he befriends him and sends
him to a doctor to ease his condition. It all ends with smiles as the Japanese
lead the Filipinos to their progress as a people. Well DAWN OF FREEDOM is, above its dragging
war genre excess, a typical melodrama with a touching bromance between a kid
and a father-like soldier, a working Filipino and the Japanese army, colonizer
and colonized. It’s not an easy watch of course – available copies are now
rough and inaudible with only Japanese subtitles functioning as a guide (it’s
quite obvious who the target audience is, too). But the work on its music is
quite masterful especially in the scene where Tony stands up from his
wheelchair to reveal the miracle his Japanese friend has blessed him. It is
undoubtedly a sappy textbook example of an MMK episode. Perhaps a macho AFFAIR
TO REMEMBER, too?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">So now the
issue is this: what did the Japanese want to do? Despite a prominent Filipino
director (Gerardo de Leon), it was very apparent that the Japanese were all
over this puppet show. According to Video 48 (2011):<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;"> It was the Japanese policy to push the goals
of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. According to Rico Jose in his
article, “The Dawn of Freedom and Japanese Wartime Propaganda”, the Japanese
had three aims: to unmask the Americans as the real enemies and to eradicate
their influences; to emphasize Japan’s role as the leader of Asia; and
especially with regard to Filipinos, to recover the native character lost due
to years of Occidental colonization. Because it was highly popular, film was
used as an instrument of propaganda. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">It was Japan’s aim to mask their colonizing
agenda by antagonizing the Americans (something the latter has done a lot more
subtly). From the American automobile that crippled Tony to the brutalities
done by white soldiers to the Filipinos, it’s a powerful early anti-American
statement. The Japanese have successfully made it appear that they’re indeed
heroic towards Filipinos they “freed”, at least in cinematic terms. Then again
freedom doesn’t mean independence. We may seem free from Americans but we still
depended on an imperialist. And as a whole big scheme of media control and
control via media, the Japanese saw the rising Philippine cinema’s potential (it
has been argued that the 1930s saw an early golden age for Philippine films, if
only the prints survived the war) and they used it as a tool for propaganda and
colonization. A contradiction so obvious it was bound to fail.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">While these plans shone through DAWN OF
FREEDOM, it shouldn’t be denied that the Japanese also did rather good things
for the Filipinos by sharing and teaching their values (to the children
especially) and educating the people in their own ways. What really caught my
attention was the beautiful friendship between Tony and the Japanese soldier
Ikejima. They had this certain chemistry, a bond so heartwarming I didn’t want
them to part. I said before that Tony’s miraculous scene was overtly
melodramatic, but once a shot of Ikejima smiling back was shown, it is
suggested through that very sequence that the war should be pushed aside for
the bright side of Japanese occupation: a brief but beautiful friendship. It
was this simple friendship that’s the real driving force behind the false
heroism of DAWN OF FREEDOM. That may be the smallest glimpse of appreciation,
in a whole big book of complaints and horrific stories.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">References:<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Video 48. (2011). The war years (1942-45):
Part two/ propaganda movies. Retrieved September 1, 2012 from
http://video48.blogspot.com/2011/03/war-years-1942-45-part-two-propaganda.html<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Pinoy Kollektor. (2011). Dawn of freedom –
Philippine wwii movie. Retrieved
September 1, 2012 from
http://pinoykollektor.blogspot.com/2011/10/48-dawn-of-freedom-philippine-wwii.html<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: white;">Torre, N. (2011). Philippine cinema’s ‘golden
ages’ debated anew. Retrieved September 1, 2012 from
http://agimat.net/film/n110322.php</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-63675887993659220322012-08-29T04:22:00.000-07:002012-08-29T04:22:18.260-07:00THEY WENT FORTH AND MULTIPLIED, NOW LEAVING. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: white;">Yet again, another social networking site closes for being unable to catch up with the times. Why, it was just like yesterday when Multiply.com was the elitists’ hub, back when the leading Friendster was beginning a jejemized decline and Facebook was crawling out from the Harvard underground.<br /></span><div>
<span style="color: white;">My experience with Multiply is a memorable one. For just one year, I found people who shared my interests (non-fiction then) and found myself writing more often than usual. Multiply also gave me the chance to color my cyber walls with the digital wallpapers and online crayons provided for free. In this hub, I felt so liberated customizing blogs and sharing photos, videos, links, whatever I want. I shed my shyness and revealed skin (sometimes literally). I wrote the best stories and blogs, all about these idiosyncrasies of a teenage fairy camping out his sexual repression in Catholic school. I also met the oddest and wittiest of people who critiqued my works and also shared what they have. It’s not appropriate to be this expressive only online, it’ll make you feel like a recluse. But somehow it felt really great.<br /><br />Okay, so Multiply probably had some snob appeal. People in the site believed that it was for the cool kids, and Friendster was soooo years behind - it’s become a ‘bakya’ website (now I think a similar hierarchy also exists between Tumblr and Facebook but both manage to coexist). Looking at it however, Multiply only had the advantage of being a prominent blog site. The cool smart peti-b kids preferred Multiply just so they had an outlet for creative juices and candy tantrums. The ideas that having a DSLR was an implication of class and a degree in photography and being so good in English meant you’re better off than the rest were beginning to gain prominence around the circles of Multiply. It was a short-lived elitism until a more democratic site came to demolish the boundaries and let everyone be friends and unfriends. But amateur artists like me had Multiply as an avenue for our eccentricities, too. People there understood and gave a damn about whatever you have to say.<br /><br />Around December, Multiply will face the situation similar to that of Friendster - it’ll remove the social ties and everything shared to be a business site. Facebook is the juggernaut that snapped all these sites away. It is the epitome of cyberspace’s power, eating up the smaller communities like Multiply and Friendster for the ultimate global village. The sad news made me feel like an old colorful transient house of mine was burned to the ground. And the previous boarders like me, who found so much joy, utility and satisfaction in it, can only look back at this humble beginning of social cyberspace, when the TV generation was still warming up to new screens and are just starting to enjoy new means of self-expression. So long, Multiply.com! <i>- Gio Potes, August 2011</i></span></div>
Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-58025395679578317902012-06-02T08:54:00.001-07:002012-06-06T03:41:57.756-07:00The Gaga-Madonna Issue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/migration_catalog/2009/09/02/madge-sml.jpg/ALTERNATES/crop_630x400/madge+sml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><img border="0" height="203" src="http://www.timeslive.co.za/migration_catalog/2009/09/02/madge-sml.jpg/ALTERNATES/crop_630x400/madge+sml.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">2:54 — MADONNA SINGS “EXPRESS YOURSELF”, “BORN THIS WAY” AND “SHE’S NOT ME” in her MDNA TOUR (Tel Aviv, Israel)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">What she’s implying here is the already given impression that her 1989 hit “Express Yourself” (ooh, 2 decades later it’s finally stamped a classic!) and Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” do sound alike. You can’t really tell if it’s an act of gratitude, just a silly trip or mockery but I’d definitely buy the last, because singin’ two sonically identical songs back-to-back and then wrapping it up with “She’s Not Me” (Lyrics for the tour: “she’s not me” 5x) doesn’t represent anything more or less than a punch.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">I don’t know why she had to bother really. Her whole fanbase has done the slagging too much, this just seems like a nod to the whole issue. “Express Yourself” comes off as a Madonna-serving anthem to the love-yourself-and-your-friends-and-your-God of “Born This Way”. She yelled numerous times “express yourseeeeelf!”. So now that she’s threatened/annoyed/whatever by a “reductive” fellow pop star who’s standing high and proud and following Madonna’s rants of self-expression for the conception of a therapeutic self-hugging song (call it melodramatic, but the Gaga saved me with her presence in pop alone), she tends to slag her off by mocking her.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Perhaps it’s just a matter of relevance. In 1993, when she was doing so much to be the most controversial, a financially-lesser but very talented singer named Sinead O’Connor raised more eyebrows with an SNL performance that included the tearing of an image of Pope John Paul II. Madonna, on the same show, did the same thing but with a different picture and attacked O’Connor’s action for being offensive to the Catholic Church. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">In response, Sinead told Spin magazine “Madonna is probably the hugest role model for women in America. There’s a woman who people look up to as being a woman who campaigns for women’s rights. A woman who in an abusive way towards me, said that I look like I had a run in with a lawnmower and that I was about as sexy as a Venetian blind.”</span><br />
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">And for the kicker: “Now there’s the woman that America looks up to as being a campaigner for women, slagging off another woman, for not being sexy”. In Gaga’s case, for following Madonna. Hey hey.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><br /></span>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-11950591733864262052012-05-05T10:47:00.000-07:002012-05-05T10:47:12.433-07:00STAR CINEMA’S PERIOD HORROR STRUGGLES<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmaVLPaTy4zTgntEDWme0BOj-ZNJr82VcNkbwXDUOSsMPe_QWQuWzkNJsX2rZIrSe-88Q3ereYH_H3tpY9FImpVacFRqVeSywDsdQjHV_RKnOno5UICYO2cD_9sNjlTyM7WZC2eB7rlwc/s1600/corazon-ang-unang-aswang-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmaVLPaTy4zTgntEDWme0BOj-ZNJr82VcNkbwXDUOSsMPe_QWQuWzkNJsX2rZIrSe-88Q3ereYH_H3tpY9FImpVacFRqVeSywDsdQjHV_RKnOno5UICYO2cD_9sNjlTyM7WZC2eB7rlwc/s320/corazon-ang-unang-aswang-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Derek Ramsey is not a good actor. But he managed to be present in Star Cinema’s three latest movies that marked departures from its tiresome formulas: the first was <em>One More Chance</em> (2008) which showed the production giant’s care for feminist politics since <em>Sana Maulit Muli </em>(not to mention a more realistic approach in handling modern relationships); then there was the <em>Temptation Island</em>-wannabe <em>No Other Woman</em> (2011), a film that introduced adulterous sexual themes to their mainstream but new lows for anything in Philippine cinema; and lastly, this year’s much talked-about horror <em>Corazon: Ang Unang Aswang</em> (2012). Like <em>One More Chance</em>, <em>Corazon’s </em>fullpotential gets tangled up in the Star Cinema-ness of the production. But it is a departure nonetheless.</div>
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The plot was rather simple: Corazon (Erich Gonzales, in a convincingly campy performance), a barrio lass married to Daniel (Ramsey), lives in a post-war hacienda plagued by the Japanese soldiers, then a greedy landlord (Mark Gil) and finally a monstrously anguished female (guess who?). The root of the last one is Corazon’s own failure of delivering a son for Daniel. She becomes crazy and starts eating the children of their hacienda only to be chased away by the townsfolk. All is well.</div>
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Aesthetically, the film is a triumph in milieu. The setting perfectly captured my lola’s stories about the rurals fresh from the Japanese Occupation. But what I noticed prominently in the film is the clash between the styles of director Richard Somes (an indie favorite who made <em>Yanggaw</em>, also a horror film set in the province) and his Star Cinema collaborators that affected the rest of the film. For the example, Somes did surreal fast editing in scenes like Corazon’s demise. But it just looked awkward in the middle of teleserye-style technicals. This conflict affected the narrative too. Star Cinema’s love ideals always seem to interrupt the horror film’s plot. I thought it was abundant with romance cliches that it lacked subtlety as a horror film. Somes’ direction seemed upstaged by the dominant Star Cinema style. You can imagine the producers nagging at the director’s ear during both principal photography and post-production.</div>
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I guess Star Cinema was very hungry for a different kind of horror that they just squeezed the ideas of Richard Somes to help them conceive a turning point for the studio. Like last year’s <em>Segunda Mano</em>, the film proves (and even spells out before the credits) that a monster is not born but created. The “halimaw” image is all in the mind and Corazon, the “aswang” shows that the transformation of the woman to flesh-eating lunatic is due to her own anguish. This “anguish” is the result of many troublesome factors - perhaps it’s the villagers’ condemnation of her as a pre-slut, her inability to produce a child for Daniel (especially after performing tiring rituals), the atrocities experienced by the town during the war, or all of the above. But probably and most powerful of it all, it’s a woman’s revenge. Filipinos are well-aware of women’s condition during the war. They were raped, horribly tortured and their children were violently bayoneted in front of them. Her use of the boar as a costume for her nightly attacks calls to mind the historical significance of the animal during this period (Guerilla’s used the boar’s head to scare the Japanese away, while women use the boar’s blood to blot it on their underwear, thus avoiding rape).</div>
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One silenced subplot of the film is the growing antagonism of the landlord to the workers. Rarely would you find such class struggle in a Star Cinema film. But then, this struggle was put to bed when Corazon attacked. Their switch of antagonist is notable, too - if you can’t blame the greedy capitalist, why not target the crazy woman? Once again, Star Cinema’s feminist views seemed to be in question.</div>
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The final scenes seemed very symbolic enough: Daniel, after killing the landlord who burned his house and tried to kill his wife, gets back on the capitalist and gets chased away by his minions; Corazon, on the other hand, was chased by the male villagers because of her monstrosity. This symbolic couple (perhaps the proletarian and the anguished female?) left this plagued village to reach a destination all for themselves, and nobody ever heard from them ever again.</div>
