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Source: http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/posts/default

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term="Herzegovina-Neretva"/><category term="Himeji"/><category term="Huangpu"/><category term="Hue"/><category term="Hungary"/><category term="Incheon"/><category term="Irazu"/><category term="Isherwood C."/><category term="Iwaizumi"/><category term="Jackson S."/><category term="Jakarta Selatan"/><category term="Jakarta Utara"/><category term="James H."/><category term="Jingan"/><category term="Joaquin N."/><category term="Joyce J."/><category term="Kaafu"/><category term="Kalibo"/><category term="Kawagoe"/><category term="Khan-uul"/><category term="Kien Giang"/><category term="Knight R."/><category term="Kobe"/><category term="Kostova E."/><category term="Las Piñas"/><category term="Lee R."/><category term="Lippman L."/><category term="Luang Prabang"/><category term="Luxembourg"/><category term="Madrid"/><category term="Maguire G."/><category term="Maldives"/><category term="Malta"/><category term="Mandalay"/><category term="Martel Y."/><category term="Maryland"/><category term="McEwan I."/><category term="Mediacorp Vizpro"/><category term="Monaco"/><category term="Morioka"/><category term="Mostar"/><category term="Nam"/><category term="Nasugbu"/><category term="Neihu"/><category term="Nice"/><category term="North Macedonia"/><category term="Norway"/><category term="Nuremberg"/><category term="Nyaung-U"/><category term="Okayama"/><category term="Orwell G."/><category term="Oslo"/><category term="Otago"/><category term="Otsu"/><category term="Palahniuk C."/><category term="Paoay"/><category term="Penang"/><category term="Petaling Jaya"/><category term="Phahonyothin"/><category term="Phnom Penh"/><category term="Phu Quoc"/><category term="Phuket"/><category term="Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur"/><category term="Puerto Princesa"/><category term="Queenstown"/><category term="Recife"/><category term="Rice A."/><category term="Royal Caribbean"/><category term="Saipan"/><category term="Saitama"/><category term="Salamanca"/><category term="Samarkand"/><category term="Samarqand"/><category term="San Antonio"/><category term="San Jose"/><category term="Santorella T."/><category term="Sarmiento I."/><category term="Savannah"/><category term="Scenario"/><category term="Schreiber F.R."/><category term="Sendai"/><category term="Sharjah"/><category term="Shilin"/><category term="Sindhupalchok"/><category term="Skopje"/><category term="Sliema"/><category term="Songpa-gu"/><category term="Stevenson R.L."/><category term="Sukhbaatar"/><category term="Swarup V."/><category term="Swift J."/><category term="Syjuco M."/><category term="Tacloban"/><category term="Tagbilaran"/><category term="Takeo"/><category term="Talisay"/><category term="Theater Mogul"/><category term="Thua Thien-Hue"/><category term="Tolkien J.R.R."/><category term="Umm al-Quwain"/><category term="Uusimaa"/><category term="Valletta"/><category term="Vang Vieng"/><category term="Venice"/><category term="Vienna"/><category term="Vivo R.S."/><category term="Vonnegut K."/><category term="Weisberger L."/><category term="Werfen"/><category term="Woolf V."/><category term="Xinyi"/><category term="Xochimilco"/><category term="Xuanwu"/><category term="Xuhui"/><category term="Yamadera"/><category term="Yeongdoungpo-gu"/><category term="Yoder R."/><category term="Yongsan-gu"/><category term="Zafra J."/><category term="Zagreb"/><category term="Zambales"/><category term="Zhongsheng"/><title type='text'>ihcahieh: Depressed | Demented | Deranged</title><subtitle type='html'>How do you vanquish the enemy when the enemy is yourself?</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default?start-index=26&max-results=25'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>2701</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-1925420980837807685</id><published>2025-05-08T23:26:00.010+08:00</published><updated>2025-05-08T23:46:18.683+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hollywood"/><title type='text'>Sinners</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinners_(2025_film)" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuGZ_s53k1GdgtjFe-l2fqpiOH17vNsgW_FXJKHwQKspWBGsMsjG2EgqzMbRvMa3gDmnQBYpgq1Ux-k1TxW663tMzHislYGmqGiIbmIVl1zibCrYpxvzfQb75ML442EQuXzJAbjwnsbD_ZMYHk3caw82fpSdMnG8xFMOtxvwqCtiwiqWIx8PRCnI4YViJ/s1600/0123456889.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">When Little Sammie (Miles Caton) strums the guitar and sings the Blues everybody stops and listens, not just human beings but supernatural creatures too. He is reunited with his twin cousins Smoke (Michael B. Jordan) and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) who have just gone back to their native Mississippi after joining the war, the money they stole from the mafia in Chicago lining their pockets. The twins purchase a sawmill from a notoriously racist KKK member and turn their idea of converting the place into a juke joint into reality. They enlist the service of people they grew up with to staff the place during opening night which include: Smoke’s estranged wife Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) as cook; singer Pearline (Jayme Lawson); sharecropper Cornbread (Omar Miller) as bouncer; Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) as pianist; and Sammie himself as one of the musical acts; among others. When Stack’s ex Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) crashes the opening night party and is later bitten by, and turned into, a vampire, the partygoers must survive until sunrise if they want to get out of there alive.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I'm late to the party. Sinners has been playing in Philippine cinemas for two weeks now and I really had no intention of seeing it. What changed my mind was what seemed to be a coordinated social media marketing campaign which just felt sus and inorganic that it came across as gimmicky. After seeing some raves that seemed legit, I decided why not just watch it? I’m bored and I have time anyway. Good decision. To dismiss Sinners as merely another vampire movie seems like sacrilege because the film is definitely more than that. To label it as horror feels restrictive, because the film transcends genres. So what makes this movie so great, anyway?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">First stop, the music! That musical score from two-time Academy Award winner Ludwig Göransson! If the name rings a bell, it’s because he won his Best Original Score Oscars for Black Panther and Oppenheimer. The musical score is just so haunting and really sets the mood in scenes when an adrenaline rush is inevitable. It was so good it should have been given its own billing. Not to be overlooked are the sound effects that really sell the jump scares. Given the minimal CGI used despite the supernatural elements, the audio really works overtime to keep you at the edge of your seat.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">And then we go back to the music. Sinners pays homage to the rich musical heritage of the African-American community and gives you an idea on how genres like the Blues originated. You also get to listen to some Irish folk music thanks to the involvement of the Irish vampire who serves as the main villain. Since most of the plot unfolds during that night of the opening party, we get to watch some good musical performances. The musical component impressed me so much that I’ll probably check out the OST on Spotify and delve deeper into it later.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for themes, racism is the obvious one, although Sinners is really a lot of topics combined. The supernatural element could have been developed further, by that I mean the supernatural power and appeal of Sammie’s musical talent. The opening sequence seems to be alluding to some cultural and historical references but it’s just hard to find online. The vampire lore involved stays true to time-tested conventions: fatal sunlight, garlic, silver, wooden stake, holy water; not being able to enter a venue without being invited in. While Coogler does not add to the vampire narrative, he does respect their already established world in cinema.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The mid-credits scene is not really separate from the rest of the movie and comes across as more of an epilogue. It tackles the theme of immortality as is common in vampire stories and also offers us a glimpse of Sammie in his 60’s, which is a good thing because it feels like the character’s arc has been completed. The two characters who end up paying him a visit could have their own spinoff and I’d eagerly watch. Coogler has a lot of room to explore various subplots even more and perhaps the best way to do that is via streaming with several episodes and seasons to enchant us even more.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7joulECTx_U" width="320" youtube-src-id="7joulECTx_U"></iframe></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/1925420980837807685/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/05/sinners.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/1925420980837807685'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/1925420980837807685'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/05/sinners.html' title='Sinners'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicuGZ_s53k1GdgtjFe-l2fqpiOH17vNsgW_FXJKHwQKspWBGsMsjG2EgqzMbRvMa3gDmnQBYpgq1Ux-k1TxW663tMzHislYGmqGiIbmIVl1zibCrYpxvzfQb75ML442EQuXzJAbjwnsbD_ZMYHk3caw82fpSdMnG8xFMOtxvwqCtiwiqWIx8PRCnI4YViJ/s72-c/0123456889.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-5982415929568682371</id><published>2025-05-02T23:10:00.000+08:00</published><updated>2025-05-05T13:06:00.032+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Anonymous"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Philippine"/><title type='text'>Ibong Adarna</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibong_Adarna" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdGRyDhWjiLY4S7t7sthLPMxMCvxui4YMjyRCcnjv6AIi2OKufFJ7RRwUGievCjDylqEByFLfSS9trbYxUm82qg7Spu5RI8yx22svT0OV8pBIzL6jOJHSVC0ir54hrf5zapdvlUP3_NTKhcZCYlx9zu0BGk2jUrfPkP1VVeXksQo0cK1AcTmvOnkwedW6/s1600/1234567789.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Ang kaharian ng Berbanya ay pinamumunuan ng isang haring nagngangalang Fernando kasama ang kanyang asawang si Valeriana. Tatlo ang anak ng dalawa. Ang panganay ay si Pedro. Pangalawa si Diego. At si Juan naman ang bunso na siya ring pinakatangi ng hari. Isang araw ay magigising ang hari sa isang bangungot kung saan papaslangin ang kanyang natatanging bunso na si Juan. Dahil dito ay lulubha ang lagay ng hari at mararatay sa sakit. Ayon sa alamat ay tanging ang awit lamang ng maalamat na Ibong Adarna ang makapagpapagaling sa hari kung kaya’t ipadadala niya ang panganay na si Pedro upang hulihin ito at susundan ni Diego. Hindi magtatagumpay ang dalawa sapagkat mahahalina sila sa himig ng Ibong Adarna at mapapasailalim sa sumpa nito kung saan ang lahat ng maiiputan ng ibon ay magiging bato. Labag man sa damdamin ay pahihintulutan ng hari ang bunso upang isakatuparan ang balak. Magtagumpay kaya ang tinatanging anak?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Sapilitan ang pagbasa sa Ibong Adarna sa lahat ng mag-aaral na nasa unang baitang ng mataas na paaralan sa bansa. Ang masama rito ay tila hindi naman talaga pinahahalagahan ang akdang ito ng mga batang mambabasa. Ito rin ang naramdaman ko noon kung kaya’t masasabi ko na lubos na maayos ang pagbabasa ko ngayon at masasabi ko rin na naunawaan ko ng mahusay ang akda sa pangalawang pagbasa na ito. Higit na nakatulong ang mga tala at saloobin ni Virgilio Almario na kasama sa aklat na aking binili. Mahusay ang mga paliwanag niya ukol sa balangkas ng salaysay na ito kaya naman madaling maunawaan.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Ang paraan ng pagsulat sa Ibong Adarna ay hango sa tinatawag nilang Korido na isang uri ng tula kung saan may apat na tig-walong pantig ang bawat saknong. Dahil dito ay madaling basahin ang akda sapagkat maiikli lamang ang bawat saknong kahit na 1034 lahat ito sa kabuuan. Ang maaring magpahirap sa mambabasa ay ang mga salita na sadyang malalim na Tagalog na akma naman sa panahon ng pagkakalimbag ng akda pati na rin ang mga hiram na salita galing sa Kastila na noong mga panahong iyon ay nagsisimula nang palitan ang mga katagang Tagalog sa pang-araw araw na wika.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Marahil ang hindi ko labis naibigan sa Ibong Adarna ay ang pagkakahimay-himay nito sa apat na kabanata kung saan ang pinakaunang kabanata lamang ang talagang may kinalaman sa Ibong Adarna. Ang sumunod na tatlong kabanata ay tila ba pagpapahaba na lamang sa mga pakikipagsapalaran ni Don Juan. Kung uusisain pa ngang maigi, tila ba inuulit ulit lamang ang mga salaysay sa bawat kabanata kung saan iniba iba lang talaga ang mga sangkap. Gayunpaman, ang katapusan ay magkakatulad din naman. Kumbaga sa Teleserye, nagdagdag lang ng mga bagong tauhan sa mga sumunod na kabanata upang madugtungan pa ang akda.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Ang pinakanatuwa talaga ako sa pagbasa nito ay ang mga kuru-kuro ni Almario. Sa kanya ko nalaman na mayroon palang talaan ng mga uri ng ganitong salaysay mula sa iba’t-ibang bansa kung saan ay makikita na tila iisa lamang ang kanilang mga balanghay. Dahil dito ay tila ba nais ko biglang magbasa pa tungkol dito upang mapalalim pa ang aking kaalaman sa panitikan. Nakatutuwa ring matuklasan na ang alamat ng isang ibong may kapangyarihan ay karaniwan sa iba’t-ibang bansa at kabihasnan. Marahil ay talagang ganoon na lang talaga ang pagkamangha ng mga tao sa iba’t ibang dako ng daigdig sa mga maalamat na ibon na ito.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Ang nakikita ko lang na kabiguan ng Ibong Adarna ay ang hindi malinaw na pinagmulan nito. Ito ba ay masasabi natin na likas na akdang Pilipino? Kung ganoon, bakit tila nasa Europa lahat ang mga pook na nabanggit? Ginaya lamang ba ito sa mga dalang salaysay at alamat ng mga dayuhan na sumakop sa bansa? Sa kadahilanang ito ay hindi rin talaga mabuo ang aking paghanga sa Ibong Adarna kahit na malaki pa rin ang aking paghanga sa akda dahil kahit paano ay nabigyan tayo nito ng sulyap sa uri ng wika na gamit ng ating mga ninuno sa mga panahong iyon.</span></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/5982415929568682371/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/05/ibong-adarna.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/5982415929568682371'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/5982415929568682371'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/05/ibong-adarna.html' title='Ibong Adarna'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWdGRyDhWjiLY4S7t7sthLPMxMCvxui4YMjyRCcnjv6AIi2OKufFJ7RRwUGievCjDylqEByFLfSS9trbYxUm82qg7Spu5RI8yx22svT0OV8pBIzL6jOJHSVC0ir54hrf5zapdvlUP3_NTKhcZCYlx9zu0BGk2jUrfPkP1VVeXksQo0cK1AcTmvOnkwedW6/s72-c/1234567789.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-4430753270086727153</id><published>2025-05-01T13:05:00.027+08:00</published><updated>2025-05-05T13:19:42.037+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Balagtas F."/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Philippine"/><title type='text'>Florante at Laura</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florante_at_Laura" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvSl0cAwuBkaC-bom49-ukVdU-OHrWZ4G2PvNPS995w0ljGlKTyduQ0bhNoz6JQsET44yiwv4vGwIAaWrdO-bnLPxHsw_vFyvsxaQBBjL7kdbJv9kSONTsRyaS8ErJhXN4QWCiY-MpH6ml0gvLW7aISVfOAbKOCRTsm-xjgVHcPQmIjKA6UfKfujSvcojd/s1600/57346708%20(1).jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Nagmumuni-muni ang anak ni Briseo at Floresca na si Florante sa gitna ng gubat matapos itong ipatapon ng kanyang masigasig na kaaway na si Adolfo na sadyang matindi ang inggit at galit sa kanya. Hindi lamang siya ipinatapon nito, inagaw din nito ang kaharian ng ama ni Florante at pati na rin ang kanyang sinisinta na si Laura. Sa gubat ay matatagpuan siya ni Aladin na tagapagmana naman ng kaharian ng Persya at naipit din sa katulad na bagsik ng tadhana. Ang ama ni Aladin na si Ali-Adab ang kanyang kalaban hindi lamang sa kaharian kundi na rin sa puso ng kanyang iniibig na si Flerida. Ang pagtatagpo ng dapat sana ay magkaaway na sina Florante at Aladin ay magiging daan upang magtulungan ang dalawa na makabalik sa kani-kanilang kaharian at gapiin ang kani-kanilang mga sariling kalaban, isang pag-aaklas upang mapalaya ang kanya-kanyang bayan at mabawi ang pag-ibig ng kanilang mga iniirog.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Kung ihahambing sa Ibong Adarna, labis na mahaba ang bawat taludtod ng Florante at Laura na binubuo ng labing dalawa sa halip na walong pantig. Magkatulad naman na tig-apat ang saknong ng dalawang tula na ito. Marahil ay ito ang dahilan kung kaya’t di hamak na maikli ang Florante at Laura na mayroon lamang 399 na saknong, di gaya ng Ibong Adarna na may kabuuang 1034. Gayunpaman, ganap na magkaiba ang karanasan ko sa pagbabasa ng dalawang tula na ito. Hindi ganoon kalinaw ang dating sa akin ng pagsasalaysay ng Florante at Laura at pakiwari ko ay dahil ito sa galing ni Balagtas sa pagsusulat nito.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Bakit naman hindi magiging malinaw ang pagkakaunawa kung maganda naman ang pagkakasulat? Kung ihahambing sa Ibong Adarna, ang labing dalawang haba ng mga pantig sa bawat taludtod ay naging daan upang talagang maipahiwatig ni Balagtas ng buong-buo ang bawat bugso ng damdamin ng bawat tauhan. Sa aking palagay ay ito ang naging dahilan kung bakit tila ba nalunod ako sa kanyang mga salita, tugma at talinghaga na sa kadulu-duluhan ay ninamnam ko na lamang ang mga ito at nakalimutan ko na may salaysay pala ng buhay na nagaganap dito.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Ito rin ang isa sa talagang pumukaw sa aking pansin, kung paanong sa dinami-rami ng mga taludtod na babasahin mo sa tulang ito ay tila ba ang bagal ng daloy ng pagsasalaysay. Karamihan sa bawat saknong ay pagpapalawig lamang ng nararamdaman ni Florante at ni Aladin, isang pagsusumamo hindi lamang sa sangkalibutan ngunit sa iyo rin bilang mambabasa na tila ba talagang nais kang hatakin, kung maari lamang, sa kaloob-looban ng kanilang katauhan upang iyong matuklasan ang sadyang malalakas na damdamin na sa kanila ay nagpapasakit sa kasalukuyan.