Nationalism Means Learning How to Goosestep

One of my UA&P students posts here about a variety of different musings about the notion of a national identity. Now, that's all well and good, and it is healthy for society that its youth ponders such issues as this. (No, I ain't that old.)

However, one part of her entry caught my eye, and it was the part regarding nationalism and Filipino movies. She quotes a local film luminary approvingly:

I believe that there is a Filipino feeling for movies; a Filipino way of film making;

and one day this will emerge, slower than usual, human, pathetic, touching the heart.
On the screen, we’ll see the way we talk, the way we make love, the way we die.

We are a unique people living in a unique place,
and we deserve a uniquely Filipino cinema."

-LAMBERTO AVELLANA

(extract of Portrait of a Director: Lamberto Avellana.
Originally published in Filipino Film Review, January - Match, 1985)

Now, while Nationalism is not mentioned in the quote, the title of her post has "Nationalism" on it and it is implied that she understands this to be a nationalist making films and changing the world and whatnot.

Now, let's head back to reality. This is what a "nationalist film" looks like. If you don't recognize the title, look it up. If you want more goosebumps, check out the comments.

Sieg Heil...

Now, Leni Reifenstahl (uniquely German!) is considered to be the greatest female director of the 20th century. And the little "nationalist" film she made is her magnum opus. Of course, after deifying one of the greatest monsters the human race has ever seen, she never worked again.

Now, imagine our best filmmakers making "nationalist" films. What we will get is either nauseating junk, or breathtaking monstrosities. I can already see the future, with Akbayan, Sanalakas and Bayan Muna party members goosestepping to Malacanang while our glorious revolutionary leader enraptures the "masa" with populist slogans and empty promises (like Obama!), all captured lovingly by our "uniquely Filipino" filmmaker.

Another funny thing about the quote is that it was said in the year 1985. So, according to our film industry, the "uniquely Filipino" film is the mindlessly formulaic action film, or the poor man's slapstick, or the so-called ST (euphemism for softcore porn) films. Sure, there were gems here and there, but even these gems all stuck to the same themes. Its kinda like, no matter how excellent a game Medal of Honor is, its still another WWII game in a sea of WWII games.

Its no better today. Sure, we now have independent filmmakers to challenge the furmulae of the mainstream. Despite this, we still get the same crap over and over again. Just take a look at indie cinema in the Philippines today. If we believe this rather inbred community of "indie" filmmakers, what is "uniquely Filipino" is poverty, (homo)sexuality, and even more poverty and  (homo)sexuality. I mean, what the fuck are we, a nation of poor, closeted drag queens? To be honest, it seems that such a community of morons never met a disestablishmentarian brain fart they didn't like.

The greatest travesty of local filmmakers consciously trying for a "uniquely Filipino" cinema is that they always mightily screw up the "uniquely Filipino" part. Listen to the guy quoted above: "how we talk, how we make love, how we die"? Is that all we Filipinos do? Cluck, fuck and die in the muck? Not every Filipino is a poor schmuck trying to get out of the farm/squatter's area. Only 2%-3% of us are homosexual and we don't all suffer from sexual dysfunctions. We don't all beat our wives, smile at prostitution and champion cheap hypocrisy. And we don't all break down into melodramatic fits over the most petty of crises. I am sick as hell of these filmmakers telling me that their "uniquely Filipino" crap is what the Filipino actually is. Like the idiot filmmaker quoted above, I too had the opportunity to leave this country, but chose to stay instead. But if my country is what these morons portray it to be, then I would've been gone on the first flight out.

You know what the better route is? Try making films that are universally human. You are bound to get more things right that way. Why? Because the Filipino is human. I felt more connected to my being Filipino watching "Cheaper By the Dozen" (hey, we have our large families too!) than I did watching "Bagong Buwan", where everybody is an ideological cliche in search of a character.

Universally human, in all the glory and grit, joy and sorrow, triumph and trials of every saint and sinner that saw fit to join the human race, That is how we pay tribute, not just to our being Filipino, but to our being human.

That is much better than the petty narrowness and suffocating rigidity of "nationalism".

"Nationalism" can suck it.