PINAY, APPRECIATE YOUR IDENTITY

PINAY, APPRECIATE YOUR IDENTITY

by Jusel T. VIllareal

202B 2nd Yr LIA/ LIA 

Arts, Media and Women. Those are the three topics we can choose for our Book Review that our college professor compel us to do. I was half an hour in the library deciding on what topic to cover until I finally got three books left. The first is a research book on how globalization affects media; the second is a fictional book about a woman’s quest to success and the last is an autobiographical narrative about Filipinas. I wanted to work on the second book but my professor had chosen the third one. At first I find it boring because I already know how Filipinas evolved through ages. From the typical ‘Maria Clara’ type who became ‘Lady Gaga’ in today’s generation. But as I continue reading, I have discovered a lot from the lives and perspectives of different Filipinas in different ages. I have realized that this book is more than what it seems like. The book, being narrative works of Filipina writers of several generations made me see the big difference of my life today with their lives before. I was able to see what has been sacrificed before that we benefit today.

I actually found this book as an eye opener to me as a Filipina. I ended up reading this book complacent because I realized that I actually covered the three topics: Arts, Media and Women in this book. Plus the realizations and knowledge I got.

            The book that I was talking about is entitled “PINAY: Autobiographical Narratives by Women Writers from 1926- 1998” Edited by Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo of the Ateneo de Manila University Press. This book is a collection of short pieces by Filipino women on a wide range of topics. All pieces were written in English or Spanish translated to English Language. This basically implies that the stories came from literate people. So I assumed that these excerpts is only limited to the stories of Filipinas who are in the mid to high class of society.

There are six sections in this book.   The first is about the experience of a growing up Filipina. Children during 1930’s are just like the children of today. One who loves playing out door and is always excited for Christmas. I can say that our country is truly rich in culture. Aguinaldosor the practice of visiting our godparents/ relatives for an entertainment in exchange of gifts during Christmas was already a practice during those times. Aside from this simple discovery, I have also realized the value of education. During the Later Spanish colonization, Education is only available to the member of the mid to high-class of society. And only later on did the government allowed women to study.Filipinas during those times have to live in a convent together with the rigorous Friars and Nuns and devote themselves to studying. Unlike now, where public and private schools are everywhere and all children in different classes have the right for education. That’s why I am grateful enough that my parents sent me to a good school and I don’t have to struggle the way the early Filipinas did just to attain education.

Section two is about Filipinas surviving a war. Many of the stories are very related to issues in the Women Unbound Challenge as they are about women left alone, women victimized solely because of their ethnic background and women losing their childhood to war and Women fighting on War.  Gregoria de Jesus, the widow of the katipunan’ssupremo Andres Bonifacio who plays a big part in the 1986 Revolution showed in her excerpt how life as a Katipunera is. “I had no fear of facing danger, not even death itself, whenever I accompanied the soldiers in the battle, Impelled as I was then by no other desire than to see unfurld the flag of an independent Philippines; I was considered a soldier, I learned how to ride, to shoot the riffle. I have known what it is to sleep on the ground without tasting food for the whole day, to drink dirty water from the mud holes. When I come to think of my life in those days, I am surprised how I stood it all, considering my youth then, and how I was spared” – These were just some of the excerpts that shows her endeavors during their times. Excerpts that is worth telling!

Section three of the book talks about FIlipinas falling in love and getting married. It is said all over the world that when you marry someone you also marry their family and for sure that is true in the Philippines. That’s why it is very complicated for early Filipinas to marry because their parents would always interfere. “It was 1952. We had gotten secretly married. That whole year that we continued living in our respective homes, we slept together in motels. If elopements or secret marriages now sound positively archaic, they were the only solution then to parents’ unrelenting strictness that allowed young people little private conversation and no dates. Of course it was a dangerous move. Girls secretly married guys they were in love with but hardly knew.” (Motel Weather, Gilda Cordero Fernando) In my own opinion, couples should have the blessings of their parents first before they marry because marriage is a sacred sacrament. And it is a decision that needs a lifetime commitment. Once you enter marriage, theres no backing out anymore. That’s why its just appropriate for us to seek guidance, advice and blessings from our parents before we marry. On the other hand, parents should realize that their children are grown up man/woman already. They can decide for themselves that’s why parents should just support their children’s decision. As long as they know in themselves that they don’t lack guidance to their children, then they shouldn’t worry.