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The horror genre is notable for its direct reflection of the turbulence of the period it depicts. <em>Corazon: Ang Unang Aswang</em>, for its departure from bourgeois culture and focus on post-war Philippines, is a rare horror film that at least tries to prove that in the local movie industry. Nice try, Star Cinema. <em>- Gio Potes, May 2012</em></div>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-72981434881640682102012-05-03T21:11:00.001-07:002012-05-03T22:20:00.028-07:00THE RING AND POLTERGEIST: HORROR CINEMA’S DAMNATION OF MEDIA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltaqrz4IYV1qd02jdo2_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="146" src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltaqrz4IYV1qd02jdo2_500.gif" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: white;">What could be more horrifying than the realization that technology and media is taking over your life?</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Tobe Hooper’s <i>Poltergeist</i> is about a family living in a haunted house. The heat actually starts when the youngest member of the family Carol Anne (Heather O’Rourke) gets abducted by these ghosts. How? Through the television of course! On the other hand, Gore Verbinski’s remake of the Japanese hit <i>Ringu, The Ring</i>, takes on a more surreal tone. Naomi Watts plays the role of a reporter whose niece (Amber Tamblyn) and her friends die of unknown causes, and rumors say they passed away because of a video tape. Her investigation leads to deeper trenches when she learns the source of this cursed tape.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">On the surface, these films are classic examples of mainstream cinema’s success at horror. They’re remembered especially because of the iconic scenes they bear:<i> Poltergeist</i>’s child abduction and <i>The Ring</i>’s scene of a creepy little girl named Samara coming out of the television to kill the ones she curse. But a deeper understanding would show these films’ take on modernization and critique of television and media. It’s so much scarier to have this deeper understanding since the most influential medium (the television according to Time Magazine) is actually succeeding in sending its messages across to its audiences, even those messages that are hideous and inhuman. Like Carol Anne, their target is the youngest members of society because they know they would be naive enough to eat up their shit. And we, the passive boob tube audiences let ourselves be Carol Anne - abducted by these monsters that we become monsters ourselves… living and breathing under the influence of what is dictated, or what is popular even if it violates our own cultures. Everyday, we indulge ourselves into it and everyday, the horror is very present. Until when would we let these influence us? Would it reach the point where we die because of their own influences, because their very own Samara?</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">- <i>Gio Potes, October 2011</i></span></div>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-91382559528922359922012-05-03T09:14:00.003-07:002012-05-03T09:16:26.861-07:00Women and Gays in a Zombie-infested Paradise.<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5mxN-bRu5J9uqioVLpIVARFX4qRwfyYVQFc6yPm6l5b1b70zfIKNwj47S_WSXv7cFER_KtN_nkZHR5ztQsDJu3TkDTD3KMOIvurnHftz4iPHAmqokmgq-1taleJJiiolUaKDgGFBbkbX/s1600/tumblr_lreijmbaU61qd02jdo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5mxN-bRu5J9uqioVLpIVARFX4qRwfyYVQFc6yPm6l5b1b70zfIKNwj47S_WSXv7cFER_KtN_nkZHR5ztQsDJu3TkDTD3KMOIvurnHftz4iPHAmqokmgq-1taleJJiiolUaKDgGFBbkbX/s640/tumblr_lreijmbaU61qd02jdo1_500.jpg" width="464" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: white;">What I love about <i><b>Zombadings 1: Patayin sa Shokot si Remington</b></i> is, of course, how it views Philippine homosexuality. But even though it's much more sugar-coated than, say, <i>Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros </i>or<i> Ang Lihim ni Antonio</i> and its political undertones are taken rather silently, it is among those rare movies today that acknowledges feminism as an essential part of LGBT. It's the year's perfect counterattack to the dreadfully anti-feminist barfbag No Other Woman (which curiously became the second top-grossing film in the country last year).</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdQS1X85TSV-Kf-qPgTGZISBzmiUdrdp_KG-qmQTQ2JbGAGLXsK312kKnpyThpe6C_yFU6CICpbLIq6XGxStJ0RFqENFjBunZzBlwRPWv7PHcoK32Z-Wx2tdQXMcc3WRtU8ESwOSHm_OF/s1600/zombadings_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsdQS1X85TSV-Kf-qPgTGZISBzmiUdrdp_KG-qmQTQ2JbGAGLXsK312kKnpyThpe6C_yFU6CICpbLIq6XGxStJ0RFqENFjBunZzBlwRPWv7PHcoK32Z-Wx2tdQXMcc3WRtU8ESwOSHm_OF/s320/zombadings_4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: white;">I smiled throughout this movie for its escapist nature. Set in a fictional Lucban, it is an unconventional fairy tale. The police officers make up of mostly trustworthy women. The gays are still the community fairies who design these ladies into Cinderellas. And the straight men are prominently lazy gents who populate the household, unless paid. Remington comes from the last group but a childhood curse turns him into a twink. And the resolution was a father-son sacrifice that would make a closet queen smile.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">The film is escapist for members of the LGBT. It presents something far from the mainstream where mothers must stay home and the gays hide. But here, it's a happy place for gays and women. It may not draw closer to realism but the intentions of its filmmakers is noteworthy. They made Zombadings an allegorical film, turning the gay revolution into a mob of the undead ready to eat heterosexual flesh. Despite this, it seems only the young Remington and the gaydar-touting Daniel Fernando enjoy gay-bashing. The entire community of the fictional Lucban doesn't even see the gays as a threat. They acknowledge the abilities of the fairies from hair styling to housekeeping. In fact, if the women play the cops, the gays take over their responsibilities at home as housemaids. And then from normal, the gay community is even glorified. When Remington decides that he wants to remain gay, Lauren Young tells him he can't because the gays she know fight everyday for love and acceptance - something she believes he can't do. It might be too substantial but it's enough for a gay rights banter. If you think the film's gayness is fake then maybe that line alone will be the most honest. And I would eternally quote it. Don't leave the film during the credits for an even more elaborate message from Angelina Canapi.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><i>Zombadings</i> presents a fictional world where equality reigns and people are happy. Boy would I stay in such a world. But then again I realized - in time (perhaps not too distant from now) that Lucban will be real. <i>- Gio Potes, May 2012.</i></span><br />
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<i><span style="color: white;">Directed by Jade Castro. Written by Jade Castro, Raymond Lee & Michiko Yamamoto. Starring Martin Escudero, Lauren Young, Kerbie Zamora, Janice de Belen, John Regala, Angelina Canapi, Daniel Fernando, Roderick Paulate.</span></i><br />
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<span style="color: white;">Full credits: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1810861/fullcredits#writers</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"></span>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-48852840802474899352012-04-25T09:21:00.003-07:002012-04-25T09:22:11.102-07:00Emma Stone: Provocateur, Advocate.<br />
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<span style="color: white;">With all the young talent emerging from the Hollywood canon, at least one of them is smart. Already a major movie star, Emma Stone broke out in the (thinking) industry with Easy A in 2010. I have no probs with the film. It is intelligent. Almost unbelievable, but intelligent. Showing off brilliant comedic timing and witty lines, the meme-rific film almost swallowed whole its juicy concept: teenage sexuality in a conservative social arena. Emma plays Olive, the modern day Scarlet Letter heroine. But she’s very intelligent to know that her own intellectually-restrictive town needs some provoking, and she didn’t care much until she herself became the cause celebre of hypocrite Jesus freaks. The Olive character stood up against the grating anger of the town towards floozies (a setting very familiar here in the Philippines: just the other month, a group of teenage girls almost didn’t graduate because of this chaste image) and she did it by being more provocative. She cut her clothes shorter and wore the red A on every single blouse and shirt, with false sex rumors she intentionally spills for boys’ image charity. She did come around as, to quote a character in the film, a “super slut”. I guess the provoking part did emerge, but what about its resolution? Her whole gesture only seemed like a tease. The Christian high school finally had an erection, but neither was the metaphorical penis castrated or ejaculated. With all the men complaining why there were no tits on her live blog, it shows that the high school didn’t learn a thing from Olive when they should: hmm there are plenty but let’s start with this “How hard it is to be an outcast” or “The one thing that trumps religion… capitalism.”, also “Whatever happened to chivalry?” or finally “Ew. People suck.” What they only learned is that she did not sleep with all those boys, and how much she’s sorry for it. Then again, for the sake of the film’s