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Mine is Not the Life of the Academic

High school was a pain. My ears would be filled with countless reprimands from my mother urging for my focus on my academics. At one point, I guaranteed an impossible 92 (note that in USTHS, 95 was the highest possible card grade) to quiet her. Her reprimands continued when I was unable to reach it and the volume of my tears increased. Her worries emerged from thinking that I won't be capable of entering a good school. She told me that I was better off taking Hotel and Restaurant Management or Travel Management somewhere. Eventually, my extra curricular activities were blamed for my ineptitude in academics. The ultimate form of quiet finally arrived when I passed AdMU. My college years were much more pleasant because of the quiet. (But oh God, I do not take my mother ill. I am merely stating an expired actuality.)

I was not born to be an academic. I was not made to travel the world to research and present my findings to a group of doctors (PhD holders) and renowned scholars. I was not made with the stuff of valedictorian and summa cum laude title holders.

I may dismiss myself as a lazy bum who wishes to think on an armchair but that is not the case. I feel the constant demand for people with the more impressive numbers and letters in their report cards. At one point, I felt a certain oppression. In my reflections on my reactions to the academic system, I have arrived at a few thoughts.

Two Thoughts On the Academic:

1. The Future Productive Citizen: The academic system is honorable but it is too shaped in a capitalist structure. Most schools are still morphed in the philosophy of producing students capable of being productive worker bees (good engineers, lawyers, doctors, etc.). Hence, the numerical determiner of people's capabilities exist. It may be "dehumanizing" (because of how it defines individuals into mere GPAs and QPIs, etc) but it is the fastest way to find the quality bees. This is a limiting side effect of the structure. I am not saying that capitalism is evil and that it creates a backward-thinking society. In fact, people would agree that it merits healthy competition. To be more attuned with my stand, these numerical determiners of capabilities (grades) prevent any other 'growth'. Instead of being better human beings, we become better workers. That is the path of the current academic system.

The values of education and academics are always confused with one another. Education is supposed to encompass many aspects of being human so that it may hone skills that would allow people to become better individuals--not only in the productive, capitalist sense but also the eidos and arete. What happened to valuing the poets who spoke of the human condition? Surely some still exist and the past masters are continually tackled in literature but the value to those who pierce the very core of our beings diminished. What happened to valuing those who inquired about the beyond? We see the likes of Stephen Hawking but any such information about the creation of the universe is dismissed as unnecessary. We see a lessening in the desire to know ourselves as who we are and a growing demand for the productive and 'practical'.

2. The Researcher: Unlike my previous thought on the academic, this will focus on my preferences.

 In my opinion, the immersion into the academic system and the systematic approach to truth is the life of the academic. Such is beautiful in its own way but it is not the life for me. I prefer to scour the world for ideas and develop my own in the process. I prefer to speak to different minds (academic and non-academic) in order to learn more about what it means to be human.

Perhaps it is naive for me to say that people should be given the choice to not pursue the academic life to educate herself or himself because such a protocol is deeply embedded in this system. But I want noted that people should have the choice to pick whatever path they wish in their lives. If they wish for the academic path to be able to create infrastructures, let it be. If they wish for the life of a hermit to arrive at nothing, let it be. Nothing should be called illegitimate if the goal is achieved in its complete totality. But of course, the approach to the academic system is not that black-and-white.


Whether I felt oppressed because of the demands of my parental units to have more impressive numerical marks is no longer the issue here. It is now about the clashing of values and the systematization of wants.


Now, my ode for the positive:

Why Watch "Love Exposure?": Review & Mini-Analysis

The almost four hours of action and Japanese pop references did not compromise its organic unity. In fact, every single minute is integral.  And it quotes Corinthians 13, its very foundation!

Upbeat Kickass Gorgeousness by Shion Sono (2008; US Release: 2011)

Review and Mini-Analysis
The film is about a love triangle between three mentally unstable high school students. Yu was an almost-sinless child of a Catholic priest but having to confess sins to his father, he had to commit sins. When Yu photographed panties, his father finally noticed him. He does not get aroused by women, however. In fact, he only managed to get a massive hard-on with his "Maria": Yoko. Yoko was sexually desired by her father who tried to be a good dad by providing her with mothers. Because of that, she grows to be a man-hater and eventually goes to believe she is a lesbian. One day, dark womanly figure who claims to be a "Miss Scorpion" helps Yoko battle a gang of men. Yoko falls in love with Miss Scorpion who both Yu and Koike claim to be. Koike was physically abused by her father, a well-known man of religion. She left home and was proselytized by the Church of Zero, a phony religion. Love Exposure dances around the story lines of the three offbeat characters.

