Talaga nga bang bobo ang mga Pilipino o sadyang nagpapabobo lang tayo?

*Forgive my grammatical mistakes.
Medj na miss ko lang ang FILKOMU at FILDLAR

Taon taon, ang MMFF (Metro Manila Film Festival) ang sinisubaybayan ng mga Pilipino. Ito ang panahon (Disyembre 25 hanggang Enero 8) kung kailan puro Tagalog lamang ang pinapalabas sa sine. Ang pinakamahusay na producer, director, at aktor ay may kanya-kanyang “best” awards dito. Kasalukuyan, kung pag-aaralan natin ng mabuti ang iba’t ibang prinsipyo sa mga pelikula na maiuukol natin sa ating pagkatao, tiyak na ating mas mauunawaan ang kahalagahan ng magandang sining pagdating sa pelikula. Bilang isa sa mga Pilipinong manonood, nais kong ipaalam ang mga salik ng pelikula na gagamitin natin para maunawaan ang mga prinsipyo at konsepto sa pelikula, at wag sana natin basta bastang tanggapin ang mga walang kwentang pelikulang ipinalalabas ng film industry (no offense).

Ang mga salik ng pelikula ang dapat nating gawing batayan sa paguunawa at pamamahagi ng mga prinsipyo at konsepto na nakalatad sa pelikula. Ayon kay Alfaro (2011), ang  dapat nating tandaan sa (1) Direksyon, ay kung paano ipinahatid ng director ang mensahe ng pelikula, (2) Pagganap, ay kung nabigyan ng bisa ang pagsasabuhay ng karakter, (3) Istoryang Pampelikula, ay kung nabigyan ng linaw ba ang storya, (4) Disensyong Pampelikula, ay kung angkop ba sa storya at mga tauhan ang mga ginamit na kagamitan, kasuotan, tanawin, set at pahanoh, (5) Musikal Iskoring, ay kung angkop ba ang musika na ginamit sa iba’t ibang emosyon sa bawat eksena ng pelikula, at para sa akin, (6) Cultural o Historical value ng pelikula, kung ito’y nakapagbibigay mensahe tungkol sa pagkapilipino natin at ang kahalagahan ng sining. Sa paggamit ng mga salik na ito, madali na natin makukuha ang iba’t ibang prinsipyo at konsepto tulad ng feminism, materialism, atheism, atbp. na dapat nating maunawaan upang maipamahagi natin sa ating sarili ang bawat klase ng pelikula at syempre na rin ang kultura at kaysaysayan natin.

Sa halip ng mga salik na ito, hindi parin maiiwasan na madami ng tamad dahil sa teknolohiya, at dahil dito, madami na sa ating Pilipino ang mababaw ng mag-isip. Ayon kay Cruz (2006), ang Philippine entertainment industry ay hindi lamang isang kaparangan kung pati na rin isang mabagsik na instrumento upang malapastangan ang mababaw na pag-iisip ng masa. Kagaya ng “The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin”, mahahalatang hindi manlang pinag-isipan ang plot dahil halos dinaan lamang sa mga “pick-up lines” at kuro-kurong mga eksenang ipinaalam sa audience na “ganito” kayo mag-isip. Hindi ba dapat na si Praybeyt Benjamin, na tagapagligtas ng bayan, ay kumilos sa mabuti at matinong paraan? Halos kabaklaan at kalokohan lang ang mga ginagawa niya at ng ibang characters. At dahil tayong mga Pilipino ay hindi naman gaanong kalalim mag-isip, masasabi nating ipinaaalam ng media na “bobo” nga tayo; na magugustuhan din naman natin yung pelikula kahit wala tayong matututunan dito.

