Mona lisa Smile and Feminist Criticism

Last Tuesday we had a discussion and a reporting regarding the Feminist Criticism. The reporters discussed to us the nature and the aspects regarding the said topic. As we all know that in our history, women were viewed as marginalized, oppressed and we have this kind of patriarchal society where in women were submissive to their husbands or partners. The reporters also shared clips from the internet that even our very own shows on TV features the women negatively like the female dancers who are almost naked from Willie Revillame’s game show Willing Willie. Also, commercials and teleseryes gives the idea or stereotype  that women should be at home taking care of their children, cleaning the house, serve her husband and her family  while men should work and provide the needs of his family, Sad to say but these things are actually present in our media just to attract viewers and to gain ratings. I hope that stereotyping will end in order not to degrade women in general. On the other hand, It’s good to see that some women are already empowered and believes that what men can do women can do it too.  

When our professor told us that we are about to make a blog about the movie Mona Lisa Smile, I remembered that I’ve already watched the movie because during our women’s study way back in third year first semester Ms. Becky required us to watch the said film as part of our requirements to complete the semester. Basically, the story is about the women in their College studying in an exclusive for girl’s school (Wellesley College) who believes that women should get married after graduation and have a family of their own but this professor named Katherine Watson played by Julia Roberts who was belittled at first because she came from a state university imparted to them that there is more to life after college and not just to be a housewife. She wanted to share the things she believes in and break the culture they grew up with. I definitely agree to her (Katherine Watson) she was a perfect example of an empowered woman. She wanted to make a difference and make a change. I also believe that women should not be afraid of trying new things instead be courageous to break the so called stereotypes and try to do things that are unusual for women but in a positive way.

Graduation is fast approaching and I believe that there is more to life after it. Some will say and joke that I can marry but for me I still have lots of dreams to reach and before I settle at the right age I will make sure that I am already an accomplished woman and already make a difference.  

Manila Art Exhibit 2012

It was last Friday (October 7) and it was raining very hard when we (Monique and I) visited the Manila Art 2012 held at SMX convention center featuring/exhibiting the talent and creativeness of the Filipino artist through their artworks and masterpieces. It’s a good thing that Manila Art open its exhibit yearly to showcased the talent of our local artist and give them a chance to share the God-given gift they received from above. With the many paintings and drawings presented in the exhibit I really admire the artist who fearlessly expressed what’s on their mind and paint for the sake of passion. The wonderful paintings I’ve seen last Friday somehow helped me to escape from the stress I’ve gained from school since we are exhausted from all the things that needs to be accomplished especially our thesis and through attending the exhibit it helped me to lessen the stressed level I’ve accumulated.

I have plenty of thoughts playing inside my mind as I looked at the paintings inside the 4 walls of the venue. I realized how blessed they are because they can expressed their thoughts, feelings and emotions through painting but now I’m a bit worried since freedom of expression is one of the hottest topic in our society nowadays and it might affect the freedom of these artist to express the things they have in mind. Also, I envy them since I was not lucky to have the hand for it. Ever since I was a child I envy the people whom I saw painting especially my other siblings. I once asked God why did He not gave me the skill in painting or drawing whatsoever and I accept that  maybe it’s really not for me.

Indeed, Filipino talents are truly the best and one of a kind and even if the weather seemed to be uncooperative during that morning truly I say that it was all worth it to see the different artworks of our fellow Filipino. Through attending this kind of event we are showing our support and our respect to them so even if I am working in the next Manila Art I promised that I would visit again and check another one of kind pieces from these talented local artists. Kudos to the people behind the exhibit! J

    

                                                                                                                  

