Reflective Output: Another Aspect Of Things

         The underlying concept of trends is the culture that plays a determining role in shaping generation. Undertaken by a large proportion of the society, trends outline positive and negative impacts on our society. For instance, the term selfie which is defined as a self-taken photograph traces back the year 2002 where it was first used as a word, and the year 2013, when it was added to the Oxford English Dictionary. Even before the embarkation of the term, self-taken photographs have existed for much longer. What has been downplayed way back can still resurface today or in the near future; is one of the characteristics of trends. There have been repetitive actions of people depending on the influences and impact they make. For example, in the early 2000’s selfies were typically flash-blinded self-portraits in the bathroom Myspace users take. Later on, when Facebook dominated the social online network, the Myspace type of selfies has become an indication of bad taste as Facebook users now take more formal, intricate and sometimes taken by other photos. With this, mobile photo applications like Instagram and snapchat led selfie to be wide spread that they have been so easy to create and share. Trends nowadays comes in different forms. May it be a political, physical appearance, economic, and environment.

        I have chosen the selfie trend to reflect and make example on this specific lesson because it covers almost every element of a trend there is, also selfie is a venture that everyone in this planet should be discreet about. As every trend goes and like what I’ve stated in the former paragraph, trends have positive and negative impacts on our society. Discretion and prudence should be grounded among ourselves in everything we do. As we live in a digital era, where almost everything can be accessed with a tap or a swipe, as inventors make all else easier for us, hence the easy access to all types of social media, troll accounts, hackers, identity thieves, internet predators, and pedophiles are spread everywhere easily waiting for their next victim. Another example is the corset trend centuries ago where European females wore corsets despite being uncomfortable for most. Still they wore corsets because individuals who do not follow the trend are considered to be non-conformists who do not wish to be recognized with the society they live in. Thus, it can be said and proved that following a trend is often fueled by social pressure. When the real deal is, sense of identification and belongingness in the society should not be acquired through conforming with the ‘greater acceptability image’ of a society. What if an individual is not financially capable of keeping up with the tangible goods of a trend? This can result in depression in the population which may have health consequences.  These trends may have positive or negative effects on people. Considering the chance of an individual to be pushed into depression due to inability to keep up with the trends, it can be said that the negative effects outweigh positive effects. Therefore, we should always anticipate and regard the possible outcomes of the things that are happening and changing around us in order to avoid circumstances that threatens the life of every individual.

        

Movie Analysis & Review: Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Photo source: https://cinapse.co/criterion-review-pans-labyrinth-3978e21b554a   

Plot Summary

The film Pan’s Labyrinth tells the story of a young girl who is named Ofelia with her pregnant mother who is named Carmen and her step-father, Captain Vidal, a corrupt and twisted captain. Directed and also written by Mexican author Guillermo del Toro, the film is set in Spain 1944, a period in history where fascist Franco ruled.

With Ofelia’s encounters a mysterious faun; one of a class of lustful rural gods, represented as a man with a goat's horns, ears, legs, and tail. The faun believes that she is his princess who lives in the Underworld before she dies. The faun then gives her three (3) tasks to accomplish in two (2) weeks to determine whether or not she is worthy to go back to the said kingdom and be the princess that the faun claims her to be. With that, Ofelia desperately wants to escape her life from the real world and return to the said Underworld that she feels she truly belongs.

Eventually, the downfall of captain Vidal feels entirely satisfying and truly justified. By the end of the film, it is not enough for Vidal to simply die as he has done too many truly evil acts for it to be that simple. He must be fully and perfectly annihilated. And by Ofelia’s strong-willed personality and sticking to what she believes in is right and not what the higher person with power tells her to do is what considers her soul worthy of returning to the Underworld.

Interpretations and Symbolism

 (I have inserted photos for those who has not yet watched the movie) 

• Ofelia just really wants to escape the cruel world she lives in. 

• In her first task, Ofelia needs to cure a sick tree, the tree appears to be like a woman’s uterus. This resembles her mother that is sick. 

• The reason for the sickness of the tree is because of the toad inside the tree, the toad represents her sibling, the child inside of Carmen’s womb which is causing her mother’s sickness. 

Photo source: http://www.enjoymyanmarholiday.com/index.php/help/8675/

• Ofelia then removes the key which caused the deflation of the toad thus curing the trees sickness. The key represents a phallus, something that you insert in a hole, and because of Ofelia’s anger towards her sibling in her mother’s womb, she wants to remove the child inside it to end her mother’s suffering. Therefore, this scene is a representation of Ofelia wanting to remove the reason for Carmen’s sickness. She successfully cured the tree in her fantasy world where she sadly cannot do in her real world. 

Photo source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/568438784196148111/?lp=true

• The pale man represents Ofelia’s step-father Captain Vidal. The dining room of both men are also captured in the same way, a long rectangle table with a monster sitting on the chair of what is supposed to be the head of the family. This was said to be intentional by Del Toro to make the two antagonists of each of Ofelia’s worlds, the real world and the Underworld, resembling one another. 

• Also, the pale man’s characteristics represent Vidal’s believes in blindly obeying the chain of command. 

