The Philippines: Not Just “Bus and Miss Universe”

Is our nation defined by blunders?

The Philippine Bus and Miss Universe
Daniel Wagner
The Huffington Post
2010

Social media sites are abuzz with opinions lately, thanks to our country. The tragic bus hostage. The “botched” Miss Universe effort. And a Huffington Post article discussing why both incidents reflect the hopelessness of the Filipinos as a people. Much judgment has been passed recently on our national identity based on these instances. He’s right, many say, agreeing to Daniel Wagner’s August 25 article, he’s just being objective, Filipinos make too many excuses. Others oppose this judgment, saying we’re actually hopeful. Either way, there is a tendency to define Filipinos with these blunders.

It is tempting in particular to dismiss Wagner’s article as mere American arrogance. Filipinos, after all, are no stranger to being the object of ridicule and disdain, enduring centuries of being called indio, little brown brother, monkey. However, unlike Wagner, we choose not to generalize—there are, after all, Americans who are wont to exploit and look down on other nationalities, and there are those who don’t, and perhaps Wagner deserves the benefit of the daw. Moreover, the sheer number of fellow Filipinos sharing and agreeing with Wagner’s article is worrisome, so perhaps it would be wiser to engage the points Wagner makes.

Rigged Picture

Conrado de Quiros' small picture.

Big Picture
Conrado de Quiros
Philippine Daily Inquirer
2010

Conrado de Quiros, in the context of the Aquino presidency, is a weird thing. He cannot conceal that he’s a total Noynoy supporter, but still he attempts to distance himself from the Aquinos, striking a “critical” pose in order to retain his fiery reputation and journalistic integrity.

In his August 11, 2010 column “Big Picture,” de Quiros takes on the Hacienda Luisita issue, writing about the new stock-or-land proposal from the Luisita management and the flak it received. His column’s basic outline goes:

Ikaw Na, Ikaw Na ang Nagbabasa ng Foucault

Beware of these rope drawings—they reek of CAPITALISMMMM!!!

Consumer Lay Down
Angelo V. Suarez
2010
Review of Christina Dy’s [lover lay down]
Blanc Gallery Makati, Blanc Compound Mandaluyong and Silverlens Lab

In a lengthy review of Christina Dy‘s new 3-venue drawing show, writer-artist/e Angelo Suarez belabors a simple point: gallery shows are commercialized.

Sure, he rails about art economy and how commerce simultaneously impedes and allows viewers to experience art. But hey, the world has been in a capitalist system for hundreds of years, isn’t that stating the obvious? “The art world is commercialized!” Oh no! Really? How could we have not noticed? Gasp.

Contesting Visibilities, Contextualizing Desires

The Bakla Review: Ardent chronicler of Philippine gay cinema

Sa The Bakla Review, ang diskurso ay parang brip: itinataas at ibinababa sa akmang panahon. TBR has to be one of our favorite Philippine film blogs. Cris and I were recently chatting about TBR’s astute—and quite provocative—“10 Most Important Filipino Gay Films of the Decade” list. Though there are only a handful of gay films from the past decade which we really loved—among them The Thank You Girls and Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros—we do agree with TBR’s main criterion for the top ten list: indelible impact. Indeed, all the films in the list were important, whether for their breakthrough content, or their socio-political-economic implications for the industry.

Cris and I soon found ourselves going into a slightly lengthy discussion about the new Philippine gay cinema, why it is what it is, and what could possibly be in store for the next decade.