The first thing to note is the depth of the character studies. Actors Takahiro Nishijima (Yu), Hikari Mitsushima (Yoko) and Sakura Ando (Koike) showed a wide range of emotion depictions. Given the mental instability of the characters, several more emotions have to be touched by the narrative compared to the narrative of a more stable character. The main actors were able to shift to the appropriate emotion although their acting was shaped by the archetypes in Japanese pop culture. This is remarkable in a 4-hour film where the characters could become tedious.

This sort of imagery is added in the film to provide commentary

The narrative itself was straightforward. A long film would give viewers expectations of redundancy or superfluousness. Despite its ungodly length (which extends to 6 hours in the original version), its plot leaves no excesses. To put the notion simply, if you remove a part, the whole film won't make any sense. The integrity of a film justifies its 4 hours. One may also note that the film focuses on the causes and the effects. The micro-elements of the film (example, Master Lloyd's turf) are impressionistic. Nonetheless, the imagery, dialogue and atmosphere try to describe the setting in a tangent way with its theme.

Master Lloyd's turf

Finally, to end my simple review, the most important way to critique a film is how its elements and execution fulfill its purpose. The theme of the film is quite simple: how love is enlightenment. The emotional range of the characters and the effectiveness of their depictions are integral in showing the "darkness" of the characters' conditions. The images, sounds, etc. further emphasize the condition of the situation and even the gravity of the "darkness". Even elements such as baptism, Plato's Allegory of the Cave or Corinthians 13 were utilized in the film to emphasize enlightenment. Baptism is a transition from a God-less life to being a Child of God. The Allegory of the Cave is about a prisoner who is guided outside the removed-from-reality Cave to the Sun, the symbol for the Form of the Good. Corinthians 13 talk of how a person could change and reach a condition of truly loving another. The narrative inclines to the beautiful moments where all the characters move forward from their "darkness" to the "light". It may sound corny but the kickass fighting scenes and colorful characters won't bore you at all. This is the purest cinematic drug.

Yu's "Maria"

Crossing Lines, Hello First 2012 Post

The worry wisps of 2011 are long gone. That's just an optimistic foresight. Worries, happy moments and moments of rage are not assigned to a year. Years don't have themes. We assign themes to make sense of events. Nonetheless of my ranty voice, I'll assign one.

I've shifted. I've transferred to another block. I've written my first short story. I've written a pretty lengthy manuscript. I've obsessed over a different set of hot men (from skinny Japanese to older Western men...with a few sprinkles of Andy Lau). (Excuse the redundancy of 'I've')

Til Schweiger. Yes. The reason to live  (Inglourious Basterds and Barfuss)

Overall, the year bore significance to my 'growing up as a person' (I honestly dislike that phrase because it sounds so corny. Okay mababaw). My tastes have expanded. The range of my world includes UP Film Institute and other accessible areas via commuting. My relationships were perfectly healthy. I've gained a sense of self-control. I've also learned to let go. I've learned, above all, to finally put my plans into action. That snickering "lazy phantom" will not be as pulling in the future.

Though this post is supposed to summarize my 2012 ideals, I doubt I'll be able to fulfill that expectation. Forgive my vague post. I'm proud of the massive Ann human makeover. I can't impede the impetus I've started. There's no turning back. "Winter is coming"

I'll give you one thing to expect, though: my review and general analysis of Love Exposure (Sono, 2008). Such gorgeousness should not be confined! I'm so glad that I can find gems amidst my random downloads.

Breathe in the gorgeous basses of the soundtrack of the purest filmy LSD.

2012, give it to me. (A masochistic Love Exposure reference. Give me that sweet sorrow. That sweet pang)

Because I am BDH (Bored, Depressed and Human) and I Like Films: The Construction of Fear

I am not a fan of the horror genre. In fact, I avoid it. The last film that afflicted unbearable insomnia was Paranormal Activity (Peli, 2007). I did not understand what caused the eye luggage two years ago (Peli's film was such a trend back then). Perhaps it was the paranoia of the small details. 

