Critical Analysis on Western Theories

Sometimes I am ashamed to see myself growing up in our country. A lot of times, migrating came to my mind. I just can't help but to think all the negative traits our country has. I mean look at it, corruption is everywhere, powerful greedy officials can commit crime and be free in just a snap, crime is everywhere thanks to their link with certain officials, debt is beyond our capabilites and generally the Philippines have more problems that we can handle.

As far as how I want to get out of our country, truth of the matter is corruption and political anomalies, can be seen even in the most developed countries like USA. Just with a diffence on the degree and how they are handled on other countries.

In this dog eat dog society, Sometimes survival is more important than morality. I knew a "lawyer" who is good. But when he was offered a big amount of money to make his client lose. He accepted the bribe. I ask him why did he do this. He answered "morality and values can't feed my empty stomach. I am not rich as the others, I have no choice." I nodded back, and deep inside me I have fear for what he say is true.

In a simple country like ours, greediness has become the trend. Whoever is on the top and position gets to command the lower ones. I call this the triangular society. For in order to survive, these elites have the same thing on their mind. To become more and more powerful, whatever the cost may be. Problem is the people that they step up unto is the masses. And look what has happend, revolution from the masses has happened. "Makibaka wag matakot!" is the chants that I hear to give a fair justice that they deserve. But nothing happenes, simple because they are the masses. The only succesful revolution I saw was "People Power".

Sometimes I am ashamed to see what is happening on our country. That sometimes I just wanted to accept the truth that It will never demolish corruption and capitalism in the society. But after remembering what happened on "People Power", I could say that there is hope.

Critical Analysis on Indigenous Filipino

I remembered a certain incident when I was a frosh. In our block there's a certain individual from the native land of "Cotabato". He was small, medium built and dark. Of course we have to ice break one another since its our first time here in school. So what we did was to introduce ourselves in the class. When this certain individual time came to introduce. He greeted the class with "Magandang Umaga Po". The class bursted with laughter. He continued with his introduction in filipino. Some of my the guys who became my barkada eventually teased the kid after the introduction. "Oi boy, tali mo nga tong sapatos ko.", said one of my friend. Then another incident when this certain individual small talked one of the girls, "Yuck do I know you?". I seen the sad look in the eyes of this certain individual. After a month in school he dropped out and went to another school.

Now As I have gathered the required knowledge from my Cultural Politics class, I ask myself this question, did we do the right thing? Why do we filipinos insult our own brotherhood just because he doesn't know how to speak filipino. Is it because he can only speak filipino and their native language doesnt mean they are stupid low individuals. I mean, yeap De La Salle University is known to be good in english language. Yup, but I witnessed one of the most discrimating act against our own. He know how to speak fluent in filipino, but when it comes to speaking his native language, my classmates laughed. Are they ashamed of him because he loved and speak his own language rather than a foreing one?.

Problem with us is we see ourselves more intellectual and superior if we speak and knew foreign language more than our own native language (i.e. Chavakano, Waray, Hiligaynon.). We look and sound cool if we speak english all the time. It is sad the way Filipinos are ashamed of them being a filipino.I don't even see a class where they teach you how to speak Bisaya etc. Only Mandarin, Fookien, English or Spanish languages.  That is the reality that we face in that we must solve.  It is time for us to stop discrimating ourselves and love our own language. I am proud to be a Filipino!

Critical Analysis on space theory in a Comedy BAR

I am very fascinated on how Comedians in a comedy bar can hold their power over you. I recall this one event wherein me and my barkada went into a certain "Laughs" comedy bar in Tomas Morato. There's this comedian who looked like "Tsokoleyt". He was chubby, dark and in our society's norm not much good looking. Me and my boys seated at the front row. Drinking beer and having fun. When suddenly this comedian noticed my friend who much looks like an "aetan".

He teased my friend saying that "Ay! Tignan nyo to mga echos! Ito ang katunayan na naghihirap na talaga ang bar na toh, aba eh pati ba naman pomeranian pinapasok nyo nya! Guard!" refering to my friend. The room bursted with laughter of course, but my friend just kept his cool and quiet. Then the comedian asked my friend to go on stage, my friend obliged, the comedian asked what's his name, after my friend answered, the comedian said "ah akala ko brusko?" Laughter emerged from the room again. I myself was laughing from the way the comedian makes fun of my friend.

Now I realized what's the power of someone who is in the position to make fun of you. He is in the authority to disempower you and put his rules and regulations unto you because we are in his authority. I mean come on, to tell you the truth the comedian is not in a hell chance good looking, his looks weren't far from my friend but since he is in the one holding the mike and putting on the jokes, he captured the audience and made fun of my friend. Just to show how the power of authority works in a comedy bar.