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Ito rin marahil ang isa sa aking hindi inaasahan, na parang umiikot lamang kay Aladin at Florante ang buong pagsasalaysay. Lumabas man sila Laura at Flerida sa huli, tila hindi naman sila nabigyan ng kaukulang pansin at para bang nakilala lamang natin silang dalawa batay sa pagsasalaysay ng dalawang lalaking tauhan. Dito na papasok ang pananaw ukol sa buhay ng manunulat na si Francisco Balagtas na isinulat ang tulang ito bilang pagpipighati sa kanyang pagkakakulong habang ang kanyang sinisinta na si Maria Asuncion Rivera ay mag-aasawa na ng iba.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Kung ito ang magiging batayan ay masasabi natin na kahanga-hanga hindi lamang ang kakayahan ni Balagtas bilang isang Makata kundi na rin pati na ang kanyang kaalaman ukol sa mga alamat na Griyego na talaga namang nakakalat sa tulang ito na hitik sa mga pagbanggit sa mga tauhan mula sa mga nasabing alamat na maaring ikalito ng mambabasa na hindi sila kilala. Kaya marahil ay mainam na rin na sa ikalawang baitang ng mataas na paaralan ito sapilitang ipinababasa sa mga mag-aaral habang natutuklasan pa lang nila ang mga tauhan na mga nababanggit sa kanilang pakikipagsapalaran sa panitikan.</span></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/4430753270086727153/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/05/florante-at-laura.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/4430753270086727153'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/4430753270086727153'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/05/florante-at-laura.html' title='Florante at Laura'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvSl0cAwuBkaC-bom49-ukVdU-OHrWZ4G2PvNPS995w0ljGlKTyduQ0bhNoz6JQsET44yiwv4vGwIAaWrdO-bnLPxHsw_vFyvsxaQBBjL7kdbJv9kSONTsRyaS8ErJhXN4QWCiY-MpH6ml0gvLW7aISVfOAbKOCRTsm-xjgVHcPQmIjKA6UfKfujSvcojd/s72-c/57346708%20(1).jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-1288716201647407725</id><published>2025-04-30T14:55:00.007+08:00</published><updated>2025-05-01T10:56:40.766+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hollywood"/><title type='text'>Thunderbolts*</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolts*" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWOIchBizONIbvxft3to1ndcIFqb60IbK_VMFTFCTuYUpZnXiBLoZ_Q8X3kcYRYPtFsK3yVYrFxpbbh8yuhsRIwZqPU9sbZJy9Y8HyqtqFDFxrdfJ8TRbmkiGOoxdKeNFfO5097DvJqhlgVP9_HOOghx6u7kBs_1PfLmLVtfv79Lim7ZFpCytGoEL_7pu/s1600/1234567890.jfif" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) is having a full-on existential crisis which she tries to drown out by being busy with work. She pays her adoptive father Alexei/Red Guardian (David Harbour) a visit but he seems to be in a rut himself. When she is sent on one final mission to an OXE Group laboratory on top of a plateau at the middle of a desert, she ends up in a skirmish with Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Antonia Dreykov/Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and a John Doe named Bob (Lewis Pullman). They soon figure out that it has all been a plan hatched by now CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) who is under investigation at Congress and in a rush to get rid of all loose ends that could serve as evidence against her, which includes them. Little does she know that one human experiment of her secret Sentry project survived and will soon wreak havoc in New York city. In the absence of the Avengers, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) takes the initiative to form a group to serve as a deterrent, but will they be enough?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">If you want a brief summary, then we can simply say that Thunderbolts* is a crossover between Yelena Belova’s existential crisis and Sentry’s origin story. The overarching argument is that everyone feels alone but there’s always a choice to find your tribe so you can be either miserable or achieve great things together. In the narrower perspective of the MCU, all of these dynamics are useful in forming a new group for future films in the franchise. In the greater scheme of things, though, this film is a reminder that you’re not alone. While you are the only one who can defeat your depression, having people around you while doing so does help.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I must admit that there was one scene that made me emotional, which is rare for a Marvel feature except maybe for Spider-Man: No Way Home, even though that one was basically nostalgia-driven. 35 films in and the MCU has served us a smorgasbord of themes and expositions, but this is the very first time they are zeroing in on mental health. I sat there amused by how the character of Sentry himself has been utilized as a personification of existential dread, on how humans have a propensity for feeling awesome and invincible one moment only to devolve into a swirling blackhole of emptiness the next, a void nothing could ever fill.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Yelena’s midlife crisis has been overused as the main selling point of the trailers so that was already a given, but I wasn’t prepared for the many layers of tackling existential crisis that Thunderbolts* ends up offering. There was even a point when I forgot I was watching an MCU film because it started to feel like a two-hour mental health awareness campaign. Like, damn, the MCU can be entertaining AND deep when they want to, no? The main battle occurs inside Bob’s head, and the visuals just do a stellar job in giving you an incoherent, albeit creative, look at what depression could look like through moving images and sound.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">There are no cameo appearances from the rest of the MCU, even though Sam Wilson is mentioned and alluded to as having friction with this particular team. There are two post credits scenes. The mid-credits scene is short and inconsequential, typical of MCU humor that does not contribute anything to the plot, even though it serves as an indication that this new group of “heroes” is not as popular or well-received as their predecessors despite all the PR. The end credits scene connects directly to what I suppose will be the ending of Fantastic Four: First Steps, and offers a glimpse of how Doomsday might play out.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Overall, Thunderbolts* is entertaining. The fight choreography is not half-baked. Pugh’s Yelena serves as the emotional core of the story and we can say that she defo ate and left no crumbs. The dynamics among the members of the group is palpable and, thus, enjoyable to watch, while the developing relationship between Yelena and Bob is reminiscent of Natasha’s and Banner’s in The Avengers. The gap between powers and abilities is once again so lopsided when it comes to the big bad, but this film handles and uses it as a plot device better than in the previous films where such villains just served as disposable one-time threats.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-sAOWhvheK8" width="320" youtube-src-id="-sAOWhvheK8"></iframe></div></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/1288716201647407725/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/04/thunderbolts.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/1288716201647407725'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/1288716201647407725'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/04/thunderbolts.html' title='Thunderbolts*'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVWOIchBizONIbvxft3to1ndcIFqb60IbK_VMFTFCTuYUpZnXiBLoZ_Q8X3kcYRYPtFsK3yVYrFxpbbh8yuhsRIwZqPU9sbZJy9Y8HyqtqFDFxrdfJ8TRbmkiGOoxdKeNFfO5097DvJqhlgVP9_HOOghx6u7kBs_1PfLmLVtfv79Lim7ZFpCytGoEL_7pu/s72-c/1234567890.jfif" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-5181005263319168032</id><published>2025-04-28T12:46:00.005+08:00</published><updated>2025-04-28T12:55:46.390+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Almero J.O."/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Philippine"/><title type='text'>Isang Dekadang Resty</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57467777-isang-dekadang-resty" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUhwcuDnN0NcpwczNJYq62wk3_tCujwWcg91XF_DjujbBL4r37gUwofdl847HNXXG2AEYQAwyVqlCJSwUHpuU95DrMUqUcfm_UIjzY3B8cn5OijB03wvx53Det881VhiPz_3H4qmIvemCLShX4-WkOKefmXSHXEFGmyu-NCDmZOgL7N2Tm5NWoqg04-wz/s1600/Screenshot_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Sa simula ay anim na taong gulang si Restituto Dimaculangan na kilala sa palayaw na Resty ng kanyang mga kamag-anak at mga kaibigan. Silang dalawa lamang ng inang si Aling Tonya ang laging magkasama sa maliit nilang tahanan gawang ang kanyang ama ay laging dumadayo sa mga malalayong pook bilang manggagawa. Bagamat paminsan minsan lang siya makita ng anak ay malapit pa rin naman ang loob ng dalawa sa isa’t-isa ngunit ang ina talaga ni Resty ang talagang karamay niya. Isang araw ay maglalaho na lamang ang ina at mag-iiwan ng sulat sa anak. Ito ang magiging dahilan ng paglaki ni Resty sa bahay ng kanyang lola kasama ang nakatatandang kapatid na babae ng ina. Dito sa bagong liblib na barangay lalaki si Resty at mamumulat sa mga katotohanan ng buhay, pagkakaibigan, pag-ibig at pati na rin ang halaga ng pakikisama sa mga kadugo hanggang siya ay magdiwang ng kanyang ika-labing anim na kaarawan.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Kung tutuusin ay wala naman talagang kakaiba sa akdang ito ni Jov Ortua Almero. Ang mga pangyayari sa talambuhay ni Resty ay nasaksihan na rin naman natin sa mga paulit-ulit na paksa na tinatalakay sa mga palabas at iba pang mga akda kahit na sa anong wika pa ang mga ito. Ang paraan ng pagsasalaysay ay ang tinatawag nilang “Slice of Life” sa wikang Ingles kung saan ang iyong matutunghayan ay mga pangkaraniwang pangyayari sa pang-araw araw na pamumuhay ng pangunahing tauhan. Gayunpaman ay nakapupukaw pa rin ng pansin ang pag-unlad ng katauhan ni Resty mula siya ay anim na taong gulang hanggang magtapos ang aklat paglipas ng sampung taon.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Hindi mahirap unawain ang panunulat ng may-akda. Sadyang payak ang kanyang pamamaraan ng paglalahad ng talambuhay ni Resty kaya naman nakaaaliw din ang pagbabasa nito. Tila ba kaibigan mo lang ang may-akda at inyong pinaguusapan ang buhay ng isang kakilala ninyo. Mayroong ganitong dating ang aklat na ito kaya kahit na tila ba wala naman gaanong nangyayari ay nais mo pa ring ituloy ang pagbabasa sapagkat nais mo pa rin malaman kung ano ba ang kahahantungan ng buhay ni Resty.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Ang pagsasalaysay ay halos hango lamang sa sariling pananaw ni Resty ngunit paminsan minsan ay lumilipat din ang may-akda sa pananaw ng iba pang mga tao sa paligid ng pangunahing tauhan. Dahil sampung taon ang agwat ng simula at pagtatapos ng aklat ay makikita mo talaga bilang mambabasa ang paghulma sa isip at katauhan ni Resty habang siya ay lumalaki. Marami rin siyang baon na karanasan na magbibigay daan sa maraming tanong kung paano kaya niya susuungin ang buhay sa pagtatapos niya sa mataas na paaralan.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Sa totoo lang, kung dudugtungan man ng may-akda ang salaysay na ito malamang ay babasahin ko pa rin dahil nais kong malaman kung ano ang kahihinatnan ni Resty sa buhay lalo pa’t ang kapanahunang sakop sa gitna ng pagiging labing-anim na taong gulang at dalawampu’t anim ay masasabi rin nating pinaka abala at pinakamaraming bagong karanasan na talagang humuhubog sa katauhan ng isang tao. Magiging guro kaya siya gaya ng nais ng kanyang ina? Mababali kaya niya ang sumpa ng kahirapan upang makaangat sa buhay?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Maari rin nating sabihin na ang akdang ito ay isa sa mga tinatawag nila sa wikang Ingles na “Coming of Age Story”. Dahil dito ay iba-iba rin ang magiging pananaw ng mambabasa na nakabatay sa kanyang kasalukuyang katayuan sa buhay. Kung ang mambabasa ay bata pa, mauunawaan niya ang talambuhay ni Resty mula sa mata ng isang wala pang muwang sa daigdig. Kung ang mambabasa naman ay may katandaan na, malamang ay dadalhin siya ng pagbabasa sa kaibuturan ng kanyang mga alalala noong siya ay bata pa at kasabay nito ay mauunawaan din niya ng lubos ang akda mula sa pananaw ng mga nakatatandang tauhan, maliwanag na pag-unawa sa mga katotohanan ng buhay na mahirap minsan tanggapin ngunit kailangan.</span></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/5181005263319168032/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/04/isang-dekadang-resty.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/5181005263319168032'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/5181005263319168032'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/04/isang-dekadang-resty.html' title='Isang Dekadang Resty'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikUhwcuDnN0NcpwczNJYq62wk3_tCujwWcg91XF_DjujbBL4r37gUwofdl847HNXXG2AEYQAwyVqlCJSwUHpuU95DrMUqUcfm_UIjzY3B8cn5OijB03wvx53Det881VhiPz_3H4qmIvemCLShX4-WkOKefmXSHXEFGmyu-NCDmZOgL7N2Tm5NWoqg04-wz/s72-c/Screenshot_1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-8848688057539980361</id><published>2025-04-24T15:50:00.005+08:00</published><updated>2025-04-24T15:50:54.975+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="British"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Shakespeare W."/><title type='text'>Romeo and Juliet</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_and_Juliet" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidh3BJbu95kqQueoaONj7GTUTQC2tGeTN0TUtLOcuXORG7XOgzMSqPbkzW-AFJd_FkVIjdPAYoDpb8FhO1j8olZiQ4cOBroeQY_zI9lBLFkYoVojekr9fm8aeyQipJOW8OF1FgtBVFAcwlb4CEMLKtxE1tNIMQKff2OjOnNfmk0p33g1AFNbqZwUCmwvGl/s1600/Screenshot_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Once upon a time in Verona there lived two star-crossed lovers belonging to feuding families. Romeo is a Montague who gatecrashes a party thrown by rival clan the Capulets. Upon seeing the Capulet’s young daughter Juliet, Romeo falls in love at first sight and the two flirt with each other. One thing leads to another and the young lovers end up seeking help from Friar Lawrence to have them wed in secret. Unfortunately, fate has something different in store for the newlyweds as Romeo gets implicated in the murder of Juliet’s cousin Tybalt and is consequently banished from the realm. At the same time, Juliet’s father, knowing nothing about her secret marriage, arranges to give her hand to a kinsman of the Prince of Verona, a young noble named Paris. Juliet once again turns to the friar for help. The friar, well versed in herbology, concocts a sleeping potion and hatches a plan so the two lovers could elope. Will lady luck be on their side this time around?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">And so here we are, reading the prototype of prototypes when it comes to young lovers whom destiny just loves to play tricks on. How many novels, films, soap operas, Facebook/Instagram dramas, and real life romantic tragedies have you borne witness to that mimic the storyline of what is considered to be as Shakespeare’s most popular play? I’d love to give you a number but I already lost count. The most recent iteration of this play that I’ve watched was the Connor/Zegler version on Broadway last year. I did not enjoy that, unfortunately. It was simply too avant garde for my taste. The play in written form, though, reading for the first time, I did appreciate.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Perhaps I have the notes to thank for this? All of the Shakespeare plays I have read so far just hover above a hundred pages in terms of length, so I was surprised to find out that Romeo and Juliet has a whopping 280 in total! And then I discovered that in this particular Collins edition, more than half of that page count accounts for the accompanying notes. Since the layout is that of the text on your right and the corresponding notes to the left, one can easily get a quick explanation or insight, from the style of language used, clarification of the meaning when it comes to word choice, as well as some socio-political commentary.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">And I guess that’s the reason why I managed to appreciate the narrative as a whole, because I wasn’t lost half of the time or plain bored from all the rhyming and alliteration. Perhaps another source of amusement is the wealth of relentless puns brought about by a cast of characters that are damn serious about word play. Shakespeare being fond of puns has always been an ubiquitous comment when one mentions his name, and I’ve never really appreciated any of it until I read Romeo and Juliet, because this play is just teeming with puns at almost every page. Again, the notes help a lot to clarify the difference in meaning, since this was written more than four centuries ago!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for the storyline, I understand the appeal back in the day. Contrived as some of the plot points might be, they are strategically placed to leave you in shock and awe. The reason why no Romeo and Juliet reimagining, whether direct or indirect, could give you a shocking experience anymore nowadays is because we have already been desensitized by the storyline, which has been rehashed ad nauseam, from Hollywood to your very own local TV station’s lineup of evening telenovelas. And yet even Shakespeare’s play is not that original, given how he took inspiration from the prevalent tragedies of his day and prior. The guy is lucky because it was his version that really stood the test of time.</span></div></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/8848688057539980361/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/04/romeo-and-juliet.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8848688057539980361'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8848688057539980361'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/04/romeo-and-juliet.html' title='Romeo and Juliet'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidh3BJbu95kqQueoaONj7GTUTQC2tGeTN0TUtLOcuXORG7XOgzMSqPbkzW-AFJd_FkVIjdPAYoDpb8FhO1j8olZiQ4cOBroeQY_zI9lBLFkYoVojekr9fm8aeyQipJOW8OF1FgtBVFAcwlb4CEMLKtxE1tNIMQKff2OjOnNfmk0p33g1AFNbqZwUCmwvGl/s72-c/Screenshot_1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-5711907638634508940</id><published>2025-04-01T19:57:00.014+08:00</published><updated>2025-05-06T20:42:31.811+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Latin American"/><title type='text'>Ainda Estou Aqui</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Still_Here_(2024_film)" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHlzBtncMUk2H_g0HN7ohVZk7GQ_PukbcHAteLgH68DU6xw0cTBoCpRihm00wNFC5bVwwCEsKjv9_KP0aiJ602mDD7gCBmUZgOszfHqWW569KyFAc4HmdPChhlxoU4dc3MPTxXbN43TEfUSpbBF4d8FQ7mn5yp_kw2SzF2YzveDfKL0knj4HcYIBshWik/s1600/1234567890.