A Plea to Art Educators

A bit off-topic, but this would probably be my last blog post mainly fueled by academic requirements. And I know by now you might be thinking "And I should care because...?" 

I hope my readers aspire to get on my level of niceness, really.

The four years I spent on college taught me a lot on the "realities" of the art production industry. That we, as a nation, are still pretty much pushing for, and therefore dominated by, a conservative, conventional, conforming look at art-making (whether it be movies, music, literature, visual arts). 

I'm not sure if I just happened to go to a university where professors frown upon a radical approach on the arts but judging from numerous university film festivals I've gone on (I wrote the draft of this blog while on one, frankly), students are still limited by the traditional boundaries the mainstream imposes.

I'm not saying this is wrong, but it's just so... unprogressive. The same kind of stuff has been fed to us literally for decades and to see the young generation to seemingly continue the trend is just saddening.

And this is not to say it's their fault. I'm going on a limb here, but believe me when I say that this assumption is based from my share of experiences as well: These students are either not pushed to their limits by their educators, or deliberately bound by their teachers themselves to stick to the "good ol' tried-and-tested" look at art-making.

Let me tell you, I've had my fair share of that. 

So anyway, the point of this blog is this: I'm hoping for a day that we teach the youth that there is more to art than kilig, drama, and happiness, that there is more to the minds of the youth than what their schools are giving them credit for. 

And really, we are so much more than being aspirants of 1.0 grades.

It's been a fun four years. Count me in on the jobless pool.

Thoughts on: Bandwagon (and Coconuts)

CONCEPT: The karaoke is on full blast, intro riff of Buko starts. A karaoke aficionado says "Ugh, that's so jejemon!" Everyone groans. 

PLOT TWIST: I pretend to groan along. 

"Ha ha, I agree. Truly, the worst song since Boom Tarat Tarat."

Look, I never really got why people hated Buko. It's catchy, the vocalist is okay, the lyrics could be less cheesy but it's not THAT awful to make everyone act as if their ears are bleeding when the infamous "tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw" drones on. 

But this entry is beyond Buko and beyond the mainstream OPM. Today I'd like to tackle a phenomenon i'd like to call: the bandwagon hate. 

Let's get one thing clear: there's nothing Filipino netizens love more than ganging up on an issue, criticizing the hell out of it, therefore causing their ego to blow up (which we all know cures acne, tuberculosis, and eczema, which is obviously why so many people do it). 

There's this particular kind of sadness I get when I see Filipinos do this, which I can only describe as similar to the sense of hopelessness that I get whenever I watch Willie Revillame's shows. And this may be due to the fact that bandwagon hate is rooted from a problem that has been an age-old issue not only in the Philippines but literally all around the globe: close-mindedness. 

Here's a fun exercise you and your family can enjoy: Find a movie review shared on Facebook that is written by a Filipino which harshly criticizes a mainstream local film. Grab a popcorn, and go to the comments section.

(Now, you have the perfect activity for when you're bored and could use some little anger in your system)

Seriously, Filipinos are SO good at blurring the boundaries between factual (or even moral) debates with personal attacks. And through years of perusing the Web, I think I finally came up with how to rebut the Filipino way:

1. State why the opposite party is wrong.
2. Now, garnish the argument with a physical attack based on the person's profile picture and/or cover photo.
3. End the comment by telling the person that no other opinion is acceptable but yours.
4. Get cured from acne.

We laugh at him, he laughs at our acne.

We let prejudice rule our final judgement which harms not only the subject of our criticism but also on our perception of the world. As Murakami put it:

 "If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking."

Dare to investigate, probe deeper, and broaden your horizon. Dare to liberate yourself from the dictations of public opinions, and have a more meaningful, tasteful, and healthy view of the world. I know this sounds like an Orwellian propaganda but seriously, Buko isn't THAT bad.

ppls loves titis