Of course it's filipino humor, if you get insulted because of this then you lose. Ika nga nila "Ang pikon ay laging talo".

Critical Analysis : MARXIST

“Bamboo :Tatsulok”

Totoy bilisan mo, bilisan mo ang takbo
Ilagan ang mga bombang nakatutok sa ulo mo
Totoy tumalon ka, dumapa kung kailangan
At baka tamaan pa ng mga balang ligaw

Totoy makinig ka, wag kang magpa-gabi
Baka mapagkamalan ka’t humandusay dyan sa tabi
Totoy alam mo ba kung ano ang puno’t dulo
Ng di matapos-tapos na kaguluhang ito

[Refrain]
Hindi pula’t dilaw tunay na magkalaban
Ang kulay at tatak ay di syang dahilan
Hangga’t marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan
At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayaman

[Chorus]
Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok
Di matatapos itong gulo

At ang dating munting bukid, ngayo’y sementeryo
Totoy kumilos ka, baliktarin ang tatsulok
Tulad ng dukha, nailagay mo sa tuktok

[repeat Refrain and Chorus]

[repeat Refrain and Chorus]

[repeat Chorus]

Di matatapos itong gulo

 Bamboo is a Filipino alternative rock band founded in 2003 by Francisco “Bamboo” Mañalac, Ira Cruz, Nathan Azarcon and Vic Mercado.

Francisco "Bamboo" Mañalac serves as the band's frontman. Contrary to popular belief, the band is not named after him. According to Ira Cruz, the guitarist, the word bamboo relates to strength and durability with an island feel to it. Also, it's very Filipino and Asian at the same time.

Two of its members, Bamboo Mañalac and Nathan Azarcon, were formerly part of Rivermaya. The other two members, Ira Cruz and Vic Mercado, were former instrumentalists of another band, Passage. Ira Cruz and Nathan Azarcon were also former members of the band Kapatid during that time.

 Bamboo's debut album, As The Music Plays, was released in February 2004 where it received positive response from fans and critics alike. The album also won numerous awards at the AWIT Awards, NU 107 Rock Awards, and MTV Pilipinas 2004.

Their second album, Light Peace Love, which was released in 2005, consists of ten songs with differing moods and subjects, and took only 3 months to record. This album has a softer sound with both its lyrics and delivery. For this album, the band added more strings and a variety of other instruments, including a trumpet. The band admitted that this album had a personal feel to it. They experimented with several new styles that may please new listeners, at the risk of disappointing fans of the more conventional rock of their first album.

Their third album, We Stand Alone Together, was released in 2007 with participation of JOSHUA "JESSA". It contains revived local songs such as Buklod's "Tatsulok" and international songs such as Paul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", from different generations. It also includes bonus tracks like unplugged versions of their hit songs from previous albums such as "Mr. Clay", "These Days", and "Hallelujah". Once again, opting to do away with the conventional rock image that was attached to them, they produced sounds which were more jazzy than expected.

The band is known to produce rock with a jazzy feeling to it, and known to create songs with meaning to it. Almost all of their song defines the Filipino society. The way the rich and powerful always pushes around the poor. They redefined the Filipino rock band and mastered the art of persuasing Filipinos to buy their albums because the masses can relate to their songs. I myself loved bamboo since their first album came out “As the Music Plays”. They are different from the other Filipino rock bands I listened to. Most of the Filipino rock bands has meanings attached to their songs but is very shallow. From the way I see it, only intellectuals who has a deep output in life can fully appreciate the lyrics that their songs say.  Some of the people see the band as the frontline of the masses airing their opinions on how bullshit the politics in our country are. Bamboo used the art of singing to express their honest opinion on how they see our country the Philippines. The people in it and the events that are happening.

Using Marxist Theory as way to critically analyse this great song, The title of the song, which is Tatsulok (Triangle), is also quite symbolic. It describes the social class in our society wherein only a few belongs in the top. Most Filipinos can be associated to be included in the bottom part of the tatsulok or triangle. It's basically a revolutionary song against the triangular social structure in the country. Many are poor, few middle class, and only a few rich people who are on top who basically controls the major political and social institutions of the country. They're singing about classism being the reason for chaos. Specifically how justice is only for the rich according to the lyrics. That, the true opponents of our country is not other countries who are far more developed than ours, but ourselves. We are the reason that the country is not developing, is because of this classism. It is like a disease killing our society.

