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Sentence Outline

THESIS STATEMENT: Philippine contemporary independent films of the 21st century turned

screen representation of masculinity into an easy target of attack by equating lesser forces to the

male figure, effeminizing the male character and, consequently, increasing apparent affirmation

of homoerotic affairs.

I. The Problematic Redefinition. Philippine contemporary independent films of the 21st

century raise explicit issues that challenged the acknowledged construct of masculinity

and the male body, like issues on homoeroticism, male bonding, and “reconfiguration of

the structures of gender difference” along the lines of racial, class, and economic

disparity (Cohan & Hark, 1993).

A. Prevalent in a number of independent films is the depiction of the male figure as

being narcissistic, expressive, vulnerable, and feminine – a departure from the

conventional definition of male sexuality as being assertive and explosive.

B. Within the gay movement have there appeared specific discussions regarding the

representation of masculinity in Philippine independent films, alongside the

inquiries on how masculinity is placed on a constant danger of slipping away, of

losing its coherence.

II. The Bully Of The Lesser. Fears on male identity and autonomy surfaced as the looming

female’s presence threaten to control one’s action and one’s mind and to constitute one’s

very self.
A. In the film Torotot (de los Reyes, 2008), character Leo’s ego was impended by

the idea that his wife, Marie, was so much preoccupied by the call of her job.

Similar dispute to the male character works in Ben and Sam (Bacolod,2010).

B. The feminist agenda strives to give women greater economic parity with men in

terms of employment – for instance, Nanay Flor Pineda of Serbis (Mendoza,

2008), was depicted as being a traditional old-world businesswoman who

dominates the theatre house, above his male patron. This ground also works for

Lana’s Roxxxane (2009) and Kubrador (Jetturian, 2006).

C. Himalaya of Mangatyanan (Tarog, 2009) was able to escape the hounding

reputation of his father, who himself is a legendary photographer, by creating her

own identity at her chosen line of work and making herself equal with his male

colleagues.

D. Determined to cover up for his shattered ego, independent films usually portray

men’s revenge as the exploitation of his predisposed strength and advantage over

weaker forces. Crudely put, when a man’s wife or a subordinate member get

uppity, he puts him or her down and gives him or her beating he or she deserves.

1. Sarge and Vic deadbeat drug addict and prostitute Gina in the film

Kinatay (Mendoza, 2009) for refusing to pay a debt she owes. This

premise also works for Project X: Deep Throat (Aquino & Jacinto, 2009)

as booking agent Lorna was killed for not paying the debt he owe to a

syndicate.

2. In Torotot (de los Reyes, 2008) Leo salvaged his waning self-worth by

beating Marie and having a brief affair with his assistant.


3. The unwillingness of the only son of Labwanan’s chief to continue the

tribe’s legacy caused familial trouble and led the father into beating his

son in Mangatyanan (Tarog, 2009).

III. Tears of transition. Emphasis on externality and the male figure is shifting focus, giving

way to a presumably more internal, emotional, and feminine dimension in contrast to the

usual portrayal of physical feats.

A. Ben replaces her mother in doing household chores such as washing dishes and

cooking meals in Ben and Sam (Bacolod,2010).

B. In Torotot (de los Reyes, 2008), Leo’s masculinity overlaps with his vanity and

too much concern with his outer appearance – a trait which is closely labelled as

feminine.

C. New narrative device of displaying masculinity through fathering were used by

Yamamoto in Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (2005) as Paco looks after

his sons and Altajeros in Little Boy, Big Boy (2009) as the carefree graphic artist

Raymund confronts with the responsibility to look after his seven-year-old

nephew, Zack.

1. The displacement of the mother by the father as the parental

signifier and the recuperation of macho, destructive masculinity even as it

dissolves itself.

2. The provider-protector roles of a man have dehumanized,

damaged, and limited men in ways as serious and pervasive as the

producer, the mother.


IV. The Buddy Politic. Most independent films seems not to accept how other sources regard

the relationship between men and women as constructed nor, for that matter, does it

allow the possibility of seeing homosexuality as a form of deviance and abnormality, but

as an alternative form of gender commitment which is accepted by the surrounding

characters.