Section four deals with motherhood. In the articles, we can see that mothers became smothering and over protective to their children. They hinder their children to explore and see the world by themselves. Reality of life was covered with make believe ideologies. Well I cannot blame these mothers because they were the one who experienced the cruel world. They were the one who spent sleepless nights wondering if their parents are still alive from the bandits. They were the one who heard bomb explosions during wars. I believe it’s just normal for parents to dream for a better life for their children. Maybe mothers during this time were over protective because they don’t want their children to experience cruelty just like how they did before.

The last section of the book discuss about Filipinas striking out, going away and earning for a living. There are articles about starting a restaurant, attending law school and working as a journalist and going abroad. One of the big aspects of life in the Philippines is that millions and millions of parents, husbands and wives have to leave their family sometimes for up to go out of the country to work so they can send money back to their families. Of course long periods away from the family are hard for them,, especially on the side of the children who clamors for maternal care. The articles show the turmoil in the mind of women who work off shore.   Of course they worry if their children are ok and most worry about the fidelity of their spouses. Many are in fact single mothers who leave their children in the care of a relative. Often their children were grown barely knowing them. The articles cover issues like homesickness, looking for love in another country, feelings of isolation, and living in cultures where all Asians are lumped together.

Over all I can say that Filipinas are truly a tough woman race. They have evolved through ages but remained the same compassionate & strong-minded women. I personally recommend this book to every Filipina at my ages out there because this book is truly a helpful gear for our quest to know more about Filipina identity. Having knowledge from these narratives and understanding the lives of Filipino women will allow us readers to appreciate what we have at present. For us to be able to realize what has been sacrificed in the past for the benefit of today’s generation. This book could also help students of Media like me because it gives us insights about people, especially Filipinas on their perspectives and way of lives. With this, we will know what kind of approach we will use as media persons. 

Elizabeth Taylor, A timeless beauty

by Katrina Eusebio

As part of our requirement in Principles of Mass Communication, we are to choose one book from the SSC Library, the topics ranging through media, arts and women’s issues. I like all the topics because they are interesting and I wanted to know more from those topics so I felt excited. I’ve widen my horizon from choosing a media history book, to a mystery art fiction novel and women issues like the most influential women in the history, pornography which is in a way could be a media topic as well. I thought I can settle with any of those topics because I'm very eager to learn about those topics.

With all those topics I think my prof (Sir Nate) and I agreed to choose Elizabeth by J. Randy Taraborrelli.

The book is about the life story of Elizabeth Taylor. From its title to the cover it seems to promise a story that is worth reading because it explains a life of a famous movie star and that people always forget that she’s also a woman with her own personal life to live. She’s always seen with glamour and yet what people don’t see is behind all the fame she’s vulnerable and always looking for a love from a man. It’s not only about a movie star’s story, it is also about a woman’s struggle on how she can shine in a man’s world where she easily had surpass because of her exceptional beauty and charm. It is about change in all aspects of life. From being a self-centered person to a more concerned person to the society, the book Elizabeth will make you laugh and cry at the same time. 

It is the book where you can see a glimpse of Hollywood, a backstage pass to see behind the scenes of a movie. You will be fascinated with parties and the lavish lifestyle of celebrities. You will envy how people treat the Elizabeth Taylor of Hollywood, the diamonds she acquired all throughout her life, the numerous husbands she had and after reading it you may even want to be Elizabeth Taylor for a day because of how colorful her life was.

