Wind, Water, Fire: Faces of Feminism in Kaleldo

Ingrid K. VELASQUEZ and Arby Mari B. LARAO

THIS REVIEW of Brillante Mendozas 2006 digital film, Kaleldo1 (a Pampango term for Summer Heat) presents images of empowered women in a society that is replete with patriarchal ideologies. As a form of mass media, the film carried with it, deliberately or unwittingly, higher expectations of ideology in discussing the dialectics between patriarchy and feminism. Set in the town of Guagua in Pampanga, Kaleldo is a story about a family of three daughters and their father, the woodcarver Mang Rudy (Johnny Delgado). The daughters are: Jesusa (portrayed by Cherry Pie Picache), the eldest; Lourdes (Angel Aquino); and Grace (Juliana Palermo).The story dwells on women and their struggles, loves, and the men in their lives. The film uses images of nature as symbolism of the three: Jesusa as water, Lourdes as fire, and Grace as wind. Two Sides of a Coin: Patriarchy and Feminism Central to this review is the discussion of patriarchal and feminist images in the film. Owing to centuries of mens repression of women, the
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first signs of women fighting for their rights brought a disturbance in the status quo; hence, some stereotypes of feminism endure: man-hating, braburning, radicals (Wood, 1997). Often, though, the images are associated with lesbianism. To understand where the very negative connotations of feminism came from, it is important to understand the term vis--vis patriarchy. Literally, patriarchy means rule by fathers. It refers to the overall system of structures and practices that sustain inequities between the experiences, responsibilities, status, and opportunities of different social groups especially women and men. Moreover, patriarchy does not refer to the views, values, or behaviors of individual men. Feminist criticisms of patriarchy and patriarchal values, therefore, are not attacks against men but against a system that reflects the views and interests of men as a group (Wood, 1997: 314). A very basic definition of feminism is an organized activity that addresses the political, social, cultural and economic inequality between women and men. Sister Mary John Mananzan (1997) defines feminism as the belief that women are oppressed, that there is gender inequality and the commitment to put an end to gender inequality (35). Thy Will be Done Kaleldo abounds with patriarchal images. Some shots are, almost unarguably, memorable. For instance, the shot of imposing church faade (considered a patriarchal institution), where Graces wedding was be held. The images of the crucified Jesus Christ, (whose crucifixion, as all Catholics are familiar with, is imposed upon the Son by the Father) are likewise patriarchal. To top it all, there is Mang Rudys invading presence on the lives of his daughters. Throughout the film, Mang Rudy is undoubtedly the patriarch to whom everybody defers. His daughters continue to live with him even if they already have families and he constantly lets his daughters know what he thinks and feels. His daughters, especially Lourdes, continue to look up to him for approval. Jesusa always seek love and acceptance from him. Grace, the youngest and the rebel in the family, is the only one who dared voice out her disagreements with the way their father handles the family. To (re)assert his position as the patriarch and whenever a female character threatens to overcome that power, Mang Rudy resorts to the
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occasional slap in the face, never mind if all his daughters are old enough, to try and keep them in line. Mang Rudy is especially harsh to Grace and to Jesusa who happens to be (butch) lesbian and. At the wedding, Mang Rudy orders Jesusa to stop drinking, which she meekly obeys. However, as soon as he turns his back, she breaks a bottle in defiance. He immediately returns to strike her even as Lourdes and Grace tried in vain to restrain him. When Grace comes home from running off impulsively, Mang Rudy greets her with nary a word but a blow on her face, which seemingly surprised no one. According to Tan (2003), In a conflict situation, the Filipino male is allowedeven expected, to rage when something goes wrong. Problems are solved, it is presumed, by male authority, male force. If the male finally strikes a woman in anger, she is the one blamed. Subverting Patriarchy Kaleldo presentend each daughters story using the elements of the earth as symbols. And it is through symbolic imagery and metaphors that the film subtly subverts patriarchy. Grace is symbolized by wind as an aggressive element. She is not the typical dreamy-eyed, blushing, and nervous bride. En route to the church, she takes time to stop by a mausoleum with a friend to pose for pictures. Grace further builds up her feisty character by holding the grooms head and kissing him, instead of the reverse. She takes the more aggressive role as she rolls on top of her husband during their bed scene. Graces aggressiveness and feistiness are symptomatic of how much she dislikes to be trapped in marital duties, something that patriarchy imposes on a woman. Much like the wind, she desires freedom to fly and to blow wherever she desires to go. Again, patriarchy tried to downplay her free spirit by contrasting her to patriarchys ideal woman through her mother-in-law who continues to be the caring mother to Graces husband and a doting grandmother to their child. Even her father took notice of her stubbornness by equating her paglalayas (running away) as a sign of immaturity, not as a way for Grace to escape the constraints that society placed upon her as a woman. But, as everyone knows, no one can control the wind. On the other hand, the story of Graces older sister, Lourdes, was seen through the element of fire. Lourdes is the picture of calm and level116

