pagMukLat

Critique a movie

2006-12-19T07:18:00.001-08:00

Tuhog is a movie worth watching and criticizing. I am neither a good movie critic nor a good movie viewer. :)

I love watching movies but I am not good at it. Got it? Am I being contradictory here? Nah. Forget it.

I will try to be a little Plato here… Very little…mmm… small?... And slightly criticize Tuhog... Very slight.

Tuhog is a movie, an art, an imitation. In this imitation, lies another imitation. The movie is a story of a girl raped by her grandfather who was possibly also her father. In the movie, interviews were made and reenactments of the real story were presented.

The audience was given a view of what really happened and what were added in the movie. The movie in Tuhog was written by the interviewer with other things in mind. His main objective was to create a sex film and not to present the real story or what really happened to the victims. Thus, the movie in Tuhog had so many revisions which are too far from what is true.

Plato’s arguments in his Republic, were about art as imitation. The further the imitation is from its original source, the more it becomes unoriginal or unreal. However, in the case of Tuhog, the movie in it is an imitation of the rape story but with so many revisions in it. Thus, making it unreal even if it was based on the so-called original story. The movie in Tuhog is an art but it is a bad art. The characters involved in the rape story trusted the movie writer and believed that their story will be presented in a way that they will not be ashamed and that for the last time, truth will set them free. Yet the movie brought a big disappointment to the victims, making them victims again.

Whew. I am not a good imitator. I was not able to imitate Plato on this nonsense discussion. Hayy… okey… lastly..

Tuhog. Catchy title. Annoying movie within a movie. A form of imitation. An art.

Nami ang Antigong Agong

2006-12-06T23:05:00.000-08:00

Antigong Agong was a good presentation of the Bud Dahu Battle and Tausug culture.

The plot was nicely woven and was presented in a nice way. The characters were effective taking into consideration that they are Tausugs.

The thought of the play was presented in a way that it can be understood by a non-Tausug set of audience. As one of the expectators that afternoon, I felt the urge to sympathize with the people of Bud Dahu especially to the generations that followed. The war had brought eerie silence and ceaseless threats in the place and on its helpless residents in the years that followed.

The diction or the script was written excellently. No wonder that its writer had won a Palanca Award before. The words are appropriate for the plot and to the characters that made up the play. The characters' personalities, the time the scene took place, the culture, the setting and the set of audience were considered in making the script.

The melody throughout the play made the presentation remarkable. The music was consistent in driving the audience from one scene to the next. It was bombastic that I was awake from the beginning until the end. The gunshots and sound effects were realistic. The background music sung and played in between the play fitted the scenarios and suggested the required emotions.

Lastly, the spectacle or what was seen by the audience was on the average. The stage, however, was astonishing. Bamboo stems were used to build a very high performing area. The dances, the choreography, blocking, costumes and props were in some parts not too pleasing to the eyes. Maybe it was because of non-uniformity and unpolished moves but as a whole, the spectacle was good.

Antigong Agong deserves a standing ovation. *a big round of applause*

Thinking and Dictating the Spectacle and Melody of Tragedy

2006-12-05T07:10:00.000-08:00

“A tragedy, then, is the imitation of an action that is serious and also having magnitude, complete in itself… in a dramatic, not in a narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its catharsis of such emotions.”
–Aristotle (Poetics, p.684)

Talk about Tragedy..yah… It is a fad in the Philippines… Tragic political, economic, education and peace and order situation… You name it, the Philippines has it. Isn’t it tragic?... tsk.tsk.

Tragedy also has a good side. Oh yeah… Let us talk about plays. Tragedy as a play. It has elements and its own complication that the writers or critics should consider. Aristotle discussed about the six formative elements of Tragedy in his Poetics. Dramatists should take into consideration these six elements namely: plot, characters, thought, diction, melody, and spectacle.

Plot is the most important element of Tragedy. It is its soul. It is the combination of the incidents of the story – the action. Plot is more important than the characters. A tragedy may exist without characters but it cannot stand without the plot. The characters only portray the actions and moral purpose of the agents required by the plot.

Thought is considered as the third most important element of Tragedy. It is the power of saying whatever can be said, or what is appropriate to the occasion. The thought in its simplest sense is what the plot tells us. It is somehow its idea or main notion. It includes mental procedure and is reflected in the characters’ actions. Basically, it is about thinking.

Diction is merely the composition of the verses. It is how the verses are written -- what form it is and how its parts were constructed. As I understand it, it is what we call script or the lines of the characters in a play. According to Aristotle, it has eight parts namely: the Letter, the Article, the Noun, the Verb, the Case and the Speech. It is somehow a review of grammar and composition. The parts are basically the script being dissected.

The fifth element of Tragedy is the melody. However, it was not given so much attention in Aristotle’s Poetics. It was mentioned that melody is a mean of imitation, what is too completely understood to require explanation and the greatest of the pleasurable accessories (with rhythm and harmony or song superadded) of Tragedy. Frankly speaking, I did not understand Aristotle on this. However, as what I can see lying on the surface of the Poetics, it is basically auditory. Just like the melody in music, it is composed of musical expressions that are pleasing to the ears and which are in accordance with the plot. In this sense, Tragedy is musical.