A. Masculinity is subjected even more to a process of reinterpretation as independent

films portrayed homosexuality as normal, and a natural progression of society.

1. Save from the few instances of harassment and potshot by some,

the eponymous 12-year old character of Maxi in Ang Pagdadalaga ni

Maximo Oliveros (Yamamoto, 2005) is relatively well-received in his

community, including his war freak father and brothers.

2. In a phone conversation with Ben, startling line from Sam’s father

in Ben and Sam (Bacolod, 2010) which goes like “Ikaw ba ‘yung

boyfriend ng anak ko?” (Are you the boyfriend of my son?) accentuates his

tolerance with his son’s affair with another guy.

3. In Si Heidi, Si Ivy, at Si V (Tan, 2010), character Vanessa, a

cheerful young gay and stand-up comedian who engages in different

sexual pleasures with multiple partners has a very supportive parents who

are willing to tolerate him all the way.

B. As film critics investigate masculinity and male spectacle, they maintain it as a

performance, a masquerade, and a disguise mask – a deception of homosexual

irony.
1. The paradox of the concealed homosexual affair between JP and

William in the movie Daybreak (Alix Jr., 2008) occurs as we consider the

thought of them having another relationship with a woman.

2. Being an athletic figure of their campus, the tough, virile

ascription on Ben’s personality in Ben and Sam (Bacolod, 2010) was

compromised as he engaged in a relationship with Sam – sarcasm indeed.

3. In the film Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (Yamamoto,

2005), the principled rendering of Victor’s duty as an honest-to-goodness

policeman contradicts with his responsive and earnest attitude with

Maximo.

4. The ending of Jay (Passion, 2008), where Jay Santiago, the

director of the documentary, become a man after the masseur undressed

before him which opposed his true character as a gay.

C. Philippine independent films of the 21st century has expended in the display of the

homosexual male by way of portraying him as a favourable individual and by

drawing sympathy with his struggles as an actor of his preferred gender.

1. The narration of the young janitor Oscar as he observes everything

that happens in that run-down theatre were so fashioned in a lyrical appeal

that director Delgado of SRO: Standing Room Only (Delgado, 2010) tried

to draw sympathy, and not loathness, to the gay attendees of the said

theatre house.

2. Maxi was described as being well-experienced about life though he

has seen fewer places and tenured in the world for a shorter duration in
Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros (Yamamoto, 2005); for in fact, he

knows how to utter resistance when he knows himself that he is right.

D. So ubiquitous in homosexual-themed independent film is the portrayal of the shift

of male masculinity that intense homoerotic intimacy between two lovers

gravitates the cinematic representation thereof.

1. As JP and William contends with the idea of breaking their

forbidden relationship in Daybreak (Alix Jr., 2008), they plunged their

selves into a “beautiful night” (Gohetia, 2008) where they made love as

pleasurable as ever – a scene that impressed critics for its exquisite

cinematography.

2. The male-to-male sex scene of Ben and Sam (Bacolod,2010), Boy

(Solito, 2009), and Little Boy, Big Boy (Altarejos, 2009) altogether

intensify the filmic demonstration of homosexual affairs between the

protagonists.

3. The film SRO: Standing Room Only (Delgado, 2010) deliberately

expose power struggle and sexual politics involved in the industry of male

prostitution through the characters of Sonny, Roldan, and Oscar.

V. In the final analysis, serious evidences lead to the inference that Philippine contemporary

independent films of the 21st century turned screen representation of masculinity into an

easy target of attack by equating lesser forces to the male figure, effeminizing the male

character and, consequently, increasing apparent affirmation of homoerotic affairs.


A. The values of masculine physicality are harder to maintain straight-facedly and

unproblematically in an age where commonly accepted notions on male ideology

where deliberately challenged.

B. Far from being static and stable, masculinity is in constant danger of change and

modification; it is, however, evident that demand for conventional masculinism

on Philippine independent film continued to be insistent.

C. Therefore, as we move into a more intertextual and reflexive multimedia age,

discourses on redefining masculinity in independent films deserve wider

viewership.

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