"Big Magic" (part 1/2)

"Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear" by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of the sensational memoir "Eat, Pray, Love")
Non-fiction, self-help, motivational
(c) 2015

Here are my favorite lessons from the first three chapters of Liz Gilbert's inspiring book:

I. COURAGE

• The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them. The hunt to uncover those jewels--that's CREATIVE LIVING. The courage to go on the hunt is what separates a mundane existence from a more ENCHANTED one. The often surprising result of that hunt is the BIG MAGIC.
• "Argue for your limitations and you get to keep them." 
• Creativity is a path for the BRAVE but it's not a path for the FEARLESS.

II. ENCHANTMENT

• While the TORMENTED ARTIST throws a temper tantrum, the MUSE sits quietly  in a corner of the studio, patiently waiting for him to calm down and sober up so everyone can get back to work. 
• Ideas are alive. Ideas seek the most available human collaborator. Ideas have a conscious will. Ideas do move from soul to soul. Ideas will always try to seek the swiftest and most efficient conduit to the earth.
• An Idea is stubborn. It refuses to stop searching until it has found an equally stubborn collaborator. 
• If you show up for work day after day, you just might get lucky enough some random morning to burst right into bloom. 
• The Romans believed that an exceptionally gifted person WAS NOT a genuis but HAD a genius. It's a subtle but important distinction (being vs.having). This way, the vulnerable human ego is protected from the corrupting influence of praise and from the corrosive effects of shame. 
• "Just write anything and put it out there with reckless abandon" - Ralph Ellison

III. PERMISSION

• Golden Rule in the Gilbert household: If you're supporting yourself financially and you're not bothering anyone else, then you're free to do whatever you want with your life.
• You want to write a book? Make a song? Direct a movie? Decorate pottery? Learn a dance? Explore a new land? Do it. Who cares? It's your birthright as a human being, so do it with a cheerful heart. Let inspiration lead you wherever it wants to lead you. For most of history, people just made things, and they didn't make such a big freaking deal out of it. 
• I'll tell you who I am. I am a child of God, just like anyone else. I am a constituent of this universe. I have a right to be here. I have a right to my own voice and a right to my own vision. I have a right to collaborate with creativity, because I myself am a product and consequence of Creation. I'm on a mission of artistic liberation.
• If you're working on your craft every day on your own, with steady discipline and love, then you are already for real as a creator. You don't need to pay anybody to affirm that for you.
• Editors could reject me all they wanted but I wasn't going anywhere. I plan to stick around. 
• Smile sweetly and suggest--as politely as you possible can--that they go make their own fucking art. Then stubbornly continue making yours.

I'm currently in the fifth chapter of the book. I'll share with you my new learnings on a new blog :)

Gratitude List

[Part 1]

It's no secret that it pays to be grateful for things, big or small, that make us smile and, in some cases, get us through the day with better disposition. 

Recently, here are some of the things I am thankful for:

• Taxi/cab drivers who don't choose passengers, especially during heavy rains. See, I live in Tondo, Manila. More often than not, these drivers would deny me service because they are afraid of the street and neighborhood conditions in Tondo. Honestly, I believe that anywhere is as dangerous or as safe as your mind conceive it to be.

• Writers who are grateful/not intimidated by fans. I attended Virgin Labfest 12, the festival of untried, untested, and unstaged plays in CCP where you can basically bump into some of the who's who in Philippine theater and literary scene. So I bumped into these writers and told them how I admire their work: Nicolas Pichay, Eric Cabahug, Dingdong Novenario, and Herlyn Gail Alegre. They warmly and humbly accepted my compliments and offered their gratitude in return.

• Being able to help an elderly cross the street/open the door. The best thing is when they smile at you, say "thank you," and even wish you God's blessings. Awww...

• Strangers offering their humble food and starting a conversation. Once I was having dinner at a convenience store and the man beside me offered his food (which is as plain as mine). He then complimented my watch and asked where I got it from. That experience reminded me that everyone has something to share regardless if they look interesting or not. 

• Unexpected team dinner. To remind everyone that we still have a life outside work and things inside the office are not personal.