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headed reason. She is the de facto wedding coordinator, a role she seems to take as easily and as naturally as she breathes. In her family, she is the more effective business manager, compared to her fussy, soft-spoken husband (played by Allan Paule). It is she, in fact, who takes charge of the whole familys finances. Her husband had tried a business venture in the past and failed, so Lourdes unflinchingly questions his abilities when he suggests trying another. Among the three sisters, Lourdes representation as a woman is the most complicated. While she seems to be the one in charge of the entire household, as well as being dominant in her marriage, things are completely different in the bedroom. She reluctantly lets her husband caress her, while flashbacks show a disturbing scene where her husband appears to be raping her. He was very aggressive, oblivious to her painfully contorted face and body. Eisenstein (1983) discusses Susan Brownmillers theory of rape as a means of keeping men in control over women. Lourdes was raped and the acts embedded notion of coercion reinforced it as an instrument which a man can use to instill fear in a woman and, thus, keep her under his control and possession. Her husband dominates her in this way to keep her in her proper place, tempering her financial and managerial prowess that threatens his masculinity. But if sex (in this case, rape) was the tool that patriarchy used to impose control on Lourdes, she also turned to sex for salvation. Fire has always been associated with passion, which is commonly associated with sex. Ironically, there is no passion involved in any of Lourdes sex scenes. In Kaleldo, sex is not a romanticized concept. It is not something that patriarchy dangles like a sword of Damocles over a womans head. Sex is not romanticized because it is not associated with virginity. Sex in Kaleldo is a tool to either control a woman or to subvert patriarchy. Lourdes used sex to defy patriarchys hold over her: her femininity through sexual intercourse. She unflinchingly sleeps with a bank officer to get a loan. Her action was merely meant to manipulate the officer, to provide a quick solution to her immediate financial problem. In the end, it served her another purpose, although unintentionally: It ultimately provided a solution to her fundamental problem. Her marriage is irreparably damaged, setting her free from her husband/abuser. Meanwhile, the story of the eldest daughter, Jesusa (or Jess, as she prefers to be addressed as a lesbian) is told through the element of water.
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Jess puts up a front as the ideal daughter in a male-dominated world: passive, productive (she earns from driving a pedicab and from selling pickled unripe papaya), except for one huge problem: she is a butch lesbian with a female partner whom she openly flaunts. Being a lesbian may be considered by some militant feminists to be the ultimate expression of feminism. Imagine not needing men to live, to protect her, and even to have sexual intercourse with. To some, there is a glaring inconsistency with Jess butch lesbian image. In effect, Jess is like watershe nurtures the family by lovingly providing them their needs. Among the three daughters, she is the one who assumes most of the roles of the female. She takes care of their father, her earnings go directly to him, she answers directly to him, she serves him food, and she gives him his medicine. Yet, she does not seem to command the same love and respect that their father gives her sisters. She is constantly trying to get out of her fathers way lest she incurs his wrath just by existing. Part of Jess submissiveness stemmed from the fact that her father makes her feel less of a person because of her gender preference. She wears mens clothing, cuts her hair unflatteringly short, and swaggers like a man. In the Philippines, the notions that come with her being a lesbian is problematic. While Jill Johnston (in Eisenstein, 1983) defined lesbianism as autonomy from gender-related limitations, which is one essence of Womens Liberation, lesbians -- or women wanting to be men -- are seen as abnormal. Freuds theory of penis