2/18/04

Re: The Philippines is a World Power 2 (con't from prev. post)

(con't)


>To be
> honest for a country that's supposedly in the top ten,
> the ratio of quality films versus trash being churned
> out is rather large.

This I agree with, but it makes that fraction of one percent all the more
precious. I consider it worth it, sifting through all that crap to find
the gold.

> No filipino film has moved me
> aside from films made by filipino independent
> filmakers - produced somewhere else -  certainly not
> in this country!

That's funny; I haven't seen a, say, Fil-Am film that had the same effect
on me as a Filipino film. Well, Lav Diaz's Batang West Side, but he and I
consider it a Filipino film.

> I would say the same thing to what's
> happening in filipino music and the visual arts. The
> philippine culture industry is in a very sorry state
> because it is steep in petty politiks, superficiality,
> anti-intellectualism, and the people who are
> supposedly the supporters are just interested in
> making a profit.

And yet I still think good work is being done.  I've seen it.

>One could say that, like the country
> itself, contemporary philippine culture is headed for
> the doghouse.

It's been heading there for years, will probably head there for years
more. Still, the good work is being done.

> Admit it we're lame and we should be
> aware of this so that we can challenge and be critical
> of ourselves so that we can better something and do
> away with this false pride.

I've been there, oh, maybe ten years ago.  Then what?  You move on, you
sift through the awful to find what's good, even great. And you make sure
no one forgets about them.  There's nothing false about my pride.

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