C'MON MARTY. YOU CAN DO IT...
Just doing my bit in hoping that Martin Scorsese will accept the invitation to this year's CineManila. Read about it on this blog, Marty in Manila. For those of you who missed the movies of the just concluded Cinemalaya, shame on you. This years' selections rocked. Congratulations to all the candidates and to the Cultural Center of the Philippines for the quality curatorship. Furthermore, it was refreshing to see that not all of the movies were about being poor and how poverty can be noble. Not that I am diminishing the situation, mind you, but it is nice to see Filipino middle class values and aspirations represented for a change.
Labels: bravo bravo
posted by carlosceldran @ 10:13 PM
54 Comments:
the one thing i hate with this kind of entries,they always show the darkest and the ugliest side/places/characters of philippine(very less showing a nice one)
Are we really nice? I always thought Filipinos were a complicated lot and that we had to make a virtue of our complexity nalan. Or is it that we are nice but many aspects of our culture, society, and environment are not? And so to experience Manila truly, madly, deeply, one needs to expect rather more than niceness. Actually, Scorsese would probably *get* this place ... but Carlos, please tell your friends behind that website that the pics are cute and everything, but they need to build the case. If you were Martin Scorsese, what would you need to hear to be convinced that you couldn't possibly miss this film festival? Maybe you could do them a favour and write it up for them. Or pair up with Noel Vera, critic after dark.
Hi Carlos,
I enjoyed watching 100 starring Mylene Dizon, Tessie Tomas etc. I think this year's festival was able to reach the target number of expected viewers because of the people who really queued up and supported the films. Good job to the organizers. I actually saw you there last Friday... I got shy to approach you but anyway I hope I could also attend on one of your "Walk this Way" sessions very soon.
Cheers.
El Cineasta
I am from San Francisco and I am sick ang tired of seeing poverty in our quality films. The last Filipino film shown was "Sikil" where the main actor lived under the bridge. I know. I know. It is reality but how come the Thai or Indian films don't show the same?
The worst "washing of dirty linen" was in the film " Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros" with an opening song by Yoyoy Villame titled "This is my country. This is my country...." showing the dirty esteros with garbage floating. Argghhh....
Honestly, I don't get it.
I couldn't agree more with Brian Gorrell when he talks about the Filipino psyche and let me quote him:
"Where you may wear a 'knock off brand', they would NEVER! WHY? Because they know style and fashion and crave it, so do NOT try to fool them with phony Dior sunglasses, because they will kick your ass with the boot of humiliation. Buying them a fake anything will only get you into trouble and some severe eye rolling on their part...
They always seem to have money, even though they claim to be poor. This is an amazing characteristic that I NEED to adopt".
Hi Sir! This is Edel, one of the tour guides at Cocina de Tita Moning. I was not able to watch any entry because of my hectic sked.I really wanted to watch. Shame on me nga. Hehe. Sayang. I heard people are raving about Cinemalaya. I even got schedules from a blog somewhere. Maybe next year? :)
What on earth is 'the Filipino psyche' and since when did living for a few months in Boracay make anyone an expert on it? Whatever you think of their depiction of poverty - and I really can understand Kevin's gripe - films like Maxi and Kubrador really opened the door for Filipino indie films abroad. More are following; the subject matter will open out (as Carlos points out, it already has.) Given the talent on display at Cinemalaya, and the success of the festival itself, Filipino cinema could well be on the verge of a new Golden Age. THAT is why Scorsese should come, and why Tarantino has already been. If I were Filipino I'd be so proud. I'd certainly prefer foreigners to see the humanity, sense of humour, great writing, acting, and technical brilliance up there on the screen, than get their view of Filipinos from someone with such a narrow experience of them.
If we really want Mr. Scorsese to visit Manila. We have to get rid of those vendors in our airport and those slums across the NAIA.
CineMalaya I never heard of it.
The Problem with Americans and Europeans whatever we do to make a great film, westerners still view us as a third world country.
Even "Imus" was complaining about the quality of audio that we recorded on GMA speech on the radio.
We have a long way to go in Film making. I hope Peque Gallaga will make more films that is true Filipino like his Oro,Plata, Mata or the best film ever made "Aguilla"
what indeed? (not something that could ever be explained by the Tourism Board anyway.) Maximo Oliveros captured the nicer aspects, i thought. there are darker aspects, too, which other filmmakers have explored in interesting ways. that, Kevin, is one of the things that distinguishes art from advertising, and one compelling reason for Scorsese to come to Manila.
Mayroong cinemalaya 08 films na ipapakita sa UP Film Theater. Tawagan niyo na lang sila para sa ticket at movie schedule.
Achilles, methinks your heel is talking. You really think the absence of slums and street vendors would be a film fest's main draw? As Nomade says, this is about cinema, not advertising. Time for a dip in the river Styx...este, Pasig.
The fact that there is discussion here on this cinema vs. advertising subject is evidence that the Filipino lifestyle is full of ironies where everything is in contrast.
True to himself/herself, every Filipino is a social climber which Brial Gorrell cannot understand.
While they show through cinema the reality of poverty, half of the mambers of the House of Representa-thieves are shopping in the LV shops and enjoying the streets of San Francisco and New York.
