The Sound of Culture Settling In

Blog article for classroom session on February 27, 2012: Cultural Songs

For our discussion in class, Sir Contreras made us listen to three songs which had very huge cultural impacts. They were songs which had meanings. At first, these songs possibly would not even make an impact to us but when the lyrics is analyzed, understood and put into consideration, we will hear that these songs actually serve as cultural products which promulgate ideas, ideologies, and thoughts.

For my personal reflection, I sorted to go the other way around. In our class, we listened to songs which influence culture in some ways. For this entry, I will try to analyze how culture influence the songs.

I always had the liking for music and songs and they say it was my elder brother's great influence on me. This is also the reason why most of the time, my colleagues and peers do not entirely agree of my musical choices. I believe that this is partly I do not base my favorites on its popularity nor the popularity of the singer/band who produced it. I HATE having to like something because everyone else likes it. As a child, I always saw to it that if I like something, it has to be something no one else really like. But also, I think my disagreement with my peers about my kind of music is because of me and my elder brother's age difference. We are six (6) years apart and although it seemed like a small gap, our years of birth can explain this dilemma further.

My brother was born in 1985 and I on 1991. Clearly, he started his journey in the 80's era and I on the 90's. The 80's and the 90's, although only ten (10) years apart, had obvious differences in so many fields, and music is one of them.

When 1980's boomed society, gone are the days of Disco and Punk Rock both in music and in fashion. The decade of the 1980's then saw the emergence of pop, dance music and new wave. Music in the early 80's were very much associated with synthesizers and electronic instruments thus also paving the way for new genres such as Electro, Techno, House and Freestyle. However, as the decade comes nearer to its end, R&B, Hip hop, Alternative and Urban styles became the main thing. My brother was into the 80's music as he was growing up. He bought mix tapes and listned to the radio all the time. Having to stay with him every night, I definitely was able to absorb his likes and favorites as well.

Music in the decade of the 1990's grew not too far from that of the previous decade however it definitely became more of the Popular or Pop style. The musical era of the 1990's was one filled with a variety of Pop, Rap and Alternative music artists. It was a time when musical taste was as varied as the events that were happening at that time.

Music can definitely evolve in just a span of ten short years. If this is said to be true, what more for twenty, thirty, forty or fifty years? I would like to emphasize this point by siting two examples - songs from different decades portraying different thoughts and therefore promulgating opposing ideologies parallel to that of the the culture which dominated the specific era.

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

Written by: John Lennon (50%) and Paul McCartney (50%) (credited as Lennon-McCartney)
Recorded: October 17, 1963 (Studio 2, Abbey Road Studios, London, England)
Mixed: October 21, 1963
Length: 2:26
First released: November 29, 1963 (UK: Parlophone R5084), December 26, 1964 (US: Capitol 5112)

Oh yeah I tell you something

I think you'll understand

When I say that something

I wanna hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand

Oh please say to me

You'll let me be your man

And please say to me

You'll let me hold your hand

Now let me hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand

And when I touch you I feel happy inside

It's such a feeling that my love, I can't hide

I can't hide, I can't hide

Yeah you

Got that something

I think you'll understand

When you say that something

I wanna hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand

And when I touch you I feel happy inside

It's such a feeling that my love, I can't hide

I can't hide, I can't hide

Yeah you

Got that something

I think you'll understand

When you say that something

I wanna hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand

I wanna hold your hand

A classic song from a classic band, released in the 1960's, taking about how the singer longs for one simple touch on the hands of the person he deeply admires. A simple longing stated in simple words and sang without malice or any hint of lust. This type of song, whose message is very subtle and very modest, reflects the culture of the 1960's. Men are starting to profess publicly and "touching" is now involved in songs and other cultural products. The intention is clear but the profession is demure and tamed.

Now let us fast forward to 40 years later to the decade of 2011 onwards. When the world already became a very liberal one as compared to that of the 60's. We will analyze a song which also professes love in a different manner and general theme.

I Just Had Sex

Written by: Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg in collaboration with Akon
Recorded: May 2010
Length: 2:56
First Released: December 19, 2010

Sometimes (Oh-oh-ohhh)

Sometimes beautiful happens in this world (Akon!)

You don't know how to express yourself, so (And Lonely Island!)