optimism, what Olive did for the dorky boys she said she slept with is her willingness to avoid bullying (obvious with the gay friend) and to prove that the world has (in some ways) moved on: the nerds are sexier now! The girls can be free with their sexuality! The internet is magnificent! </span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">The following year, she starred in the screen adaptation of <i>The Help</i>. When she played Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan, Emma Stone went from Lolita Haze to Atticus Finch. Now she’s a Southern 60s writer in a racist community. But like Olive, she’s ready to break norms. Following the dismissal of her maid Constantine (played by Cicely Tyson) and her friend Hilly’s (Bryce Dallas Howard) continuing bitchery towards the colored help, she started to write a book for black maids who serve the white families of Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter says it would be different because she will write the situation in the perspective of the help. She interviews two maids (played by Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer in career-best performances) which eventually boosted to more than 20 when the racism in the community increases even more. As expected, Jackson read the book (the sequence showing various women reacting to familiar parts of the book is almost like a shot-for-shot remake of the men reacting to Olive’s blog in Easy A) and warmed-up to the help, honoring them with fried chicken. The colored situation has been told before in the screen, but not with this much gloss and entertainment. The Help is a sugar-coated look at the 60s’ racist issues, but I can’t doubt the half-sincere intentions of the filmmakers. Not with beautiful scenes of two abused maids laughing at the idiocy of the whites, a funny scene with toilets and the role of Jessica Chastain as a white-trash blonde who’s socially colorblind.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">Emma Stone’s performance in <i>The Help</i> wasn’t as strong as her portrayal of Olive Penderghast, but it may prove that Stone is intent with playing roles that challenge their surroundings. You wouldn’t know if these are just her own Hollywood gimmicks for relevance, swag or legitimacy but I smiled at Olive and Skeeter not because they were ideal princesses. They surprised me with their willingness to escape the norms, exercise democracy, get dirt in their skirts and lose some on their way. The fate of Skeeter was to be a successful writer in New York, save Jackson from the height of racism and lose the man she didn’t even want. Her individualism is admirable. These roles are real, and with what they do, their intelligence lets them win over the oppression and the stupidity of their communities. And as with Emma Stone, while she enjoys more of the Hollywood glamour, I hope she would also learn from these characters and find her way towards the advocacy for a better, democratic society. Perhaps with less gloss? - <i>Gio Potes, April 2012</i></span>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-89092668255367633102012-04-08T04:15:00.000-07:002012-04-08T06:11:29.926-07:00RIHANNA'S FEMINIST CHALLENGE: The Madgestic RiRi<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">"I want to be the black Madonna."</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">It's obvious why. Not only does Rihanna have every potential to be as successful as Madonna (commercially, at least), she's taking part in an industry Madonna defined: that of female pop culture. A rainmaking single plus a tour on the run, Rihanna already covered a quarter of her idol's success after the release of her third album "Good Girl Gone Bad". The title of the album is a departure itself from the last two RiRi albums, especially the second one, "A Girl Like Me". It let her shift from image to another and focus more on the celebrity rather than the music - that's exactly how Ms. Ciccone liked it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">Her blond ambition was clear with "Take a Bow". From the criminal-to-good girl of "Unfaithful", she now claims the position of the cheated girlfriend. The quality of the song was mixed as it followed the trend set by Beyonce's "Irreplaceable", itself an empowerment anthem devoted to bash cheating boyfriends. But despite its musical limitations, "Take a Bow" makes up for style. It is heavily Madonna-influenced from the title alone (the song is not a cover), and the promotional video is notable for her shift in fashion sense.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">As Douglas Kellner researched, fashion is a capitalist industry aimed at defining classes in terms of dress code. It aimed a separation classes ("rich" from "poor", men from women) that mostly oppressed and limited. It dictated while it provided. And through the years, the fashion industry was challenged by some who chose to wear something else. Judging from Kellner's research and her Madonna connection, Rihanna takes the gender-bending role reminiscent of Madge's own "I'll Remember". In the video of the song, Madonna wore men's formal clothes and a short black wig. In short, she looked like a typical businessman. Cultural critics found the style of the video as feminist, continuing Madonna's early 90s provocation of sexual stereotypes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">With the "Take a Bow" video, Rihanna donned a pixie cut and a Michael Jackson jacket which made her look entirely different from her previous fashion statements."You're so ugly when you cry" she sings in the second verse, looking down at masculinity while inhibiting a macho female persona evident in the NeYo-esque gestures. It's obvious that once again, Rihanna exhibits empowerment within the video. Like Madonna's early 90s efforts, Rihanna challenged norms of style for women, though it wasn't pretty much of a stretch now as it was then. It's no surprise that this new image became one of her most popular. Around 2008 til 2009, the short black pixie cut became the new fashion phenomenon for teenage to twentysomething girls and gay men alike.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">I must say Rihanna chose the right role model to follow. "Take a Bow" may not be as shocking as "Unfaithful", but it made Rihanna a trend-setter, at least within fashion. Based on what she did there, that's not a bad thing for a pseudo-feminist. - Gio Potes, March 2012</span>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-71780710478438244282012-04-02T07:59:00.000-07:002012-04-02T08:04:13.153-07:00THE ROYAL HUNGER<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Films in point: The Hunger Games (Ross, 2012), Battle Royale (Fukasaku, 2000)</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">Regarding all this buzz about a film where kids kill each other off for the viewing pleasure of some capitalists, any of you guys remember such a Japanese film called "Battle Royale"?</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">I haven't seen these two films but I found the success of "The Hunger Games" as good news. It's quite a surprise teenagers are buying the politically-rich context of "The Hunger Games". It's about classes battling it out, and it's quite feminist as well. Flashback 12 years ago and there's "Battle Royale". The film took everything "Hunger" bears to the extremes even before everything about the latter was outed. It's about a battle of classes in a private high school where the children must kill each other under the order of their teacher and the authoritarian government. If not, the teacher himself will have to kill them. I must say, the violence here is unbearable. You can almost feel every hit and bleeding because it's that graphic of a film. The Japanese, they totally know how to conceive horror!</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">"Battle Royale" gave a rough, exaggerated view of the new millennium's dangerous fascination. "The Hunger Games" may as well be the mainstreamed "Battle Royale". It's graphic but it is conceived within the microscope of Hollywood meaning it's a softer, toned-down reflection of society. I just hope that this new pop culture phenomenon won't end up as just another money-making franchise, but one that would enlighten the thousands of die-hard fans about the condition of their own environment, of their own media fetishes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: inherit;">With that, "The Hunger Games" surely is worth a watch.</span>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-88084503041932496632012-04-01T07:26:00.001-07:002012-04-01T07:26:52.104-07:00Donnie Dicko<br />