While the latest survey shows that the hunger index is increasing, here comes Chavit Singson throwing a grand party for Pacquiao at Corinthian Gardens with Imelda in attendance. What sensitivity?
While the school drop out rate is increasing, Greenbelt is expanding to now GBelt 6 and later on 7 for more signature shops.
The international community is confused. Are you really rich or poor or just need more more more American aid???
Troilus my heel doesn't talk.
It is the not the absence of film fest's main draw. it is an eye sore for the people who will visit Manila especially Martin Scorsese when he gets off the plane at NAIA 1,2 OR 3
If you haven't live in Boston, Massachusetts for 20 years and visited the Philippines after 20 years.
You will know What I mean.
Our Film's were never been nominated at the Oscar's or the Cannes Film festival. The Chinese, Indian and Japanese movies are more accepted in other countries than Filipino films.
Don't be aggrevated with my posting. I am just telling the truth.
By the way,
How do you advertise CineManila without advertising it?
Filipinos never really understand the the complexity of the film industry as long it makes money okay na.
If you want a True Filipino Art Film rent the movie "CAVITE" directed and produced by two Filipino students from California.
The film has more sense than grudging each others opinion
Achilles,
it just so happens that this summer's Paris Cine festival was dedicated to Philippine cinema. On the programme were several classics, such as Insiang by Lino Brocka--which created a stir at Cannes when it was first shown there in the 1980s; Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang; Himala; Babae sa Breakwater by Mario O'Hara--which was also selected for Cannes when it first came out a few years ago, as well as the Bangkok and Hong Kong film festivals; Kubrador--which made it to film festivals in Venice and Berlin; and Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros, which was presented at the Sundance film festival. So I would disagree that Philippine cinema is less 'accepted' by the larger film community than Chinese, Indian, and Japanese cinema. On the whole, the 'action' in cinema over the last couple of decades has really shifted to the east (Iranian cinema has been another 'darling' of the film fest circuit), and the Philippines has enjoyed its share of the recognition that shift represents. Of course, our cinema has been less visible than Chinese and Indian cinema--but bear in mind that the Philippines is also a much smaller market than China or India. (Incidentally, every national film industry has its share of shoddy commercial production and quality filmmaking--and this is true of China and India as well.)
All of the Filipino films I mentioned above cover the darker sides of Philippine culture and society, and all of them are set in the slums and poor communities that make you cringe; not coincidentally, they have had some critical acclaim. It isn't that critics are biased in favour of films that show poverty, violence, and other harsh realities; but a work of art that didn't attempt to grapple with difficult issues in some deep and imaginative way would not be much more meaningful than a TV commercial. I think you misunderstood my point about the difference between art and advertising.
Lighten up about the slums. Scorsese's reaction upon seeing them will probably be to imagine all the human stories teeming within them. And Carlos will be there to 'change the way he looks at Manila'.
Sigh. Why do we even care what non-Filipinos think of us?
Whether they focus on just the slums or know nothing about our history or think Filipino food sucks based on all of 2 weeks on the backpacker trail ... if they're ignorant about something, why is this OUR problem? It's THEIR problem if they stereotype or don't get it, you know?
As Nomade de Plume says, Filipinos are a complicated lot. There's poverty and corruption AND culture and beauty, all rolled together.
I do not believe in glorifying poverty but nor do I believe in hiding it away like a disease you can catch if you look at it too long. It is what it is.
I wish we didn't feel ashamed when foreigners comment on it. I don't care what foreigners think, actually. I only care what Filipinos think about it in terms of how we want it to change, how we can help each other. We can't have that conversation if we keep trying to change the topic.
I thought "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros" was a very good film (though a bit melodramatic). Brave subject matter. I can't think of another film with a pre-teen gay character crushing on an older man. No way you'd see that in the U.S.
The slum setting didn't make it a good film. But it didn't make it a lesser film either, anymore than the Rio favela setting made the Brazilian film "City of God" a good or bad film. They're good because they tell unique stories, were cut well, and had vibrant young actors in the lead roles. Nathan Lopez really shines in the role, and carries the film.
@americanboy:
You think that wealth disparity doesn't exist in the U.S.? Have you been to Appalachia? Detroit?
How much money is Dick Cheney worth and what happened to all the residents of New Orleans?
How does New York have the Trump Towers and $400 dinners at Per Se in the Time Warner building but still have thousands of homeless sleeping on the street next to dog shit?
Politicians send their children to private schools that cost as much as college while poor Americans make do with substandard buildings, 40 kids to a class, sometimes even violence in their middle schools.
The U.S. promotes abstinence education but idolizes Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson. If abstinence is the way to go, then why is The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, How to Marry a Millionaire, Blind Date, such popular t.v. shows?
Is the U.S. a religious nation or a secular democracy? A bit of both?
Ironic cultural contradictions? You bet.
Just remember that whatever observation you have about one culture can often be applied to your own. We're not actually such different people.
Incidentally, the hunger index is increasing in the U.S. too.
I believe the food crisis is happening worldwide in many countries due to various factors like the spike in oil prices.