Over the one-day break, I felt discomfort (pressure? stress?) which later motivated me to watch pseudo-documentary horror films. [Rec] (Balaguero & Plaza, 2007) is a gorgeous Spanish film that incorporates horror cliches into an organism that breathes on its own. The Blair Witch Project (Myrick & Sanchez, 1999) set a new standard for horror during its period by allowing the audience to fear a witch that is never caught on film.

What contributed to the fear effect of the two films as well as Paranormal Activity was the point-of-view. All of which were 'filmed' with handheld cameras. This allows the audience to view particular vantage points. Also, as the 'cameraman' records selected scenes for the audience, he or she acts as a participant or character in the scenes. In [Rec], Pablo is never revealed but his heavy breathing and shaking voice adds to the mood of the film as well as exemplifies his role as a participant.

Horror films are actually implicit representations of a power struggle. Who exactly controls who? If the screaming TV host were to actually scare off these zombie-like creatures, then you have a gory comedy. However, that is not the case. These zombie-like creatures whose origins are vague and unknown run after the humans, bite them, and turn them into fellow zombies. The lack of knowledge on the origins of these zombies further worsens the power disparity between humans and zombies. 

Films only go insofar as the camera and microphone wills to record. Select lines are uttered. Embellishments such as background music allow some moments to be emphasized. Each character, being representations of beings in real life, has his or her own context which the film tries to snip out and fit in a narrative.

Horror films are films. Some directors/producers aim for the audiences to be shit-in-their-pants scared but one has to take into account that horror films could be dissected into its elements and could be understood qua being a film. 

[REC]

Rec later unfolds a context which roots to the Vatican and the mission of a priest to cleanse the world of an odd disease. Apparently, the disease makes the victims into zombie-like beings. A local TV reporter and her cameraman are lured into this context.

The primary plot mover of the film (because without this terrible irrationality, all the characters would have been saved) is the isolation. The characters are locked in an apartment building by government authorities because of the possibility of a Bio-hazard. Because of that, there is no room to scream for help. Danger swims towards its victim and the victim is helpless. Horror plots feed on that premise and so [Rec] dances along. 

The secondary plot mover is Angela, the woman who insists that the whole event be filmed. Most horror films have this character archetype: the daredevil or curious cat which insists that its companions to join him or her into the suspicious.

One may imagine that the whole film becomes a playing field. The setting is isolated and there is no escape. The characters are already helpless as it is. Angela as the lead pushes the narrative of While You Sleep which is pregnant with the contexts of the TV reporter, the cameraman and the firemen converges with the narrative of the Vatican and the zombie disease. The film plays with cliche elements like disease, zombies and intense isolation and it worked.

The Blair Witch Project

The Blair Witch Project is remarkable in a film age wherein horror is attached to the scarier-looking flesh-eating supernatural being.  The main antagonist in this film is the witch who is never seen. The plot mover is the idea of being lost while filming a documentary about the Blair Witch who I hope is a representation of the history of Blair.

The key element of the film is the unknown. What are those sounds? What in the world do those piles of rocks mean? Compared to Rec, whose horror we later understand is a disease, the Blair Witch leaves the horror completely to the viewer's imagination. No one is explicitly being dismembered. No real children are seen. We don't even hear the witch's cackle. Nothing makes any sense. It is a play on the human condition that has improved over the years because of scientific and logical knowledge.

Because the film focuses on the human condition, its main characters are emotional and scared human beings who react to their surroundings. They hear and see things that the few years of their lives have never imagined. The only context they know is that of the people they interviewed and the legends that they have heard.

Anyway, that's enough discussion. I was merely typing my thoughts on the two films. Perhaps in the future my world view will mature and the perspectives I pick in viewing films will be more tasty. Yes, tasty. If you are frightened, listen to something sexy. 

If you liked my musings (hihi, feelingera?) on these two films or disliked them so much and are masochistic, try reading my other filmy posts: Eraserhead (Lynch, 1977) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Gondry, 2004)

Reason is my god

If Nietzsche thought that all values dissolved along with the notion of a god, I say that those values still exist because of reason. Through reason do we understand the logical framework of cause and effect. Through reason do our social constructions live and all our apprehensions which mold our constructions. The world is but a playing field and through the faculty of reason, we are able to make sense of it to our own advantage.

So, although everything to me is 'broken' along with values systems (nihilism) and well, love, reason reigns supreme and it is the fountainhead for everything that has ever been created.

(Actually, nag eemo lang ako)

Carry 35k words in 2 weeks? :(