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Good thing I posted the whole thing in a forum… powtah. Eto, re-posting…

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The Prom(ethean) Knight: Thoughts on the “Dark Knight”
By Michael Ian Lomongo

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In Greek Mythology, Prometheus is the Titan who stole fire from the Gods and was then punished by being chained to the mountains of Caucasus, where a vulture came every knight to feed on his liver. He is cast by different authors either as the benefactor of mankind or as the one responsible for the evils besetting mankind.

Yes, since childhood, we have known Batman as a comic superhero. Perhaps the most plausible among the superheroes, since he has no known superpowers. He’s just an extremely wealthy guy with superb fighting skills. Plus the machinery and gadgets to supplement those skills.

But he is, in fact, a masked vigilante. A “freak.” Even if his intentions are noble, in essence, he operates outside, or at least within the fringes, of society’s laws.

Bruce Wayne himself recognizes this. He too dreams of a Gotham City without Batman. A time when superheroes and masked vigilantes would be unnecessary. A world wherein justice truly works. Where he would simply be Bruce Wayne.

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Tags: Batman, Ethics, Freedom, Movies, Philosophy, Power, Responsibility, The Dark Knight, truth
Posted in Life, Movies, Philosophy, Psychology | 2 Comments »

the sequel to “reading with/and understanding”

from autograffiti@yahoogroups.com, may13, 2003

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Is the concern for a reader/interpreter’s having the “right attitude” tantamount to a so-called “primacy of the reader”?

I don’t think so.

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Tags: Alterity, Hermeneutics, Interpretation, Meaning, Objectivity, Perspective, Philosophy, Prejudice, Reading, Subjectivity, Text, truth, Understanding
Posted in Art, Education, Life, Nietzsche, Philosophy, Translation, Writing | 2 Comments »

Had dinner last night (and later, beer) with Emman de la Cruz, Angeli Bayani, Vanni Liwanag, Tara Illenberger, and Fiona (didn’t catch her last name). We talked about, naturally, films, Lav Diaz, “Death in the Land of Encantos,” Angeli’s baby boy (whom she named after the character named Marik (Marat) of Alexei Arbusov’s wonderful romantic play, “The Promise” (translated into Tagalog by the late Rolando Tinio as “Kawawang Marat.”)

Since Emman, Tara, and Fiona were not familiar with the play, I said it was like the counter, the opposite, play of the very post-modern “Closer.” Both work best if you have good actors playing the characters. After watching or reading “The Promise,” you’d feel like “Ah, it’s worth it. Every tear, every heartache. Love prevails.” After watching “Closer,” you’d end up questioning your notions and ways of loving.

Am posting my thoughts on “Closer” here. 2005.

best regards,
ian

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A Closer Look at Closer

[Or, Concerning Close(r) Encounters of the "Strange(r)" Kind]

by Michael Ian Lomongo, April 13, 2005

“The truth shall set you free.”

- Jesus Bar-Joseph

“What if truth were a woman?”

- Friedrich Nietzsche

Hello, stranger!

If you really (and I mean, REALLY) knew the person you loved, would you still love him/her? (And, mind you, I’m not talking about knowing the “truth ” about the person you loved for we can very well ask with Pilate, “What is the truth, anyway?”)

The film/play “Closer” (written by Patrick Marber) raises a lot of tough questions about many of our notions about truth, truth-telling, lies, deception, and the relationship between knowing and loving (either the person or the truth).

Is loving ultimately based on the unflinching look on the “truth” or “reality” of the person (no matter how harsh it may be)? Or is it inevitably tied up with the blurred and prettifying (Should I say “lying”?) vision which makes lovers overlook glaring flaws and imperfections in the beloved and perhaps for our own sake, perhaps makes the very movement of loving possible?

What is our relation to “truth” and truth-telling? As individuals? As lovers?

What do we really know about the “truth”? (Pilate: “Quid est veritas?”) What do we really know about the people we love (or think we love)? (“Hello, stranger!”) What do we really know about our own peculiar ways of loving? For that matter, what do we really know about loving?

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Tags: identities, Love, truth
Posted in Art, Love, Movies, Philosophy, Writing | 4 Comments »