HINDI AKO BAKLA, DJ BUMBAY AND WAG NA WAG MONG SASABIHIN

At first, I was laughing very hard while watching the three music videos performed by one of the best and funniest comedian here in the Philippines none other than Michael V. or commonly called as “Bitoy”. The first video we've watched was him performing and singing Hindi ako Bakla, Babae ako. At the beginning he was dressed like a man  and he was claiming that he was not a gay well in fact, it was obvious that he really was. In the second video, Michael V. played an Indian man or what we call “Bumbay”. The last video was Michael V. imitating Kitchie Nadal and singing her famous song Wag na Wag mong Sasabihin”. Basically, the three videos showed how we view gays and Indians or the so-called Bumbays in our society. Sad but true but we have to admit that some of the Filipino people loves to make fun of others. We tend to ignore the feelings of our subject just to have something funny. As I analyzed the lyrics of the song Hindi ako bakla babae ako and Wag na Wag mong Sasabihin I felt bad and sad because where is respect in that concept?! Let's admit that in our society or in our culture  third sex is still unacceptable simply because many people think that gays are "salot sa lipunan". Though we are living in a different way now because of the modernization and liberalization in our culture but we still can't deny the fact that some are still attached in the culture we used to believe in. 

While in DJ Bumbay,  I found it a bit offensive and I kind of feel offended too even if I’m not one of them and I don’t know why I’d felt that way.  It may be funny to some who watched the video but we have to keep in mind that we should respect them and not make fun of them because if the same thing happens to us, like other country would make a video like the one we have watched I am pretty sure that we will react negatively. I think it is in our culture that we love making fun of others but we should know our limitations even if it is intended for pure entertainment only. 

 We should accept one another despite the flaws we have and show our respect to them because I believe that if we want others to respect us we should show our utmost respect to them also.

MY DATE WITH DREW

Last September 19, we watched a documentary film entitled My Date with Drew. Basically, the story is about a guy named Brian Herzlinger who had a huge crush with none other than the famous Hollywood star Drew Barrymore since he was six years old.  Just to give a little overview about Brian, he is a 27 year old aspiring film maker who lives in New Jersey and he has a lifelong dream that he wants to achieve and that is to have a date with Drew but he had a huge problem because it seems that his dream was kind of impossible because Drew Barrymore is Drew Barrymore and he was just an ordinary guy.  He was not even rich or something to finance all the things needed in his journey to convince Drew to go out with him. The only money that he will use or spent for the journey was the prize he won in a game show that costs $1,100 and what’s funny about the game show was the answer in the final question was also Drew Barrymore.  They documented all the things happened to his journey and he was only given 1 month to accomplish everything because he has to surrender or return the camera he just borrowed from Circuit City. He experience a lot of problems through the entire journey but he never lose hope until the very end and then one day everything fall to its places and his lifelong dream eventually happened.

In the documentary we’ve watched we saw that Brian went through some make-over like his hair was cut, he shove off his beard,  he also went to Drew’s derma to remove blackheads, he even hired a personal trainer to lose some fats etc. He did all these things simply because he wanted to look good when he face Drew in person, these are some of the ideologies or the way of thinking of some because for them this is what a clean and handsome man should look. Others might think that this guy was crazy because others might think of Brian as an ambitious man, like what I’ve mentioned above Drew is Drew and he was just an ordinary guy. They are from 2 different worlds but in reality, this can possibly happen.

While watching the documentary I realized how determined Brian was and I admire him for showing his determination just for his lifelong dream come to reality. He still pushed through the journey even if there are many misfortunes he encountered. He did not think what other people might think of him like he is insane or crazy because why would Drew Barrymore be convince to date him, she’s such a busy person but she was kind enough to say yes to Brian. The situation happened only proves that if we really want something then do it, make it fight for it. Don’t lose hope, never lose heart, just do your best to reach for your dream. Be aggressive but also keep in mind that there are still limitations, certain rules to follow and you should know where and when to stop.

  

Control Room

Control Room

Control Room was released during the year 2004 and it is a video documentary about  the war between the United States of America and Iraq and how Al Jazeera  the leading and the largest news network in Middle East reported and covered the conflict between the two countries. These two countries were in conflict because of unresolved issues between the two parties.  Media plays a big role in a war, it is their responsibility to present both sides of the story in order to avoid biases and that was Al jazeera did. They exposed the real thing happened during the war that made the American government mad at them. They showed how the military of America bombed Iraq and killed thousands of innocent people. One Iraqi that was interviewed by Aljazeera talked about what Mr. George Bush said about peace. He said What about peace if America will bombed Iraq and the innocent ones will suffer where is peace in that?!  Mr. Bush warned Saddam Hussain and its people to leave Iraq within 48 hours and a refusal to do so means military conflict. Is this how Mr. Bush defines peace by killing innocent people.He also mentioned in his speech and assured that America will helped Iraq and turned it into a prosperous and free country when their leader would go down in his thrown.