The book is a must read. I'm happy I have chosen this book because reading it didn't feel like a requirement. It is the one thing that keeps me up at night when I'm supposed to be sleeping. I even fall asleep holding the book and wake up with it still in my hands. Haha. What I really want to say is that it's addicting! I love the book.

          





Elizabeth Taylor was born February 27, 1932. She was the youngest daughter of Sarah and Francis Taylor. She has an older brother named Howard Taylor.

            From childhood the Taylor’s life have always been well off. In the beginning ‘til the end their life especially of Elizabeth is surrounded by riches and they never really got a problem with regards to financial matters. The Taylor’s are connected to affluent and influential people in the society and they are supported by those people.

            By the age of three, Elizabeth because of her extraordinary beauty and violet eyes her mother saw a potential of molding her to become a star. Her mother was a former theater actress and she wants her daughter to become famous someday. She has big dreams for her daughter that’s why at an early age she enrolled her to different lessons such as singing and ballet. After years passed, she trained her in acting and how to act around people. She was very serious, very determined to train her that she forgot Liz was a child. Her father noticed it but he can’t do anything about it because he was afraid of his wife. She continued training her daughter day and night, that even if Liz is already tired and sleepy she still insist her to practice lines from a script. I think with this, Elizabeth did not have a memorable childhood. She was robbed of a life that is fun and no worries just playing.

          

  Elizabeth grew up being controlled by her mother. Yes, she became an actress when she was nine her first movie that became a hit was National Velvet. That was the start of her career in the film industry, her mother got her wish. Of course Sarah was still very controlling to her daughter, she even make up a publicity to her so that she will be even more noticed by the people.

One of her mother’s propaganda so that people will talk about Elizabeth was to set up her with a date or a love affair. It worked. But then that was the turning point wherein they will have to face bigger problems and dramas in life. Because Elizabeth also wanted to get away from her very controlling mother, she thought that marrying will be the key to that. All in all, Elizabeth had seven husbands.

The first one was Nicky Hilton. He beat up Elizabeth that end up to a divorce. Elizabeth changed after that but she did not closed her doors and she met her second husband Michael Wilding, she had two children with him but they divorced because they were not happy anymore.

And then she married her third husband, Mike Todd. He was the love of her life at that time. Mike was a loving husband and he shower Elizabeth with diamonds as his gift to her. One of it was a tiara because Mike said she was his queen. They love each other until one day Mike’s private plane crushed and he died. Elizabeth was horrified. She could not believe what happened. That must have been her greatest love and yet it ended without her knowing it. That was one of the tragic moments of her life. But then, because she could not bear not having a man in her life she married once more to Eddie Fisher who was then married to Debbie Reynolds. Even if Eddie was still married, he chose to have an affair with Elizabeth because that’s Elizabeth Taylor! She always get what she wants. Later on they married and their marriage caused scandal to the public.

Her fifth husband who was Richard Burton was also married. She met Richard in filming Cleopatra, one of the greatest movie Elizabeth has portrayed. The affair was inevitable. They fall in love with each other and not even the world can stop them. When they were in Rome filming Cleopatra, they were criticized by the pope in Vatican because they were being bad images to the public. They thought the people also hate them but they could not hate Elizabeth Taylor. They still love her. And so the two got married. One of her longest marriages. At first they were really having fun with each other, just being carefree, running from the press and watch a movie, go to the club. But then Richard has some serious drinking problem. Elizabeth was also affected so she drink with Richard. It affected their shooting of movies. They divorced because they could not stand each other anymore.

Senator John Warner was the sixth husband of Elizabeth Taylor, the good that brought Liz in marrying Warner is that later on she will be able to use the things she learned in one of the most important contribution she will make in the world. Meanwhile, their marriage didn’t last and so she married Larry Fortensky, her last husband but then they also divorced because Larry has some outrage problem.