I'm probably going to get massacred here, but as foreigner who has lived in the Philippines and has seen many screenings of Filipino films abroad - and wanted to these works to shine - there are some sensibilities which don't transfer well outside the RP cinema culture.
The use of Tagalog and/or other dialects should not be an issue if there are subtitles.
The big issue is that Philippine films tend to lack SUBTILITY.
I know I'm generalizing - but everything seems to be overwrought, the melodrama, the poverty, the pathos, the heavy-handed imagery and symbolism, the wife-beating and sobby wet tears, over-use of sepia tones, gimmick lighting, special effects, and the editing - and it gets more pronounced the bigger the budget. Jose Rizal from 1999 is prime example of that. Everything AND the kitchen sink was thrown in.
And Filipino humor, in my limited observation and grasp of Tagalog, tends to lack subtlity as well. for Western audiences this comes across as cloying and over-the-top.
Perhaps local directors should pay more attention to story-telling and narrative - that what usually makes films from disparate places like Iran and Finland work here despite the cultural and language barriers.
All of this works well well - and clearly there is great talent and merit - in the Philipinnes and within its creative and film community and audeinces.
It just seems to clunk abroad.
I have Cavite, which got solid notices in the US, on DVR and have not seen it yet. It might be worth noting that it was created by a Fil-am who did not grow up in the Philippines.
I read this from another blog. You be the judge...
"I saw Prince Edward and family breeze through security line at a U.S. airport last week. I saw him carrying his youngest kid and his wife (?) walked with another kid. There was one Secret Service agent and two (2) nannies who I thought were ordinary passengers. Checking out the departure lounge of PAL, I saw a couple of apparently rich Filipino families ready to fly out of the U.S. because of the start of classes in the Phil. They were all assisted by uniformed drivers and maids. Seeing those maids wear that uniform on U.S. soil really made me throw up. Truly, the Filipinos have mastered the art of social climbing."
I agree with skunkeye about "Jose Rizal" -- I was so disappointed! It could have been a much better film if it were a bit toned down. Diaz (the filmmaker) also did "Bagong Buwan", which I thought was a better film. It's both a bit more toned down and also is about the war in Mindanao, which seems to justify dramatic devices more than a biography.
I do agree about the presence of melodrama in Philippine cinema, that it's often the thing that keeps films from being great. But I also wonder if it could be pushed even further into being a known genre, in the way that way-over-the-top Bollywood song-and-dance films are for Indian cinema. Those aren't short on the drama and kitch, most are not "great" cinema, but it has it's own charm and international fame on it's own terms.
Move on now...that's why there's Cinemalaya for the middle class in us. Look, since it was established in 2006, you have seen how diverse it has developed. We are aspiring to the next level now and we want it fast and ambitious- Scorcese!
As for over the top commercial movies, it's economies of scale. We are 7000+ islands. Subtlety is not going to work. Manila may look like the entire country, but a lot hailed from provinces. Imagine us as the entire Europe. French movies are not mass produced for all Europeans aren't they?
Why is it that popular circulating pirated foreign DVDs are the over-the-top Hollywood movies? or over the top Jackie Chan movies (geez we even used to watch Drunken Master without understanding what they were talking about because it was neither dubbed or subtitled)
There are still some foreigners who don't know anything about the Philippines. I tell them upfront that it's a third world country, currently being swallowed by China. Then they would wiki it, and wiki says we are an industrialize country. For as long as there are slums, I claim we are a third world country. Impress them with knowledge of history na lang like Carlos does.
KD Mendelebar...
If the observer were a brit and Prince Edward's entourage were reversed to the Filipino family's description. What would be Mr British Guy's judgment?
What would the Filipino observer say? Won't we covet and be in awe of Prince Edwards's display? (Or probably differently by now, depending in your cultural capital.)
But why in this given case we are offended? We know how most rich Filipinos acquire their wealth. We are suspicious if those maids are properly treated because we are guilty of slavery in our own homes.
That Filipino family is still practicing old world class distinctions, why are we like that in the first place? Google the word "Alipin" it will spit a couple of discourses by a couple of scholarly Filipino bloggers. The Wiki definition is not substantial.
(i'm enjoying this thread, it's thought provoking)
This morning in Boston I saw an Asian man pushing a grocery kart in the middle of the street.
I knew then he was collecting beer and softdrink cans for recycling.
Each can cost about 5 cent to recycle. If he gets about 500 cans he might get $250.00 in a day.
That's More than I make for a day.
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Re: melodrama. It is inevitably the preferred narrative style in cultures where family and community relationships matter this much. This is not unique to the Philippines; Indian and Latin American movies are also highly melodramatic. And it isn't necessarily an idiotic and inferior genre--ancient Greek drama was bloody and overwrought, and the catharsis or emotional release it allowed was supposed to be therapeutic. Maybe it is that our world doesn't differ much from that of Medea, so local audiences still look to art for such catharsis. Oh my, dare I agree with Skunkeye? But as Christina suggests, rather than striving for subtlety (which might translate better to a wider audience but may well be beyond the Filipino psyche -- whatever that may mean), perhaps local filmmakers would do better to push the genre to its limits and turn it on its head?
