Archive for the ‘Art’ Category
2009
08.19
Tags: Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown, Gender Issues, Nietzsche, Sacred Feminine, Values
Posted in Art, Books, Filipinos, Gender Issues, Life, Nietzsche, Philosophy | No Comments »
Cultural symbols have some kind of consistency. And rightly or wrongly (I mean, one could always present arguments that would show the inappropriateness of a symbol or sets of symbols), the associations have been formed and set through the millenia. One cannot simply do away with a symbol that has been passed and accepted by cultures/traditions, etc. One can, however, question and undermine the seeming “naturalness” that these symbols have come to acquire (like what Nietzsche, Derrida, among others, have done).
The association of “black” with “male” and “white” with “female” (at least, symbolically) is not consistent with, and I’d even say, goes against the grain of, tradition of symbolical associations with gender archetypes. Check it out for yourself. Research on this topic.
Even the very moral association of “black” with “evil” and “white” with “good” is consistent with the disparaging of the “feminine principle” that Brown himself presents in his novel.
Which leads me back to Nietzsche… the earth/matter, feminine, black, deceptive, as opposed to the spirit, male, white, beholden to the truth… and which does he champion?
Neither.
Rather, he asks, probably with a grin on his face, “What if truth were a woman?” (which can be read as “what if the truth were lying/deceptive?”)
So, again, rather than simply overturning the tables or reassigning the good values with the opposing pole (i.e., saying that “male” is “evil” and “female” is “good”), one gains an insight into the interconnection/interweaving/inter-reliance, complexity, and perhaps, even complicity of the bipolar signs/symbols into our understanding of this world.
The world is to a large extent, amoral, and because of this, both cruel and innocent. It is us humans/cultures who assign values, depending on our perceived needs/wants in given situations. It is when these values harden/ossify that they become dangerous to life/living.
best regards,
ian
2009
08.15
Tags: Da Vinci Code, Daniel Day-Lewis, Foucault's Pendulum, Indiana Jones, Jason Alexander, Jeanette Winterson, Lara Croft, Literary Criticism, Lord of the Rings, Michel Foucault, Milan Kundera, Mystery, Philosophy, Rosicrucians, Sacred Feminine, Seinfeld, Templar Knights, The Grail, The Passion, The Unbearable Lightness, Umberto Eco, Written on the Body
Posted in Art, Books, Education, Filipinos, Gender Issues, Life, Love, Movies, Philosophy, spirituality, Translation, Writing | No Comments »
I loved the Matrix and Moulin Rouge, despite their being hyped. On the other hand, I did watch Lord of the Rings 1 & 2, but stayed away from 3. Tried reading book 1, but just managed a few paragraphs, and then stopped… (Well, perhaps someday…)
Did “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” have that much hype? I love that novel, have read it twice, and think of it as the kind/type of novel I’d love to write if I ever get the chance of writing one. (Haven’t seen the film adaptation with Daniel Day-Lewis…)
As for “The Da Vinci Code,” if you find a copy lying around, it’s worth reading din naman. For one thing, I do subscribe to the recuperation/rehabilitation of the “sacred feminine.”
One other reason why I stayed away from Dan Brown’s novel is that I’ve read Umberto Eco’s “Foucault’s Pendulum” and from what I had heard about “The Da Vinci Code,” it seemed to me to be a “Foucault’s Pendulum”-wanna-be.
I’m currently re-reading Eco’s novel. (I read it years ago, mistakenly thinking that it’d help me write a paper on Michel Foucault. Wala palang connect. Ibang Foucault ‘to… Or, meron din, if one looks at the obsession for power and techniques of power…)
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2009
08.13
Tags: Books, Dan Brown, Eternal Recurrence, Filipinos, Foucault's Pendulum, Friedrich Nietzsche, Himala, Lila, Lullaby: 100 Years of Songs, Matter, Movies, Robert Pirsig, spirituality, The Da Vinci Code, The Matrix Trilogy, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Umberto Eco, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Posted in Art, Books, Education, Filipinos, Gender Issues, Life, Movies, Nietzsche, Philosophy, spirituality, Theater | No Comments »
Read “The Da Vinci Code” in 2005, after deliberately ignoring it for quite some time because of the hype. And then saw the movie later.