Elizabeth has been through a lot of dramas in life and yet she is still loved by the people. People loved watching her in movies. All in all, she made 55 movies in Hollywood. She was named the most beautiful woman in the world. No wonder men fall down to her feet once they meet her. Everybody is always fascinated by Elizabeth Taylor when they see her.

The remaining days of her life was spent on making some more legacy. When AIDS spread all over U.S. and the world, Liz was one of the people who supported on conducting awareness to the deadly disease. This was triggered because many of her friends from the industry died because of this disease. She said she wanted to do something. During that time people do not talk about the disease, they are not aware of it to the point that the case of people having the disease got worse. Elizabeth pushed through helping in the funding of research for AIDS cure. She asked help from her colleagues and it became a success. She was an AIDS activist and that allowed her to step outside from her own world. She became more aware of the condition of others apart from her. One of also the prestigious things that happened to Elizabeth is that she became a dame declared by the queen of England.

Truly, Elizabeth’s life was wonderful. She did not only contribute to Hollywood with her films but also to the entire world when she became an activist to the awareness of AIDS.

After reading the book I learned a lot of things about facts of life such as it doesn’t mean when you have everything, the fame and money you are a happy person. Sometimes their lives are a lot complicated than ours who are just living ordinary lives. Also, I’ve learned that family is important. As well as forgiveness.. I learned that a good childhood is important to the life stage of a person because it will definitely affect the future. Things like that..

On the other hand, as a student of media the book became the medium where I was able to see Hollywood and meet the greatest film actress in the film history. I saw that if the actor in the film has a problem there will be a delay in the making of film. I saw how rarely it is that the actor/actress apologize to the crew or the film makers. In the book when Elizabeth apologized to the entire set they were all shocked. And with that, I think there is still a line that separates the people who acts in front of the camera and the ones who operates the camera and make it work, although both are important in making a film. I hope that someday the gap between will be filled in and that everyone who contribute to the film are treated equally and when that part is missing it won’t be complete. I also share the same sentiment with Liz about the lives of the movie stars when she said, "I've done a lot of thinking and I realized my whole life is being in motion pictures." It's not easy for her than the rest of them. Actresses spend their own private lives like they are still being recorded. They don't have a privacy and that's kinda hard.

Honestly, the book is very long but it covers everything about the life of Elizabeth Taylor. It is written in such a way that readers will feel the urge to read more because it is very interesting and in a way controversial. I like it when the author included verbatim messages of Elizabeth because I was able to know her more. Overall, the book is entertaining and educational. After reading it, I fell in love with Liz. I admire her with her talent and the passion she have in making films. She will be forever remembered because of her contribution to Hollywood, her films are her legacy and whenever we want to get inspired we can always watch her film.

           

           

"Anna, Oh, Anna!":Anna Karenina Book Review by Ck Espino

      “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”  – Leo Tolstoy                                   

               The book, Anna Karenina, is a classic and I’ve heard about it a lot before I finally read it for our book review. When I picked it from the shelves, it wasn’t really my first choice because it was so thick but as I went through the story, it really became very interesting. I chose this book because this book was referenced in “The Last Song” by Nicholas Sparks. I thought the story of the “The Last Song” was somehow related to this book so I was always interested to read it before but didn’t find a copy anywhere until I came across the copy in our library.    

            The story of “Anna Karenina” revolved around the Russian society and its changes. Leo Tolstoy got the setting right to fit with his theme of adultery and self-discovery. In the novel, Russia is going through some changes whether or not to sustain their old values or crumble to westernized values. Also, it talks about family life and its difficulties.

            The book talked about a lot of issues like love, adultery, sexual desire, lust, social responsibilities, social statuses and responsibility It also tackled at the latter part of the book, Christianity through Konstantin Levin.