Oh, I'm TOTALLY with cristina and Nom de Plume.
Melodrama is a fanatstic genre - but its really tricky to pull off.
The most successful recent Ameircan melodrama was probably Todd Hayne's "Far from Heaven."
actually, about 10+ years ago the director Allison Anders (best known for "Ma Vida loca" maybe?) spoke at the museum where I had a grant on the topic of melodrama. She had just put "Grace of my Heart" in the can and spoke at length about the dynamics, conventions, and elements of genre sone well - she used Douglas Sirk and Steel Magnolias, and the drunk Meg ryan movie as a few of the examples. She was fascinated by genre at the the timne and had tried to use melodrama as the framework for 'Grace of My Heart" but as her first big budget production with a big name cast, compressing several decades of a character based on Carole King, The Brill building, the Beach Boys, musical numbers, - yes, eveything and the kitchen sink - it didn't quite pull together with audiences and the critics. I liked it though, but I'm a geek and took a scholarly approach.
I think the melodrama of Bollywood and Latin American cinema - ha, Pedro Almadovar is a fantastic example of purveryor of the genre - resonantes and works almost universally is because it is COLORFUL. Nothing is more uplifting than an over-the-top Bollywood number or delightful campiness of Almodavor - this is interspered with tears and pathos, the bitter with the sweet.
With American audiences at least, european melodrama - french and Italian films - work because there is a je ne s'ais pas sexiness to it. the dialogue maybe be banal but the actors look hot with their cigarettes and scarves.
I know, melodram is oft-misued - and I'm guilty of it - to describe something mawkish when it is actually a specific literary and dramatic genre.
It's like - my pet peeve - in the design world, when people use "contemporary" when describing Modernistic design - when in fact Moderinism involves specific design and lifestyles priniciples - many of which date back to WWI.
i haven't seen enough cinema from the Philippinnes or studied enough of its history to identify touchstones which might resonate with overseas audiences. I always enjoyed catching pre-80s Filipino film on television - but mostly its because I find the fashions and locales of bygone Philippines absolutly intriguing - and while i got a kcik out of the camp factor, especially in the older movies, everything seemed a bit more dignified.
And for the record, I'm no huge fan of American independent film these and prefer foreign film. I thought Little miss Sunshine and Juno werehooey with alt-film cliches - I think the with the rapid proliferation of independent film and the availiabilty of digital film, we lost a bit in quality and vision. Give me pioneers like Cassavetes and Hartley any day...
also it should be noted that "independent"-type productions thrive in Europe and Canada becaus ethey recieve government grants and assitance and audiences are better eucated and more wrldly than Americans.
I haven't been back to Manila in a while, but my understanding is that thee a great many theatres to see independent and foreign films.
Where i have been living in DC, Dupont Circle, the cultural nexus of the city, until recently, there used to be many art houses up until five years ago (the last one closed down this year. We have also lost pretty much all our bookstores as well.) in their place are CVSs and chain restos. Go figure.
I do hope to see more contemporary Filipino cinema in the future.
Haha, the subjects of Ramona Diaz' latest documentary live in the apartment complex behind my house in Baltimore.
Okay, i shut up now.
Christina, a big majority of the U.S. poor population (which is a very small segment of the population) are poor because they are either lazy or did not take advantage of the American dream.
In the U.S., people are judged based on merit. You are the living proof of that or else you would still be in the Philippines as a bean counter.
In the Philippines, people are judged by the color of the skin or by social status. Tell me where you went to school or tell me where you live and I already know who you are. End of story.
The Arnel Pinedas or the Charice of the world wouldn't not be there if not for the American way of affirmative action or meritocracy. It works.
AmericanBoy:
The percentage of Americans living below the poverty line ranges around 10% of the population (estimates say that in a 5 year span, as much as 40% will cycle below the poverty line, as people move in and out of poverty). That is not a small figure, as 10% is about 30 million Americans.
This is an ironic oddity in such a wealthy country.
You did not address this point, that the United States, like the Philippines, like Britain, like India, like many other nations, has some very strange contradictions within it's borders. It seems you would prefer to think that the United States has no problems, so you can continue critiquing the Philippines like some "other" country that can have no similarities to your own.
You offer an extremely simplistic (and frankly rather sheltered) explanation for why there are poor people in America: They Must be Lazy.
The American Middle Class has shrunk. Manufacturing jobs that were the bedrock of blue-collar wage earners for decades have been outsourced abroad.
There is a little teeny problem called the home mortgage crisis going on right now in the United States. Perhaps you've heard of this? You know, with your average people who actually work and have jobs losing their homes all across the country because of bad mortgages? That problem?
How many Americans go bankrupt when they get sick with something like cancer because they either can't afford insurance in the first place or the insurance company blocks their claims?
Even middle class kids who make it into college graduate with heavy debt burdens in the tens of thousands of dollars, because college has become unaffordable for their parents. This is a shift from even 30 years ago in the United States, when the "American Dream" was much more of a reality for people.
So I'm not exactly sure what abundant resources there are for poor American kids to get a leg up in the world, if even the middle class kids who have some financial help from their parents can't afford college without heavy borrowing. But I suppose they are just lazy.... That explains everything.