You just gotta sing

I just had sex (Ay!)

And it felt so good (Felt so good)

A woman let me put my penis inside of her (Her!)

I just had se-ay-ee-ex

And I'll never go back (Never go back)

To the not-haven't-sex ways of the past

Have you ever had sex? I have, it felt great (Yeah!)

It felt so good when I did with my penis (Yeah!)

A girl let me do it, it literally just happened

Having sex should make a nice man out the meanest

Never guess where I just came from, I had sex

If I had to describe the feelin', it was the best

When I had the sex, man, my penis felt great

And I called my parents right after I was done

Oh hey, didn't see you there, guess what I just did?

Had sex, undressed, saw her boobies and the rest

(Was sure nice of her to let you do that thing)

Nice of any girl ever (Now sing!)

I just had sex (Ay!)

And it felt so good (Felt so good)

A woman let me put my penis inside of her (Her!)

I wanna tell the world

To be honest, I'm surprised she even wanted me to do it

(Doesn't really make sense) But man, screw it

(I ain't one to argue with a good thing) She could be my wife!

(That good?) The best thirty seconds of my life

I'm so humbled by a girl's ability to let me do her

'Cause honestly, I'd have sex with a pile of manure

With that in mind, a soft, nice-smellin'-girl's better

Plus she let me wear my chain and my turtleneck sweaters

So this one's dedicated to them girls

That let us flop around on top of them

If you're near or far, whether short or tall

We wanna thank you all for lettin' us fuck you

She kept lookin' at her watch (Doesn't matter, had sex!)

But I cried the whole time (Doesn't matter, had sex!)

I think she might've been a racist (Doesn't matter, had sex!)

She put a bag on my head (Still counts!)

I just had sex (Ay!)

And my dreams came true (Dreams came true)

So if you had sex in the last thirty minutes

Then you qualified to sing with me

I just had sex (Everybody sing!!)

And it felt so good (We all had sex!)

A woman let me put my penis inside of her 

I just had se-ay-ee-ex (I just had sex)

And I'll never go back (Never go back)

To the not-haven't-sex ways of the past

This very vulgar song simply tells the world that the singer just made a provocative and sensual activity and that he is very happy and proud about it. Such vulgarity and bluntness is definitely considered a common notion already in the decade of 2010 as culture became more liberated and open to just about anything and everything even subjects which were considered inappropriate and shall not be discussed in public from several decades ago. This song might also show some hints of the developments to delicate pressing issues in the years before such as: Women's rights, Sexuality and even Racism. 

It's nice to see how culture is projected in songs and to have a glimpse and understand how it was back then as compared to how it is now.

♥ Reese Corpuz 

Ganito ako eh, ano ngayon?

Blog article for February 20 & 23, 2012 Classroom Sessions:
Indigenous Theory and Pantayong Pananaw

Nais kong isulat ang artikulong ito sa wikang aking kinagisnan pagkat ang pag-uusapan naman natin ay patungkol sa pagsasakatutubo.

Ang pakay ng artikulong ito ay ilatag at ipaliwanag ang ilang mga katangian ng mga Pilipinino na ayon sa mga kanluranin ay may pagka-negatibo ang dulot sa ating mga pagkatao. 

• Utang na Loob o Debt of Gratitude
• Isang natural na katangian ng mga Pilipino ang pagtanaw sa ating mga utang na loob sa ating kapwa. At bagamat para sa nakararami, ito ay isang katangian na walang mabuting maidudulot kung hindi ang pagiging sobrang mahiyain at ang pagpapababa sa sarili, hindi ako sumasang-ayon. Ang katotohanan lamang ay ang pagtatanaw ng utang na loob ay isang aksyon na nagpapakita ng pagiging mapangkumbaba ng mga Pilipino. Ito rin ay maaring magsabi na ang mga Pilipino ay hindi nakakalimot ng mabubuting turing ng kanilang kapwa. Maaari rin itong magsabi na ang mga Pilipino ay mabait at matulungin sa kapwa Pilipino sapagakat ang bawat isa ay nagdudulot ng mabuti sa isa't-isa.

