Oct. in review

Game-changing passion

Supreme sees a welcome trend this October with Filipino artists pushing the envelope in the mainstream. Case in point: Erik Matti’s Tiktik: The Aswang Chronicles, a film that premiered this month and signaled a leap forward for Filipino visual effects.

In our Oct. 13 issue, Don Jaucian interviewed Tiktik star Dingdong Dantes and found a new breed of celebrity — one that cares about uplifting his audience. Dingdong produced Tiktik with money out of his own pocket. “The aim is to produce films that are game-changers,” Dingdong explained. “Passion leaves a certain degree of respect. If the love is there, everyone will see it.”

This is a breath of fresh air. For too long a time, Filipino audiences have been force-fed the same repetitive drivel, so it’s precious to see top artists stick their necks out and innovate. Tiktik is faring well in the local box office. It has also generated international interest — signs that envelope-pushing does pay off. Supreme expects to see more pioneering local work in the months and years to come.

Filipino flavor

Supreme found another breath of fresh air in the music scene, with overseas Filipinos rediscovering their roots and adding a dose of Pinoy flavor to their tracks.

In his Oct. 27 column, Gino de la Paz wrote about the music video for UK band Rudimental’s song Not Giving In. The video tells the real-life story of champion break dancer Mouse, who grew up on the streets of Manila. Shot in Tondo, starring non-professional Filipino actors, it has been viewed nearly a million times on YouTube.

In the same column, Gino wrote about Mikey Maramag, an Oakland-based folktronica musician who is gaining a worldwide following under the moniker Blackbird Blackbird. Maramag told Interview magazine about the effect his Filipino heritage has on his music: “When I decided to name [the album] Boracay Planet after my Filipino lineage, it made me super nostalgic about my roots… I was thinking about Boracay, I was thinking about Hawaii. Being on an island was my upbringing.”

There’s a saying that the Filipino dream is to leave the country, but Supreme thinks this is changing. Pinoys are now rediscovering their roots and finding a treasure trove of stories, opportunities, sights, and sounds, with which to fuel their work.

The ‘kabit’ craze

It started with the film No Other Woman, continued with The Mistress, and this month, with A Secret Affair, A Beautiful Affair and Temptation of Wife, it seems like the “kabit” craze has reached fever pitch. What worries us is the message these shows bring forth.

In our Oct. 27 issue, Gabbie Tatad wrote, “Mistresses are hypersexual and constantly crave attention, wives are loyal to a fault, and men will always be men. These characters aren’t crafted to be people you would recognize and fall in love with… There is very little love or respect for these characters that grace the screen — not the women who suffer, not the women who are content to be cheated on, not the men who decide to cross the line of trust. They are tied up in neat little stereotypes and moved around like predictable puzzle pieces.

“[But] cheating wives and husbands aren’t the only stories we have left to tell. There is so much beauty and tragedy that comes at the cost of living life, worthy of being explored onscreen with dignity and compassion… The real question is whether or not, like the long-suffering wives in these tales of infidelity, mainstream media believes we are worth much more.”

Mind-numbing melodrama

To understand the inner workings of the mainstream machine, Cate de Leon spoke to top TV and film writer Aloy Adlawan for Supreme’s Oct. 20 issue. “Do you ever roll your eyes at the things you have to write?” she asked Aloy.

“Yes, sometimes,” he answered.

But Aloy would not defend his work. “I actually snub my own shows,” he told Cate. “If you don’t like them, that’s perfectly fine.”

Fine enough. So, here is the challenge: Perhaps the only way we can get the bad to stop is if we champion the good. That’s why this month, Supreme launched “Supreme Picks,” a weekly rundown of recommendations of shows, events, exhibits, things to do — stuff you should support, champion, and experience. “Supreme Picks” returns next week.

‘V’ for vendetta (and voting)

In last month’s “Top of the Pop,” Supreme sensed a disturbing trend toward curtailing speech with the passage of the Cybercrime law.  This month, we saw netizens fight back.

In her Oct. 6 piece, Gabbie Tatad wrote, “Congratulations, Philippine government, you’ve sufficiently screwed us over.”

“The problem is that you’ve lost sight of who we are as the electorate. Let me remind you that our rights don’t come from you… Our freedom is not yours to regulate. Our worth is not yours to determine or weigh. Your job is to safeguard our freedom by the laws you create, and not to be the entity that takes the first strike against that freedom.”

This combative attitude was evident hroughout whole social media sphere. But as debates raged  on and avatars around the world turned black, DLS Pineda wrote this realization on Oct. 6: “It’s really our fault for allowing these people to rule over our lives. While flipping a middle finger at the state and the police might be fashionable these days… we have to remember that society is the way it is because individuals take some form of action.”

This is something to remember as we approach next year’s elections, especially as voter registration ended this week. Change starts within us. Will you get out and vote?

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Tweet the author @PepeDiokno.