The idea that people judge you on your skin color in the Philippines but not the United States .... that is almost too ridiculous to address. Racism is alive and well in the US, my friend. Ask a black man how many cabs don't stop for him in New York City at night and get back to me about whether or not judging people on their skin color only exists in the Philippines.
And as for this:
"In the U.S., people are judged based on merit. You are the living proof of that or else you would still be in the Philippines as a bean counter."
Dude, YOU DON'T KNOW ME. I'm a complete stranger on the internet whose posts you've read for all of 20 minutes.
You're in no position to tell me what I'm living proof of.
AmericanBoy is obviously a self loathing Fiipino who buys the American Dream propaganda without giving it much analysis.
And the Philppines is not racist, it's classist. Any indio, chino, or negro can make it to the top of the heap if they have the money. That's why the Philippines is a social climbers fantasy land.
Think deeper AmericanBoy. Or is thinking things through too unAmerican for you?
Shame on me, Carlos. I wasn't able to catch Cinemalaya this year. I was drowning in paperwork. DAMMIT. I got to pass by CCP when I saw Batman in IMAX but, I really really didn't have time to spare to get inside. Sad :(
having him here would be sooooo cool! cmon marty! come visit manila! :)
Skunkeye,
hey, you read my mind! I was precisely thinking of Douglas Sirk and Almodovar in my little apology for melodrama ... By the way, if you want to see melodrama judiciously and intelligently used in a Filipino film, try finding a copy of 'Kisap-mata' by Mike de Leon and written by Raquel Villavicencio based on a short story by Nick Joaquin ('The House on Balete Street') which itself was based on a true story ... This rather conveniently supports my point that melodrama reflects Filipino realities, hehehe, but setting that discussion aside, you might find that Kisap-mata is a felicitous example of the genre and possibly even comes close to that *subtlety* you crave.
(The film is also a sort of political allegory of the Philippines under a dictatorship. Incredibly, it was made with ECP funding. Which goes back to Carlos' point that the Marcoses' legacy is vewwwy complex.)
I beg to differ, though, about European audiences being more worldly. The reason arthouse films here (I live in Paris) have to be subsidized is that they would never stand a chance if it were left to the market. Left to their own devices, the vast majority of French people see truly awful commercial crap like Taxi (1-2-3-4), Asterix, and this year's runaway hit, 'Bienvenue chez les Chtis' (not surprisingly, Hollywood just bought the rights to do an English-language remake). Not that I blame the French; the independent films that do get subsidized are *irregardable* -- either solipsistic (e.g., 'Il est plus facile pour un chameau') or trivial ('Amelie') or ambitious but falling flat on its face (every Assayas film except for 'Irma Vep'). What I would credit Europeans for is for spotting and subsidizing talents abroad (e.g., Wong Kar Wai, the Makmalbafs in Iran, hey, even Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal back in the days) who had to struggle against their own philistine commercial film industries. You know what they say about prophets in their own countries...
p.s. hmmm, actually it's been *decades* since i saw 'Kisap-mata' (it was one of the first Tagalog films my parents allowed me to see, because they had this idea that Tagalog films were all cheap and full of unsuitable content) and maybe I was easily impressed back then. let me know if i should eat my hat!
@Americanboy
As an American who lives below the poverty line and is not lazy, I'm with Christina in suggesting your perspective might be a bit limited.
I work and pay my mortgage (which is modest by area standards) but still never have enough to make ends meet. I've had health insurance four years out of the last thirteen - I can't afford it anymore. i'm in a Master's program to increase my value in the market place but worry every day about paying off my student loans and landing a ob which may not be there. Every day I deal with the choice of buying groceries or paying my utilities. I live responsibly but I'm hugely in debt. the quality of my life is not so great - although it is enriched through volunteerism and taking advantage of free cultural programs. I don't want to whine, but I'm not alone in this - The American Dream is a myth these days.
For example, try visiting Baltimore - where I relocated to partly because I was priced out of DC - and I'm a fifth generation Washington - and tell me poverty is marginal in the United States. This once thriving industrial city is dying - and the situation is worsening and hopes of revitalization are dashed as the economy declines. There is no work, no incentive to make things work, and the corruption and urban blight is palpable. The country has really been damaged by the greed and corruption of the current administration and the lack of forward-thinking by our nation as a whole. We are damaged as a culture and need to make changes.
This is my simplistic, inarticulate view this morning and I have no desire to get into a debate - I have to go to work so i don't lose my house.
Skunkeye, your view is neither simplistic nor inarticulate.I find your posts fascinating. Please keep them coming. Christina too.
Christina, let us call a spade a spade.
If the American system does not work, with all its imperfections, there wouldn't be a long line of people (mosthly cheaters) trying to get a visa at the U.S. or British Embassy.
If the American system does not work, why is it that when Grade 4 pupils were surveyed in the Philippines and an astounding 85% of them responded that their dream is to live and work in America someday. Go figure.
The mortgage crisis happened because of greed. People kept on re-financing and enjoyed the equity of their homes and presented to their relatives in the Philippines that life has never been so good. The reality is it is still money borrowed from the lenders.