Here's hoping to more frequent and longer gratitude lists soon!

Let's Talk About Melodrama

Last week, I attended the talk "Iyakan at Sampalan: Melodrama in Philippine Cinema" by film historian and professor Nick Deocampo.

It was a 2-hour entertaining and informative talk made more engaging by the generous sharing and animated movements of Prof. Nick. 

Here are some of the most salient points from the lecture:

DEFINITION

Melodrama comes from the Greek Melos (song) and it denoted a stage play accompanied by music. It evolved to "drama with music (melos)," although in modern melodramas, music ceased to be an integral part.

Melodramas have stock characters (heroes, villains). Characters that are simply drawn, 1-dimensional or stereotyped.

Melodrama came to signify "a form of drama characterized by sensationalism, emotional intensity, hyperbole, strong action, violence, rhetorical excesses, moral polarities, brutal villainy, and its ultimate elimination, and the triumph of good." (Dissanayake)

POPULAR CHARACTERISTICS
-Woman's film
-Iyakan, Pang-aapi, Sampalan, Sabunutan, Tarayan, Higanti, Patayan, Ubusan ng lahi, Patawaran
-Pejoratively called tear-jerker
-Low form of entertainment drama

THREE ASPECTS TO FILM AND MELODRAMA

1. Melodrama gives prominence to the experiences, emotions, and activities of women. It provides a platform for women's voice.

2. Melodrama gives attention to fundamental issues of representation, role of ideology, and cultural construction.

3. Melodrama provides ways to illuminate the deeper structures of diverse cultures.

POPULAR EXAMPLES OF MELODRAMATIC FILMS
-Himala
-Bituing Walang Ningning
-Atsay
-Anak
-Brutal
-Hellow Soldier (Political Melodrama)
-Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon
-Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa
-The Flor Contemplacion Story
-Burlesque Queen
and a lot more (esp.from the 80s and 90s)

Visit this LINK to learn more about the upcoming talk of Prof. Nick in Ayala Museum. Trust me, listening to him is worth your while! :)

"Of God and Men"

Memoir
Raymond Alikpala
2012, Maverick House Publishing

If you're a homophobic person, this book is not for you (or maybe in time, it will be). If you're a transitioning homophobic or you don't give a big deal out of homosexuality, then by all means, read this book.

Of God and Men is a memoir that can be read beginning with the Epilogue. It might seem to be a long read since it began with the author's childhood (he finished recounting his story when he was 40 years old) but Raymond Alikpala tried his best to walk you through a childhood that was strangely unique than what most of us experienced--a childhood that was relatable only to a minority of the population.

Alikpala grew up feeling and thinking that he was gay but acting like the opposite. Not everyone will be able to relate to him but I'm sure each of us has had a childhood that was confusing as well--forcing us to act what we thought was appropriate and accepted by the society we were growing up in--only to realize years later that we didn't exactly make all the right choices anyway.

Raymond, being gay, is no stranger to this tale. His story was, however, told with so much honesty that one would think he knows the author all his life.

Various chapters in Alikpala's memoir revealed his long desire to have a true best friend and lover, and his several failed attempts at that. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the book is long, transparent, and detailed--so one can relate to him, understand him, and offer a friendship and care that this good son, ex-devout Catholic, overachiever student so deserves.

Alikpala's bravery in sharing his coming out story (read: to "come out" is a big deal and to "share" it is another) is admirable. While he remains a barely recognizable author (like most LGBT writers), the local literary scene needs more fearless souls like him so it could offer a broader range of stories for modern readers.

Of God and Men is the first book I read that highlighted the unlikely connection between faith and homosexuality. It was written in a controlled prose (meaning, the writer chose his words carefully) that it would pass for conservative readers but it also offered a bit of nasty storytelling that it would surely attract liberated ones.

Whether you're a member of the LGBT community or you just want to know more about it and about them, go ahead and grab this book.

It's just like talking to a friend over coffee: expect a conversation that is light, easy to follow, and can get serious and funny all throughout. Unfortunately, it doesn't end after you finish a cup because it's 447-page long.