             The story was set in the imperial Russia during the 19^th century. The story started with the exposition of Stiva and Dolly’s story. Stiva Oblonsky, Anna’s brother, cheated on his wife, Dolly Oblonskaya, with their governess (maid who takes care of their children). The first few chapters also introduced the character of Konstantin Levin, a long time friend of Stiva who just came back to Moscow to propose to a beautiful nineteen year-old Princess Kitty Shcherbatskaya, Dolly’s younger sister. Levin asked Stiva for advice on what to do about his love for Kitty—Stiva said he should go on and ask her to marry him (Levin). In a party where Princess Kitty was accepting suitors, Levin came and proposed only to be dismissed because Princess Kitty was already in love with a certain dashing and rich young man named, Alexi Vronsky. The story came back to Stiva who was still depressed of his marriage. Stiva wrote a letter to Anna and asked her to come to Moscow to persuade Dolly to get back together with him. On Anna’s train ride to Moscow, she met Countess Vronsky, mother of Alexei Vronsky. They got along well because Anna left her son, Seryozha and the countess was coming home to hers who was Vronsky.  When they arrived to Moscow, that’s when Vronsky and Anna met. In the train station, a man who checks the rails died by his body being severed by the rails of the train. Anna was concerned of the worker’s family and Vronsky heard this. Vronsky, then, gave money to be donated to the worker’s family. Anna was impressed with Vronsky and is immediately enthralled by his generosity. they were both enthralled by the one another. Kitty and Anna were very good friends until the night of the ball happened because Kitty was expecting Vronsky to ask for her hand but he instead danced with Anna and that made Kitty realize that Vronsky was already in love with Anna. Anna, on the other hand, ran as fast as she could back to her husband, Alexei Karenin and her son, Seryozha.

                    Alexei Vronsky continued his courtship of Anna in St. Petersburg until Anna finally gave. They were already having an affair when people started gossiping about Anna and the extra attention she pays to Vronsky in public. Anna’s husband, Alexei Karenin, was certain that Anna would never betray him that way despite what the public was saying. As Anna and Vronsky’s affair prolong, Anna became pregnant of Vronsky’s child. Then Vronsky joined a steeplechase event and his horse, Frou-frou, broke its back and despite the crowd, Anna was not able to control her worry for Vronsky and shouted: “Alexei! Alexei!” while her husband ensures her that he was just there saving Anna of the shame but it was already obvious to everybody that it was Alexei Vronsky she was calling for. After the said event, Alexei Karenin demanded Anna to stop her improper behavior—Anna then confessed that she is Vronsky’s mistress. Karenin decided that she has to break off the affair between her and Vronsky to make their marriage work. Vronsky and Anna continued to see each other despite Karenin’s requests. Karenin consults his lawyer for a divorce. By being a divorced woman in 19^th century Russia, Anna will lose everything.  Vronsky and Anna eloped to Europe while Levin confessed to Kitty that he never stopped loving her and Kitty accepted. They were betrothed and started a new married life in Levin’s estate in the country. Anna gave birth to Annie which made her very sick. Karenin forgave her on her bedside. Vronsky was embarrassed of himself because Karenin was so selfless and kind to them after everything they did.

                      Anna and Vronsky lived in Europe but they had trouble having friends. Anna and Vronsky then came back to St. Petersburg where Anna visited Seryozha for his ninth birthday without Karenin’s consent but her husband found out anyway. Anna’s desperation for a position in the society, she attended a show though Vronsky refused for her to attend.

                     Vronsky sought help from Dolly, Stiva’s wife to talk to Anna to request Karenin for a divorce so they may be married and happy. Anna, finally conviced, sent a letter to Karenin regarding their divorce thinking that she needs to marry Vronsky to prevent him from leaving her. Anna’s relationship with Vronsky continued to be strained, Anna became bitter and jealous. Landau, the French psychic whom Karenin worked with his divorce rejected Anna’s request. Anna became more jealous of Vronsky as she suspected that he is having affairs with other women whom Countess Vronsky demands Alexei Vronsky to marry. Anna thought Vronsky doesn’t love her anymore. Anna became confused and tormented that she thought suicide was the only escape from her miserable life. She then killed herself by going under the carriage of a train passing by just like what happened with the railway worker when she and Vronsky met.