In America, generally speaking, if you work hard, you will enjoy the fruits of your labor. Racism or injustice of course exists but the institutions are set up to correct these. There is no such thing as utopia.
In the Philippines, and I will say it again. Just tell me where you went to school (UP, Ateneo, La Salle, UST???) or tell me where you live (Forbes, Ayala Alabang, Dasmarinas Village?) and I will tell you who you are. You do not need a crystal ball to predict your future. The point is privilege. It is all about privilege which is the root of all evil in the Philippines.
To Anonymous, any individual born in the U.S. (whether Filipino, Turkish, Chinese, or Afghan descent) is an American
who is expected to believe in the American ideals or else just live some place else like maybe in the Philippines.
Christina said, "Sigh. Why do we even care what non-Filipinos think of us?"
Shame on you Christina. Why do you think our best directors submit these films to the Oscars? Why do you think our best directors join international film festival?
To get the opinions or judgments of non-Filipinos.
In case you don't know yet, the perception of the global community cannot be ignored anymore. Even Carlos' blog has a wider international audience.
Christina's comment is laidback if not parochial which insists on keeping Filipinos inside the third world cocoon. YOU don't get it unless you want to join North Korea or Burma inside the Iron Curtain, that is certainly not the way to go in this modern age.
@Nils
*sigh*
Perhaps you should be galvanized that we are having a healthy and non-judgmental conversation within Carlos’ comment section, represented by Philippine nationals and expats who have an interest in exploring and making viable the talents and fruits of the Philippine’s visionary cinema community both domestically and abroad.
None of us are enemies.
We are riffing, trouble-shooting, and using the creative problem solving process – in a forum which is unrelated to the Philippines and international film community. We are all for excellence and visibility for Filipino filmmaking!
Am I alone in thinking this kind of discourse is encouraging?
And that folks from all ponds feel strongly about visibility and quality cinema from the Philippines says a lot about our support of creative process of the Pinoy filmmaker and leverage within a distribution system which is challenged globally.
Christina was not being dismissive.
Peruvians, Bolivians, Malaysians, Serbians, and Canadians all submit their equally technically, visionary and heartfelt crafted celluloid storytelling to the Academy – its fair game. Who really cares – around the goddamn multicultural, big-picture, global world. ?? One might define oneself as an artist but the status quo prevails.
Show the world something good or market it cleverly. Illustrating convincingly a solid vision with good story with appealing talent with appropriate production values which global audiences can respond to is the first step. The other 99% is maneuvering into this market’s stilted psyche and creating a modest box-office phenom or some kind intellectual or socially challenging buzz.
I dunno if getting best Foreign Picture is the right goal. Try making informed films which balance the bitter with the sweet and celebrate all which is joyous and tragic within and without Filipino identity. Yeesch, engaging storytelling is the key.
I’d say Filipino filmmakers are at a prime crossroads to resonate and shine. If they’d stop talking themselves so seriously and simpilify a yarn…
Oops, my bad.
Skunkeye, can I play the violin now? LOL
@Nils
i'd love a fugue (maybe not) but you can bash my head over with the instrument.
Apologies for being so overbearing - you've caught a creative professional between gigs and that is a sad thing indeed.
I really don't think chritina deserved your hard time but maybe I'm a little sensitive these days.
d minor with basso profundo...
Hello? Piccolo?
Cheers!!!
Dear Skunkeye,
No need to apologize. This is fair game.
For the wider Filipino audience (Christina in particular), please explain what "playing the violin means" while you do your discourse. LOL
My my. I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to respond to the last few posts, but I'll try.
Americanboy:
First off, I'm an American, and have been all my life. I was born one, as I have an American parent.
I've also been a Philippine citizen all my life (dual citizen under the 1973 Philippine Constitution, since my mom was a Philippine citizen).
I was born in the PH, raised in both countries. My family, going back several generations, are of both cultures.
I love both places. Fiercely and with knowledge. They are my blood. They are me and all the people I love in the world.
When I say that the American middle class has shrunk and the Dream has moved out of reach for many, it's based on my American family's experiences. Personal, real-world experiences that don't fit into abstract boxes.
I won't rehash my statement that the American middle class has greatly diminished. This is a real problem I've already described. That economists and analysts like Paul Krugman describe.
Skunkeye's account sounds like a familiar reflection of the middle-class experience today (thanks for sharing skunkeye, it was an interesting read). As he says, he is very fortunate. But he like many Americans is in debt up to his eyeballs for his degree and just a serious health crisis away from bankruptcy.
I don't object to you pointing out problems in the Philippines. Hell, we all know they're there. I welcome constructive criticism if the goal is to ultimately help by finding new insights through discussion.
Gratuitious criticism like yours is not intended to help. It has other goals, like putting others down to elevate oneself. Or oversimplifying difficult problems to avoid the hard work of reexamining one's own positions.
You ended your original critique of the corruption in the Philippines with a complaint about U.S. aid to the Philippines. I don't remember Canada and Europe complaining about the incompetence/corruption of the U.S. government, of FEMA and the Red Cross before sending us aid after Hurricane Katrina. Were they entitled to be self-righteous just because they helped us?