• Pakikisama o Getting Along
• Kapag ang iyong sasabihin ay hindi magandang pakinggan o kaya ay makakasakit ng kapwa, mas makabubuting huwag mo na lamang ito sabihin. Bakit? Dahil dapat ay marunong tayong makisama. Ang pakikisama ay isa rin sa mga kilalang negatibong katangian ng mga Pilipino ayon sa mga kanluranin sapagkat ito ay nagsasabing hindi mali ang pagsisinungaling o ang pagiging "plastic".  Paminsan, ito ay naihahambing sa pagsisinungaling.  Ngunit para sa akin, sila ay nagkakamali. Nakikisama ang mga Pilipino upang mapanatili ang magandang relasyon ng bawat isa. Ibig sabihin, natural lamang na umiwas sa gulo o away ang mga Pilipino upang mapanatiling mapayapa ang kapaligiran.
  
  
• Hiya o Shame
• Sinasabi ng mga kanluranin, halos lahat ng mga Pilipino ay mahiyain. Sinasabing negatibo ang katangian na ito dahil ito ay nagpapakita ng pagbababa sa sarili kahit hanggang sa punto na hindi na karapat-dapat. Paminsan, tulad ng Pakikisama, ito rin ay naihahambing sa pagsisinungaling. Ngunit, naniniwala akong hindi negatibo ang epekto ng katangian na ito sa ating pagiging paka-Pilipino dahil natural lamang sa ating ang pagpapakumbaba at ang palaging pag-iintindi at pagrerespeto ng mga nararamdaman ng ating mga kapwa kaya tayo ay nahihiya.
  
  
• Bahala na Mentality
• Natural lamang na isipin ng kahit sino man na ang pagsasabi ng "Bahala na!" ay isang simbolo ng pagiging tamad o pagkawalan ng determinasyon, lakas ng loob at pananalig sa sarili pagkat maaari nitong ipakita na ang nagsasalita ay sumosuko na at hahayaan na lang mangyari ang mga mangyayari. Ngunit, sa katotohanan lamang, kabaligtaran pa nga ang ibig sabihin nito. Ang taong nagsabi ng "Bahala na!" ay isang napakatapang at magiting na tao.

Ito at marami pang ibang katangian ang tila negatibo ang dating ngunit sa katotohanan ay kabaligtaran naman pala kung ating pag-iisipan at papansinin ng buong buo at ng mas mahusay. Bilang isang Pilipino, taas noo kong inaamin na ang ilan sa mga katangiang ito ay aking ipinamamalas.

♥ Reese Corpuz

What's Inside a Filipino Fridge?

Blog article for February 16, 2012: Post-Colonialism

What makes a society inferior or superior in the early years of our world's history? A simple classification does.

Colonizers = Superior and Colony = Inferior

However, Post-colonial theory explains colonizers did not really bring only negative effects to their colonized societies. Some influences were indeed, very positive.

Post-colonial theory deals with analysis of culture in previously or currently colonized countries, or culture in colonizing countries which deals with colonization or colonized peoples. Post-colonial theories attempts to focus on how to colonizers treated their colonies during the period of colonization taking into consideration political, economic and social factors.

For this blog article, I will site examples of the Colonial influences of the states who colonized the Philippines - Spain, the United States of America and Japan. The general theme of my examples is something very close to my heart.

Post-Colonial Dishes in the Philippines

Contemporary Filipino cuisine is influenced principally by China, Spain and the United States as a result of years of the country's colonization. The Filipinos then integrated these influences into the Pre-Colonial indigenous Filipino cooking practices. Out of the old and new came something which is most familiar to us nowadays, being served in our very own homes and our favorite local restaurants. As much as I want to talk about Pre-Colonial Filipino dishes, I'm afraid that wouldn't be the subject of this blog article. Rather, it is something which emerged decades before that - the Post-Colonial Filipino Dishes as influenced by our country's colonizers.

The Spanish Influence

Food historians claim that 80% of Philippine dishes are of Spanish origin. Most of which are often viewed as Fiesta dishes and served only for special occasions during the Post-Colonial era. This was because the Spaniards only formed the elite class in the society back at the Spanish Colonial era. Thus, these dishes were only adapted by upper-class Filipinos. 

Fil-Hispanic food had new flavors and ingredients - olive oil, paprika, saffron, ham, cheese, cured sausage and even new names which are also, more often than not, Spanish in nature. 