My rating: 3.5/5 rainbow-colored stars

Why Theater?

The recent writing challenge I accepted:

My take:

I can give you a hundred and one reasons why, but I will settle for only one—because theater is live. Take one; no buts or maybes; and all edits and ‘final cuts’ happen before the real or figurative curtain opens.

In our local entertainment scene where fans are widely engrossed in the hottest love teams, newest imported foreign dramas, and most anticipated Hollywood blockbusters—there is an art form that, unlike them, is raw in presentation but finely tuned in preparation.

If one sees a play on stage, he can form an opinion about the story, its characters, and other production elements as he sees them and before he leaves the theater. One doesn’t have the luxury of saying, “I don’t know how to feel about what I saw, I’ll probably just watch it again” or “I think tomorrow’s story would be better because the characters are likely to meet.”

Theater does not bargain for well-thought-out opinions. Like how it presents itself, it asks audiences to be true to their emotions as they feel it, wherever they are seated—to sing along to the chorus of “Basang-Basa sa Ulan,” from “Rak of Aegis” (PETA); to let tears flow for the suspended romance of the lead characters in “The Bridges of Madison County” (Atlantis Theatrical Entertainment Group/ATEG); to choose between the former lover and the new girlfriend fighting for one man in “Cock” (Red Turnip Theater); to be inspired by the nationalism of one of our (finest) political leaders in “Mabining Mandirigma” (Tanghalang Pilipino); and even to laugh and lust over the scantily clad performers in “50 Shades! The Musical Parody: Manila” (Vivre Fort Entertainment and 9 Works Theatrical). Theater asks audiences to indulge in their feelings with the house lights dimmed, popcorns totally unnecessary.

Not to undermine the contributions of cinema, television, and visual arts to the awakening of Filipino audiences, but theater has a strong, and most of the time liberated, interpretation of “what’s hot” (pop culture) and “what we forget,” “what we refuse to believe,” and “what we deny as a generation.” Think about the no-nonsense millennials who bannered the aptly titled “No Filter” (Sandbox Collective). It was well-received by members of the Gen X and Gen Y alike that it had to have a second run—as if we didn’t learn enough about this new breed’s personality from social media.

To say that going to the theater is a form of escape is not entirely wrong. We must, however, consider that it’s a more costly purchase than a cinema or gallery ticket or a free TV drama. When one goes to the theater and willingly pay for a price of PHP400 (at the cheapest), he’s looking for something he doesn’t usually see or hear in any other art form or mass media. He waives his entitlement to know any better, evidenced by his willingness to seat for an average of two hours and absorb all the talking, dancing, singing, crying, and moving in and around the stage.

And theater does not disappoint.

In theater, the ‘activist’ that you find annoying can talk to you closely and share why he grew up to be such a fearless, uncompromising man like Bart Guingona’s ‘Ned Weeks’ in “The Normal Heart” (Actor's Actors Inc./The Necessary Theater). The ‘lavish matriarch’ who denies her wealth’s depletion can take you back to her days in the province so you would reconsider your opinion about her, like what Cherrie Gil’s ‘Enriquetta Jardeleza-Sofronio’ accomplished in “Arbol de Fuego” (PETA).

When theater presents itself as a comedy, more often than not it is inspired by a dramatic reality. When the playbill tells you it’s a drama, you’ll find yourself laughing because of its fine resemblance to the world that we know actually exists. When it is a fantasy, don’t fool yourself—it’s grounded on real emotions just the same. And when they say that what you are watching is fiction—it’s only because you don’t know the real people that inspired the characters in it. Essentially, theater is not limited by labels. It may be considered as one genre only but you can see a hint of other genres if you look closely enough.

One may argue that the characters in theater move in one stage only—often rectangular—limiting the effects of the story to its audiences. Well, our world is finite and we move around it as far as we can, doing and discovering things as often as we can, as well. The real stage that we live in has its limits and as the actors of our own characters, there will be an inevitable moment when we take a bow and step back to let the curtains—real or imaginary—close.

That is life. Theater is life.