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"To summarise briefly, the function of woman in forming the patriarchal unconscious is two-fold: she first symbolises <b>the castration threat by her real absence of a penis</b>, and second thereby raises her child into the symbolic."</div>
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<b>- Laura Mulvery, <i>Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema</i> (1975)</b></div>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-17469048194051207422012-03-25T05:42:00.001-07:002012-03-25T05:44:18.252-07:00RIHANNA'S FEMINIST CHALLENGE: An Unfaithful Girl Like Me<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the midst of a series of disco-infused pop singles within two years, the Barbadian r&b/pop singer Rihanna released a rather odd ballad called "Unfaithful". In the MTV's review of the 2000s, it ranked as one of the best singles of the decade. But pop observers found it incredibly strange at the time. The song is unusual in many ways. First of all, it's a cold haunting song guided by piano chords reminiscent of the band Evanescence. It is about a girl who's becoming a "murderer" - perhaps figuratively, a killer of affection. This concept was much talked about within circles of music scholars because it unconventionally featured a girl in the position of the emotional abuser, and it produced a music video that ignited the flame even more. Yet they dismissed this moment as a talent show-off, that slowburn within pop albums intended to expose the vocal range of the artist. Following her own preservation of dance music in the charts, critics like Sal Cinquemani found the ballad "fucking weird". For me, it's a milestone in Rihanna's career.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Reading the lyrics, one would agree with Cinquemani's observation. In the first verse, she speaks of "searching for the 'Right'" but she assumes that "''Wrong' really loves her company". Then enters the subject of the song: a certain "He". Towards the refrain, it becomes obvious that she is indeed cheating "him". Yet the chorus suggests that she does not want to continue because she considers cheating the honest man as a form of murder. This is a young lady exposing her guilty pleasure, and you can see her confusion in her play of words: "Our love/His trust/I might as well take a gun and put it to his head/Get it over with/I don't wanna do this anymore".</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yet the real departure from the usual Rihanna image comes in the music video where the already dark theme of the song is given a much deeper visualization. It must be noted that she was only 18 when the video was shot, which is another reason why the whole thing about "Unfaithful" became immensely awkward. The video starts with the girl dressing up. Clad in a black fit sleeveless dress, she's vain and titillating. Then on a close-up of the visage, you can see cold beauty. She almost looks like Beyonce, older and maturer than her age yet maintaining a certain Lolita sexiness. Rihanna follows the song's narrative in not going all the way to violence (unlike what happened to the Adrian Lyne film of the same title, obviously an influence). We find the girl tiptoeing around with a white pianist but in the end, she goes back to her faithful man. She embraces him with a facial expression suggesting the guilt aforementioned, but it changes into a sincere smile - this time, she'll be more loyal.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The coming of this moment suggested a whole new different image from the Barbadian singer. It was probably an awkward presence in pop music at the time because it wasn't expected of the artist and it presented a new concept. "Unfaithful" placed Rihanna in the shoes of what seems to be a femme fatale inches away from dangerous crime. Succeeding the blissful "SOS" single, the image here bears the same sexual exposure but it's more confident. The maturely slick physique is perhaps a weapon, a magnet that attracted the likes of two men. And it's probably this sexuality that she is trying to avoid usage.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">More notable is the fact that the video presents: that women can also take this side of the relationship. Rihanna's role in this is pretty much a gem - yes, the object of male gaze, but in power and never subverted. Not that I'm endorsing infidelity as a good thing but the way she presented this flipside to the conventional situation calls a much bigger and realistic picture of the nature of complex relationships. One that would call to mind the rise of "friends with benefits" where both male and female agree on the sex but not on the love, hence an issue that threatens the strength of heterosexual union.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The reason why I consider it a milestone in her art is because at the time when she was about to be labeled as just another pop dance flash-in-the-pan, she started off what would be a series of sexually-challenging work. In a ripe age of 18, a pop singer would follow the Lolita example most prominent with Britney Spears, but Rihanna (much like Beyonce) begged a more richer and political presentation of the female. It can also be read as a representation of the neo-colonialism of Barbados (she is smitten by a "white" pianist for a reason) but that's another thing. With "Unfaithful", she has launched a fierce statement against abuse. And as her discography moved along, it got richer and more profound.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">- Gio Potes, March 2012</span>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-17355678232435543122012-03-23T12:26:00.000-07:002012-03-23T12:30:52.898-07:00Rihanna’s Feminist Challenge<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><br />
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<a href="http://rihanna1.ru/sites/default/files/videofiles/2009/08/15/klip_rihanna_-_unfaithful_dvdrip_screenshot_397_rihanna1ru.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://rihanna1.ru/sites/default/files/videofiles/2009/08/15/klip_rihanna_-_unfaithful_dvdrip_screenshot_397_rihanna1ru.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwt41p48BSL896eR0Y8wcv5OR8KZB65K5xjyYn5iDBmbC4tM_nx6zW36OSYCj-bPcBoIoCoZPlRigpAU-83GcUbcI7Xyhwl_iyLzr8CGAbeCr5y64t7TpHrQsV_EpfY1Vl2bWv6DFkmUW9/s1600/Rihanna%252BTake%252BA%252BBow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwt41p48BSL896eR0Y8wcv5OR8KZB65K5xjyYn5iDBmbC4tM_nx6zW36OSYCj-bPcBoIoCoZPlRigpAU-83GcUbcI7Xyhwl_iyLzr8CGAbeCr5y64t7TpHrQsV_EpfY1Vl2bWv6DFkmUW9/s320/Rihanna%252BTake%252BA%252BBow.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/18900000/Rihanna-S-M-rihanna-18932280-600-392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="209" src="http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/18900000/Rihanna-S-M-rihanna-18932280-600-392.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“I maybe bad, but I’m perfectly good at it.”</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Despite all claims that Rihanna is just another pop tart in the music industry, I’d like to argue that she boasts a handful of brilliant songs and corresponding videos that distinguishes her from that list. Not only does she manage to conceive catchy hooks (or maybe Def Jam does that for her), she also captures an era of feminist struggle within her artifice.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the middle of her young seven-year-old career, she has included in her art feminine modes of guilt, abuse and (finally) sexual liberation and dominance. Half of her popularity is due to the fact that she is a victim of abuse. The much-talked about domestic violence Chris Brown has committed towards the young pop star back in 2008 garnered so much media attention that it scarred the careers of both artists. But to her benefit, Rihanna used the music and visuals to escape the demons of the incident. The recorded songs and videos provided an in-depth approach to her condition. In return, the incident was followed by two dark and personal Rihanna albums. From ‘Rated R’ to ‘Loud’, the artist brought to the mainstream different forms of counterattack both allegedly to Chris Brown and the media, all the while exploring her own sexuality and challenging social norms, not to mention blossoming before the eyes of the audience and winning back loads of cash and undeniable fame.