Do dishes such as Relleno, Arroz Caldo, Morcon, Paella, Callos, Embutido, Leche Flan, Ensaymada, Caldereta or Afritada make your stomach grumble? If your answer to this is a yes, then you have no one else but the Spaniards to thank ;)

The Chinese Influence

We are all aware of how the Chinese influence our dishes because I am sure most of us love Chinese food! Personally, I think it is my favorite among the three (Spanish, American and Chinese) because of its intense oriental taste and flavors. To date, my favorite Chinese restaurants and food chains in the Metro would have to be Mann Hann (SM Megamall and SM Mall of Asia) Eat Well! (SM Mall of Asia) Mongkok (Makati area and Shangri-la Mall) and of course Hen-Lin (Makati Parksquare and Harrison Plaza). From the noodles in almost all forms - Canton, Miki, Bihon, Sotanghon and Misua, to the dimsums of all shapes and sizes - Siopao, Siomai, Lumpia, even to the sweet and sour, braised or sauteed meals such as Chop Suey and Lomi. All of these dishes, I am sure, tastes great! I am one of the people who believe that the greatest influence of China in Philippine Culture would definitely have to be food. For all those people who, like me, love Chinese food, let us all say "Shi shi!" at the same time ;)

The American Influence

Basically, the Americans introduced to the Philippine cuisine the ways of convenience: pressure-cooking, freezing, pre-cooking, sandwiches and salads; hamburgers, fried chicken and steaks. American salad, pies and sandwiches are also part of their influence to Filipino dishes. Canned goods were also brought to us by the Americans. The Philippines is actually the first state in Asia which experienced canned goods. Fast food emerged in the Philippines as well as the Americans took over; again, it was a matter of convenience. For those who love the comfort and flavor of fast food, raise your hands up in the air and say, "Thank you!"

Although most notion which refer to Colonialism are negative, surely, we can say that the Filipino cuisine was indeed definitely positively influenced by our colonizers. Now let me ask you, what's in your fridge? ;)

Source for data about Filipino Food: Asia Recipe

Source for Pictures: Google Images
Editing of Images: (c) Reese Corpuz

♥ Reese Corpuz

La Revolucion el Bikini

Blog article for our February 9, 2012 class: Queer and Feminist Theory
Inspired by the Bikini Episode of Love|Lust

We are all aware how sexy girls look with four small triangles covering only their most sensitive body parts but do we know the message beyond the sex appeal?

Apparently, the bikini served as a symbol of woman empowerment and a weapon to promote women's rights and further let the women's voices be heard.

1. Micheline Bernardini introduced the first modern bikini in July 5 1946 designed by French engineer Loius Reard and fashion designer Jacques Heim. It was described as "smaller than the smallest swimsuit". The most shocking feature of this latest swimsuit design is that the two-piece is so small, it showed the women's navel or the bellybutton already. This was just not acceptable for many men, including women, especially those of authority. The bikini, worn by a bombshell, a sexy dancer who can often be seen dancing nude, was scandalous and too sensual for men and women all over the globe.

Micheline Bernardini's debut of the world's first bikini

Apparently, the world was not ready for a grande display of navels every summer. The paternalistic religions greatly objected - The Catholic church considered wearing bikinis as a mortal sin and women who are caught wearing the bikini were punished "accordingly", some governments who oppose such radical liberalization also arrest women caught in the skimpy and "inappropriate" swimsuit. The United Kingdom, Switzerland, Netherlands and of course Italy where the Vatican City rested, did not allow women to wear such scandalous piece of clothing. The women then had no choice but to submit. 

2. Several years after it first debut, everything changes for the better. Briggitte Bardot showed up in the infamous Cannes Film Festival in 1953. She showed up not in a long glamorous gown but in the much despised bikini. However, this time, the bikini show-up wasn't as scandalous as the first. Why? Theorists say it is simply because of Bardot's personality and image. After all, she wasn't a nude dancer, she was a high-class actress. The goal and the general motive of the person wearing the bikini actually changed the way the people see it. Bardot had this goal to show the world, especially the men, the "strength" of women. For her, the bikini was very empowering and she wore it to show to women all over the world that they should not be limited or constrained in words, in deeds and very much so in clothing. She served as the American bikini icon as she bridged America's acceptance of the once despised swimwear.