                      Anna Karenina’s story was a beautiful and at the same time, tragic and sad. I was surprised by the turn of events in the first few chapters, Anna was always described by the characters that revolved around her as elegant, majestic and beautiful but as I went through the pages, I learned that she also had a lot of insecurities and she was very unhappy of her marriage to Alexei Karenin.

                     I learned a lot of things while reading the book and it also got me thinking about the choices I’m going to have to make in my life as it goes through. I got to think about risks and facing the consequences of my choices. Anna Karenina chose a great, complicated, romance for stability and security and I admire her greatly for that. I’ve learned that life is too short to not take risks and start living your life to the fullest. It dawned on me that to be able to get what you want; sometimes you have to sacrifice what means a lot to you. Just like Anna, she sacrificed her chance to be a mother to Seryozha to be with the love her life. 

                      The book was a long read, I never had to read a book for 3 weeks before although I didn’t really focus on it continuously-- I kept stopping after I finish a part. I did some heavy reading because of this book—it’s heavy literally because it has more than 800 pages because of the introduction and also because of its story.  Although, I loved the plot line of the book, especially the way Tolstoy wrote about Anna and Vronky’s connection. This was my favorite passage: “She(Kitty) had not been near Anna again since the beginning of the evening, and now again she saw her suddenly quite new and surprising. She saw in her(Anna) the signs of that excitement of success she knew so well in herself; she saw that she(Anna) was intoxicated with the delighted admiration she was exciting. She knew that feeling and knew its signs, and saw them in Anna; saw the quivering, flashing light in her eyes and the smile of happiness and excitement unconsciously playing on her lips, and the deliberate grace, precision, and lightness of her movements. “Who?”  Kitty asked herself. “All or one?”… “No, it’s not the admiration of the crowd that has intoxicated her but the adoration of one. And which one? Can it be he (Vronsky) ?”… Kitty looked at him and was filled with terror. What was pictured so clearly to Kitty in the mirror of Anna’s face she saw in him. Every time he turned to her, he bent his head as though he would have fallen at her feet, and in his eyes there was nothing but humble submission and dread. “I would not offend you” his eyes seemed every time to be saying “but I want to save myself and I don’t know how”. On Vronsky’s face was a look such as Kitty had never seen before”

                It was time-consuming to read it but it was worth it. Though the story ended tragically, I loved how beautifully painful the story was. From the beginning of Anna and Vronsky’s love affair, every line gave me a roller coaster of emotions that only a few books have given me before. I admire Tolstoy for bringing the characters to life by complex qualities and their struggles in their self-development. I was definitely captivated by this book and if only I have more time to read it once again without the pit stops, I would. The book is one of the greatest literary pieces of all time.

         

Group Essay: "Cinemalaya, Cinesthesia" by Ck Espino, Kat Eusebio and Jusel Villareal

                                                Cinemalaya started in 2005; since then it has been showcasing us pure talents and new ideas. For its 9^th year, Cinemalaya’s theme is “Cinesthesia” which connects it to the synergy of our senses. Synergy is from the Greek word synergia which means working together. The cinematography, the actors, the screenplay writers and the crew all work together to make a quality film that makes our senses come to life. For us, films are the strongest forms of art because they literally bring us in the story, make us experience what the characters feel, take us to new places, open our eyes to imagination and adventure and to make us feel what they want us to feel—and Cinemalaya gives way to all these by giving us a new amazing experience every year.

                           Cinemalaya is celebrated every July to August of every year at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. It showcases independent films which are made by Filipino film makers. It also gives way for short films and it also introduces new breeds of film. Films entered in the festival are often low in budget so they have to be extremely resourceful and creative to produce a quality film. It is a blessing for the Philippine Film Industry to have the annual Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival because through this, ideas from small new breed filmmakers are developed. They are given the chance to express their creativity and show how great filmmakers they can be when given the chance.