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></span><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) spends much of 1970 as a family man living an idyllic beachfront life at Leblon in Rio de Janeiro. He used to be a congressman but was one of the political casualties of the 1964 coup d'état. When the Swiss ambassador is kidnapped, worry permeates through Paiva’s social circles, and the horror comes true when he is arrested one night at the family home, never to be seen again. His wife Eunice (Fernanda Torres) and one of their daughters Eliana (Luiza Kosovski) are also taken into custody before being released days later. As if dealing with the loss of her husband were not hard enough, Eunice faces the grim prospect of raising their five children alone, all while never surrendering the fight to hold the government accountable for what happened not just to her husband but also to the many victims of political persecution during Brazil’s darkest moments.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Films like I’m Still Here are hard to watch because the experience is tantamount to the truth staring you in the eye, grabbing you by the hair, slapping you over and over again, and then asking you what you are going to do about it. For most of us, we really won’t be doing anything. We feel sad for two hours at the cinema, get out of there, and move on with our lives. For those who are closer to the horror, though, either through families or friends who fell prey to such abuses of power, it is necessary that these stories be told, as a constant reminder of the atrocities that mankind, our very own species, is capable of as far as power is concerned.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">If the purpose of history is for us to learn from it so we could eradicate societal ills such as violence, abuse of power, dictatorships, and the like, then wouldn’t it be safe to say that we have failed and will continue doing so? 2025 years after Christ and more than double those thousands of years after the very first civilizations flourished on this planet, all you have to do is look at any specific decade in the 5000+ years of the history of civilization and you’ll find out that these societal ills have always been there, and still are, in one form or another. What if all of these are just an inalienable part of the human experience?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Fernanda Torres is only the second actress from Brazil to ever be nominated for an Oscar Best Actress award; also just the second overall in a Portuguese speaking role. The first was Fernanda Montenegro almost three decades ago in the film Central do Brasil which was also directed by Walter Salles. Fun fact? Fernanda Montenegro is Fernanda Torres’ mother, and she also appears in this movie. I was among those who were surprised when Torres secured the much-coveted fifth slot in her Oscar category WITHOUT any precursor nominations. My interest was piqued. After finally getting to watch I’m Still Here, now I understand why.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Lest we forget to acknowledge, I’m Still Here is based on real-life events and people, adapted from the novel of the same name by Paiva’s son. Reading about her life and the horrors she had to face makes you admire the tenacity a human being could muster, right after losing faith in humanity because of the atrocities that led to that very condition. Torres embodies that tenacity, but what makes your jaw drop to the floor is how she balances this with a silent vulnerability, strange bedfellows that feed on each other when a person goes through tough times. If you are not convinced, then just wait for the dead dog scene and the ice cream shop scene later on to see how she can create a flurry of emotions without saying a word.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Overall, watching I’m Still Here has also been an educational experience. It had me reading up on the dictatorship in Brazil which roughly coincided with the one we had in the Philippines. Perhaps this is the reason why everything felt familiar despite the two countries being halfway across the world from one another. These dictatorships and their modus operandi just follow similar patterns and cycles of systematic abuse through monopoly of state sponsored violence. Once again, it’s a hard truth to digest, but ever timely and relevant even more so now when the world seems to be swinging once again to the other side of the political pendulum.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_NzqP0jmk3o" width="320" youtube-src-id="_NzqP0jmk3o"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/5711907638634508940/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/04/ainda-estou-aqui.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/5711907638634508940'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/5711907638634508940'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/04/ainda-estou-aqui.html' title='Ainda Estou Aqui'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfHlzBtncMUk2H_g0HN7ohVZk7GQ_PukbcHAteLgH68DU6xw0cTBoCpRihm00wNFC5bVwwCEsKjv9_KP0aiJ602mDD7gCBmUZgOszfHqWW569KyFAc4HmdPChhlxoU4dc3MPTxXbN43TEfUSpbBF4d8FQ7mn5yp_kw2SzF2YzveDfKL0knj4HcYIBshWik/s72-c/1234567890.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-3138024559295228198</id><published>2025-03-30T20:50:00.008+08:00</published><updated>2025-03-30T21:04:34.294+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="9 Works Theatrical"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>Liwanag Sa Dilim (9 Works Theatrical)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/03/02/the-sunday-times/arts-awake/rico-blancos-liwanag-sa-dilim-is-now-a-musical/2065367" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg10H2pawc3P0tlETBx3aq-6WwXyY4Ab9g2pg_fweEGh6lRUexVP8b7up406zdVSYhKBr1jkftKADo9Lb3Uw60HnsFEWx3E00XONFh09M0OBzK_e95dmqTSBd-LTjkz-oNil5hkilSdHXGiRq6Rdk0OivVG-uYBpcoI2-LhODftS5MjzfbQuigo78S2QjoT/s1600/123456789.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Elesi (Anthony Rosaldo) becomes an orphan once again with the death of both of his adoptive parents, sparking more frustration and curiosity within him regarding his biological parentage. When he is given a necklace and a small propeller toy with a green light, both tagged as the only items he had on him when he was found as a child, he is later swept into a time travel frenzy taking him back to the 1800’s, in the fictional world of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. There he meets Crisostomo Ibarra (Vien King) and his fiance Maria Clara (Alexa Ilacad) as well as the crazy lady of the town Sisa (Rita Daniela). As Elesi is fascinated by his new timeline, he decides to stay put and befriend his new acquaintances. He also discovers a few more secrets along the way with the help of his time travel device, including one that might just give him answers about the missing parents he has been searching for.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Liwanag Sa Dilim’s poster does not give away anything about the premise of this musical. If anything, it’s just a cramped group of headshots with goth makeup. Is this going to be an emo play or something? I had no idea. I simply bought a ticket and went in blind, which ended up being a good thing because it meant I had no expectations whatsoever. When the time travel plot device was introduced, I was amused. Take note that the total runtime is 2 hours and 45 minutes with another 15 minute intermission wedged somewhere in between. Plot development is rather slow burn, but payoff is gratifying once everything comes together in the second half.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">A bit of disappointment came over me when we were given glimpses of the different timelines the protagonist could visit, and then he settled in a particular one. Maybe because this work of Rizal has been getting some kind of resurgence lately in popular culture so I honestly thought that Liwanag Sa Dilim would just parrot a popular one that just finished its run on TV a few years back. Luckily, the playwright took full advantage of the time travel element that you just end up in a wild ride. This musical is long and can be dragging yet even so, it still manages to give you an open ending that just leaves you speculating even hours later.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Much of the comedy is based on fish-out-of-water tropes, given the difference in timeline and the awkward situations the characters end up in because of such circumstances. Most of these are accomplished through playing around with language, with a generous smattering of Spanish and English used either educationally or for comedic effect. To be honest, this is one of my favorite aspects of the play not just because of its humor but also because it tends to map out the colorful history of languages in this country as well as their interaction with one another, like some sort of abbreviated linguistic history in stage form.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I haven’t seen a 9 Works Theatrical production for a while. A sure thing is they always make good casting decisions, though. Every part of the ensemble can sing, the only hitch having to do with audio quality which is not really their fault. Everyone can dance. All good! As for standouts, Rita Daniela was a pleasant surprise for me. I am always amused when mainstream actors cross over to the theater, and even more so when they prove that they can go toe to toe with regulars there. In Daniela’s case, every doubt was put to rest when she opened her mouth the first time to sing. That’s a whole musical theater voice right there!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">In the end, my only complaint about Liwanag Sa Dilim is how some of the songs just felt shoehorned in some sequences, but then again this is one common pitfall of jukebox musicals that can’t be totally avoided. If anything, I was amazed by Rico Blanco’s impressive discography given how this musical feels like a summary of his songs in the last three decades or so, many of them ubiquitous during their time: Kisapmata, 214, Kung Ayaw Mo Wag Mo, Himala, You’ll Be Safe Here, Liwanag Sa Dilim, and even the theme song of now defunct newscast Bandila, among others. It was a good trip down memory lane, used in aid of an intriguing storyline that just tickles your imagination.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e5qj-FfSIw8" width="320" youtube-src-id="e5qj-FfSIw8"></iframe></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/3138024559295228198/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/liwanag-sa-dilim-9-works-theatrical.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/3138024559295228198'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/3138024559295228198'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/liwanag-sa-dilim-9-works-theatrical.html' title='Liwanag Sa Dilim (9 Works Theatrical)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg10H2pawc3P0tlETBx3aq-6WwXyY4Ab9g2pg_fweEGh6lRUexVP8b7up406zdVSYhKBr1jkftKADo9Lb3Uw60HnsFEWx3E00XONFh09M0OBzK_e95dmqTSBd-LTjkz-oNil5hkilSdHXGiRq6Rdk0OivVG-uYBpcoI2-LhODftS5MjzfbQuigo78S2QjoT/s72-c/123456789.jpeg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-1052989656274666715</id><published>2025-03-29T12:11:00.008+08:00</published><updated>2025-04-21T19:05:30.030+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="British"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Wells H.G."/><title type='text'>The War of the Worlds</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulSqBG8J-IOVXZwQaIaAYcfLt6gYYMzUTCZRz3yQjSyrwocr0OzBuufjK7bWDpncvDEld4ufClmenapUqWwYkbcDUoW0vb-kuq7ryeyQ-ndkgT8_k_L1CgqkRFYO2LthY9gbeL7sq0xcHNmHhTn512IDAplc0CxSchlNzGprGXnRUMSQgPD0ZSMU6oNUc/s1600/Screenshot_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">An extraterrestrial object falls somewhere in Britain, causing curiosity among the locals. The thing turns out to be a cylinder launched from Mars and as its lid slowly rotates as if being opened from the inside, a Martian emerges and struggles to literally find its footing on Earth’s radically different gravitational pull. As humans crowd the area, they are decimated by the alien’s heat ray. Panic ensues and an unnamed narrator flees with his wife to another town where he leaves her so he can go back to their home and return the dog cart they borrowed while escaping. There he finds Martian tripod machines wreaking havoc with poisonous black smoke. The narrator seeks refuge along with an artilleryman and, later, a curate. Meanwhile, his brother attempts to flee the country by securing a ticket to cross the channel to mainland Europe, but hindered by the continuous Martian attack and a human opposition that is rapidly getting decimated.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">One thing I always find amusing when reading novels written a hundred or more years ago is the difference in the use of words. Queer is a good example of a word whose meaning has totally evolved in the last few centuries. In The War of the Worlds, the word “ejaculate” is used twice, which based on the context does not really mean what we are quick to think it should mean. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s childish, but in this sense the word doesn’t mean anything other than interjecting or saying something quickly. The mental images in the brain as you imagine the scenes, though, make everything unintentionally funny.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Compared to Wells’ other novel The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds is definitely more exciting. The Time Machine was just too short and the style of storytelling felt like a whirlwind of montages through different eras of our planet’s evolution. Perhaps the idea was to match the experience of the protagonist to your confusion as a reader. In The War of the Worlds, Wells utilizes his almost 200 pages of literary real estate by really diving into the frame of mind of the characters in those surreal moments of trying to survive an alien invasion. As such, the novel has no boring parts because you feel as though you’re part of all the action.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">If you are looking for parallels in cinema, then look no further than the A Quiet Place franchise. Both are first contact narratives where the aliens do not prove to be as friendly as we’d like them to be. The obvious difference is in the audio component which is a crucial part of those movies’ storylines. As for The War of the Worlds, obviously the book is at the mercy of your imagination. If you want an audio-visual version, then I believe a movie adaptation starring Tom Cruise was released in 2005.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Given how this novel was published in 1898, perhaps we can say that this is one of the early prototypes for the modern first contact narrative. What happens when aliens land on our planet? That’s basically the question that these stories answer. I guess Wells is also responsible for the not so aesthetically pleasing visuals of Martians who are always depicted as ugly and not at all humanoid like us, which makes sense because this is the sci-fi/horror genre after all. Having aliens portrayed as close to us humans as possible would just make it more like a psychological thriller than anything.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for themes, Wells seemed clear about his intention for The War of the Worlds to be about imperialism. At the height of Britain’s global adventurism and the problematic colonialism it has left behind, this novel does a good job in trying to appeal to the conscience of Britons back in the day, by reversing the circumstances and having them conquered and subjugated as opposed to what their monarchy and government were doing. Of course, politics aside, you can always just read and interpret this storyline as a simple invasion premise, applicable not only to countries but to our species as a whole.</span></div></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/1052989656274666715/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-war-of-worlds.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/1052989656274666715'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/1052989656274666715'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-war-of-worlds.html' title='The War of the Worlds'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhulSqBG8J-IOVXZwQaIaAYcfLt6gYYMzUTCZRz3yQjSyrwocr0OzBuufjK7bWDpncvDEld4ufClmenapUqWwYkbcDUoW0vb-kuq7ryeyQ-ndkgT8_k_L1CgqkRFYO2LthY9gbeL7sq0xcHNmHhTn512IDAplc0CxSchlNzGprGXnRUMSQgPD0ZSMU6oNUc/s72-c/Screenshot_1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-4931268946717111408</id><published>2025-03-28T14:12:00.011+08:00</published><updated>2025-04-18T22:02:31.377+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="British"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Shakespeare W."/><title type='text'>Richard II</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_II_(play)" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoe_w5Rozv70l6z_lvKXYBvftA0_xaKN8xIErfWHDSD8WcdsBaaMp48syPfMpyULak6AwnxdZmlJOmEwPTb1sk7wq3hMX5BhKuh5RUcQHKkUvdvSs4jLk2LLxdbhWPIPZas3ojIW__q4Va3q6sVguNfAoRSH3URRmjj5Fy1K93wAclkbvOvO2YmDTQ_dlV/s1600/Screenshot_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Richard II, reigning king of England, mediates between the noble Thomas Mowbray and his own cousin Henry Bolingbroke. The squabble has something to do with high treason, Henry accusing Mowbray of stealing funds from the English army. Furthermore, the former is also accusing the latter of the murder of his uncle, even though his father John of Gaunt believes Richard II himself had a hand in his death. It is decided that the verdict will be reached via Trial by Battle, but the duel is cut short by Richard II when he just arbitrarily opts for the banishment of both men from his realm. As the king busies himself with the war in Ireland, Henry sneaks back into the country, invades the northern coast, and persuades the Duke of York who was left as caretaker by Richard II in his absence to join his cause. Turning the tide of public opinion against the king, Henry succeeds in stripping Richard II of his mandate and succeeds him as Henry IV.