Well, the wealth of information (esp. regarding symbols) is generally sound. But it doesn’t hold a candle to the erudition of Umberto Eco’s “Foucalt’s Pendulum.” (I have yet to understand the elaborate explanation of how Foucault’s Pendulum works…)
One thing I liked in the novel is the rather sympathetic portrayal of the head of the Opus Dei, Bishop Aringarosa. (Not so in the movie.) I’ve heard a lot of negative publicity regarding the Opus Dei and their founder Jose Ma. Escriva. (From the late Larry Henares, in his TV show and Philippine Daily Inquirer column, as well as from a Filipino priest who studied in a university run by the Opus Dei…) Bishop Aringarosa may be ultra-conservative in his theology but in the end, when the time came for his faith to be tested, his heart proved to be ultimately in the right place.
Also, it had a more hopeful, happy ending than “Foucault’s Pendulum,” which was darker and more poignant. Eco’s novel bewails the lack of understanding that so-called believers/enlightened ones have. Parang si Elsa sa Himala: “Walang himala! Ang himala ay nasa puso ng tao!”
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2009
08.11
Tags: Kabir Helminski, Lail Fourladvend, Poem, Rumi, Translation
Posted in Art, Books, Filipinos, Life, Music, Poetry, spirituality, Theater, Translation, Writing | No Comments »
A poem by Rumi:
Because I Cannot Sleep
Because I cannot sleep
I make music at night.
I am troubled by the one whose face has the color of spring flowers.
I have neither sleep nor patience,
neither a good reputation nor disgrace.
A thousand robes of wisdom are gone.
All my good manners have run a thousand miles away.
The heart and the mind are left angry with each other.
The stars and the moon are envious of each other.
Because of this alienation the physical universe is getting tighter and tighter.
The moon says, “How long will I remain suspended without a sun?”
Without Love’s jewel inside of me, let the bazaar of my existence be destroyed stone by stone.
O Love, You who have been called by a thousand names,
You who know how to pour the wine into the chalice of the body,
You who give culture to a thousand cultures,
You who are faceless but have a thousand faces.
O Love, You who shape the faces of Turks, Europeans, and Zanzibaris, give me a glass from Your bottle, or a handful of bheng from your branch.
Remove the cork once more.
Then we’ll see a thousand chiefs prostrate, and a circle of ecstatic troubadours will play.
The the addict will be freed of craving and will be resurrected, and stand in awe till Judgment Day.
(translation by Kabir Helminski and Lail Fouladvend)
2009
08.03
Tags: Dexter Santos, Dulaang UP, Earth Spirit, Frank Wedekind, Lulu, Morality, Pandora's Box, Sex, Theater
Posted in Acting, Art, Filipinos, Gender Issues, Life, Psychology, Theater | No Comments »
Dulaang UP’s Production of Frank Wedekind’s “Lulu”
LULU is a story of a person who has no qualms about the body and its sexual needs. Lulu, who is the alluring woman in the English version and the captivating transsexual in Filipino, is a being able to explore and express her desires without compromise or guilt. Adored and lusted after by men, women and creatures of the world, she takes them to a dance of bodily freedom, of the mind’s liberation and of utter ecstasy. But like any other person, Lulu searches for the other that could accept and understand her seemingly deviant nature.
In her hunt, Lulu meets a myriad of “civilized beasts”: painters, writers, the educated and the ignorant, the rich and poor men, the young and the dying who are upright and honorable by day but transform to hungry animals in the dark. Lulu embraces each person only to find him or her weak and forever trapped by man’s idea of propriety.
English Cast:
Che Ramos as LULU
Angeli Bayani as GESCHWITZ
Jules de la Paz as GOLL / HUGENBERG / HUNIDEI
Missy Maramara as JACK / RINGMASTER
Paolo O’Hara as DR. SCHON / CASTI-PIANI
Meynard Penalosa as SCHIGOLCH
Gabs Santos as ALVA SCHON
Randy Villarama as SCHWARZ / RODRIGO
Filipino Cast:
Tuxqs Rutaquio as LULU.
Acey Aguilar as SCHWARZ / RODRIGO
Alexander Cortez as SCHIGOLCH
Jules de la Paz as GOLL / HUGENBERG / HUNIDEI
Ian Lomongo as DR. SCHON / CASTI-PIANI
Jojit Lorenzo as JACK / RINGMASTER
Andoy Ranay as GESCHWITZ
JC Santos as ALVA
Direction and Choreography: Dexter M. Santos
Filipino Translation: Joel Saracho
Production Design: Tuxqs Rutaquio
Lights Design: John Batalla
Dramaturgy and Additional Text: Patrick Valera
Sounds Design: J Victor Villareal
Photography and Poster Design: Jojit Lorenzo
Poster Art Direction: Carlo Vergara
LULU will open on Aug 5 and will run till Aug 23 at the Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater, UP Diliman.