                              Cinemalaya is important because it paves way to independent films to get a chance to be shown at the theatres of CCP. We are only familiar to mainstream cinema but most of us don’t care about independent films because they are stereotyped as boring. Its significance to Philippine Cinema in general is that the movies entered in the festival always focuses on our culture and traditions. It means that independent films are based completely on the realities on our society and economy. The films are always practical and never exaggerated. Another thing is the way they direct their cinematography is different because they don’t always choose to see the character’s face or all the characters in a scene are facing the camera—it is expressed in a real way. Independent films are not just better in choosing their stories but also the way their actors and actresses present and read their lines. In mainstream cinema and television, the actors’ performances are always elevated. When they cry, they shout and scream and throw things, and that doesn’t happen in real life but in independent films, the actors express the lines of their roles just as they are in real life.

                  Cinemalaya is important to the Philippine cinema because films made here are originally Filipino. It means that we patronize our own works because believe it or not, Filipinos have this colonial mentality that makes us more attracted to movies from the West. As long as this festival is being supported, Philippine Cinema will never fade. Cinemalaya is important to Philippine Cinema because it is where young filmmakers start, it’s where they develop their skills Cinemalaya also gives opportunity to these talented filmmakers to make their work be seen by the mass. This event is also a chance of new film makers to develop more in their career. It is a necessity that these filmmakers are given the chance to showcase their talents, even just once a year so they get a chance to show everybody the new ideas that young minds are working on. It is important to honor the talents of Filipinos in the art of filmmaking.  It is important because more often these independent films are about Filipino themselves, the issues, traditions and culture of our country will be tackled as well so if we watch these things, we will be enlightened and we will be aware of these realities that face us. The independent films are unafraid to break conventions. They are more into discovering new techniques and ways on telling stories, they are more eager to release their talents and master their works.

                         

                     Because of Cinemalaya, even unpopular and never-heard-of filmmakers, actors and actresses are given the chance to play roles in movies that will be shown in the CCP theaters. When their movie is chosen as the best, they might even be given the chance to be seen in mainstream cinema for all of Filipinos to see. We think that’s a filmmaker’s main goal, to make everyone see their movies which they view as their life’s greatest work. Without this festival happening every year, we think that Philippine Cinema might crumble and slowly lead to its death. Cinemalaya, for us, is the hope of Philippine Cinema. Imagine if this festival doesn’t exist and all we know and all we can see are these mainstream movies with their formulae and corny plots, not that we don’t personally enjoy them but if we take these years and years, people might get bored of watching until one day, nobody is going to watch Filipino films anymore because there are no new ideas seen and no conventions are broken. It is also where pure talents in making movies are seen. Filmmakers who join Cinemalaya are taking risks, breaking conventions and they always explore new techniques and tricks in movie making. Without these new, young and fresh ideas from talented filmmakers, the Philippine Cinema might be stranded where it is now: corny stories and formulae.

                             Mainstream television in the Philippines often follows a convention that is certainly a sure hit. It is often the same drama love story, same family problems, same plots and as time goes by, Filipinos might get tired of it because mainstream TV never explores new ideas, maybe because they are afraid their audiences might not like the change.

                             Independent films are so different from mainstream television, they are way better. They always have fresh ideas, new stories to share and they always set new conventions and they don’t just follow the formulae that most mainstream TV shows use. Mainstream television can learn a lot from independent films in a lot of aspects.

                                Since most independent films have low film budget , they are maximizing their resources to produce the films of their dreams. This is one of the things that mainstream television should learn from indie films, they should learn how to budget though they don’t actually need to but Philippines is a third world country with poverty as its main problem so why spend a lot when you can spend little and still get the same results, maybe even better. Although viewers prefer big shows that have quality cinematic effects, it is still essential to appreciate indie films because it’s not just about the cinematic effects and technicalities but it’s about the depth of the story.