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">This one is okay. Shakespeare segues to historical fiction, and I’ve always had this inexplicable fascination with the history of the British monarchy. Of course, it would be naive to believe that this play is historically accurate. There should be enough room left for artistic license. In any case, I haven’t really reached the Plantagenets yet in my readings so this serves as some sort of informal introduction. Perhaps another thing that made me like this play, aside from the chaotic royal drama, is the fact that it has a sequel which I also have on my bookshelf: Henry IV Parts 1 and 2. So that is something to look forward to!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Even then, I guess another thing that led to a more enjoyable read were the longer verses that do not necessarily rhyme. I am simply not a big fan of poetry used for exposition. I find it too flowery. It bores me and makes the exposition of the plot tedious, in my opinion. Richard II is not immune to that but it has more variety in terms of styles of speech used, and that diversity is a breath of fresh air after a series of Shakespearean plays I’ve read that are just too verbose and, thus, rather annoying to read.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">It also helps that the narrative explores the theme of monarchies and divine mandate. While petty princes and princesses still live among us, some actual royalty and others celebutards put on a pedestal by their legions of fanatics, it is always interesting to explore the power dynamics involved. Power is power but without legitimacy, it does not transform into authority. What is it with us, humans, that through the course of the history of our species, we have always and still tend to concentrate power and worship to an individual or a select few? Perhaps this is just an innate glitch that all of us are programmed to repeat every time?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Anyway, the beauty in Richard II as a narrative is the very contrast between Richard II’s divine mandate, AKA I am your king because God wills it so blah blah blah, versus future Henry IV’s power through authority meaning he is king because the people or, at least his faction in this case, says that he is legitimately so. Divine mandate was the prototype of all this royal authority hullabaloo all the way back to the ancient times. The transition from Richard II to Henry IV just demonstrates the shift from absolute monarchy to a monarchy that is more amenable to input from the masses, basically paving the path for eventual democracy, centuries later.</span></div></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/4931268946717111408/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/richard-ii.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/4931268946717111408'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/4931268946717111408'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/richard-ii.html' title='Richard II'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoe_w5Rozv70l6z_lvKXYBvftA0_xaKN8xIErfWHDSD8WcdsBaaMp48syPfMpyULak6AwnxdZmlJOmEwPTb1sk7wq3hMX5BhKuh5RUcQHKkUvdvSs4jLk2LLxdbhWPIPZas3ojIW__q4Va3q6sVguNfAoRSH3URRmjj5Fy1K93wAclkbvOvO2YmDTQ_dlV/s72-c/Screenshot_1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-2992013321983469013</id><published>2025-03-27T10:12:00.005+08:00</published><updated>2025-04-14T22:57:07.630+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="British"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Shakespeare W."/><title type='text'>The Taming of the Shrew</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Taming_of_the_Shrew" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5Cif5wM_w5y9DvN1s8K4Pgarr_DLmZJIeESKqxS2vWafLbxwDN8INL2IRs_eOZPiR2-Eati44NXDaPBEA4tqSE-TRR3F7Z7jorexXmYazVfac0crseeYdtjOf0cXlalhpNZ2ur3t2CribShjBwdbOscxPEg6-TpGFADs_z0H5hQt1Qyfn7AbFKyQQMhD/s1600/Screenshot_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Baptista Minola, a lord in Padua, has two daughters. While the younger one, Bianca, is the epitome of everything a man should like in a woman, the elder sister Katherina is outspoken and strong-willed, which is a major turn off for potential suitors. Baptista has declared that her younger daughter will not be married before the elder, which leads some of Bianca’s prospective suitors to hatch a plan to find someone that would agree to marry Katherina. Hortensio and Gremio, eager to win Bianca’s hand in marriage, recruits Petruchio of Verona to woo Katherina, the titular shrew that needs to be tamed. Through various plans and gaslighting, Katherina and Petruchio end up married while Bianca ends up with a totally different man – university student Lucentio, while Hortensio eventually gets married to some random widow. In the end, Petruchio is admired for being successful in his quest to tame the shrew.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I did not enjoy this either. So I guess that means our bro William is now 2-2 in my book. Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice were ok for me for different reasons. As You Like It and The Taming of the Shrew are meh at best. The theme of deceit seems to be a common theme. Maybe I do not like these two novels because they are too rom-com for my taste? Apparently, that late 90’s flick 10 Things I Hate About You, which I’ve never watched, is an adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. While 1999 is too far detached from 2025 as far as political correctness is concerned, I still am wondering how they tweaked that film to tone down the misogyny.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">But is The Taming of the Shrew really misogynistic? This seems to be the popular choice for many a literary critic to be the crux of their analysis. After all, the premise of the entire play is that of taming a woman who is, perhaps, best defined as too avant-garde for her time, back in an era when women were expected to be docile, submissive, and a mere accessory to their husbands. Katherina obviously did not fit the norm. The main debate here is whether Shakespeare intended the play to be a veiled critique of the patriarchy or did he intend it to be taken literally, espousing that very misogyny which was the norm during the time?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I couldn’t tell for sure because I read the play with too much indifference accompanied by boredom. All I can remember is how Katharina was subjugated too many times, which to a reader from our day and age comes across as downright sexist. The play even ends with Petruchio getting lots of kudos from his “bros” for “taming his shrew.” In the end, the argument is whether Shakespeare was a feminist who came up with a brilliant play presented as veiled criticism through wit and sarcasm, or one of the bros who helped perpetuate such a misogynistic norm and thus doing the “bros” a favor? To be honest, I couldn’t care less.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Perhaps what is interesting is the vague ending which happens to be Katherina’s monologue, the longest in this play. The monologue, if taken literally, is a surrender to her husband. In short, patriarchy won. Katherina is now resigned to her role. But is she, really? This is where the second interpretation comes in, in which Katherina’s monologue is actually sarcastic. In short, the shrew was not really tamed, but rather she is playing all of them by letting them believe that she has surrendered when in fact, she has not. Of course, all of this is subjective, but one can’t deny that the second interpretation makes it all the more interesting.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Of course there are also those who would argue that Katherina and Petruchio are actually in love, so all of the argument is moot. Given how narratives like this seem so outdated yet still prevalent in modern day relationships, I don’t really see what the fuss is all about. The game of seduction never goes out of style, no matter how some of the methods do not seem right. Whether The Taming of the Shrew served the ideals of patriarchy back in Shakespeare’s day, perhaps the most important thing for the modern era is to make sure that it is presented as a cautionary tale, more than anything else.</span></div></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/2992013321983469013/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-taming-of-shrew.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2992013321983469013'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2992013321983469013'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-taming-of-shrew.html' title='The Taming of the Shrew'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5Cif5wM_w5y9DvN1s8K4Pgarr_DLmZJIeESKqxS2vWafLbxwDN8INL2IRs_eOZPiR2-Eati44NXDaPBEA4tqSE-TRR3F7Z7jorexXmYazVfac0crseeYdtjOf0cXlalhpNZ2ur3t2CribShjBwdbOscxPEg6-TpGFADs_z0H5hQt1Qyfn7AbFKyQQMhD/s72-c/Screenshot_1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-6729299911103499604</id><published>2025-03-26T22:46:00.000+08:00</published><updated>2025-04-14T10:18:39.646+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="British"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Shakespeare W."/><title type='text'>As You Like It</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/As_You_Like_It" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtT5pFsKxZGUbpnSni5659lXLmVzY2626__gs9zN4FS-s7QCeCv1jXtWmXLuamsLWvnsYRpg-9jZK5Ixe58ZvZHVEdabg1ObSKVC3r0YP1CMH-vKEYHfWgPp1JqIRZvYuaxDfupKN-wJeqTbTKS_m29ixFrNacfuGe9R_5nHuKffMsUv2PBvWS6Ut6aP5j/s1600/511EiUb5aQL._SL1040_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Duke Frederick usurps the kingdom from his older brother Duke Senior, who then goes into exile at the Forest of Arden. Duke Senior’s daughter Rosalind remains in the kingdom at the behest of her cousin Celia, Frederick’s daughter, given how the two young ladies are inseparable and more like sisters. Threatened by his niece’s popularity with the masses, Frederick gives Rosalind an ultimatum to leave the kingdom or face execution. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to bear being apart from her cousin, Celia hatches a plan to flee with Rosalind, which they do, along with the court jester. The trio end up living a pastoral life at the forest where they meet Orlando, the youngest son of Sir Rowland de Boys, who fell in love at first sight with Rosalind when he saw her in court before she was banished. Disguised as men, Rosalind and Celia interact with shepherds and Orlando himself, using the advantage of their disguise to provoke from them an honest opinion of various matters.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">So this is the prototype of the girl-disguised-as-a-boy trope in Hollywood? The last one I remember starred Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum which was when? 2006? Damn, I’m old. Well, if I’m old, what of Shakespeare then? The play was said to be published in the early 1600’s, with the play itself first being staged earlier, prior to the turn of that century. And so I guess we can safely assume that this whole gender bending protagonist schtick has always had its allure. Wait a minute, doesn’t Mulan have the same storyline? But Shakespeare couldn’t have preceded that. Oh well, maybe this fascination with girls dressing up as boys is just one of the few things the east and the west both agree upon.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As You Like It is supposed to be a comedy but I just found it hard to laugh at anything. After all, this was written more than 400 years ago. Sense of humor changes over time, so I will just dismiss this as a brand of comedy lost in translation between generations. What I am talking about here is not the style of storytelling because this premise hasn’t really gone out of style through the centuries. What I am referring to is the language used. I just couldn’t pinpoint the sarcasm in the dialogues. It’s either I’m too dense to be able to or I was just bored most of the time while I was reading to even bother.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">This is just my third Shakespeare play. Hamlet, I enjoyed, because it tackled mental health and somehow stepped into philosophical territory. The Merchant of Venice, I did not particularly enjoy, but it evoked a strong reaction because the protagonists were assholes while the antagonist ended up getting my sympathy. As You Like It does not really strike me as a fun read. Maybe I will enjoy it more onstage than on the page? Reading up on analyses, the most common observation seems to simply zero in on the play being a “pastoral” which, unfortunately, does not appeal to me at all.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Well, at least that is one aspect that can be tackled. Much of the kudos has to do with the urban and rural divide; the idealistic versus the realistic; the city (kingdom, in this regard) versus the country. The play also seems popular among circles that focus on gender studies. It is interesting to note that Rosalind was definitely portrayed by a guy back in Shakespeare’s day, so one can only wonder how confusing that might have been, to be a guy portraying a girl pretending to be a guy pretending to be a girl. I guess that’s one of the funny complexities that eventually got lost in modern adaptations.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">And last but not the least, apparently this is where the popular age old adage which goes something like, “All the world's a stage, and all of us are merely players.” came from. Other than that, As You Like It kind of bored me. And so that’s 2-1 for William in my book. Let’s see if his other works will change my mind down the line. Or should we just leave the guy in peace in the 1600's?</span></div></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/6729299911103499604/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/as-you-like-it.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6729299911103499604'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/6729299911103499604'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/as-you-like-it.html' title='As You Like It'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtT5pFsKxZGUbpnSni5659lXLmVzY2626__gs9zN4FS-s7QCeCv1jXtWmXLuamsLWvnsYRpg-9jZK5Ixe58ZvZHVEdabg1ObSKVC3r0YP1CMH-vKEYHfWgPp1JqIRZvYuaxDfupKN-wJeqTbTKS_m29ixFrNacfuGe9R_5nHuKffMsUv2PBvWS6Ut6aP5j/s72-c/511EiUb5aQL._SL1040_.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-5953096063373570514</id><published>2025-03-25T17:49:00.000+08:00</published><updated>2025-04-14T10:18:19.071+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="British"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Stevenson R.L."/><title type='text'>The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Case_of_Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLNy1p5aDPhUVvUFcHhbAEAZ5Evk7jxO8rA1GgqtuIVRnOMuczk19HziMrB6AkHrZ7ytOJk5NLgf0e8pfZ_37gfEFHFUta_8h5ETqn1-TxjgORplUG-7Mynp7zvJnFgWeFD4fZJsEjE65ScYOzpNkBFs_UaAjLOAgNwb2rrEIfc9fGgCQL_qA94-GH_wU/s1600/Screenshot_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Lawyer Gabriel John Utterson is taking a stroll with his cousin Richard Enfield when they pass by an unkempt house door which brings back some unpleasant memories. Enfield recalls how he witnessed a strange looking man assaulting a girl in the area one evening. His name was Edward Hyde. When Enfield interfered and forced him to pay up, he went to the house of Utterson’s friend, doctor Henry Jekyll, who issued a cheque for damages. Later on, Jekyll talks to Utterson requesting him to name Hyde as the beneficiary of his last will and testament. Suspecting probable blackmail, Utterson commences a secret investigation, on his own, to figure out who Edward Hyde is and what is his role in Jekyll’s life. As Hyde figures in another murder investigation, this time of a prominent victim, Utterson races against time to protect his friend, but the clues lead to a shocking secret whose discovery he might not really be prepared for.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">This novella is short at just around 90 pages, so what I find really astonishing is how it has managed to worm its way into our collective consciousness through the decades. I know the premise thanks to pop culture. There is also a musical theater adaptation with one song that happens to be one of my go-to showtunes. Given all these, it’s hard to believe that I haven’t really read the book despite knowing much about the storyline. Since we already know that Jekyll and Hyde are one and the same, we can no longer rely on the twist to be a surprise. And so we try to reframe the story in a way that would still make reading enjoyable.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">One way of doing this is by reading the novel from a writer’s perspective. What are the red herrings that the author throws your way to avoid the early discovery of the plot twist? Whose perspectives does he employ to tell the story? How obvious is it that the two characters alluded to in the title are one and the same? In this regard, Stevenson relies on flashbacks and eventually resorts to a revelation that is epistolary in nature, accomplished through a letter that sheds light on all the mystery that we are trying to solve. The payoff is not that great since we already know the twist, but we still applaud the author’s way of storytelling.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Another way of deriving some satisfaction from reading this novella is to imagine how people back then, in the Victorian era, reacted to that plot twist. The storyline wouldn’t have been well-known back in the day so they probably had a genuinely shocked reaction when they finished reading the book. To those who might not be aware, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was published in 1886. It was a different time. Values were much more conservative and society was more uptight. After reading Stevenson’s brief biography, I can only assume how this novella served as a legit cathartic release for him.