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yet more significantly, these songs and videos present a good girl gone bad. Bad in a sense that she is not the normative kind of artist, one who sings for the excitement of consumers, (well that is still something to debate on) but a woman who has experienced one of the hardships brought about by a patriarchal system. In a way, the incident and the art that emerged out of it made way for personal statements that women can relate to. Rihanna’s flesh-flashing is not an empty consumerist strategy, too: it’s part of her messages. And whether it is the cause or the effect of her feminist challenge, I can say that it is necessary. And notably after years of these feminist modes, the Barbadian artist tops off her ventures with a solution: a gunshot - the sound of freedom from oppression and vengeful Fury against the oppressor.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Which all raise the question: is Rihanna a feminist?</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This summer, I am going to study the feminism surrounding Rihanna’s aesthetics. Starting from the release of ‘Unfaithful’ as a single ‘til the music video of ‘Man Down’ gets banned from several TV stations in the US, the study aims to discover how Rihanna represents female struggles and the 2010s Girl through pop music (which is generated through MTV and the internet: YouTube, Twitter, etc.). Though it’s possible that this era of thought within Rihanna’s career would reach deeper trenches as she grows older and wiser, I believe the incidences surrounding ‘Man Down’ concludes an initial period of feminism that Rihanna herself seemed to emphasize in the first place. Thus, I will focus on the artist’s fruitful middle career right after ‘Music of the Sun’ and before ‘Talk that Talk’. Yet it is still a huge question what exactly Rihanna wants her audience to take from her musical and visual output. For me, she gives women a new understanding of their condition, and solutions for them to fight it.<i> </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>- Gio Potes, March 2011.</i></span></span><br />
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<br />Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-13336283470986787992012-03-23T11:54:00.000-07:002012-03-23T11:54:11.818-07:00Ganda's Sarcasm<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“May nag-blog!”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The rise of Vice Ganda didn’t only offer a new viewpoint of homosexuals in the Philippines - it gave the country a new infectious taste of hilarious sarcasm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s not new to learn that we, Filipinos, mostly ask questions with obvious answers. You see your brother soaking wet after walking under heavy rain and you ask “Naulanan ka?”. You smell the food your mother is cooking and then you ask “Ma, nagluluto ka na?”. And you let a person inside your karinderya and you suddenly ask “Kakain po kayo?”. Vice Ganda, a stand-up comedian now a red-carpet delight, is clearly sick of these and so came his contribution to the endless prominent catchphrases composed of two words ending with an angry exclamation point: “AY, HINDI!”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And surely, even you have been a victim. Vice Ganda’s growing exposure (because of noontime television’s Showtime and soon his own talk show, Gandang Gabi Vice, probably a Pinoy gay counterpart to Ellen) planted a new popular way of speaking in Pinoy pop culture. Boys, girls and gays alike are using this, probably as a way of showing superiority or just to fool around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Vice shows another concrete example of how gays in the country are indeed one of the most influential sources to new ways and forms of communication. There’s the gay lingo, and now this Vice Ganda-stamped sarcasm that are humorous but are, most importantly, colorful evidences of the Filipino language’s dynamism. Call it destructive, crude or frustrating, you probably just get fooled by it all the time. AY HINDI! <i>- Gio Potes, September 2011</i></span><br />Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-18948009381001522372012-03-23T11:19:00.004-07:002012-03-23T11:19:42.498-07:00The Elitist's Shit<br />
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<a href="http://rojan88.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/eugene-domingo-in-ang-babae-sa-septic-tank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://rojan88.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/eugene-domingo-in-ang-babae-sa-septic-tank.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>ANG BABAE SA SEPTIC TANK (2011)</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A cream of 2011’s indie crop, Marlon Rivera’s “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank” turns the current Philippine indie scene to its head. Successful at the box office (probably because of its strong Star Cinema promotion), the film is both a critique and an exploitation of the “formulas” building up in the vaults of internationally-lauded Filipino films: films about poverty. It is an ultimate testament to the industry’s (if there ever was such an “independent film industry”) boredom of tackling poverty issues that the filmmakers fictionalized here can’t decide on how they’re going to sell the story – a gritty docudrama, a glossy musical or a movie-star vehicle?</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It all revolves around an “ordinary Thursday” of a distracted mother named Mila who eats only a pack of instant noodles for lunch with her seven kids, one of which ends up being sold to a Caucasian pedophile much to the disgrace but money-hunger of the mother. Two rich filmmakers (Kean Cipriano and JM de Guzman) argue all over everything from script to poster, probably because they know the material is shit (its working title is “Walang Wala” for a reason). Soon enough, they are triggered by their envy of a fellow but lesser and grammar-Nazied filmmaker who just came home from the Venice Film Festival, and inspired by their dream of Oscar wins and, most of all, by the star who loved their script: Eugene Domingo.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As Bienvenido Lumbera observed, the real driving force behind film productions of today lies in the image of the bankable star. The film underlines that with Eugene’s satirical portrayal of herself. All the confusions and arguments of the filmmakers were immediately dropped when the deal of Eugene’s involvement was settled. Hence the film? It was envisioned as her own, with product placements and all emphasis on the star’s image. It is a performance Domingo will undoubtedly be known for, subtly balancing the wit of a comedienne superstar and the realistic drama of a struggling mother (did I mention that the latter was framed in three contrasting versions?). The supporting cast is nothing but back-up dancers to her show. Cipriano and de Guzman are mere channels of Rivera and Chris Martinez (the film’s writer) but probably the most notable element in that background is the one with no dialogue at all: Jocelyn (played by Cai Cortez). It was not a remarkable presence but the Jocelyn character is a rare addition to this portrait of show business - she is the audience eavesdropping to the ideas blurted out by the producer, director and star. She’s passive and subversive to the film dudes but with her, we imagine these ideas in our own movie fantasies and react to them. Jocelyn is a reminder of the filmmakers’ consideration of the consumers, which is (and should be) a relevant point. But to the star, the audience is barely as important. “Nandyan ka pala!” said Eugene upon spotting this silent observer sitting on her million-dollar couch.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I saw the film for the first time in a recent Cinematheque screening, I was joined by a small group of obviously rich business men who laughed hysterically at the struggles of the elitist filmmakers. Maybe it’s unbeknownst to them that they were laughing at themselves. This is a movie about the elitist’s shit, how he intends to capitalize on stories he thinks are important and sells it using guaranteed money-making formulas. He exploits the lives of these poor people and in the end, he wouldn’t do anything about it. Nothing big really happens but profit and inclusions to official festival selections. It is a satire directly hinted at the same people who’ll never learn.