Briggitte Bardot's "clean" bikini look

3. Brian Hyland's infamous novel hit the Itsy Bitsy Yellow Polkadot Bikini is not just a funny hit from the 70's, it served as some form of "Code of Acceptance" of the men to women's cry for attention and empowerment through the bikini. The lines "One, two, three four, tell the people what you wore" says how the song writers Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss encourages women to wear the bikini, feel free upon wearing it and flaunt it like any confident sexy woman would.

4. Many other iconic women simultaneously wore the bikini all over the world which eventually led to society's acceptance to it. The bikini becomes an essential part of every woman's wardrobe and it also quickly became the official "costume" of summer in beaches all over the world.

Top (L-R): Annette Funicello, Raquel Welch, Carrie Fischer and Babette March
Bottom (L-R): Ursula Andress, Tyra Banks, Demi Moore, Halle Berry and Helen Mirren

"Women favored bikinis because of its unique stylishness and the liberating nature of their design; wearing them provided women the opportunity to publicly display their bodies. On the other hand, men liked bikinis because they showed off more of the female body." [Read more]

The bikini, a masterpiece of men, by men, created for the men, to please and entice the men unknowingly and ironically became a weapon of women to empower themselves, give themselves confidence, courage and strength against the men, who were considered as the leaders of the once very patriarchal society we knew and experienced. The bikini, a creation which was supposed to only have a fashion-related agenda and nothing else, became one of the strongest medium of women to welcome the rise Feminism. 

♥ Reese Corpuz

Bonjour la petit étudiant!

Blog article for February 6, 2012: French Cultural Studies


Out of the five main theorists we discussed in class, I chose to further discuss my favorites in my blog. The ideas which these three theorists introduced to me were remarkable for me.

Fernand Braudel

Source: Google Images

In Braudel's book, The Mediterannean (1949), he argued that History should not be viewed only as a single narrative account unfolding in a single life span because history is a progressive story happening in different places to different subjects at the same time. According to Braudel, there are three types of time. 

1. Geographical Time - long-term relationship of humans and environment
2. Social Time - long-term course of human institutions and attitudes
3. Individual Time - short-term experiences of the individual and groups of their immediate natural, social and historical environments.
   
   
    (c) Reese Corpuz

Braudel also believes in the concept of Everyday Life. He believes that everything happens in our "everyday lives" as it is the most basic site of experience and argues that this so-called "everyday life" must be considered in order to identify the norms. He also stressed that in identifying the norms, one should not look at the lives of the elite for they constitute very little of the population and their actions and experiences in their own "everyday lives" are very much different from the greater population - the commoners.

Together with other historians and philosophers, Braudel formed the Annales School of Historiography which emerged before the second World War. The School gained momentum right after WWII as it opposed the prevailing positivist orientation of French historiography. The Annales theorists rejected the sequential narrative model of viewing and writing history.

Fernand Braudel was one of the pioneers of the Annales School of Historigraphy.

PERSONAL INSIGHT: Braudel made me actually understand further how we should rightly view history.  He made me question what were the origins of history, who were behind the idea of recording events and practices. He also made me more conscious about Time. Thanks to him, I view time now not as a single entity in a singular linear momentum, rather a multiple and multi-linear one. It amazes me how me, as a single entity in this world, can actually experience several types of time.

Henri LeFebvre 

Source: Google Images

LeFebvre introduced the concept and ideology of Consumerism through the analysis of the Quotidian in his book Everyday Life in the Modern World in 1967. 

• Quotidian - Everyday life as it is experienced and lived in modern societies defined by recurring routines of labor and leisure.
• Consumerism - Drove expansion of mass culture in industrial societies by deeply penetrating everyday life, affecting every aspect of existence and thus becoming a natural occurrence.

Source: Visual Thesaurus found through Collecting Words

PERSONAL INSIGHT: LeFebvre further explained to me how the idea of consumerism emerged in our society. By studying the Quotidian, LeFebvre was able to pin-point several norms or common practices and from which emerged the idea of consumerism. For me, it is only necessary that society understands what consumerism is before being able to properly "do it". He gave everyone sort of guidelines and his theories served as models or somehow basis for understanding and analyzing the behavior of consumerism these days. Such research on a very practical yet extremely familiar and close to our hearts subject definitely made LeFebvre more interesting to me.