The sixth or the last element of Tragedy is the spectacle. Spectacle, though an attraction, is the least artistic of all the parts and has least to do with the art of poetry. The spectacle is the public performance or stage appearance of the actors – it is visual. According to Aristotle, the tragic effect is quite possible without a public performance and actors; besides, the getting-up of the Spectacle is more a matter for the costumier than the poet. Thus, it is considered as an unimportant part of the Tragedy.

Tragedy is a dramatic genre in Western theatre that presents the heroic or moral struggle of an individual, culminating in his or her ultimate defeat. (Microsoft ® Encarta ® Premium Suite 2005. © 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.) Indeed, this kind of play includes too much emotion. Its audience is expected to sympathize with the characters and to relate to the actions and to produce emotions such as what the actors are portraying.

Tragedy was at its best in Aristotle’s hands.

_comiNg oUt cLeaN_

2006-12-05T05:19:00.000-08:00

Today's generation, Generation Y, has been using things labeled as 'imitation'. Especially here in the Philippines, there is rampant selling and buying of popular stuffs known to teenagers and also adults. May it be part of their collection or commodity, these 'imitation' is an epidemic.

I am part of Generation Y. I am also an imitator. I buy things that are not 'original' and use things and believe in the role they are playing. These things are not that strong and do not possess all the qualities that the 'original' have. Even though they are close to what is real, they are still not the 'original', they are copied and quite different. I am a copier. A copier, I am.

As long as I would just like to talk about my generation and myself here, my subconscience reminds me to introduce and remember Plato. Yeah..A philosopher from a far away land who lived ages ago, written books praised by his believers and talked about imitation in his "The Republic". I am not familiar with his works and background. I may not be able to relate to him because of generation gap. He talked so philosophical, not so comprehensible for children of my age.

In his "The Republic", Book X, Socrates had a conversation with Glaucon. They talked about art and imitation. It was about poetry and its being unoriginal -- unreal. According to the discussion, there is reality where truth and knowledge are based. It is believed that the 'One' is the main source of this 'reality'. It is in this reality where things that are known to mankind are copied. The thing known to mankind now is called the first-order imitation. This first-order imitation may again be imitated and imitated and imitated.

To make Plato's ideas more clear, may we take a 'teacup' as our 'thing'. The original 'teacup' was made by 'the One'. This 'teacup' was introduced to mankind and was used by them in their morning routine as a container that holds their hot tea. This 'teacup' is then reproduced or copied in the form of an art such as painting or poem or can be used in a story and can be labeled as the second-order imitation. At this point, the 'teacup' is almost useless. It is far from the original brought about by the changes that it had undergone. Yet, the imitating process may continue. Imitations of imitations are formed.

Plato's arguments also include the issue on the artist who produced the 'teacup' as a deceiver. He misleads the audience away from the original purpose or meaning of the 'teacup'. Looking at the situation and taking into consideration the perspective of the artist, we may say that it is not his intention to deceive. Just like any artists, he produces artworks for the name of arts and his passion towards it. He works to entertain and satisfy his hunger for the arts. He is plainly expressive and not a murderer or a cheater or any sinner. He copies, because he believes in the beauty of the 'original'. And he wants to let others know that these 'original' exists through his artworks. He shares. He is clean.

I am an imitator. I am clean. I may be imitating something and it may be in its nth order, but I am not guilty of cheating.

Plato has his beliefs..And i have mine..You may choose to agree with him and think of me as a shallow person. It may be brought about by generation gap. Talk about your grandparents' and your ideals. They don't just meet.

Why imitate? It's something you can ponder on. Just open your eyes and see the real world. They are everywhere -- much appreciated and even loved. I am not conforming or anything, but I also see them as beautiful. I am not guilty of anything. I am clean.

...BEAUTYness...

2006-11-27T23:03:00.000-08:00

Use your eyes and believe.
Every part of you can feel and see.
Open your mind to see all the possibilities.
Observe. Touch. Feel.

Emotions are strong...
You know that.
You like it...
Just listen to your heart.
You love the feeling...
Admit it.
Pleasurable...
Hope it would not fade away.

Believing the existence of something not seen.
Moved by the power, strength and history.

Trusting people, offering them your deeds.
They are given to you.
You treasure them that much.

Loving the heightened emotion.
Fast beating of the heart.

Fulfilling dreams.
Experiencing happiness.
Ups and Downs.
Travelling.
Learning.

Strong faith. Family. Friends. Love. Life.
...Beauty.

Understanding sweetness.
Appreciating beauty.
Emotions count a lot.
Beauty is felt by the heart.

To see is to be amazed.
What is beautiful for me
May be extravagant for some.
It is how you experience life.
You give meaning to things.

Loving the scene.
Gentle to the eyes.
Unpolluted.
Fresh.

Being flexible.
Being strong.
Being consistent.
Being spontaneous.
Being real.
Being one of a kind.
Being beautiful.

See beauty.
Feel it.