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The commercial and critical success of “Ang Babae sa Septic Tank” is timely. The indie film satire signifies the continuing rise of the Philippine independent cinema. It reminds me of film history, when one independent filmmaker slapped the norms of the industry with a provocative film entitled “Pagdating sa Dulo”. Though, in time it will most likely be forgotten for its politics since by then, the indie film would’ve moved on to fresher themes, new-found success and worse conflicts. And also by then, the target of darting satire in the film would’ve been sitting pretty in the mainstream. I wonder if Brillante Mendoza has seen it. <i>- Gio Potes, December 2011</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">1. Lumbera, B. (2011). <i>Re-viewing Filipino cinema. </i>Mandaluyong City:</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"> Anvil Publishing Inc.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">2. IMDb - <i>The woman in the septic tank</i> (2011). (n.d). Retrieved</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"> from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1961179/</span></div>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-3070373733560108132012-03-23T10:50:00.000-07:002012-03-23T10:51:08.141-07:002011: The Year of Intimacy Issues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/itz-giological/14452141376/1/tumblr_lwg7itlpdN1qd02jd" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://www.tumblr.com/photo/1280/itz-giological/14452141376/1/tumblr_lwg7itlpdN1qd02jd" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"This is the second movie this year to ask whether it's possible to have sex with someone without falling in love, and the second to arrive at a mistaken conclusion — because of course it is."</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"It’s essentially about marital infidelity, tackling the sordid turns in a married couple’s life when another girl enters frame"</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Still, one must do something about sex, lest the pipes run rusty."</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"It is all cute at first. Sex has never been a serious proposition for Filipinos. Sex has been quite the favorite punchline for skits and jokes."</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Critique from Roger Ebert and Oggs Cruz</span></div>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-14399442693241750722012-03-23T10:21:00.000-07:002012-03-23T10:22:25.817-07:00The Gaga Wars: Ladies on Gaga<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">*STUPID HOE - Nicki Minaj</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">*BIG MOUTH - Santigold</span></div>
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<span style="color: white;">Within the week, Entertainment Weekly released Madonna’s latest 20/20 interview in which the Queen of Pop finally commented on the heated comparisons with Lady Gaga. Her remarks about Gaga being “cool” back in 2009 seemed to fade when she called Gaga’s gay anthem “reductive”. It isn’t quite odd that some of Madge’s collaborators on her new album (titled MDNA) added fuel to the fire in the same week as well. Two frustratingly bizarre videos (at least in the perspective of a regular Vevo music video subscriber) from Nicki Minaj and Santigold sliced and diced the nature of being a pop star - to be more precise, the nature of being Lady Gaga.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">The two songs are about noisy girls by noisy girls. “Stupid Hoe” at first seems to be pinpointing at Lil Kim and it’s quite a painful listen. It doesn’t have the swagger of “Super Bass” or the eerie mystery of “Did It On ‘Em”. It’s a mean bully of a song. “Big Mouth”, on the other hand, is better. A playful experiment of synths and bass, it’s more like the Santi-penned Christina Aguilera song “Bobblehead” (which, in a better world, is a celebrated pop anthem) only this time the annoying bobblehead is bigger. Regarding their visuals, both videos reject current pop star trends. Both are animated, often funny but never fun. They’re very serious in their starbashing while remaining puerile and literal, which would mean they bring nothing new from the artists. But quite possibly these are their most absurd videos to date.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">By now, music lovers (except Gaga’s loyal Little Monsters) share the annoyance felt by these two artists and how they seem to perceive the whole Gaga phenomenon as something terribly absurd. Just look at the artist’s humongous success in 3 years, and then question her sincerity - how she takes away millions of dollars while declaring that she’s a savior for the oppressed. And most importantly, just imagine her numerous “homages” that spark controversy and question her artistry. Her success is now being scarred by her critics, and Nicki Minaj and Santi White are ready with their knives. Their satire of Ms. Germanotta’s business is striking and is not so subtle indeed. Take Minaj’s imitation of Gaga’s locks and Santigold’s flashing of animated mermaids and monster tits. And in a more obvious move, take Santi’s line “Ga-ga-ga or slightly off”. This lack of subtlety straightly reflects Gaga’s artifice since her work was never discreet in its intentions even at the slightest bit.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">It should be noted that Gaga’s videography is known to escape pop’s standards while still dwelling in it, and she produced some remarkable ideas. Her fast growth in the industry opened the gates for artists whose musical ideas, like her own, are far from pop’s status quo and more on something most would label as “freaky”. Gaga made the outlandish such a cool thing to do in the vein of pop stars, and Nicki will not be as out and about as she is now without Gaga. Santi and Nicki now slap Gaga’s ideas to the face, taking the cream of her three-year harvest and eating them up like real mother monsters. Gaga’s perception of the “fame monster” applies to this case now that her peers suddenly get up as pop cannibals ready to eat her.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">Then again you might ask: All this fuss for silly old pop? It will not be relevant anymore after the flame of the conflict fades (especially since it’s just some silly attempt on a consumerist cat fight) but then we’ll come back to this and remember how fast-paced pop music has been since the arrival of Lady Gaga, and how her fellow artists - despite ripping her to shreds - also benefit from it. <i>- Gio Potes, January 2012.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;">View the videos here:</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Stupid Hoe - http://youtu.be/T6j4f8cHBIM</span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Big Mouth - http://youtu.be/cxdQ_uD5IWk</span>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-78345099615041829302012-03-23T10:05:00.002-07:002012-03-23T10:06:04.140-07:00"VOGUE" 2012<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: white;">Madonna is finally acknowledging her own influence. The video for ‘Girl Gone Wild’ is a mash of different elements from her Imperial phase, given a fashion video (shall I cite Mugler as an influence?) style. Those elements at least did something new for Madonna, which means they were some new shit for women in music at the time. The video follows the vogue (no pun intended) of current pop video that is - ironically - also inspired by Madonna. But it’s fun and brings to the forefront of pop quite possibly another remarkable era for the “Queen of Pop”.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: white;">There’s no question about the style. It’s a lot better than the disastrous ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’. Like Lady Gaga’s (yes again, she must be mentioned!) video for ‘Alejandro’, the concept is simply centered around the female gaze. It’s more ‘Vogue’ than ‘Erotica’ with her as the Queen of Homosexuality all around, until she herself gets smitten by her subjects into a sexy sequel for ‘Truth or Dare’. The ‘Act of Contrition’ sample is quite tired, and is unfitting in a song about being ‘wild’. It doesn’t exactly mean being ‘bad’, right?