kultura

a quickie: prostitution ain’t witty

it was literature that taught me about the objectification of women. no, it was philippine literature that taught me about the oppression of the Filipina, the kind that objectifies her, makes her into nothing but image, nothing but stereotype. half-naked if not totally so. skin and leg and boobs and butt. image not voice. body not thought.

and just in case everyone thought this witty and funny, and thought nothing of the layers of this image we’ve used to sell a a government-sponsored international literature festival.

the red light district, is about prostitution, and carries with it the contingent oppressions of woman in this country. (more…)

komentaryo

i have no specific expertise

but i thought it quite timely to re-post this piece on the Manila International Literary Festival (MILF) 2011, while the PILF (yes, they changed Manila to Philippine) 2012 is happening. because i hear they were laughing as they wondered whether i would go this year (no), or if GMA News Online would send me (yes, but i said no).

because you know this year they take from prostitution and objectification of women, to sell Philippine literature. what fun.

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kultura

you indie? we BLTX.

Join Us! 

BLTX illustration by Adam David.

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kultura

Mario O’Hara’s swan song

is about you and me, culture and nation, desire and disappearance. please go see it.

hinampas kami ng pag-ibig. -- Ester.
hinampas kami ng pag-ibig. — Ester.

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kultura

Desire and disappearance in “Stageshow”*

It is rare that a stage production brings me to tears, and I remember two that have: Repertory Philippines’ “Next Fall” and Atlantis Productions’ “Next To Normal.”

An empty stage, a small group of actors, a filled heart for “Stageshow.”

Yet, it seems to be an injustice to “Stageshow” that I would compare it at all to these. Because here is a Mario O’Hara text, brought to life by Tanghalang Pilipino, making it an all-original Filipino production. And did I mention it’s a musicale, too? That it’s funny, at times risqué, absolutely what you don’t expect? This is reason enough to think this in a league different from those foreign productions staged locally; then you find yourself in tears at the end of it and you know this is something rare and wonderful.

Days since, this “Stageshow” hangover is beyond me. (more…)