Wag natin basta-bastang tanggapin na panget at walang kwenta ang mga pinapalabas. Ayon naman kay Ilda (2011), dapat isang paraan ng pagpapalaganap ng kultura ang mga pelikula na sa gayon, makakaapekto sa ating buhay at ang ating paningin sa bayan, sapagkat isang makapangyarihan na instrumento ito para mabigyan kahulugan kung sino nga ba tayo. Kung pag-aaralan natin ng mabuti ang mga moral lessons sa Kubot, The Amazing Praybeyt Benjamin, English Only Please, Feng Shui 2, My Big Bossing, Shake Rattle & Roll, at Bonifacio, halos lahat ng ito kakaunti lang ang matututunan maliban sa Bonifacio at English Only Please (medj). Oo, nakaka-entertain ang mga ito at hindi boring tulad ng Bonifacio at  English Only Please, pero wala namang laman - wala akong gaanong natutunan, hindi ito nakapagbigay na mabigat na damdamin saakin, walang naiwan sa puso ko, tila parang pinanonood ko ang utak na may magulong imahinasyon. Hindi sa gusto kong mang-insulto, ngunit sana may pagka-intense manlang, yaong bang mangingilabot ka dahil alam mo na kahit papaano, may nagbago sayo, yung mapapaisip ka talaga? Ngunit kabaduyan lang ang nakita ko, wala manlang kritiko, halos hindi angkop sa mga dapat tandaan sa salik ng pelikula, at pwede mo kaagad ibasura ang pelikula pagkatapos ng isang gamitan. Pwede naman tayo mag-isip, gumawa ng storya na kapani-panibago, na matutulungan manlang ang pag-angat ng bansang ito, tulad ng mga indie films na On The Job, Transit, at Norte Hangganan ng Kasaysayan; hindi yung...mga halimbawa ng konsepto sa mga panget na pelikula (no offense, last na to).

Sa panibagong taon, siguraduhin nating higit na maunawaan natin ang mga salik ng pelikula upang taglay nating maintindihan ang mga prinsipyo at konsepto na maaring makatulong kahit papaano sa pag-unlad ng bansang ito. Ang mga pelikula sa MMFF ang iilan lamang sa mga pelikula na tinutukoy kong mala-mainstream (mala-masa), na dapat nating dinadalawang-isip bago natin sabihin na maganda ito. Ngunit kung kaya naman ng mga independent filmmakers gumawa ng nakakapangilabot at nakakapanibago na mga pelikula, bakit hindi kaya ng mainstream? Tila nga ba na alam nila na mababaw mag-isip ang masa? Na basta-basta nalang natin tatanggapin ang binibigay nila? Yung totoo, hindi tayo bobo. Hindi lang  tayo malalim mag-isip. Kaya nagpapabobo nalang tayo. 2015 na teh. Magbago na tayo.

INTERSTELLAR

      The earth is slowly crumbling. Our very own home will soon turn to dust. The human race needs to find another place to live. Interstellar, packed with numerous scientific ideas, gives an enthralling plot along with the actual problems we are currently facing. Although it may seem yet like another sci-fi movie, it sets its foot right on its track, with a good representation of the conflict between human’s pursuit in science versus its emotions.

The movie touches not only scientific elements but also human imperfection. Set in the future, it begins with an interview with some elders who lived in a rural place in America. They talked about how there were constant dustbowls in that area due to nearing of the earth’s end. Then the actual story fades in, beginning with a lovely family with the main characters Cooper the dad and Murph the daughter who solved the mystery of the poltergeist causing the sudden gravitational anomaly in their house. Cooper, a former NASA pilot, got invited for the expedition on finding an inhabitable planet where humans can survive. Saddened by the news, Murph was hurt. This event leads to a longer series of events that coincided with love and time, deeply piercing through a tough decision that changes everything between them.

       

 Although somehow melodramatic, the emotions portrayed in the movie were realistic as it might actually be experienced by astronomers who are willing to go out there for us, and as well as how people on earth who are waiting for them to come back. Cooper never really wanted to leave his daughter but he had to because he wants to save her generation even though it might only be a fifty-fifty chance. As he travels through space, he could not stop thinking about his family especially Murph. Murph, on the other hand, waited on earth until she reached her dad’s age when he left her, trying to solve the mystery all this time. They had to strive through the distance between them, both finding ways to solve the problem with the inevitably passing time that as Einstein proved, is faster on earth compared to that when on outerspace due to the gravitational time dilation.