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Anyway, despite the novella being too short, Stevenson still managed to convincingly expound on the theme of duality when it comes to us human beings. There are always two sides of you, most of the time each being so much a polar opposite of the other that they might as well be two separate entities. Perhaps this is also one reason why The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde appears to have served as some sort of prototype, launching a string of novels exploring such duality, varying only in style and exposition. At the end of the day, everyone’s Jekyll has a Hyde in him that he strives to keep hidden, but very eager to break free.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">To wrap it all up, reading the novella made me ever more curious about the musical adaptation, which has been quite elusive. I just can’t find it anywhere! No Broadway revival in the last decade or so! My knowledge of it is limited to This Is The Moment, for reasons already stated a few paragraphs back. Now I am wondering what elements of the story did they tweak or add to come up with a full-blown musical from just 90 pages of source material!</span></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/5953096063373570514/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/5953096063373570514'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/5953096063373570514'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde.html' title='The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLNy1p5aDPhUVvUFcHhbAEAZ5Evk7jxO8rA1GgqtuIVRnOMuczk19HziMrB6AkHrZ7ytOJk5NLgf0e8pfZ_37gfEFHFUta_8h5ETqn1-TxjgORplUG-7Mynp7zvJnFgWeFD4fZJsEjE65ScYOzpNkBFs_UaAjLOAgNwb2rrEIfc9fGgCQL_qA94-GH_wU/s72-c/Screenshot_1.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-4405476877253134470</id><published>2025-03-24T22:07:00.015+08:00</published><updated>2025-03-29T13:49:11.498+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hollywood"/><title type='text'>Snow White (2025)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_(2025_film)" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72PDW94OtR60adUwznF6ag3HBa8VBeAGn7Dt7lsNQKB3D2uk7dYwtbbKSnhcxx1I2ul2DQeci2yU-uS2GVU4jaKp6Jx7EKDX6UZo0BC3_rpPPtLMJFsqTDEwDq0vo40pSarWIkBfYQP8KLz0JskBtlysaDYnpDh3O2XuQt9yKaZ3lTo6ebySsreXBiDTU/s1600/123456789.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The reigning monarchs of an unknown kingdom welcome their daughter and only child in the midst of a snowstorm and, thus, name her Snow White (Rachel Zegler). The princess is raised with benevolent values such as compassion for their subjects. Unfortunately, the queen falls ill and eventually passes away, leaving a door open to potential stepmothers. Enter a fair maiden who ends up as the Evil Queen (Gal Gadot). Obsessed with beauty and being hailed the fairest of them all, she regularly asks her enchanted mirror whether she is, indeed, the fairest. For the longest time, the answer is an undeniable YES, but as the princess grows up to be a fine young lady, the Queen’s title is usurped, prompting her to send her stepdaughter deep into the woods to be killed, if only the huntsman kept his word. Lost and confused, Snow White ends up at the humble abode of seven dwarves with varying personalities.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Disregarding all the negative publicity concerning the production and casting, Snow White is actually decent as far as Disney live action remakes go, and would probably fall right in the middle of the other live action renditions so far, should they be ranked. This musical follows the Disney formula to a tee, from song and dance numbers that scream Musical Theater to whimsical fairytale settings that are getting harder and harder to determine whether they are actual sets or just AI nowadays. It’s neither Wow nor Blah. Perhaps the most accurate description would be: MID.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">It is understandable for some Disney live action remakes to not be live action at all and be just a more convincing version of CGI. I mean, you can’t pluck a wild lion from some savannah and teach it to sing Hakuna Matata. For Disney IPs that involve characters that can be portrayed by real actors, though, there is no excuse. So why are the seven dwarves CGI? Why did Disney cave in to Peter Dinklage’s tantrum, he who was speaking from a position of privilege, instead of casting seven actors with dwarfism who rarely get the chance to get cast in anything? Why deny them the opportunity? This, for me, has been the deal-breaker all along.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As far as talent is concerned, there is no denying that Zegler has the trappings of a good acting career ahead of her. I’ve seen the girl on Broadway in the flesh. She can sing. She can act. She puts those talents to good use as Snow White, but there is just some certain essence of the original Disney character that she just doesn’t capture. Perhaps it is the naivety of the 1937 character that goes amiss? I am not a big fan of the character, but what I remember from all the pop culture references is that she was docile, easy to manipulate, a bit dumb, while Zegler’s Snow White somehow comes across as headstrong and argumentative.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for Gadot, the general consensus is that she can’t act. This movie doesn’t change that. The Evil Queen is one dimensional with no backstory to humanize her, meaning casting someone pretty with a regal stature should’ve been enough to give justice to the role. Gadot possesses both of those qualities, and that should have sufficed, yet somehow her wooden acting is just too evident to disregard. It doesn’t help that she has a song and dance number or two, which would’ve been epic in the hands of a legit triple threat. And then there’s also the case of Charlize Theron setting the bar too high for the character, a decade ago.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I am not familiar with Snow White’s discography so I don’t know which songs are classics and which are new. In any case, only two songs really stood out for me: 1) Whistle While You Work, because of all the whistling that syncs so well with the beat and lyrics; and 2) Waiting on a Wish, simply because it got some air time on social media closer to the film’s release date. Heigh-Ho failed to leave a good impression because the CGI dwarves felt so artificial. What could’ve been the breakout song here was the Evil Queen’s All Is Fair. As mentioned, though, Gadot butchered it. Sad. Could've been iconic.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iV46TJKL8cU" width="320" youtube-src-id="iV46TJKL8cU"></iframe></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/4405476877253134470/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/snow-white-2025.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/4405476877253134470'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/4405476877253134470'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/snow-white-2025.html' title='Snow White (2025)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh72PDW94OtR60adUwznF6ag3HBa8VBeAGn7Dt7lsNQKB3D2uk7dYwtbbKSnhcxx1I2ul2DQeci2yU-uS2GVU4jaKp6Jx7EKDX6UZo0BC3_rpPPtLMJFsqTDEwDq0vo40pSarWIkBfYQP8KLz0JskBtlysaDYnpDh3O2XuQt9yKaZ3lTo6ebySsreXBiDTU/s72-c/123456789.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-2022599853189756671</id><published>2025-03-23T10:19:00.021+08:00</published><updated>2025-03-25T11:29:51.743+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Tanghalang Pilipino"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>Kisapmata (Tanghalang Pilipino)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://theaterfansmanila.com/kisapmata-stage-adaptation-by-tanghalang-pilipino-opens-this-march/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJMa-lMyCPEW0mHE2je5el6wDtVEkonGEZ1dDfAdBj4ZQGVc8-CvifezDRAeIqjRZggB208iUq8SM1V6jAaKgHRNGqS8BSGgYc6riMEd3Ivgwx2mElB81VnqK9VE50J0AEGDpHjJN5LJ1XGFM_MaurVafLhcI6zjHdQRNfYxc8kinl_U7Z5ULw_1E-ZB6/s1600/123456789.png" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">When aspiring doctor Mila (Toni Go-Yadao) finds out that she is pregnant, she tells her mother Dely (Lhorvie Nuevo-Tadioan) right away, even though she is really hesitant to let her father know. Dadong (Jonathan Tadioan) is a retired police officer who runs his household under strict scrutiny, like Martial Law and house arrest combined. When the cat is out of the bag and Mila introduces Noel (Marco Viaña) to the family, everything seems to be going well. The two get married and agree, upon the insistence of Dadong, that they reside in the same house with them. What seems to be a harmless request turns out to be a power move from the patriarch to exert control on the newlyweds and manipulate the two to do his bidding anytime he wants them to, as long as they are under one roof. As tensions flare and patience runs thin, Mila and Noel hatch a plan for their escape, but will they succeed?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Based on the 1981 Mike de Leon film considered to be the one of the best Philippine cinema has ever produced and served as the local prototype for the psychological horror genre, this onstage rendition of Kisapmata offers the same storyline based on a true-to-life familicide incident immortalized on paper via Nick Joaquin’s The House on Zapote Street. Trigger warning: this play is R-16 and tackles controversial themes like incest, domestic violence, and an unhealthy dose of incredible gaslighting throughout its one hour and a half run. Watch at your own risk.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Anyone who has been to CCP’s Black Box Theater knows how small that theater and its stage are. You can’t really do much with such limited space, which is why in terms of production design Kisapmata has to make do with three sets of marble green benches that serve as all-around platforms. Actors resort to miming basic activities such as opening a door or answering the phone. More complicated actions such as falling down the stairs are made convincing through a combo of lighting and sound effects. Three panels that flash short texts indicate the setting for every scene. And then add the thrilling original score to up the ante when needed.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As far as psychological horror onstage is concerned, only one local production has ever captivated me so much that it remains in my subconscious even after a decade has passed: Wait Until Dark, which was part of Repertory Philippines’ 2014 season. That is why I’m glad to say that Kisapmata just joined the fun. I haven’t seen the film because I wasn’t born yet when it was released, so I really had no idea what to expect when I entered the theater. Suffice it to say that the incestuous undertones become immediately clear, subtly embedded in the dialogue and body language of the actors. It’s hard to watch and yet you can’t look away.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Jonathan Tadioan’s Dadong does not really look like the menacing type. If anything, his physicality suggests that of a gentle teddy bear who probably cracks endless dad jokes at family reunions. Add the soft spoken speaking voice, almost a belabored whisper, and you really don’t expect anything gross or unbecoming from this guy. And this is what makes him so effective as a villain. That mismatch between what his behavior shows and whatever deranged mindset he has in that head of his is simply terrifying. Perhaps this is why the gaslighting and manipulation hit differently with some sort of inexplicable intensity.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Tadioan gets solid support from his co-actors. Nuevo-Tadioan’s Dely is the epitome of the doormat housewife who has been subjected to abuse ad nauseam for the entirety of her married life that what’s left is just a shell of what the person used to be. She also doubles as a cryptic narrator whose one-liners just unsettle you. Viaña as Noel expresses pent-up rage and helplessness quite well, as the new addition to the family being driven crazy by his in-laws. Go-Yadao as Mila does a stellar portrayal of a woman trapped in a baffling duality of demeanor and mindset brought upon by her scarred upbringing.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Overall, I didn’t expect to be wowed, and yet here we are, wowed as hell. While its premise is disturbing, Tanghalang Pilipino’s Kisapmata is a testament to the heights Philippine theater can reach despite limitations in terms of production costs, a reminder that the local theater scene is indeed alive and kicking just waiting to be discovered by its audience.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CySXjn3reSo" width="320" youtube-src-id="CySXjn3reSo"></iframe></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/2022599853189756671/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/kisapmata-tanghalang-pilipino.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2022599853189756671'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2022599853189756671'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/kisapmata-tanghalang-pilipino.html' title='Kisapmata (Tanghalang Pilipino)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBJMa-lMyCPEW0mHE2je5el6wDtVEkonGEZ1dDfAdBj4ZQGVc8-CvifezDRAeIqjRZggB208iUq8SM1V6jAaKgHRNGqS8BSGgYc6riMEd3Ivgwx2mElB81VnqK9VE50J0AEGDpHjJN5LJ1XGFM_MaurVafLhcI6zjHdQRNfYxc8kinl_U7Z5ULw_1E-ZB6/s72-c/123456789.png" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-2139001679514129024</id><published>2025-03-22T22:11:00.016+08:00</published><updated>2025-03-25T10:18:50.651+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="PETA"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Theater"/><title type='text'>Anino sa Likod ng Buwan (PETA)</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/aninosalikodngbuwan/?locale=tl_PH" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBU9xoxVkJn5dK9YbPcl1OcFVzBnhiAREiq-1_nfDBUNhNZraJYw6KEVCBtMDWaXPxjP3IXgamFDoERUgaYeICSTu5rCEbtojzrjlezvI5KVyuEPDGTJ6HriidnIy_tEKH8pQHhlRvlwWVCFphKlGLdE8xjg3S5fu1kVc1NE-PeZgwFKsDiTa0JHuHqtiu/s1600/123456789.jfif" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Military man Joel (Martin del Rosario) befriends impoverished couple Emma (Elora Españo) and Nardo (Ross Pesigan) who are caught in the crossfire between the army and the rebels that they are pursuing on the mountains. The three spend late afternoons together at the couple’s hut, just playing cards and even having simple dinner together with what Emma can come up with from the occasional sardine tin can that Joel smuggles from their headquarters. The unlikely friendship becomes the talk of the town. For many, both parties seem to have something to gain from the unexpected camaraderie. They believe that Joel is suspecting the couple of being in cahoots with, if not being part of, the rebels themselves. What they do not know is that Joel and Emma are having an affair right under her husband’s nose. As feelings begin to develop, lines are blurred between mission and lust. In the end, who is really playing whom?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Much of the buzz that has been generated for the marketing of this play focused on the nudity, which is to be expected because this show doesn’t stop at full frontals, there is no shortage of sex scenes as well. The play opens with a nude shower scene. And then there’s a fellatio scene. Cunnilungus. Fingering. Dog style. Lots of torrid kissing. The only reason Anino sa Likod ng Buwan falls short of being classified as onstage porn is because the lighting director does a stellar job in hiding what needs to be obscured through light, illuminating just enough to sell the illusion of actual sexual acts being performed live onstage. So what is this play all about anyway?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The sex scenes are intense alright, but strip it off its titillating elements and what you end up with is a showcase of power dynamics depicted through sex. Why sex? The setting is a war-torn town. How else would you demonstrate the giving and taking of power than through intimacy? They could have opted for sheer violence but that would’ve been logistically hard to pull off onstage, not to mention will they be able to capture the audience’s attention by having the characters just shoot each other? That wouldn’t probably even last an hour. And so in the end, this is what we get. Is it disturbing, though? It depends on you.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Much of the intrigue in Anino sa Likod ng Buwan is trying to figure out who is really holding power, mostly between Joel and Emma. As the plot thickens and the twists start twisting, each character interaction makes it more and more difficult to determine their real motivations. Again, who is playing whom? This is where good acting comes in because as a theater actor, you need to sell your innocence, either genuine or fake, to an audience that is in the same room as you. No cinema magic! Given that intimate setting, the payoff is even more cathartic once you figure out what is&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">really</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">happening behind the façade that the characters are not showing upfront.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I’ve always regarded del Rosario as just one of those flavor of the month twinks as far as the mainstream is concerned. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him in any notable indie role so far, which is why his performance here comes across as a pleasant surprise, not due to the nudity, but rather because he has proven that he has the acting chops. It must be the pedo-stache but his Joel is reminiscent of the late Mark Gil during his glory days of being an onscreen villain in the 90’s. Whether you are watching lust/lovelorn Joel in the first half or his complete 180 in the second, you realize that the actor managed to fool you into believing him.