“The words are not good for the secret meaning, everything always becomes a bit different, as soon as it is put into words, gets distorted a bit, a bit silly—yes, and this is also very good, and I like it a lot, I also very much agree with this, that this what is one man’s treasure and wisdom always sounds like foolishness to another person.” ― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
For the past seven years or so, the Philippines has been touted as the “Social (Media) Nation of the world”. This is reminiscent of the time when the Philippines was being hailed as the “texting capital of the world”, even before the turn of the millennium. But at first glance at the statistics, it doesn’t… Continue reading Philippines: Social Media Capital of the World
©Datu Jamal Ashley Yahya Abbas BACKGROUND At the end of authoritarian rule in the Philippines, the first public access BBS (bulletin board system) based in the country – named the First- Fil RBBS – went online in 1986. Later, a network to connect several BBSes in Metro Manila was formed – The Philippine FidoNet exchange.(1)By… Continue reading History of Online Journalism in the Philippines
Not everybody can READ a film. That takes tons of reading materials, thousands of hours watching films of all kinds, understanding Film theories, Communication theories, Cultural Studies theories, and Media Literacy theories. Knowledge of world history, world mythologies, symbolisms, semiotics, and philosophy will come in handy, too. And of course, the skills to "read" media… Continue reading Films, Media Representation and Reality: Inclusion or Misrepresentation?
For the past few weeks, the Filipino public has been bombarded with a barrage of propaganda on the side of the President's men about the alleged violations of ABS-CBN radio-TV network. On the other hand, ABS-CBN's cable channels have been bombarding the viewers with interviews and testimonials of people claiming that their lives would not… Continue reading PRESS FREEDOM: The crux of the ABS-CBN franchise denial
FILM AS ART OR AS SOCIAL PRACTICE When I was in graduate film school, I had a long-running discussion with the dean on whether Film should be viewed as Art or as Social Practice. In that college, the “politically correct” view was the Film-As-Social-Practice school of thought. I, on the other hand, stuck… Continue reading Parasite (2019): Film as Art or Social Practice?
It's the time of the year when children, teenagers and young adults graduate from elementary, high school and college. In the Philippines, nowadays, so many parents are elated and extremely proud of their children who graduate with honors, as cum laudes or with various awards such as the Most Diligent Pupil or the Most Creative… Continue reading Transmutation Tables et al
Postprandial Musings, 2.0 