       Though somewhat appalling, one must watch this movie with an open and curious mind. With technological advances on the go, little do we know that we are slowly destroying our planet. Okras are in its brink of extinction, corns are the only left root crops, and only a few farmers are out there to take care of what’s left from nature. As comparison to the movie, global warming continuously arise, human garbage is running out of place in the environment, places that were never flooded are being flooded, and the Antarctic is slowly melting. Sooner or later, we will have to decide on whether to save this planet or move every single one of us to an earth-like planet. We must rethink twice, however on that thought: should we look for another planet because mankind was born on earth but was never meant to die here, or what if earth is actually the only planet we can call home, must we think not as individuals but as a species in order to save ourselves?
We must start thinking now. Time lost can never be regained for although it can be warped and distorted in space-time, we, humans can never control it because time is intangible just like love.

The answer lies in our hands.

Good plot but no impact

Seldom do I buy books without reading a review about it. I always take time to get myself gripped to reading a book of an author I am yet to know. But this one is an exception.

Inferno, released in its first year, was already one of the bestsellers. I find myself fascinated with the beguiling book cover every time I encounter it in bookstores. I get that ‘feel’ of wanting to grasp it and just read the thing already. Sadly, only the expensive hardbound was available so I had no choice but to buy the cheaper ebook version.

I’ve heard of Dan Brown and his mind-boggling books over and over, but I never considered reading any of them. My dad even warned me about his books. Nonetheless, I was curious and nothing, not even my parents, could stop this curiosity madness. And my expectations are of course, high, despite the disparaging comments from some of my friends.

Let me first point to you my unexpected discoveries. (Warning: may contain spoilers)

1. On the first part of the book, I felt like this was a rip-off of Dante’s inferno. With the constant use of lines coming from Dante, I sensed Brown’s own fantasies. I could literally feel his intense passion over Inferno as he spends the first part writing about Dante’s life and his own hell. The unusually over use of ellipses (. . .) also brought me anew with his writing. Up till now, I don’t get how he excessively uses it – in describing something, in the characters’ conversation, and in the characters’ thoughts.

2. Even without knowing, you would know Brown researched in order to put all these facts in the book.  He keeps dumping information! There are times I don’t even understand what he’s talking about anymore. These meticulous facts about the culture and literature of Italy is of little relevance to the plot. As if not knowing simple, basic information would entangle the strings of his story, as an audience, I felt his condescending tone towards us. I even sometimes wonder if he originally planned to make this a history book.

3. The long, dry, and tedious motion of the whole book made me want to burn my tablet. Everything happened in just 24 hours but it seems like for a week. The characters were incessantly amazed with every little thing about Italy as if they’ve never been there. The way Brown described his characters made them look so great and intellectual but he never really showed it. Their conversations were boring. These is no sense of individuality in the voices of the characters, and this just makes it a fact Brown didn’t really dig in to their personality.

4. Plus, there’s this one line with one word that got me really pissed.

Need a thesaurus?  Google is always there for you!

5. Not everyone is interested in Italy, and surely, not everyone understands Italian.

Do I have to go to google translate every time they talk in Italian? You could always put the English translation right below the text and no one will complain, I assure you.

6. One character though, Vayentha, seemed to be an awesome sport. I thought she was going to be one of the major characters that would help crack the mystery code. She shouldn’t have had her point of view on the book if she’s not going to be there in the end. I felt incomplete when she disappeared. Her punk look reminded me of Lisbeth Salander from the Millenium Trilogy.

7. The Botticelli’s map of hell left me hanging. I don’t get how it was such a big deal in the first part when the order of sins isn’t even related to the plague. Plus, when I searched for an image of it, I was baffled on how Langdon and Sienna saw it on the projector because the people were so tiny!

The plot was. . . anything but charming

The plot was good but this book would probably be better if not for the boring tone. I must say I’m convinced with the over population of humans. It made me rethink again about saving lives. Not that I’ve become satanic, but I like how Brown pointed out that the only way to save humanity is to release a plague that would make them sterile. I was also convinced in the Malthusian Theory through the line graph he represented in Chapter 31, which concludes that by 2050, we’d be around 50 billion. At first, I thought the antagonist wanted to ruin the world, but he was in fact, saving the world from over population and making us humans transform in to better ones.

However, a question in my mind remains unanswered: is there really an antagonist? The one here, in the end, seems to be not. He seems to be the redeemer of the world. The protagonist to me was like the mystery cracker EVEN THOUGH he already cracked the code.