envy would be more to the point in this case. At the films end, Jess partner leaves her for a real man. This seems as a stab at feminism: a real man is superior to a butch lesbian, even if it is the ultimate defiance to male authority. But this action was done freely. Jess character, beyond gender issues, magnanimously accepted that some things are inevitable. She did not question the authenticity of their relationship; it was real, it just did not work in the end. This attests to the legitimacy of her particular brand of femininity: She is no less than those accepted as normal. Looking at todays gender politics, there is an increasing call for the breaking down of traditional codes associated with femininity and masculinity. According to sociologist Michael Kimmel (in Rosenberg, 2007), The old categories that everybodys either biologically male or female, that there are two distinct categories and theres no overlap, thats beginning to break down. All of those categories seem to be more fluid. In Kaleldo, patriarchy is
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trying to contain the butch lesbian by looking down on her and making her appear more womanly by assigning her chores traditionally associated with females, but this is also where her strength for empowerment liesJess character is a way of breaking down gender stereotypes. It does not matter whether we are wearing pink or blue; in the end, her character teaches us that we are not defined by rigid gender conventions. Conclusion The oppression of women is an inarguable reality in the Philippines, even if our society is far removed from cultures that drown unwanted female babies. Female subjugation is actually even more frightening as it is insidious and largely unchallenged, judging by popular culture: Shampoo ads that exploit female sexuality, touting the false ideologies of girl power as being able to attract men with the use of beautiful hair; the quintessential suffering heroines in teleseryes (television series); the gyrating female dancers on noontime shows, in varying states of undress; and the sexy, if useless, leading ladies. This is a reality even in other countries, although in different ways. In this regard, mass media has a greater role to play to challenge common misconceptions and misrepresentations of gender in society. In our country, even if we congratulate ourselves for electing two women presidents, patriarchy is still a lingering affliction. Gender equality and the gains of feminism will remain an abstract concept if we let our guards down. Kaleldo, while being a story of a fathers relationship with his three daughters, is actually a discourse on gender politics. It tells us that even when patriarchy tries to impose its will upon us, women will always try to find waysgaps and spaces that existwhere they can struggle and be heard.
Notes
1

Produced by Center Stage Productions. Co-produced and distributed byViva Films. Available in video formats. The film has been exhibited at the Jeonju International Film Festival in Korea, where it won the critics prize from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (Netpac), as well as in the 28th Durban International Film Festival in South Africa, 2007, where Picache won as best actress for her performance as the butch lesbian daughter.
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References Eisenstein, H. (1983). Contemporary feminist thought. Boston: G.K. Hall and Company. Rosenberg, D. (2007, May 28). Rethinking gender. Newsweek, 44-48. Tan, M. (2003, September 30). Male privilege and violence. Retrieved January 5, 2008, from http://geocities.com/benign0/agr-disagr/14-1-pinoymale. html. Wood, J. (1997). Communication theories in action. USA: Wadsworth.

_____________________ Ingrid K.Velasquez and Arby Mari B. Larao, senior AB Mass Communication students, are officers of the FEU Film Society. Velasquez is also a playwright of the FEU Art Theatre Clinique, the student theater arm of the Department of Communication. She had training at the Public Information Office of Camp Crame. Larao, on the other hand, worked as documentation head for Summer Cinema Workshop of the Mowelfund Film Institute.
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