Your generalizations about the U.S. are that: generalizations. I object to your stereotyping of both places.
There's too many easy examples I from people's lives I know -- working American professionals -- that contradict the idea that it's all sunshine and rainbows and meritocracy over here.
- My business manager who calls in sick 2 days a week, every week, and isn't fired (at a well known institution in New York).
- My friend's alcoholic boss at a well-known NY hospital, who was absent 50% of the time and never fired. Instead my friend was pressured to quit because she brought it to the attention of Human Resources.
- My friend who is President of a grant foundation, is constantly schmoozed by people trying to get funding for one project or another. I've watched it happen, it's amusing. And fairly normal in the wider world.
Etc.
I would agree that economic opportunities are on average better in the U.S. than in the Philippines, but I would beware of treating that as an absolute, because it will mislead you.
For instance, one of Carlos' friends I've met is a Candian-Filipino filmmaker. He was finding more work in Manila than in Toronto. Apparently (and as we can tell from the discussion of many interesting films in this thread), the film industry is booming in the Philippines. I have 2 Filipino friends also doing pretty well in the film industry (one is a director, the other a voice-over actor).
Lastly, know that I am responding to your posts as an American traveller (outside the Philippines, that's how people identify me).
As a traveler, you have a responsibility. It is on you to not be the Ugly American abroad.
When one of us is a bad traveller, we all look bad.
Our reputation around the world is not that great right now (thanks to Bush). When one of us is culturally arrogant, loud or boorish, or demands in Paris that people speak EEENGLISH, why don't they speak EEENGLISH, I'm in Oaxaca and why don't these Mexicans make CAPPUCCIIIINOOO, where's my CAPPUCCIIINOOOO, I'm in Macchu Picchu and I WAAANT EEEARRLLL GREEYYY TEA, why don't THESE PEOPLE HAVE EEEARRRLLL GREEYY TEA why are they MAAAKING IT SOOO SLOOWWW here
(you get the picture)
We all are going to be judged by these behaviors. And I swear I've seen way too much of this stuff traveling in various countries. My American dad who lived in Asia for 30 years just shakes his head over it all.
For some reaons I particularly see a lot of this type of behavior from Western travelers in SEAsia. I don't know why.
They feel free to talk non-stop about corrupt policemen in Thailand or how late the trains are in India, or how backward (insert SEAsian country here) is etc etc etc etc. All in earshot of the Thais or Indians or whoever, who generally understand perfectly well what they're saying. Ugh.
It amazes me that people with travel experience can be so clueless about what constitutes a boorish way to behave in someone else's country. Or the inherent ironies there are in say, the Swiss expat in Mexico I met complaining nonstop about the corruption in Mexico (umm, WHICH country to dictators hide their money in again? Oh right. SWITZERLAND.)
Your posts reminded me of some of that stuff. You're ruining it for your fellow Americans who don't act like that. Some of us actually make an effort you know.
AMEN.
But I have a feeling AmericanBoy is a Filipino.
@Nils, I didn't at all mean we shouldn't care about being part of the wider world. Particularly in regards to cinema, I think it's great to seek international markets, media, collaboration, new ideas, etc.
I've always loved that the Philippines is the opposite of a xenophobic country -- we are extremely interested in other places and meeting people from other countries. I'm proud of that attitude. It's healthy. It's appropriate to Manila's multi-culti history and character. That we are the world's 2nd largest diaspora (after Mexico).
My comment was in regards to the reaction we sometimes have to people commenting on the slums when they visit. Or the traffic. Or not liking the food. Or ... (insert item foreigners comment on here).
We often end up taking it personally, because it's a foreigner commenting. Sometimes they are being mean, in which case I believe in saying something, lol. But often they mean no harm, they're just new to the place. In which case, I wish we just said "meh" a little more.
In the end, foreigners won't end up changing things in the Philippines, Filipinos will be the ones to do that. So it's what Filipinos have to say about things in the Philippines that count more, because that's where change will come from.
Case in point: Carlos' entries on birth control, the Catholic church, and the feature from the Philippine Inquirer. Our problem. It's what Filipinos have to say about it that matters most, not foreigners. We can generate our own solutions.
That's all I meant.
And btw, it's a safe assumption that everyone reading this blog knows what "playing the violin" means.
Oh dear, I wade into this one with some trepidation. Just wanted to draw your attention to economist Paul Krugman's recent writings, which back up Christina and Skunkeye's points. See this (longish) piece of his in the NY Times on 'the disappearing middle': http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9505EFD9113AF933A15753C1A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1
"...you can't understand what's happening in America today without understanding the extent, causes and consequences of the vast increase in inequality that has taken place over the last three decades, and in particular the astonishing concentration of income and wealth in just a few hands. To make sense of the current wave of corporate scandal, you need to understand how the man in the gray flannel suit has been replaced by the imperial C.E.O. The concentration of income at the top is a key reason that the United States, for all its economic achievements, has more poverty and lower life expectancy than any other major advanced nation. "
Disturbing shifts in the American economic and social model should matter to everyone because it has been touted all over the world as the key to success; and in the Philippines, where the US seems to dominate our frame of reference (even though China and Japan are actually the biggest foreign investors and aid donors, even though we are culturally more comparable to our Southeast Asian neighbours, and even though social and economic trends are more similar to those of Latin America), it is all the more important to examine that model with a critical eye.