English:
5 August 7pm – Opening
6 August 7pm
7 August 7pm – Gala
8 August 10am, 3pm
9 August 10am, 3pm
19 August 7pm
22 August 10am, 3pm
Filipino:
12 August 7pm – Opening
13 August 7pm
14 August 7pm – Gala
15 August 10am, 3pm
16 August 10am, 3pm
20 August 7pm
21 August 7pm
23 August 10am, 3pm
THIS PRODUCTION CONTAINS SCENES AND MATERIAL STRICTLY FOR MATURE AUDIENCES.
2009
07.27
Tags: Add new tag, Poetry
Posted in Acting, Art, Filipinos, Life, Poetry, Theater, Writing | No Comments »
Ganap.
(ni Miguel Juanjo (a.k.a. Wang-Ho) Tiamson Lomongo)
“Kailan kaya sasapit ang araw ng pagiging ganap
Ng lahat ng ating mga pinapangarap?”
Araw-araw, patuloy ang paghahanap,
Patuloy… maging ang pagpapanggap,
Patuloy ang pag-aapuhap,
Patuloy ang pagganap
Sa tungkulin, kahit walang kahina-hinagap
Sa katotohanang pinapangarap magagap,
Malanghap… Malasap!
Ano nga ba’ng nagaganap sa mga nagsisipagganap
Sa mga pagtatanghal na’ting kinakaharap?
Ay! Masalimuot na prosesong may kung anu-anong sangkap!
Mapa-dula man o pelikula, ang pagganap
Maihahalintulad sa pagdadalisay at pagbubusilak
Ng paglalaba. Mga damit na ginagamit
Sa pagharap sa sangmaliwanag, binabasa, pinapalo, pinipitpit,
Kinukusot, sinasabon. (Ang sabon, tulad ng tubig
At baha, lumilinis at pumapatay, sa pamamagitan ng bula…
Mga bulang tulad ng katotohanan, buhay, at dula,
Naglalaho, nawawala.)
At matapos banlawan, mga damit ikukula,
Isasabit sa sampayan
Upang sa liwanag ng araw masilayan.
Gayundin ang kinasasapitan ng mga damdamin, isip,
Guni-guni, panaginip, libog, pag-ibig, galit, pangamba, pananalig:
Dinadalisay, binubusilak, binabasa, sinasabon, pinapalo, pinipitpit,
Kinukusot, binabanlawan, ‘kinukula,
At saka ngayon pinaplantsa, upang maikubli ang mga gusot sa mata.
Mga maskarang tulad ng damit pinagpapalit-palit
Sa pangangarap na magampanang ganap
Ang pagganap.
Samantala, patuloy sa paghahanap…
Tuloy-tuloy maging pagpapanggap…
Tuloy-tuloy sa pag-aapuhap…
Tuloy-tuloy sa pagganap
Sa tungkulin, kahit walang kahina-hinagap
Sa — katotohanan, kabutihan, kagandahan, kaligayahan –
KaGANAPang pinapangarap magagap
Malanghap… Malasap!
“Kailan kaya sasapit ang araw ng pagiging ganap
Ng lahat ng ating mga pinapangarap?”
Ganap.
Ika-14 ng Disyembre, 2004
2009
07.25
Tags: Add new tag, Miguel Hernandez, Poetry, Translation
Posted in Art, Books, Education, Filipinos, Life, Poetry, Translation, Writing | No Comments »
Ano nga ba ang isang tula?
Isang marikit na kasinungalingang binihisan. Isang katotohanang ipinararamdam lamang. Tanging sa pagpaparamdam lamang nito hindi nagiging kasinungalingan ang katotohanan. Isang katotohanang ‘singhalaga at ‘sintago ng miniminang yaman.
Sino nga ba ang nakakakita na, sa katotohanan, kulay-asin ang dagat?
Walang sinuman. Gayunpaman, nagpaparanas ito, wumawagayway, ipinapakita at sinasalamin ng mga binuo nitong bula ang kulay ng gasuklay na buwan. Nasa kanyang hiwaga ang higit niyang kagandahan.
Hindi maaaring tumambad sa atin ang tula nang hubad. Mga buto ng tula lamang ang taglay ng mga tulang hubad. At ano nga ba’ng mas papangit pa sa mga pawang kalansay lamang?
Ingatan, mga manunula, ang diwa ng tula: isang espinghe. Hayaan n’yong matuto silang bakbakin ito tulad ng balat ng kahoy… Ay, tulad ng dalandan! kaylinamnam ng itinatago nito sa loob ng kanyang mala-planetang kabilugan!