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The same goes for Españo who would’ve carried this whole play on her shoulders had she not found a good acting partner. From Emma the headstrong who seems to know what she wants and what she needs to Emma the befuddled who ends up just as confused as we all are as to what she is really feeling inside. This duality in the acting and, in effect, this acting within the acting trying to persuade the acting partner and the audience, is really the highlight of Anino sa Likod ng Buwan. It’s an ambiguity of portrayal so good that even the actors manage to convince the audience that they themselves are not so sure about what the heck they are really trying to accomplish.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O_ensGBdy6E" width="320" youtube-src-id="O_ensGBdy6E"></iframe><br /></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/2139001679514129024/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/anino-sa-likod-ng-buwan-peta.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2139001679514129024'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2139001679514129024'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/anino-sa-likod-ng-buwan-peta.html' title='Anino sa Likod ng Buwan (PETA)'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBU9xoxVkJn5dK9YbPcl1OcFVzBnhiAREiq-1_nfDBUNhNZraJYw6KEVCBtMDWaXPxjP3IXgamFDoERUgaYeICSTu5rCEbtojzrjlezvI5KVyuEPDGTJ6HriidnIy_tEKH8pQHhlRvlwWVCFphKlGLdE8xjg3S5fu1kVc1NE-PeZgwFKsDiTa0JHuHqtiu/s72-c/123456789.jfif" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-331028630890497943</id><published>2025-03-16T20:48:00.007+08:00</published><updated>2025-03-16T23:07:35.846+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hollywood"/><title type='text'>Babygirl</title><content type='html'><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babygirl" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWJEVVzhUS_rwk5D3J0_TMwcOixmfUThHgB_4sqFNKBbZed3qc9OlKk74te18VsgRQGyfMpNCGooqdHF3PfBKKF8AaT5WIZlbFOWLtBxgaBs5Jsr66s3TgDFnAH8jvv9Fs-mPiDvU-bWbkKXLuNhwbVRomC39TeGttGBbOVauvC_zO6ZzbJrK4I1uzAtU/s1600/Babygirl_(film_poster).png" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">High-powered CEO Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman) has an enviable reputation in an industry that is primarily dominated by men. She has reached her current position by taking risks and leaving a mark in the computer automation market, at the helm of a company that serves as an innovator and leader in their field. Her husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas) is in the performing arts, serving as director of a theater group. Together with their two daughters, they seem to be the portrait of a happy family. Or so they thought. Romy has certain fantasies and sexual desires that are left unfulfilled by her husband, a gap that is later filled by a daring intern named Samuel (Harris Dickinson) who senses, early on, his mentor's eccentric quirk of craving to be told what to do. What unfolds between them is a game of power, of giving and taking. In the end, who will emerge victorious?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I recall a symphony of scandalized backlash to the tune of, “What the fvck is Nicole Kidman doing with her career?” when Babygirl was released. The criticism grew even more when she was awarded the Volpi Cup at Venice for the same performance. To be fair, erotic thrillers like this are no stranger to Kidman’s filmography. She has been portraying such roles since the heydays of her youth in Hollywood in the 90’s. And so we wonder, why are all of these critics crying now? What is so scandalous about Kidman’s Romy being fingered on screen multiple times by someone half her age? Are women in their 50’s not supposed to be having sex anymore?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Don’t ask me. I do not make the rules. Sex is an inalienable part of being a human being. Everyone is having sex. Your teenager is probably having sex. Perhaps your grandma is boinking some random grandpa at her care home. Or another grandma, who knows! The bottomline is: sex sells. And since it does, it is a valuable commodity that has to be regulated by those who are in power, whether politically or economically. We’ve heard countless narratives, whether true to life or fictional, about individuals who go crazy or commit crimes and immoral acts because of sex. This is why sex is often employed as a plot device to depict power dynamics.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for Babygirl, this very display of power dynamics is rather interesting. Sexual harassment and abuse are common in the workplace regardless which industry you belong to. Those who hold power can get away with it because those who don’t have the same power usually don’t have what it takes to defend themselves and, thus, just accept their being a victim. That position of power, usually the CEO’s, has always been reserved for men. In Babygirl, they switch the genders. This might be a long shot, but this particular subplot reminds you of a similar film released a few years ago: Cate Blanchett’s Tár.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The difference between Tár and Babygirl is Kidman never really got enough mileage for another Oscar best actress nomination outside of Venice. The narratives also diverge because while Lydia Tár was depicted as a legit abuser, Romy Mathis ended up being the victim despite wielding that same power, falling for her subordinate. Once again, it is an interesting view on how sex can be used as an effective equalizer. When it comes to your desires, sometimes you agree to give away the power you hold, momentarily, repeatedly, so you could fulfill those wild fantasies, regardless what position is.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">And so, the final verdict, is Babygirl worth it or is this just a sexualized older woman fantasy narrative that failed to secure a slot on PornHub? It depends on how you look at it. If you focus on the sex and dismiss the film as a mere excuse to indulge the sexual fantasies of an older demographic, then it will disappoint you. If you look beyond that, though, and treat the film as a case study on power dynamics through sex as an activity as well as through gender roles and expectations, then you will enjoy the film. Viewed from that perspective, the sex scenes even fade away as a mere plot device to prove a point.</span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-8Sx6U6Ou0Q" width="320" youtube-src-id="-8Sx6U6Ou0Q"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/331028630890497943/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/babygirl.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/331028630890497943'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/331028630890497943'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/babygirl.html' title='Babygirl'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGWJEVVzhUS_rwk5D3J0_TMwcOixmfUThHgB_4sqFNKBbZed3qc9OlKk74te18VsgRQGyfMpNCGooqdHF3PfBKKF8AaT5WIZlbFOWLtBxgaBs5Jsr66s3TgDFnAH8jvv9Fs-mPiDvU-bWbkKXLuNhwbVRomC39TeGttGBbOVauvC_zO6ZzbJrK4I1uzAtU/s72-c/Babygirl_(film_poster).png" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-2587389359721527089</id><published>2025-03-14T17:25:00.000+08:00</published><updated>2025-04-14T10:19:14.959+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="American"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Weisberger L."/><title type='text'>The Devil Wears Prada</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_Wears_Prada_%28novel%29" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSgTCFOsTIK_Xhxs52BpcKfJAkIV9_gGi_tsP3na5qestp92n-f6WohjluAQocZjPSM23u0UPa29ddJdb0FtvWLFCVLuYuvTZalkf0PQBfD6IKykF5qkmJZiDytPDOk1CcCb9FtEE_9xerFokuEl6X7BNt3e0RxdvWskuFwv95VmnxwqQZpvsmBpxhfcP3/s1600/123456789.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Fresh out of Brown, 23-year-old Andrea Sachs leaves the comfort of her home state and moves to Manhattan so she can begin her quest for a career in journalism. Her main goal is to work for The New Yorker, but prospects have been rather slim after she sends out her CV to dozens of companies but receives close to no interview callbacks. When she gets a call from Elias-Clark for a potential position at fashion magazine Runway, Andrea is reluctant but left without much of a choice. She eventually gets hired as the second assistant of Miranda Priestly, a British-born editor-in-chief, whose snooty demeanor and bad track record of emotional abuse of her subordinates should have been a glaring red flag. However, as first assistant Emily Charlton would like to say, “it’s a job a million girls would die for.” Add the assurance that a year at Runway means guaranteed recommendation from Miranda to whichever company a former employee would like to move to and Andy is convinced, not knowing that she might as well be working for the devil herself.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The novel was published in 2003 and the sticker on the front page of my copy says 2006. That means it’s been almost two decades since my first and only reading and that was when I was around 21, which was close to Andrea’s age. Surely, the change in perspective rereading the novel 20 years later as I approach my forties should be interesting. Unfortunately for Andrea, I still find her, in 2025, to be the same whiny little bitch she was in 2006. It doesn’t help that I don’t identify with her anymore, her becoming a mere surrogate for Gen-Z kids nowadays who have very different work ethics. The funny thing is, I don’t see myself in Miranda, either.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">If anything, I don’t remember abhorring Miranda that much 20 years ago. The way her character is written is so one-dimensional that you will end up just dismissing her as the mandatory caricaturish villain who is just there for plot development. After experiencing life and rereading two decades later, though, I see Miranda transforming into an amalgamation of each and every entitled asshole in power, either through political and/or economic means, that I have come to hate as of late: petty modern gods and goddesses upon whose whims the quality of our existence as a species heavily hinges.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">In this regard, I maintain my conclusion after the film came out that The Devil Wears Prada is one of the very few examples of cases where the movie was way better than the book. Aside from having the divine triumvirate of Streep/Hathaway/Blunt and the undeniable onscreen chemistry they shared, the film also made it a point to humanize Miranda by offering glimpses, no matter how rare, on why she was such an insufferable douchebag. That evokes some sympathy from the audience somehow, which is really lacking in the novel.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">In any case, douchebags don’t have gender. An asshole, regardless whether it belongs to a man or a woman or anyone who identifies with whichever letter or symbol in LGBTQIA++, is, at the end of the day, still an asshole. No amount of gender identification, no matter how radical, will deodorize the stink coming out of such an orifice. And that is why I still frown upon Miranda apologists who always point out that if Miranda were a man nobody would bat an eyelash. Perhaps this is where we have failed as a society, by condoning bad behavior to such a point that it is normalized, giving these entitled morons a free pass, and paving the way for institutionalized abuse.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for the book, my three-star rating doesn’t change. The fact that Weisberger has written half a dozen other novels and nothing came close to The Devil Wears Prada’s success is just proof that people read this novel not because it is a gem of literature, which it isn’t –for crying out loud, it comes across as a laundry list of rants from a petulant newbie who thinks the world owed her something– but rather because it made noise as some sort of roman à clef given how the author worked for Anna Wintour. In short, people read this for the scalding hot tea, and she was lucky enough that the material was picked up for a Hollywood adaptation. Otherwise, it's actually an annoying read.</span></div></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/2587389359721527089/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-devil-wears-prada.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2587389359721527089'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2587389359721527089'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-devil-wears-prada.html' title='The Devil Wears Prada'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSgTCFOsTIK_Xhxs52BpcKfJAkIV9_gGi_tsP3na5qestp92n-f6WohjluAQocZjPSM23u0UPa29ddJdb0FtvWLFCVLuYuvTZalkf0PQBfD6IKykF5qkmJZiDytPDOk1CcCb9FtEE_9xerFokuEl6X7BNt3e0RxdvWskuFwv95VmnxwqQZpvsmBpxhfcP3/s72-c/123456789.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-9122677367702071300</id><published>2025-03-13T21:37:00.000+08:00</published><updated>2025-04-14T10:19:05.552+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Dela Cruz K."/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Philippine"/><title type='text'>Antimarcos</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.ateneo.edu/features/2024/09/20/hot-press-antimarcos" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoe_JIrFXbE_yukvugtTTYJIg6vMcrsBQRDhqkHPt6DvVx3YX4Leyx71psuwRXQ2MBpcYa3BFvAzm_8ZFxDBtMud3dSExsvyEAx_1Klp2J_jxT8LktYaONAU18on0xdbqCshbGnf00lADANr7oUW_KmuupcTyCXvKIsx7U4ftNCkbNN5fFAZdkgNAFKlGJ/s1600/Antimarcos_Front%20Cover%20(1)_0.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">AYON SA PABALAT NG AKLAT: “Ika-23 taon ni KKK aka Kommander Kulas Korazon. Pagkagising, nalaman niyang nawawala pala ang kanyang puso, notebook, kasaysayan, atbp. Simula ito ng wakas ng simula ng kawasakan, kaliwa’t kanang gahasa at pagpaslang hanggang sa sarili niyang kamatayang walang-hanggan. Siya nawa.” AYON SA HUKOM NG CARLOS PALANCA AWARDS 2023 FOR LITERATURE: “Isang ambisyon na naisakatuparan ang Antimarcos: ang paggamit ng plataporma ng nobela para gawin ang lahat ng makakaya ng wika – sa iba’t ibang tono at istilo – at isulong ito para magbuwag ng mga hangganan ng genre, magbasag ng mga formula, at padaluyin at paliparin ang mga posibilidad ng kamalayan at imahinasyon sa malalim na kaalaman sa kasaysayan ng sining at panitikan at buhay, sa lawak ng mga espasyo at panahong sinagad at ginalugad, sa dulas at daloy kung saan muli’t muli, aliw at kabusugan ang pagbabasa. Hinuhudyat nito ang hugis, lawak, lalim, at tayog ng pagkukuwento ngayon at sa hinaharap. Kahanga-hanga!”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Bagamat Antimarcos ang pamagat ng aklat, tila ba dalawa hanggang tatlong pagkakataon lamang nabanggit ang ilang mga pangalan na may kaugnayan sa angkan na ito. Mahirap ipaliwanag ngunit ang akda na ito ay isang paghihimagsik. Hindi laban sa pamahalaan. Hindi kung kanino man. Ang aklat na ito ay paghihimagsik sa panitikan. Panitikan na sumasailalim sa ayos na sinang-ayunan ng lipunan. Panitikan na dapat ay may pangunahing tauhan, maayos na daloy ng mga pangyayari, atbp. Ang pagbabasa ng Antimarcos ay maihahalintulad sa pilit na pakikipag-usap sa isang lasing sa lansangan habang pauwi ka ng madaling araw. Maraming lumalabas sa kanyang bibig subalit walang may kaugnayan. Walang may saysay. Upang maipakita ng mabuti ang aking nais sabihin, ito ang ilang talata na galing sa akdang ito. Kayo na ang humusga:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">PAHINA 279: “KAMUTIN ANG NOO HANGGANG MAGDUGO NG DILAW NA NANA BIGLANG LUMISAN WALA MAN LANG PARAMDAM MABUTI NA ANG NAGKAKABISTUHAN MGA MATANG TAKSIL NAGBUBUNYAG NG TUNAY NA DAMDAMIN MAGHUNOS-DILI KA KABABAYAN ANG BALITA SA LOOB NG BATO AY HINDI PARA SA IYO MADALUMAT ANG TIYAK NA PAGDATAL NG DALUYONG BULAG AT BINGI ANG TILAOK NG TANDANG NAG-AABANG SA SINGKOPADONG HUDYAT NG PUNDIDONG ILAW SA TORENG TANSO MGA ALON NA NAGBAYBAY NG TADHANA NG PATING PATO AT PALAKA GUTOM ANG NAGHIHINTAY SA LAHAT NG BUTAS…”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">PAHINA 146: “umuulan ng nota / sexist at bading ang ulan / paano naman kaming mga tunay na lalake? // pag-abot ko ng rosas / hinablot mo ang braso ko sa dilim / at binate ng binate hanggang maging itlog / dalawa ngang nilaga, sabi ng dalaga / wala na, afritada na lang / huwag na lang, doon na lang ako sa kabila / doon po sa amin / ang puke’y kumakalansing / ang kalansay ay turat ng bangkay / ang p’wet ay bangko ng ebak / binangungot ka na naman kagabi / pero buhay ka pa ring hinayupak ka! / mabangis na tumatahol ang aso /&nbsp; sa estranghero na nangongolekta ng buto / ibabaon sa lupang banyaga / didiligan ng ihi, patatabain ng tae…”</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Hindi hinati-hati sa iba’t-ibang talata ang aklat. Ang kabuuan ng Antimarcos ay isang tuloy-tuloy na salaysay na tumatalon-talon sa iba’t-ibang uri ng panitikan. Minsan ay tula. Minsan ay maikling sanaysay. Kadalasan walang saysay. May dalawa lamang bahagi ang aklat kung saan mayroong pagkakahawig ng sanaysay na may matinong daloy. Isa rito ay pagsasalaysay ng buhay ng magkakaibigan ngunit ang mga ginagamit na salita ay hindi nakabatay sa kanilang tunay na kahulugan. Ang isa naman ay tila Screenplay ng palabas tungkol sa paghihimagsik ng KKK bago matapos ang panahon ng Kastila sa bansa.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Kung nais mong subukin ang iyong tiyaga sa pagbabasa ng mga salitang walang kaugnayan sa isa’t-isa at may panahon kang maaring sayangin at igugol sa 511 na pahina ng aklat na ito, e di basahin mo. Kung naghahanap ka rin ng uri ng panitikan na tinatawag nila na “Anti-novel” marahil ay maaliw ka sa aklat na ito. Kung hindi, malamang ay maiinis ka lang at maiisip na nagsayang ka lamang ng panahon. Ito yata lamang ang aklat na sinimulan ko na ayaw ko nang tapusin. Kumbaga, ito ay isang uri ng akda kung saan sinusubukan ng may-akda na buwagin ang hangganan ng panitikan. Kung kaya mahirap itong maunawaan at, marahil, ay hindi naman talaga kailangang unawain.</span></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/9122677367702071300/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/antimarcos.