In this song they are motivating the masses not to be complacent on their place on the society and complain why they are always oppressed by the much more powerful class, instead they have the power to turn the triangle around and give a fair justice they deserved.  In this dog eat dog society, the weak shall be perished by the strong. It is true, but it is in ourselves if we will continue living in this type of society.

Like what they are saying in the song, this chaos is caused by the triangular structure of the society. And it will not end unless we ourselves, do something about it.

Critical Analysis on Post Colonial Theory

The ultimate goal of post-colonialism is combating the residual effects of colonialism on cultures. It is not simply concerned with salvaging past worlds, but learning how the world can move beyond this period together, towards a place of mutual respect.

Postcolonial theory provides a framework that destabilizes dominant discourses in the West, challenges “inherent assumptions”, and critiques the “material and discursive legacies of colonialism”.In order to challenge these assumptions and legacies of colonialism, postcolonial studies needs to be grounded, which entails working with tangible identities, connections, and processes.

Also, Postcolonialism deals with cultural identity in colonized societies: the dilemmas of developing a national identity after colonial rule; the ways in which writers articulate and celebrate that identity (often reclaiming it from and maintaining strong connections with the colonizer); the ways in which the knowledge of the colonized (subordinated) people has been generated and used to serve the colonizer's interests; and the ways in which the colonizer's literature has justified colonialism via images of the colonised as a perpetually inferior people, society and culture. These inward struggles of identity, history, and future possibilities often occur in the metropolis and, ironically, with the aid of postcolonial structures of power, such as universities

Further more, postcolonial theory - as epistemology, ethics, and politics - addresses matters of identity, gender, race, racism and ethnicity with the challenges of developing a post-colonial national identity, of how a colonised people's knowledge was used against them in service of the coloniser's interests, and of how knowledge about the world is generated under specific relations between the powerful and the powerless, circulated repetitively and finally legitimated in service to certain imperial interests. At the same time, postcolonial theory encourages thought about the colonised's creative resistance to the coloniser and how that resistance complicates and gives texture to European imperial colonial projects, which utilised a range of strategies, including "anti conquest narratives", to legitimise their dominance.

The Naked Mile

When one person shouts "someone is naked", tendency are they would want to see where the naked person is. Stripping all the way down is a great way to catch people's attention. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an American animal rights organization  that gained popularity for using people, celebrity or not, naked, to make their message cross our mind. As we could see in this photo, Eva Mendez , naked all the way down. At first glance, we might think that this is just another sexy babe who goes out to show her vivacious body, but as we understand the picture better, this is a way to make the message clear in our minds not to use fur because it kills animals.

Others like what the indian girls did to show their message that the Indian army is raping them. To get their message across the media, they strip naked in front of the Indian army's  camp base. They might have been arrested for being butt naked, but one things for sure, they have caught the people's attention because of doing this type of protest.


Bottomline is this, people may argue that using nakedness as a tool for advertisement or a form of protest is indecent and lewd. But  nakedness can also be used as empowering and liberating the body. Empowering in such a way that they call out or attention, to seek help for us to do something or the politicians about it. Like in the india protest, they have rallied for their rights. Now that is empowering for me. But on the other hand, PETA, is not empowering at all since the social meaning which is very important, labeled to them is of sexualization,  objectification and commodification. According to one of the speaker that Dr. Contreras invited, here is a need to understand the different layers of skin. There is a need to understand the different social meanings labeled to the different natures and behaviors of various organizations that go naked for a cause. Otherwise people might misinterpret them as someone just to show off their vivacious bodies.

Rastafari

Last week Dr. Contreras invited one of the funkiest guy here on planet earth "Kiko". Kiko was one of the local celeb here in the philippines. But "ordinary" wouldnt define this guy.You see Kiko didn't go with the flow. He has his own unique capabilities and style. Style or not he says, its the way he lives. In our norm, it wouldnt be appropriate to grow "dreadlocks", smoke some weed. wear boardshorts in a fancy place and put tatoo all over your body. Well Kiko?,  As I saw this guy, he just plainly spells out "F*ck the norm".

He told us about identity and indivuality. That you shouldn't be afraid to let the world see the real you. "Hate it or love it" as I say. Each person has his own individuality and identity. Now its up to us If we will follow the norm or be real and be somehow unique.

I don't believe when people say Kiko is weird when he is just doing his own thing. What is weird? is something or someone weird because its not part of the norm? I dont think so. Let us set our own standard of what is weird and what is acceptable. For me, as long as your not hurting someone and your happy with it. Then go! Defy the norm and be yourself.

Individualism is not only exclusive for our own greedy desires, but also for as simple as defining self-identify and being yourself.