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: white;">Remarkably she doesn’t look 53 at all, which is exactly the point - if the Imperial phase challenged feminism, this time Madge is challenging ageism. Not that I find the age disturbing, it’s just truly noteworthy how she remains so active after a handful of hits within - gasp! - three decades. And perhaps after being such a role model for young girls back in the ’80s, these girls are now her age and she reaches out to them through her own exercises encouraging how age doesn’t matter in corporate music. She looks as fun and as sexy as she was back in 1990. She continues to prove that she’s an unstoppable force. She managed to remain active in the industry holding her own power to whatever she wants to do with it. And that is simply amazing. Like what Robbie Williams said: Face it… she’s Madonna.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: white;">Yes, she might have moved forward with her fuck-you to ageism, but her fights for the LGBT remain in the 90s style as if she just flaunts her activism around as a part of the marketing package (something Lady Gaga gets accused of most of the time). Or yeah, maybe she’s just bored with all these fairies and decided to join them again for another round of ‘Who’s-Your-Queen?’ and the LGBT isn’t exactly her thing. Though I still hope that she would fight for the gays, since they’re the major reason why she’s up there.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: white;">Then after, maybe she can still own a place in pop culture’s throne(s).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: white;">Watch the video here: http://youtu.be/tYkwziTrv5o</span></span></div>
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<br />Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-32963393206319809982012-03-23T09:57:00.000-07:002012-03-23T09:57:16.028-07:00A Flashback within an App<br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Temple Run is about a Western traveler who stole an ancient artifact from an indigenous group pictured out as “demonic monkeys”. And the rule of the game is to help this thief escape from the people who tend to claim back their treasure, all the while continuing his crime getting more goods (golden coins) on his way.</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After almost 400 years of colonialism and an imaginary independence, thousands of Filipino gamers are having fun in helping the white thief escape with the treasure…</span><br />Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2527082980715567504.post-1439080217090324702012-03-23T09:27:00.003-07:002012-03-23T09:29:08.501-07:00Sex and the Secret<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Ano ba’ng pakay mo sa buhay na ito?”</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ang Lihim ni Antonio (Antonio’s Secret) was released in 2008 and has since become a prominent part of the rising “gay film” subgenre in the Philippines. Perhaps well-known for its sexually charged M2M scenes and its concept of a confused teenager’s journey, most of the film’s audience miss its presentation of countless hidden messages and sexual oppression - a big issue of the country subtly portrayed in the film. On the surface, it’s a sex drama (who says only sex comedy can be distinguished?) but in essence Ang Lihim ni Antonio is a superb LGBT propaganda movie.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">QUESTION OF IDENTITY.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Before going into all the hoopla with what Antonio’s secret is, the big question poised here first and foremost is who Antonio really is. The protagonist of course is teenager Antonio, Tong or Antz_15 (portrayed with naughty innocence by Kenjie Garcia) who’s living in the neat and organized Marikina City - in contrast to the dirty and disoriented boy we follow here. Tong finds joy in computer games, Friendster, caroling and the company of his straight friends, but he questions the purpose of all these to him. His existentialist prologue babbled about significance of names and souls, the Philippines’ prehistory and even the birth of Jesus Christ. In the latter part of the film, he rants his envy of Jesus Christ and how His name and purpose on earth was settled even before Mary was impregnated by an Immaculate Conception.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ANG LIHIM NI ANTONIO.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We’ll never know who this fellow really is, but let’s go to his titular secret. Immediately after we’re introduced to his mother Tere (Shamaine Buencamino) and his circle of friends (a batch of unknowns, except for a post-Magnifico Jiro Manio), we’re brought in to the beginning of his homosexual encounters. In a suspenseful 6-minute scene, we find Antonio and his friend Nathan (Nino Fernandez) both drunk, half-naked and asleep in the same bed. Just when you thought Antonio’s touch would infuriate the homophobic Nathan, he approved of Tong’s sexual advances and let his friend give him a blowjob… all this after Nathan declares in a group conversation that he wants his first fellatio to come from a woman. The straight and ordinary teenager Antonio introduced in the beginning is destroyed by a singular act of lasciviousness, and we know it’s going to happen soon. Thus we delve deeper into his mysterious persona, and most significantly his big secret: he lacks a present father figure and this longing proceeded to same-sex attraction.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Since you’d expect this film to be gay even before you watch it, there’s the scenes of M2M penetration. Though minimal, the energy and choreography of these steamy scenes (more intensified by the fleshtoned atmosphere that comes up whenever there’s sexual activity) are enough for a boner. The sexual charge of the film is brimming that even a simple question about Antonio’s caroling seems like innuendo. The sex is probably what the audience only seem to recognize. But if there’s a lot of masculine eroticism, the same goes for sexual frustration. In one scene, Tere exhibits this in a simple activity such as applying lotion. But with Antonio, his own frustrations were temporarily aided when his hot uncle Jo (Josh Ivan Morales) came in to stay in their home.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">While Antonio is left to decide for his identity, the film shouts out loud its support for gay rights. In a couple of gay-friendly scenes, one straight male seems to be supportive of Antonio’s sexuality. It’s his friend Mike (Jiro Manio) who says he won’t leave his friend even if he’s confirmed gay, even doing a research on how a person becomes a homosexual and willingly discussing it with Antonio. In another scene, a pregnant woman consults Tere about her issues with family planning and responsible parenthood. The woman leaves just as soon as a gay couple (with a healthy child) arrive. Tere and her colleagues can’t help but compliment the couple’s responsible parenthood. </span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">PROPA-GAY-NDA.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">More or less, Ang Lihim ni Antonio is a film about gay and female struggles. Antonio’s confusion may be normal, but it is triggered by his growth without a father to embrace, a dad to look up to. It raises psychological questions but having met gay friends without dads, it became clear to me that these tendencies could happen to any boy. His temporary pleasures in sucking his uncle’s dick ended up with him getting anally raped. On the other hand, the financial problem and sexual frustration of Tere were also caused by Antonio’s father and towards the end, she finally found out that he cheated her and now has another family abroad. Bad straight men cause the troubles of this small family of two, and they must strike back to free themselves from the advances of these men. Whatever happens, Antonio’s search for identity lingers… same with the fight for equality in these islands.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ang Lihim ni Antonio is a masterful work by Joselito Altarejos. A quiet film as it may seem, his visuals scream out lifelong struggles that would open the eyes of its viewers, if only they would find it in their hearts that not all “gay movies” are all about the sex.</span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>- Gio Potes, October 2011</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Cast source: Ang Lihim ni Antonio (2008)</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>- imdb.com (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172186/)</i></span></div>Gio Poteshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07959847653150267385noreply@blogger.com0