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/9122677367702071300'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/9122677367702071300'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/antimarcos.html' title='Antimarcos'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoe_JIrFXbE_yukvugtTTYJIg6vMcrsBQRDhqkHPt6DvVx3YX4Leyx71psuwRXQ2MBpcYa3BFvAzm_8ZFxDBtMud3dSExsvyEAx_1Klp2J_jxT8LktYaONAU18on0xdbqCshbGnf00lADANr7oUW_KmuupcTyCXvKIsx7U4ftNCkbNN5fFAZdkgNAFKlGJ/s72-c/Antimarcos_Front%20Cover%20(1)_0.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-7098651408690258503</id><published>2025-03-12T19:00:00.013+08:00</published><updated>2025-03-23T19:47:33.716+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Philippine"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Sarmiento I."/><title type='text'>Stray Cats</title><content type='html'>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/202125853-stray-cats" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhviWr0SODepYIE3jkhzNXoPH70nrtUrKaAZru9fG34BzZUPpK3EdVh6NwGxOkBFe7SVQCJRTsM5hsXvMKOhZuXjoEMrwyjkf5cZIeTzdTclp0NkVP6EyCs19DGutDsmtKByhZhSp_ppMQvOQLRIjNATXJqJwEsTYwV_tFqC-XuvCS2WoM1q1nrDNYiAbGy/s1600/123456789.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Teenager Elisa Paz lives a life of relative comfort belonging to an upper-middle class family that resides in a gated subdivision. Her best friend Raquel Madria is the daughter of the housemaid next door and attends the same private school she goes to thanks to a scholarship. When Raquel suddenly goes missing, her mother tells everyone that her daughter has been sent back home to Pampanga to take care of her ailing father. A speaking cat named Oscar Santos appears to Elisa and begs to disagree. She cannot believe her eyes and ears at first, but the feline actually does speak, and tells her that it saw Raquel get kidnapped by a man with a ponytail on board a grey sedan. Knowing that nobody will believe her without evidence aside from the testimony of a talking cat, Elisa investigates the matter on her own, not knowing that what she will discover is one of society’s many ills, far detached from the seemingly fairy tale life she is living.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I’ve always had a special kind of appreciation for writers of young adult fiction. It is one thing to write a whimsical story that can capture the attention of a teenager. And then there’s the magic of ambiguous writing style that when that same kid revisits the book a decade or two later, the words haven’t really changed at all and yet the focus shifts to the allegories and metaphors that the elements of fantasy did their best to conceal from the innocent mind of a child during first reading. In this regard, we might be able to consider Sarmiento as a good example of such an author, if only she went all in on world building, which she just didn’t do.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Yeah, yeah, I know. Stray Cats, more than anything else, is a social critique about child abduction and prostitution that once was, and maybe still is, rampant in the country. The issue with this is that the author already gave us a taste of fantasy. There is a talking cat, for crying out loud. This novel could have been double its actual length and it would’ve still been a fun read if only she expounded on those concepts and gave us more of the imagery of Philippine mythological creatures as allegories for the bad actors involved in the book. Reading this felt like having candy dangled in front of your face but never really giving it to you.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth comes to mind, despite being in a different medium altogether. You have a storyline that is just too delicate and painful to tackle literally, so you create a whole new fantasy world, which is usually just the product of the imagination of a child trying to deal with such harrowing realities, and then you blur the line between reality and fiction so well that your audience could no longer determine which is real and which is not. Stray Cats falls short of this expectation even though it is already blatantly stated on the text itself that Elisa might be grappling with mental health issues after all. Why not explore that further, no?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Another subversion of tropes for this novel, as far as young adult fiction is concerned, is the realistic ending. Now we applaud such guts to slap our younger readers with the harsh reality of life as early as in their teens, but this ending just paints a rather gloomy and open conclusion to the story. If you want your children to understand early on that they will not really get what they want in life most of the time, then this novel will be a good choice among options for reading materials. This choice of ending does not pose a lot of issues for mature readers, though, since we already know all of this anyway.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">In any case, Stray Cats is a good example of a novel written in Philippine English. It even comes with a short glossary of unique terms following the concluding chapter. There are even instances within the chapters themselves in which the author immediately throws in a follow-up explanation not just for certain words but also concepts unique to the Philippine setting. Since we are also taking a peek into the life of a middle class Filipino family, this is actually kind of educational as some sort of introduction to the Filipino middle class. The Fil-Am cousin character, Bettany, can easily serve as a surrogate for the non-Filipino reader.</span></div></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/7098651408690258503/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/stray-cats.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/7098651408690258503'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/7098651408690258503'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/stray-cats.html' title='Stray Cats'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhviWr0SODepYIE3jkhzNXoPH70nrtUrKaAZru9fG34BzZUPpK3EdVh6NwGxOkBFe7SVQCJRTsM5hsXvMKOhZuXjoEMrwyjkf5cZIeTzdTclp0NkVP6EyCs19DGutDsmtKByhZhSp_ppMQvOQLRIjNATXJqJwEsTYwV_tFqC-XuvCS2WoM1q1nrDNYiAbGy/s72-c/123456789.jpeg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-5750318069859693912</id><published>2025-03-11T21:34:00.013+08:00</published><updated>2025-03-18T21:53:37.105+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="British"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Ishiguro K."/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><title type='text'>An Artist of the Floating World</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Artist_of_the_Floating_World" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwdlJwnnRsK7_-0nnJFOVweGOSJiRUK2EinQYEg0ZKbgB5mkuQrp4v2Ss-1AJQArlllJ2K0PDOW4Sm0j_XbYIaXoUb5Ee4Pif2xoVtHb0lcwCRFJDLC_8G6HHIDv5uLTmteRiL8T2O-jct7qMaQMWnKwrzPPmB0gtYGH-esJvVeuact3uvmFSFfrabd2_S/s1600/18144266.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Masuji Ono has made a career in the arts and was revered both in his local community and in his industry for his body of creative work. Now retired, he seldom paints anymore and devotes his time reminiscing and trying to reconnect with his former colleagues. His older daughter Setsuko is married to Suichi. Ichiro is their son. The young boy is full of energy and visits his grandfather from time to time, puzzling the old man with his proclivity for western culture. Ono’s younger daughter Noriko almost failed to get married, and she feels as though her father’s past had something to do with the Miyakes canceling her wedding to Jiro the previous year. In any case, the crisis is averted as she eventually marries into the Saito family the following year. Given his involvement as a police informer during Imperial Japan’s war effort, Ono reflects on his life decisions as the country is ushered into a new age of democracy and capitalism.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">An Artist of the Floating World tends to be mentioned whenever you find a review for Ishiguro’s other more popular work The Remains of the Day. Published three years earlier, the former is obviously the prototype. The similarity lies in the premise of a man in the twilight of his life looking back to what he dedicated his entire existence to. While the setting varies, with one based in Britain and the other in Japan, both stories unfold based on wartime memories as well as their repercussions. Since both men deal with guilt, their narration might not really be an accurate retelling of what really occurred.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">In The Remains of the Day, you have a butler who worked for a British aristocrat that was a Nazi sympathizer. In An Artist of the Floating World, you have a painter who told on colleagues to the Japanese imperial police for “unpatriotic” activities. Much of both novels are first person accounts of an unreliable narrator who is telling only his side of the story, tainted by belief systems that have accompanied him all the way to old age. As such, both men try to justify their past actions as if trying hard to persuade you, the reader, until it dawns on you that who they are really trying to convince are themselves. Denial is a boomer, not a river, after all.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">You don’t have to be Japanese to relate to An Artist of the Floating World. Obviously, the narrative has an exotic local flavor but the storyline is all about guilt, which everyone can relate to. Reading stories about the elderly and how they look back at how they have lived their lives is always sobering, in an existential sense. After all, one thing that binds us all as humans is the fact, and knowledge thereof, that we are all going to die one day. Stories like this are like the literary equivalent of finishing a video game and watching the quick replay before the words GAME OVER appear and the screen fades to black.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">This is my fifth Ishiguro novel and so far I am enjoying his use of voice. It’s just different in each novel. Ono’s in An Artist of the Floating World is more human as opposed to the silted formal English the butler in The Remains of the Day employed due to his work. The effect is as if Ichiro was just a surrogate for us readers. It’s as if Ono is reminiscing like old people do and we are his grandchildren listening and wondering whether everything he is saying is legit or just senility at play. In fact, there is one scene where one of his daughters calls him out for his exaggeration of his contribution to the war and his resulting fall from grace because of it.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I also admire the way Ishiguro weaves in the non-confrontational style of communication in Asian households. There’s just so much beating around the bush! And by bush I mean both literally and figuratively because there is a scene where Ono is being indirectly berated by one of his daughters through a conversation about their garden, using the plants and the way he deals with them as subtle metaphors for his behavior and beliefs. There is also a clear generational divide between grandfather and grandson. As millennials who often play referee to these Boomers and Gen-Z kids, we can surely relate to the struggle.</span></div></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/5750318069859693912/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/an-artist-of-floating-world.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/5750318069859693912'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/5750318069859693912'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/an-artist-of-floating-world.html' title='An Artist of the Floating World'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwdlJwnnRsK7_-0nnJFOVweGOSJiRUK2EinQYEg0ZKbgB5mkuQrp4v2Ss-1AJQArlllJ2K0PDOW4Sm0j_XbYIaXoUb5Ee4Pif2xoVtHb0lcwCRFJDLC_8G6HHIDv5uLTmteRiL8T2O-jct7qMaQMWnKwrzPPmB0gtYGH-esJvVeuact3uvmFSFfrabd2_S/s72-c/18144266.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-9091611405750797467</id><published>2025-03-10T23:34:00.001+08:00</published><updated>2025-03-12T12:28:41.324+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Philippine"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Zafra J."/><title type='text'>The Age of Umbrage</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55542637-the-age-of-umbrage" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0J0B6iKizqvMVf9RrPIJOyWo4uU7IAMfprjMt32Ebxt-rVpNWgQs9rxTEJrPC5GQGRYwKgBCpfByiy2ddonAqFOwC8nwH24rIwxzvaYpx3GtMUG-NkGg5gzU22d-KIowZTgpvjtEvVZ2Ds6rIbmV9_cTsDL6hil5I7WLYl6ykvnrd48wQ5hMOQSmSNb5/s1600/55542637.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Guadalupe de Leon has had a rather curious upbringing. A child of a broken marriage between a guy your parents warned you about and a stereotypical woman who is supposed to be smart but turns out to be an idiot when it comes to love, Guada is raised by her single mother Siony in their humble home until opportunity knocks on their door. Although a teacher by profession, Siony’s passion is in the culinary arts. When she accepts a catering job for a big company and the owner falls in love with her cooking, she receives a job offer to be the family’s cook in exchange for an irresistible compensation package and free lodging for her and her daughter. Reluctant at first, she eventually accepts for the sake of Guada and the opportunities the little girl will gain access to. Moving into Don Paquito’s palatial estate in the gated subdivision of Alhambra, Guada experiences the perks of a rich lifestyle despite not being wealthy herself, while her mother slaves away in the kitchen.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Jessica Zafra was a favorite author of mine as I navigated adolescence. She mostly wrote non-fiction, though. Anyone familiar with her work would know her for her acerbic tongue and sardonic wit, as though she were sarcasm personified. All of these are amplified by her flawless command of language. Whatever angst you had in life, she effectively verbalized for you in an unapologetic way, through highfalutin vocabulary that just scathed whatever issue she decided to tackle. In a way, Zafra is what I sort of aspired to be as a writer. I found her cool. Back then. Revisiting her work nowadays, though, just feels like I already outgrew her writing style.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Perhaps this has something to do with character evolution and maturity as a human being. The angst that predominated your high school days will still be present in your forties, but your reaction to it as well as your perspective do shift. The rants of a jaded adult presented in prose that is elegant yet sarcastic at the same time sound cool when you are a teenager. As a fully functional adult, though, it just feels like a ball of negative energy that you tend to avoid as you get older. The silver lining here is that you now totally understand where Zafra and all her vitriol are coming from.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The Age of Umbrage is too short at just 126 pages. The interesting variety of characters available could have easily afforded Zafra double or even triple the total number of pages, but it’s as if she got tired halfway through and just stopped writing altogether. It would have been fun to explore the lives of the Almagros more and then juxtapose those lives with that of Guada’s even more. This could have been a full-fledged novel instead of a novella, so one just couldn’t help but wonder what stopped her from developing the narrative into a longer novel, which she could’ve easily accomplished.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">One theory is that maybe Zafra got so used to writing her non-fiction pieces, mostly critiques of society and politics in the Philippines, that she ended up with a material that resembles those? The Age of Umbrage, though just 126 pages short, is full of socially relevant themes, unfolding through a backdrop of historical events in the 80’s and 90’s. Some of the characters come across as fictional versions of actual historical figures, while actual ones are also mentioned from time to time. It’s weird but it is as though Guada’s storyline just served as a canvas that Zafra could paint on with her social commentary which ends up front and center.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Even then, The Age of Umbrage is a good coming-of-age tale, a peek into the lives of Manila’s old rich and how they operate in a society that venerates and hates them at the same time. Guada serves as the reader’s surrogate, navigating that specific demographic of society and providing an opportunity for some minor clashes between different social classes. This being a longer novel would have allowed the storyline to marinate and be served well-done. Unfortunately, what we get is half-baked word salad that squandered its potential by cutting the narrative abruptly when Guada’s journey had only just begun.</span></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/9091611405750797467/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-age-of-umbrage.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/9091611405750797467'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/9091611405750797467'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-age-of-umbrage.html' title='The Age of Umbrage'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0J0B6iKizqvMVf9RrPIJOyWo4uU7IAMfprjMt32Ebxt-rVpNWgQs9rxTEJrPC5GQGRYwKgBCpfByiy2ddonAqFOwC8nwH24rIwxzvaYpx3GtMUG-NkGg5gzU22d-KIowZTgpvjtEvVZ2Ds6rIbmV9_cTsDL6hil5I7WLYl6ykvnrd48wQ5hMOQSmSNb5/s72-c/55542637.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-3977281225840976139</id><published>2025-03-09T14:24:00.000+08:00</published><updated>2025-03-12T12:26:03.785+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="American"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Kostova E."/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Literature"/><title type='text'>The Historian</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Historian" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pgfCHLNvFL5ndpKRQCkOizQAJfh7z8sGYLEvWkmRTXWFz4BIna9hlc-4MnQEreTRutnR9cOlG4ZBCARdE_FjJiU3Y4doUaO7UnK_Cy5KPuxSnS4lBheK9xPCgz-dmiDmE7Lk3LdZoCeuJnv-eyck91JyKrCbWJcIahpGBm8Y6GcxND9NU9IO3ZaYzQyL/s1600/123456789.