kultura

why say sorry?

or the dynamic of women’s choices.

the romance as a genre in philippine movies has, since the turn of the millennium, been common and surprising in turn. the surprises i personally trace back to regine velasquez’s foray into her julia-roberts-type of romantic films, where situations are perfectly created for both her limited acting skills, and for the middle class women that she portrays (and has as audience). although it can be said that much much earlier than that, judy ann santos and piolo pascual, as well that ricoyan-claudinebarretto-dietherocampo movie were the beginnings of more interesting takes on the romance (hello, boksingero si judy ann? naman). (more…)

kultura

one last time: harry

once, long ago, someone was reporting on “The House of Spirits” in my M.A. class, and she started it off with the line: this has as audience the professional as well as the non-professional reader, but their appreciation of it is different.

i don’t remember much of what else she said, but i do remember that a classmate and i could barely let her finish, because her premises were unacceptable. my mother who reads for leisure (as opposed to reading for academic purposes) does not deserve to be called an unprofessional reader, not only because of the fact that it’s derogatory, but too, because it limits her appreciation of books to the kind of market she’s part of. nor was it acceptable to even presume that all people who read for academic purposes, and are therefore professional readers, will have intelligent and informed appreciation of texts. hello, if you’ve been in the academe long enough, you’d know that this is so not true. (more…)

komentaryo

hello partyline?

(or laughter as the worst medicine)

it was an unlikely but perfect match: a bad stomach, a long rainy, dark and dreary day, and three lessons learned from 4:30 to 5:30 with only coke and very little food in my body.

one, you can pretend that you ARE an activist by saying that you WERE one during the first quarter storm and throughout Martial Law. it apparently gains you enough credibility to be invited to talks and have books published in this country, even if they are about communism – and even when the issues you raise are old and the problems you assert have since been solved. apparently, any person who’s proven by word of mouth as activist of three decades ago, can get away with pretending that he remains one, by virtue of the fact that he continues to talk about it. with an air of credibility, and  – dare i say it? – wisdom. which is directly connected to something i proved to be true: if you admit to being old, you also apparently deem yourself wiser. and you can say, i’m tired and want to study rats. can you – addressing the young impressed audience, of course – please continue what i started? (which of course presumes that what you’ve done so far is worthy.) (more…)

kultura

Chicks Rule!

published in PCIJ i-report, special report on Literature and Literacy, of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, 19 June 2007
http://www.pcij.org/i-report/2007/chick-literature.html

N.B.S.B. (No Boyfriend Since Birth). Love hurts. Hearts heal. Relationships are overrated. Marriage or living in? Promiscuity versus loyalty. Every girl needs a gay bestfriend. Better pay or fulfilling job? M.U. (Mutual Understanding). Shopping! Vacations. Self-worth and –confidence. Self-love. Single – not an old maid. Falling in love with your male bestfriend. The search for Mr. Right. H.D. (Hidden Desire). (more…)

kultura

On Lumbera’s Plenary

“National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera reaffirms Asian identities in the national languages, as Int’l Literature Conference closes”

This was a most fitting end. After two days of plenaries and panel sessions that talked about particular aspects of a very diverse set of cultures within Asia, Filipino National Artist Bienvenido Lumbera tied everything together by highlighting our dependence on, and thus the importance of, translation in his paper entitled “The Necessity of Footnotes: Translating the Culture.”

In light of the various languages in this region we call ours, this couldn’t come at a better time. (more…)