Michel de Certeau

Source: Google Images

Michel de Certeau argues that the central problem of the late capitalist society was that consumption has become a form of production. He believes that it is the mass' way of revolting against the elites. It is their Tactic against the original plan.

(c) Reese Corpuz

The tie-dyed shirts, grunge up pants and low riders are just some of the examples of Tactical Resistance which de Certeau studied in his book The Practice of Everyday Life (1984). Mass produced commodities are transformed into cultural forms that oppose the dominant culture that produced them. Suppliers tend to produce products which serve different purposes, look differently, appear varied and might even be biologically or chemically altered from its original stand point possibly as a reaction to the overtly dominating cultures.

In the article Culture and Critique by Jere Paul Surber, the main example used to explain this phenomenon was the emergence of modern day malls. If you analyze the reason behind the construction and the sole purpose of existence of these modern malls, you will understand in an instant that they were built to sell products at a large population and to earn heaps of cash. However, society came up with a tactical resistance move which does not necessarily contributes to the mall owners' main goal for its space. Some people use malls as meet-up or hang-out places, they somewhat abuse the venue to satisfy their personal goals and objectives and does not contribute to the mall's financial income because they do not buy anything. Some people even oppose the main goal of the establishment of malls as they use the venue to earn cash for themselves. An example might be a beggar, roaming around the common areas of the malls, asking each mall patron for some change. This beggar does not contribute to the mall's income growth and at the same time even cost the mall some "damages" as the beggar might scare off or turn off patrons who were originally possibly interested in actually buying something from the mall.

PERSONAL INSIGHT: The lessons presented to us by Michel De Certeau were extremely helpful as I am sure pretty much all of us could relate to it. I enjoyed de Certeau's direct and simple manner of explaining his theories because I find it refreshing and fitting because afterall he analyzes direct and simple subjects.

♥ Reese Corpuz 

Les Etudes Culturelles Francaises

Blog article for February 6, 2012: French Cultural Studies

OUR GROUP REPORT!

Excusez-moi, je voudrais en savior plus sur les etudes culturelles francaises. Merci!
(Excuse me, can you please teach me more about French Cultural Studies? Thank you)

The origins of Traditional French Cultural Studies would be from two points of interest. First of which would be Historiography and finally, Existentialist Philosophy. It is known to be directly focused on Popular Culture. It is labeled such because the theorists originated from France and that it analyzes France's popular culture first before looking over their boundaries (since they were based in France).

To summarize Traditional French Cultural Studies analyzed international popular culture by examining and basing their analyses on history and theories rooted from existentialist philosophy. It is designed to understand the important changes that have affected French culture, as well as the culture outside of France.

This is the video we prepared to present to the class. Our group was so excited to show this to everyone because we really worked hard for it. As it was playing, we hoped that everyone understood the lesson easily, especially with the aid of our handouts.

Sources for the video:
(Images) Google Images / Wikipedia
(Data) Culture and Critique by Jere Paul Surber

I was able to breathe a little lighter after our group presented our video to the class. I’m glad we were able to summarize the topic assigned to us: Traditional French Cultural Studies in front of the whole class.

I am thankful to my group mates for being so cooperative in everything we did! Our extra effort was definitely rewarded when Sir Contreras commented, I quote, “I’m impressed!” after our report. I am very to happy to have impressed him because it was our secondary goal for this report. (The primary goal was to present the subject well and help the class understand our topic easily.)

I will further discuss the French Cultural Studies on my next articles.

♥ Reese Corpuz

Postmodernists gone Gaga!

Blog article for February 2, 2012: Postmodernism

Postmodernism is a general wide-ranging term which can be applied to several fields of culture such as literature, art, philosophy and politics among others. It being a literal translation for "after modernity", refers to the incipient or actual dissolution or distortion of the culture and other social forms associated with Modernity. Postmodernism is largely considered as the reaction to the assumed certainty of scientific or objective, efforts to explain reality. Postmodernism is an avant garde phenomena, it showcases passion for the new, the unique and the weird.

According to the reporters, Postmodernism challenges traditional convention and thought by its mere existence. Upon understanding this by reading the group's PowerPoint presentation, there was this one person in my mind whom for me exists as the epitome of Postmodernism theory.