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">An unnamed narrator finds a vellum bound book in her father’s study that has a dragon as its centerpiece. Curious, she begins to ask questions. Paul is hesitant at first, but aware that he must eventually share the story to his daughter, and so he does in several installments. He begins with the disappearance of his thesis adviser professor Bartholomew Rossi and how his tale is similar to his own, starting with the discovery of a dragon notebook among their pile of books while doing research at the library. What comes next is curiosity paving the way for a deeper research on the lore of Vlad the Impaler, the notorious 15th-century prince of Wallachia who had a penchant for horrendous torture methods. When Paul suddenly disappears just like Rossi, his daughter races against time as she tries to track her father, who is later revealed to have gone away in search of his wife Helen, the narrator’s mother, all while a supernatural presence consistently stalks them in the background.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The sticker on the first page says I bought this book in 2006, which means it has been almost two decades since the only time I ever read the novel. 20 years is a long time to forget storylines and plot twists, which worked well to my advantage because I was able to tackle the narrative with a renewed curiosity that had me flipping through the pages like mad on my way to discovery. The Historian was published in the early aughts back when such a formula of storytelling was all the rage. Remember The Da Vinci Code? This novel is no different, but Kostova does a great job in keeping us, her readers, entertained.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">What formula is this, you might ask? There is a male academic doing research about a prominent historical figure. There’s a conspiracy theory that is raising eyebrows. There is a female character who appears out of nowhere to serve as obligatory love interest as well as, conveniently, the missing link to the puzzle through her connection to the historical figure in question. Have the two lovebirds travel around, city to city, country to country, in search of clues and voila! You have a bestselling novel that is screenplay ready when Hollywood calls. So why is The Historian not a film or a TV series yet?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">According to Trust Me Bro sources, the film rights were secured by Sony as early as 2005, the same year the novel was published. So why haven’t they produced a movie adaptation yet? That is anybody’s guess. Sony seems too busy churning out subpar popcorn flicks, about characters in their Spider-Man universe who are not Spider-Man, to give a damn. While The Historian was a legit bestselling novel when it was published, almost twenty years have passed for people to still care, not to mention how Hollywood continues to be saturated by vampire narratives since time immemorial. Do we really need more vampires at this point?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">As for Kostova’s storytelling style, she is not a fan of long and dragging chapters, which means what we get are brief ones that total to 78 chapters not including the epilogue. That’s a whopping 816 pages all in all which are, luckily, not hard to read because of all the intrigue involved. What might end up being confusing to the reader, however, are the three storylines running parallel to one another, many subplots of which tend to mirror the other. This is achieved mostly through letters being read by the narrator as well as outright narrations from father to daughter. What you end up with is a multi-generational tale that is engrossing but not as detailed as you would want it to be.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">If there’s one thing that this novel accomplishes, it is the renewal of interest in Count Dracula, both the myth and the actual history. Bram Stoker started it all with Dracula and there hasn’t been a shortage of related narratives piggybacking on the success of that story ever since. What Kostova does with The Historian is offer her own version of the lore through readable prose, even though she does not necessarily add more to the rich vampire lore that she is operating in. If anything, she just adapts whatever plot devices are already there.</span></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/3977281225840976139/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-historian.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/3977281225840976139'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/3977281225840976139'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-historian.html' title='The Historian'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8pgfCHLNvFL5ndpKRQCkOizQAJfh7z8sGYLEvWkmRTXWFz4BIna9hlc-4MnQEreTRutnR9cOlG4ZBCARdE_FjJiU3Y4doUaO7UnK_Cy5KPuxSnS4lBheK9xPCgz-dmiDmE7Lk3LdZoCeuJnv-eyck91JyKrCbWJcIahpGBm8Y6GcxND9NU9IO3ZaYzQyL/s72-c/123456789.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-8868103318662548762</id><published>2025-03-08T19:45:00.009+08:00</published><updated>2025-03-17T20:39:47.165+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="European"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><title type='text'>The Brutalist</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Brutalist" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjYKQSbGJrxdpSKC3msJuKToAQtmIX6VYf1sg9yb_k1Tb9jm8JgwpqXB5gquTlOkFAFRvjK-qwHkoZUciFgbmM-HGLbkwKhMxcD3YtPk_aG9wz8bk5GA5ZtKLJImtUlSleNkMzNlUDeVo8gaAH0jfkTlzn27NbRjVPOKc3YSsjIO8NPIuvbUQu6QtLINL/s1600/123456789.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><div style="text-align: justify;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</div></span><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Bauhaus-trained architect László Tóth (Adrien Brody) flees his native Hungary and ends up in Bremerhaven where he boards a ship that brings him to America. His wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones) and young niece Zsófia (Raffey Cassidy) are left behind. Docking in New York, László makes it his primary life goal to be reunited with them in America, but the American dream is proving hard to attain. He gets help from his cousin Attila (Alessandro Nivola) who has immigrated way before him and has now fully assimilated to the American way of life. The two are contracted by twin siblings Harry (Joe Alwyn) and Maggie (Stacy Martin) to convert a room in their father’s estate into a library as a surprise gift for his birthday. When the wealthy Harrison Lee Van Buren (Guy Pearce) walks in on them in the middle of renovation, he gets mad and fires them on the spot. Later on, he traces László’s whereabouts after he discovers the latter’s reputation in the world of architecture. A partnership begins and lives are changed, for the better and for the worse.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">There is something grand about The Brutalist that I just can’t put a finger on. Some reviews refer to it as harking back to classic Hollywood, which I wish I understood but couldn’t because I am not familiar with that era. Maybe it’s the 3 hour and 35 minute runtime and the intermission in between or its use of VistaVision in filming? The use of long and winding montage as transition pieces? Whatever it is, you will definitely feel it as you watch the film, as if you were witnessing something great that you just can’t explain. Of course, the downside of that is you can also just dismiss the movie as self-indulgent, as though it was in love with itself.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">The title alludes to a school of architecture which I won’t pretend to know much about. All I know is that brutalist architecture is ugly. Functional, yes, but unappealing in terms of aesthetics. Perhaps that is the very reason why it is referred to as such, after all? Several reviews online will tell you that László himself is the personification of Brutalism. As to why that is the case, once again I have no idea, but I can only posit via the literal definition of the word brutal that this has something to do with how he navigated his life through a cold yet functional demeanor and managed to emerge on the other side scathed but in one piece.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Or maybe they just think that Brody is ugly? We digress. Now that I’ve seen both Brody in The Brutalist and Timothee Chalamet in A Complete Unknown, it has become even more difficult for me to say who deserved the Oscar more, despite Brody making history by successfully defending his record as the youngest Oscar Best Actor winner which would’ve been broken had Chalamet won. In any case, I believe Brody had more to work on because he was able to inhabit his character in several eras of his life, while Chalamet’s Bob Dylan was more focused on a certain point of his life. It all boils down to breadth versus depth, I guess?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Awards or not, there is no denying that The Brutalist is a well-acted film. Aside from Brody, both Pearce and Jones both ended up being nominated for supporting roles at the Oscars, even though they weren’t expected to win since those categories already had a clear winner from the get-go. Pearce’s Harrison is one enigma of a character, the type that tends to draw attention because of his intensity. While the backstory of the character is not fully explored, there are hints here and there through subtle dialogue about past trauma which might have been passed on to the children and explains that sexual assault scene in the second half.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Jones does not appear until way later in the film but you hear her narrating a letter in Hungarian with a diction so flawless that I was amazed thinking both she and Brody either spoke the language for real or went hardcore with lessons prior to filming. And then I read about the AI enhancement controversy that the film suffered backlash from. This raises an important debate in the industry as to the role of AI in polishing a work of art. If an actor does not want to gain 10 lbs for a role he could always wear a bodysuit. If he refuses to do a stunt, a double can be hired. If he doesn’t want to learn a language, why can’t he use AI?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">But that’s an issue for another day. Back to Jones, she appears late but the gravitas she lends to the role and her screen presence are just WOW. You really pay attention whenever she is on screen. And of course, we have that scene where she gets dragged out of the dining room. INTENSE! This is only her second Oscar nomination in the span of a decade. I hope we get to see more of her in the future, even though I have this feeling that she will get Carey Mulligan'd along the way. Cassidy and Alwyn also offer strong support but are disadvantaged by their shorter screen time. Overall, this film’s ensemble of actors just joins a good company of fellow well-acted nominees in this year’s awards race.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GdRXPAHIEW4" width="320" youtube-src-id="GdRXPAHIEW4"></iframe></div></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/8868103318662548762/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-brutalist.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8868103318662548762'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/8868103318662548762'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/the-brutalist.html' title='The Brutalist'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjYKQSbGJrxdpSKC3msJuKToAQtmIX6VYf1sg9yb_k1Tb9jm8JgwpqXB5gquTlOkFAFRvjK-qwHkoZUciFgbmM-HGLbkwKhMxcD3YtPk_aG9wz8bk5GA5ZtKLJImtUlSleNkMzNlUDeVo8gaAH0jfkTlzn27NbRjVPOKc3YSsjIO8NPIuvbUQu6QtLINL/s72-c/123456789.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8879518290175104767.post-2651455173604354702</id><published>2025-03-07T21:02:00.022+08:00</published><updated>2025-03-11T11:50:31.919+08:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Film"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hollywood"/><title type='text'>A Complete Unknown</title><content type='html'><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Complete_Unknown" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhyphenhypheninu7mpTlJXK3vPr8hw6TLbDM_Tz8UyhiDulCBmlD-aa2UWkzbbyXN_RMaFKnEXhPg7xVaM4fCs3ktqldYAEWKykrLnk_5TvH6wPkswapS3CXQgmfy0rlYe_8ePdTsHTVnzSoBY9l4wQvxrjmwj_VylCVgqAMJ9VVr0PVJ5CwY_N4SfDKkETVxRLBvC/s1600/123456789.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣</span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) hitchhikes to New York city to meet his idol Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy). He finds out that the folk singer is in New Jersey battling Huntington’s disease. Upon reaching the care facility, Bob finds Guthrie with his close friend Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), a folk singer and activist who has an ongoing court case. The young musician is coaxed into singing one of his original compositions impromptu, which ends up impressing both Seeger and Guthrie. Soon, Dylan finds himself being dragged across town by Seeger, introducing him as an aspiring folk singer. He meets Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) in one of his gigs and they start a relationship. Slowly gaining popularity, Dylan is soon paired with established folk singer Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), the two frequently performing together being a consistent bone of contention between the couple. As Dylan rises to the top of the folk music scene, his sudden shift to electric instruments raises eyebrows and puts his career at risk.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">I don’t know who Bob Dylan is. I don’t know any of his songs either. The only reason why he exists in my consciousness is because of yet another loose biopic of his which was released in the early aughts, in which six actors played him, one of them being Cate Blanchett who got nominated in various award giving bodies that season in the Best Supporting Actress category for portraying a man. I didn't see that movie either. As such, I really have no expectations whatsoever because I simply don’t know the guy. Did Chalamet give the role justice? Again, I have no idea, even though I believe as though he nailed it somehow because I felt like I was getting a proper introduction to the subject in question through his performance.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Let’s leave the pointing out of inaccuracies to the Bob Dylan experts. While Chalamet will always seem to be the perennial twink regardless of whether he has facial hair or not, I do not see a lot of complaints about his rendition of Dylan’s physicality. After watching the film and Googling images of Dylan himself, I can see the resemblance, especially when it comes to the distinct hairstyle. Of course, Chalamet also sings the songs himself, and the change in elocution is noteworthy, not just during the song numbers but also when it comes to his speaking voice. In short, it is evident that Timothée fully committed to the role.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">It’s been a good seven years since Chalamet's first and only Oscar nomination, and it is nice to see him back in the awards conversation after almost a decade of diverse roles ranging from box office fodder to rather niche projects. Winning the SAG for this performance is an indication that his peers believe in his talent. He might have missed the Oscar again, but it is now obvious that this kid is set to become one of the best actors of his generation. Hopefully, he won’t get tired of aspiring for greatness despite the setbacks. His time will come.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Norton and Barbaro offer solid support and it is good to see them get rewarded with nominations of their own, even though the supporting categories this year have already had solid frontrunners from the get-go.&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Not to be ignored is Fanning who is also such a presence on screen despite her limited exposure.&nbsp;</span><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">Overall, A Complete Unknown is a dream ensemble of actors who go beyond expectations and just leave a smile on your face for their honest and inspiring portrayals as well as their commitment to the music!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: arial;">A Complete Unknown is not really a full biopic. The extent of Dylan’s life story is only covered up to that controversial time of his life when he was struggling to break free from the genre that gave him his breakout opportunities. Whatever happens to most of the characters later on are summarized with a short paragraph or two flashed on the screen before credits roll. If you do not know Bob Dylan and just want a watchable intro to his life and music, then this film is perfect as a starting point. The rest you will just have to fill in with other biopics like the aforementioned I’m Not There (2007) as well as the countless documentaries available to date.</span></div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FdV-Cs5o8mc" width="320" youtube-src-id="FdV-Cs5o8mc"></iframe></div></div></content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/feeds/2651455173604354702/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/a-complete-unknown.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2651455173604354702'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8879518290175104767/posts/default/2651455173604354702'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://www.ihcahieh.com/2025/03/a-complete-unknown.html' title='A Complete Unknown'/><author><name>ihcahieh</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/03679524174484441585</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='32' height='24' src='//blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3nYFbB2KFfGvXBwz4G6YUkdAA1l9U-l1XsQvMgsAtzrJZ7ue-wZdvgwwo2BmqBwbsbFS7SwEqTe9DoTHsj4icAvpbysDxqV2u5burN0D9aCj7eKYkTXaEMxFOZkc0aJU/s151/*'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhyphenhypheninu7mpTlJXK3vPr8hw6TLbDM_Tz8UyhiDulCBmlD-aa2UWkzbbyXN_RMaFKnEXhPg7xVaM4fCs3ktqldYAEWKykrLnk_5TvH6wPkswapS3CXQgmfy0rlYe_8ePdTsHTVnzSoBY9l4wQvxrjmwj_VylCVgqAMJ9VVr0PVJ5CwY_N4SfDKkETVxRLBvC/s72-c/123456789.jpg" height="72" width="72"/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>

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