 Al Jazeera only proves that no one can take control over them even if that means someone's reputation might be put at risk. They just did their job to deliver to their audiences the right  information. I admire them for being brave and fair and I hope that all news network will follow what they did so that transparency and accountability will be in practice in news networks.

America in our image is the most powerful country in the world that they have all the access in everything if they want to but if we will just follow what is right and that is to say no to them then we can say the we are practicing what freedom is all about. 

Sicko :D

SICKO

Micheal Moore’s documentary film entitled Sicko won during the 2007 Cannes Film festival. It tackles about the  lack of support and initiative of the insurance company and the government  in helping the citizens of America to receive a quality service or health insurance because they are after the profit they will earn from them. A lot of American people suffer because they do not have money to support the finances in paying for the hospital bills and as a result they die because they did not receive the right treatment or medication. In addition to that, their loved-ones left bankrupt because of high hospital bills that they can’t afford to pay.  According to the film I’ve watched, 18,000 people have died simply because they were denied to receive a treatment from the hospitals. I was shocked to know that these things actually happened in America. I grew up having in mind that America is the greatest country in the whole wide world, that they are the strongest and most powerful country ever, that they are the heroes that will save ones country from the attacks of the colonizers  but the revelations in the documentary made me realized that this country isn’t really the best instead it's the other way around. They are after the money of the people and they are not really concerned with their citizens. I was really disappointed to know the truth and the image now of America for me is totally different from the image I used to believe in.

Another thing that struck me while watching the film was when Michael Moore brought the victims/volunteers of the 9/11 attack to Cuba a not well- known and poor country in the world. But even if it is a third world country still they give free treatment and medication. I was surprised to know that this country offers and give free care to the people since we have this stereotype that an African country like Cuba is poor and they do not have the capacity to give free medication the people who are in need.

Sad to say that what we believe from the very beginning isn't really the truth instead we were manipulated and controlled by the people above us. We were blind not to see the real intention of the Americans, we should keep in mind that no one or no body will save us not even Americans but we Filipinos our very own race will help each other to stand and fight for our rights.

Ang Babae sa Septic Tank

Ang Babae sa Septic Tank was released during the 7th year of Cinemalaya festival held at CCP.  I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to watch the film for it showcased the real status or situation of our country at present times. It is a story within a story and discussed about the worsening poverty here in the Philippines that resulted to human trafficking. Because of the extreme poverty that the Filipino is facing they think of other ways just to get out of the trash lives they have that’s why some turned to other illegal doings such as selling children to the people who are old just to make them a sex slaves and from that they will earn money and used it for their everyday living. Unfortunately, the movie might give a negative mental picture of our country since it exposed the kind of life we have here in the Philippines particularly in the squatter’s area but why would we be ashamed if that is the reality happening in our country? We need to show of all these to others so that the government will respond to the issues we are facing. The movie “Ang Babae sa Septic tank’ was even shown abroad and received awards from prestigious award giving bodies. For me, I think it has a greater impact when independent movies showcase the reality since  the audience can relate to it easily. 

On the other hand, Eugene Domingo as the main character in the movie for me portrayed the role very effectively. I can’t think of anyone else fit for that role aside from her. She was able to deliver the lines with conviction and it seems that she’s not really acting for it comes out to her naturally. In addition to the performance of the other characters, I definitely applaud the ones who chose the cast since Kean, Cai and JM also portrayed their roles effectively. The acts they made were very natural as well. I was surprised because I never thought that they could act that way especially Kean, I though he’s just a vocalist of the band but he was able to prove himself in that movie and no doubt why he had given projects now by ABS-CBN and TV5.  

Lastly, at the end of the movie I realized how lucky I am with the kind of life I have right now. Even though my parents were not with us anymore since they both passed away still I consider myself blessed and lucky  because they were able to raised me and my other siblings in a way every child wants to live. I'm not saying that I get everything I want in life but enough to say that I have the necessary things I need especially the most important of all- Education. :)