                                First of all, independent movies always look so real while mainstream television is, well, often exaggerated and over-done. Indie films always make sure that setting looks real and not obviously made up. Mainstream TV shows should learn to try shooting in a real setting or add more effort in production designing to make a studio real and it doesn’t look so obvious that they are in box. Independent films always use new actors and actresses because, for us, they act more naturally than in mainstream TV shows. We think that the famous actors and actresses in soap operas nowadays overact. For example, the way Marian Rivera cries in her shows—she would always cry with sound. In real life, nobody cries like that. Actresses must learn how to just act naturally—like just let the teardrops fall and breathe heavily. We think that mainstream television should grab these techniques so that it won’t be seen as exaggerated and inappropriate.  Another thing is the screenplay; most lines are always used like the pickup lines or the things they say when they are mad while independent films always make new lines that are never used in television but are used in real life. So we think that mainstream TV shows should apply real things that we say everyday instead of writing with deep, Filipino words that we don’t usually.

                         Second thing, indie films don’t promote products. It’s not that noticeable but sometimes it makes the mainstream television show look like an advertisement for this certain product and people are fed up with it as well.

                        Next are the new ideas that independent films use, mainstream television should be taking risks and doing new techniques but every after a show, always comes another show just like it—only different actors. Mainstream TV should explore with new stories that no one has ever watched before and make their topics more controversial and not just about teenagers falling in love, brothers and sisters being separated and finding each other in the end, love triangles, family problems and many more stories repeated over and over again.

                          Another thing are the values that independent films share, mainstream television lack these except for some shows that we’ve seen. All I see now are teenagers hanging out in a bar at the age of sixteen, kissing, having love problems—no wonder Filipino teenagers are having those ideas in their head. The TV is a big influence on values and we think that they should always teach good, moral values and they should be careful in showing contents that may be a source of bad influence especially to the young audiences.

                           To conclude our reflections, our experience of watching Cinemalaya was beyond amazing, it’s very enlightening. Since it was our first time to ever go to the Cultural Center of the Philippines, we were all surprised of how everything looked. We all had a great time being able to celebrate Filipino independent films and be given the chance to see the wonderful talents that were showcased in the Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival. We have also seen lots of filmmakers: directors, actors and actresses and the crew and we admire all of them for their awesome performances in their respective movies. We felt really special because we became a part of the celebration of Philippine Cinema. We are left enthused and inspired because of the fresh scenes we have seen. We are amazed how the filmmakers stumbled upon different ideas and made them into quality films like the ones we’ve seen. We have seen films with new plots and unique stories that we haven’t seen before.

                               Cinemalaya is surely an important part of the Philippine Cinema because it’s where all new things happen—it’s where new and young filmmakers are discovered, actors are renowned for their wonderful performances, for us, Cinemalaya and independent films  are two places where all the magic start to happen. We still see hope for the development of Philippine Cinema and we can see it here in Cinemalaya, we see it the independent films, new breed films and short movie entries. 

                                Mainstream Television definitely has a lot to learn from independent films. The shows need to be more explorative and they should welcome new ideas so that they can be able to break conventions and they will cease to use formulae for their shows and offer us something that will surprise and amaze us every time we go watch shows at home. From improving their settings, their stories, their screenplay or script, the actors’ performances—mainstream television shows can definitely improve a lot more if they just make the techniques that independent films used.

                                We had a lot of fun in the Cinemalaya Festival, especially because we got to attend it with our friends. It is certainly the main highlight of our first semester. We don’t even think of it as a requirement anymore because we enjoyed a lot watching different movies and being with our friends. We also got to share the experience with our friends from different schools who also loved the festival. We are definitely coming back to watch the 10^th Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival.

PS Hany Nievera didn't participate in making the group essay.