Photo source: https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/best-cinematography-exploring-light-dark-pans-labyrinth/ 

• Vidal starts off pristinely groomed, hair slicked to perfection, the model commander and a representation of the new fascist regime that everyone would look up to and follow. But, he ends the film physically bruised, drugged and stumbling about after Ofelia in a manner similarly just like in the scary pale man scene. 

     I would rate this movie a four (4) out of 5 (five) because it is very much relatable in a sense and it depicts the reality. Although this movie did confuse me a bit, I've come to a conclusion that this movie is an eye-opening (literally) film for all of us. Granting that this is only a "fairy tale" story, it tells the truth about politics, and/or families. That's also one of the reasons why I appreciate this film so much, it has shown reality in a different way that maybe no one can ever do.  And now I understand why this created such a fuss for more than a decade. Such respects for the actors and especially the writer and director Mr. Guillermo del Torro. Certainly a wonderful film!! A must watch!

PISTANG TOMASINO #GREATFINDS

1.) Scented Candle

The first booth that caught my attention was the North Triangle Alliance (NTA) community from Montalban, Rizal. They sell different varieties of candles, scented or unscented. They have it! They said this is their main livelihood project. They are basically more focused on enhancing these items.

PRODUCTION: 

The community gets their raw materials from Divisoria. They can make about one hundred to two hundred (100-200) scented candles of this size a day. 

This item that I bought from them is a scented candle and the one I got is in lavender scent. It cost me fifty pesos ( ₱ 50.00) only. 

The reason behind my fascination for this product is because I think scented candles are so expensive and overpriced. But the NTA livelihood project accommodated both price and quality satisfaction.

Therefore, I believe that their product will be a hit sometime soon. 

2.) Brass ring 

They believe that it “stops bad” anomalies.

The second item that I found to be interesting was these jewelries made out of brass metal. I bought a ring for myself which cost me about fifty to sixty pesos (₱ 50 - ₱ 60). The community that makes these products is the Cooperative of Women in Health and Development (COWHED). It is located in T’boli Tribe Lake Sebu, South Cotabato.

PRODUCTION:

The community carves their desired design on a beeswax. Then they wrap the design with mud or molding clay and let the design dry down solid. After the design being molded, they then melt bronze mixed with copper into the molded design.

I was told that it take two to three ( 2 – 3 ) days for an estimated fifty ( 50 ) number of brass rings produced.

The design of their jewelries has a very sleek and classy look to it. Throughout the days I’ve used it, it doesn’t tarnish as well or leave a green stain on my finger (which often happens when I wear non-gold jewelry). Also, people started complimenting me with this ring. I would tell them how much I bought it for and instantly they get surprised because of the good quality with a low price.

.3.) Keychain / Bag “Charm”

Third item that I found to be not only unique but also aesthetic. This can also be bought in the Cooperative of Women in Health and Development (COWHED) booth, the same booth where I bought the brass ring. I came upon this while I was picking out my ring size. In my opinion, this keychain stood out among the rest of the other keychains. Besides the well beaded design, the center piece is called the “Rudraksha “. As per the community’s representative in the booth, it only blooms once a year. I surfed the internet to find out that “Rudraksha - is a seed traditionally used as prayer beads in Hinduism. The seed is produced by several species of large evergreen broad-leaved tree in the genus Elaeocarpus, with Elaeocarpus ganitrus being the principal species.”. It is believed to be a “Stopper of bad intentions”, a “bag charm” and it “Brings luck” to whom ever possesses it. This key chain / bag charm retails for thirty pesos (₱ 30.00) only.

They can make about 20 pieces a day. 

4.) Beaded Keychains

Last item that I bought was the keychains that were made out of beads. I found these keychain that are made out of beads because it is cute and it can go well with your bag, ID, or keys. What I find more interesting about this item is about its origin and how it was made. The seller told me that those products that are being sold are handmade by the inmates of Parañaque City Jail Female Dormitory. They decided to make the inmates be productive and participate in making products out of beads, which is I found very creative. It cost me 15 pesos each, at first, I did have any intention on buying one but I changed my mind after knowing the purpose of why they sell keychain beads. The purpose of this product selling of the Parañaque City Jail is to be able to give benefits for the female inmates if the products were to be sold, the proceedings will directly be given to them to be able to support them financially. I was moved by that kind of idea so I was motivated to buy from them, and I purchased two keychain beads from them, I gave the other one to my yaya, and the other one is mine.

I was disappointed because the duration of the event did not last longer than I was expecting since it only lasted for just three days. I hope they next time, if they organize a cultural festival event again here, they would extend it for a week so that many students are able to experience the different products and merchandise that the organization has to offer. The products were really great and I believe that it was really made with quality, that what it makes it more fascinating for me, I hope that those products that each and every organization offers will be exposed not only for us Thomasians, but also for the whole Filipino community, if there will be a chance, it would be great if the products were also to be exposed globally so that our culture may also be prevalent in other countries, with that, the culture of the Philippines will surely  grow.

Overall, the Pistang Tomasino was fun, and I was really amazed on how Filipinos are very creative and innovative, and I like it how Filipinos integrate their skills and the culture that is why they are able to produce such products that can be used for promoting our culture and improving our cultural standards here in the Philippines. The idea of having a cultural festival within the vicinity of the University of Santo Tomas, is a very good idea for Thomasian students to be able to adapt and be familiar with the local culture that exist within our country.