Ingatan ang inyong sarili, mga manunula, laban sa mga bungang walang-balat, mga dagat na walang-alat.
Kailangang umubra ang tula gaya ng sa banal na misa.
Kailan kaya darating ang manunula na hawak sa kanyang mga daliri ang tula gaya ng paring tangan-tangan ang ostiya at nagsasabing: “Ito ang Diyos!” at maniniwala tayo?
- Miguel Hernandez, spanish poet, 1910-1942 (Tagalog translation by Ron Capinding)
2009
06.14
Tags: Movies
Posted in Art, Filipinos, Life, Love, Movies, Music, Nietzsche, Philosophy, Psychology, spirituality, Writing | No Comments »
I remember this film I saw in one of the French Spring Film Festivals, “Chance or Coincidence” about an “eventologist” (or someething) whose “other” job is to find connections/meanings in the chance occurences of life. I don’t remember the details of the story, it’s a love story (I think). I liked it, and also this Nat King Cole song in it, with the words “For all we know/care…?” Ala lang, baka lang alam n’yo. Am being whimsical here. It might have some meaning in the greater scheme of things. Hehehe.
Was also fascinated by “Sliders” (the TV series with Jerry O’Connell?) and “Sliding Doors” (with Gwyneth Paltrow).
In the TV series (based on a scientific theory, the “many-possible worlds” theory), the character played by Jerry, with his friends and professor (John Rhys-Davies), travel through a wormhole that leads to a parallel universe. Same time, different world. In some episodes, they even get to meet their alter-egos.
The movie “Sliding Doors” is premised on this one triviality: whether Gwyneth’s character is able to get on the subway on her way home or not. And the two parallel lives of Gwyneth play themselves out, each radically different from the other — all because of missing/not-missing a train ride. The movie however makes this intriguing, though perhaps unwarranted, conceit. The two Gwyneths (almost meet physically in an elevator) become “reconciled” during this scene by having only one singular experience, implying that the events which would follow from now on would be the same, even if they diverged earlier. Perhaps her inner reconciliation brought about the reconciliation of two divergent worlds? Perhaps she is owned by a destiny that’s greater than all the numerous happenstance of her life?
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2009
04.07
Posted in Art, Filipinos, Life, Philosophy, Poetry, Psychology, spirituality, Translation, Writing | No Comments »
Do you believe in love at first sight?
I do.
Saw this little book “The Alphabet of Grace” by Frederick Buechner in the bargain bin of NBS, bought it (for P50), and fell in love with it. Lent it to someone who, of course, lost it. And then, after some time, I serendipitously found and bought a new one (for P300). It’s about the spiritual experience of, in his own words, “a part-time novelist, Christian, pig.” What caught my attention: the title. What I loved in it: a very human, semi-mystical approach to spirituality.
Am thinking of translating it to Tagalog someday. I tried, and never got past the introduction. Will have to find time, someday.
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2009
03.27
Tags: Buddha, Christ, Herman Hesse, Nietzsche
Posted in Art, Filipinos, Life | 1 Comment »
I’ve been trying to examine my understanding/misunderstanding of the place of eros/desire” in Buddhism and Western philosophy. Re-read Plato’s “Symposium.” (Will had “Phaedrus.” Also the “Dhamappada.”)
Yes, it’s true. I got my understanding of Buddhism mainly through Western interpreters. Jacques Maritain’s “Introduction to Philosophy,” if I remember correctly, makes a distinction between Hinduism and Buddhism that’s quite striking. He says that while 11Hinduism saw INDIVIDUAL EXISTENCE as evil, Buddhism saw EXISTENCE ITSELF all Hindus meant the return to Brahman. (The world is maya/illusion.) The Buddhist Nirvana, on the other hand, is the “cessation of life,” which meant the “cessation of desire.”
In “The Birth of Tragedy,” Nietzsche tells this story about a man who confronts the laughing Silenus about the secret of life. Silenus tells the inquirer, “Do you really want to know? … Here it is: It were better for you not to have been born. And the next best thing? To die early.”
Nietzsche acknowledges the pessimist Schopenhauer as a major influence to his o thinking. Always the onfused mind, I may have mixed all these stuff in my head.
But it’s still quite true that “eros/desire” in both Christianity and Buddhism has been, so to say, problematized. The tradition of Christianity has a wealth of discourses on the dangers posed by desire and has probably more than a number within its tradition whose solution to the problem is to extinguish it, cut it off. The Buddhist notion of detachment/equanimity appears to be quite similar to Stoicism, a kind of indifference to life’s vicissitudes. And the way I see it, this detachment/indifference can only be attained through the weakening of eros/desire.
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