At the same time, it would be difficult to argue against US-style economic openness (to FDI, increased trade, etc.), since it probably accounts for the bulk of economic opportunities that have allowed the country to stay afloat in spite of our incompetent politicians. But I guess the thing to bear in mind is that greater wealth does not necessarily lead to greater equality, higher quality of life, social stability, cultural advancement, etc. Improvements on those fronts will require political will and some smart social engineering (like promoting birth control!) ...
AMEN too to Christina's last points, about Filipinos being anything but xenophobic, and about how we should react to foreigners -- and frequently our own -- criticisms. I do think we need to see the glass as half-full from time to time. We have a dynamic economy, a literate workforce with skills that can meet demand across the value chain (this is not true of China, for instance -- at least not yet), etc. It's so annoying when people, including ourselves, say it's a poor country. The Philippines is officially (by internationally agreed measures of wealth) a middle-income country, or 'lower middle-income' to be precise -- which means our peers are the likes of Thailand and Indonesia. We're not even immoderately indebted, like some Central American countries. Could be better, but not a bad place to start. It means we have resources; we just need to work harder at managing them more strategically and probably equitably.
Especially now that the economic action has really moved east. Incidentally, I also have a part-Filipino filmmaker friend who has moved to Manila because financially / commercially, there are more opportunities there than in Paris. (And that in spite of the French government's notorious subsidies for the film industry.)
Oh that reminds me, this was originally a thread about films and the Philippines (though it has meandered in interesting ways), and I had a related question for Carlos. In Wong Kar-Wai's 'Days of Being Wild' there are a number of scenes at the end that were filmed in the Philippines. Do you know where those buildings are, Carlos?? The hotel in Chinatown where the Leslie Cheung character stays (the architecture looks like it could be from the 1930s-1950s), and the train station where the fight takes place at the end? Grateful if you could shed some light...
Actually, how about starting a tour around filming locations in Manila? My cousins used to live in their lolo's house in Mandaluyong, a tall white edifice with twisted columns which even back then I knew were in bad taste -- but it was always being used as the haunted house in horror movies. (Most memorably, 'Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara'!) I know there are others, because one seemed to see the same houses in different movies, the old black-and-white ones starring Bella Flores, Amalia Fuentes, et al.
Yeah Yeah Christina!
Now you are telling us that you are an American. I knew it from the start remember? You quack like a duck, you must be a duck.
I would rather play the violin with Nils while you give us that crap. What putz!
Go back to the Philippines and serve in the NGO.
Condi and Shultz (both from Stanford) would prefer seeing you in that role.
BTW, it is not a safe assumption that everybody who is not American will understand what "playing the violin" means.
Simply stated, you play the violin when somebody starts lecturing or whining a la Christina.
Ho-hum.
Now, now, boys and girls. Please can we keep the tone courteous and non-aggressive. One of the things I like about Carlos' blog is that people here seem thoughtful and civilised, even if they have differences of opinion. Keep in mind that we're guests here, and we owe it to our host to avoid catfights, foodfights, pillow-fights, etc. Let's just enjoy the conversation, shall we?
Anonymous said, "And the Philppines is not racist, it's classist. "
Not True.
I will be the first one to report ABS-CBN TFC to the U.S. Human Rights Watch in the way they make fun of the Aetas, the Igorots, and the Moros on national T.V.
I will also report them to the Black Coalition so they stop calling black people derogatory names.
Additionally, nobody showed visible signs of support when this gay patient in Cebu suffered humiliation when this container was left inside his ass. Why? He is a poor brown man.
Everybody showed signs of support, including monetary, when Brian Gorrell, a white guy complained of estafa in Philippine soil.
Don't give us that non-racist crap.
Nomade de Plume that is most gentlemanly of you. :-)
No worries. When people start slinging insults, it's a sign they're out of other ideas.
Anyway I'm also a New Yorker and have been called far worse to my face. Heh. Life is too short to be bothered by it. It simply isn't my problem if people want to call me names. They're the ones who get to go home with themselves and stew in all their issues, not me.
@ Americanboy: Carlos Celdran has met me in person. He linked to my tribute to Julia Campbell when that wonderful person died last year, who I was very lucky to befriend.
Carlos knows I'm both American and Filipina. If this is what keeps you up at night, I'm sure you can ask him to verify. LOL.
I must apologize belatedly to all the other posters for contributing to moving this thread away from a really interesting discussion on Philippine cinema.
More, please.
I will confess to a guilty Filipino film pleasure here .... "VOLTA!"
I looooved that movie. Except for the weird gay-bashing at the end. >:-( It was cheesey as all get-out, and totally AWESOME. They just ran with the corny and made it fun. Wigs! Dwarves! Bad guys! Predictable family drama! A female superhero in spandex!
Please don't think any less of me for this confession.
Verbose prose is not an indicator of a bright idea.
You do that to the "Letter to the Editor" section of the New Yorker and your comment will surely go straight to the shredder machine.
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