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta or more commonly known as Lady Gaga is a record artist who topped the billboards, sold thousands of albums and garnered millions of fans in just a span of several years.

Her career began when fellow recording artist Akon noticed her vocal skills and star potential and signed her up under the label Kon Live Distribution. She then came to prominence as an independent recording artist following the release of her debut album, The Fame (2008). This album gathered a mix of critiques and appraises and proved to be a critical and commercial success as it topped charts around the world. 

"Gaga is well-recognized for her outer sense of style as recording artist, in fashion, in performance and in her music videos. Her contributions to the music industry have garnered her numerous achievements including five Grammy awards amongst twelve nominations, two Guinness world records and the estimated scale of 15 Million albums and 51 Million singles worldwide. Billboard named her both the "2010 Artist of the Year" and the Top Selling Artist of 2010" ranking her as the 73rd Artist of the 2000s Decade. Gaga has been included in Time's annual "The 2010 Time 100" List of Most Influential People in the World as well as Forbes' list of "The World's Most Powerful Celebrities" in the world. Forbes also placed her at Number 7 on their annual list of the world's "100 Most Powerful Women."

Source: Official Lady Gaga Biography 

Personally, I like Lady Gaga as an artist. I consider her singles to be very unique and interesting, too interesting to miss. At one point, I asked myself the pressing question everyone else is talking about - Why is Lady Gaga this popular and influential? The answer for me is her Postmodern style of looking at things, her Postmodern character, the way she uses Postmodernism as a model for her music, her music videos, her clothes and her overall persona.

Lady Gaga is the epitome of Postmodernism thought for me because basically she challenges every tradition there is in every opportunity she can.

Jayme Jones, an analyst, said that "Poker Face" lyrics, written by Lady Gaga is about sex, gambling and more sex - more to the point, the faces or "poker faces" a prostitute puts in during work, or if you prefer to call it, intercourse. (Source: Analysis of Poker Face) Discussing (and seemingly propagating) sex and gambling is not an easy task but Lady Gaga still released this song to say that even prostitutes have control and strength even if it seems like they do not.

The Vigilant Citizen published in his sought after blog that "Bad Romance" actually describes the dark and ritualistic inner-workings of the entertainment industry by symbolically depicting Gaga as a sex slave. (Source: Analysis of Bad Romance) To mock the music industry as such would be a grave sin, many would say, but Lady Gaga does not agree. She found the way which the entertainment industry is run to be too old, too automatic, lacks spontaneity, freedom and liberation and thus she sang about it.

Lady Gaga mentioned in an interview with Arjanwrites that the song Paparazzi was about her personal love-hate relationship with the media. She says that media is a source of both truth and lies, a source of inspiration and paranoia. These days media can really affect society in so many ways. Lady Gaga notices the faults of media and presents it to society through this song.

Finally, in her song Judas, Lady Gaga analyzes the negative effects of structured religions, more specifically Catholicism. She believes that having a faith in such a structured religion is superficial and she questions the right of the Catholic leaders, in this case even mentioning Jesus and Judas as representations, to rule over the Catholic populace. She rejects the idea that a structured religion will guide a believer towards eternal life.

Lady Gaga, a very liberal thinker with a capacity to share to the world her thoughts, her passion for the new, the unique and the weird, and the capacity to speak out for what she truly believes in and stands out for.

♥ Reese Corpuz

Here to There; This to That

Blog article as a reaction to our January 30, 2012 class: Frankfurt School

Coming from Nazi Germany to the United States of America, the theorists of Frankfurt School were like noobs or rookies experiencing a totally different battlefield, a new environment with alien forms of culture, media and communication arts such as film, pop music, the radio, the television and other forms of mass culture. In Germany, media production and consumption is limited and controlled by Nazi leaders - media was very constrained, bounded by many restrictions and bans. To their surprise, such practices are not done in the United States. There, media production as well as consumption, was but a large form of commercial entertainment controlled by big corporations, private organizations and businesses.

Most of the theorists from the Frankfurt School were on the same positions except for one outlier. Walter Benjamin, had similar but slightly altered thoughts and ideas. Benjamin said that new forms of media - the mass reproduction of photography, film, media recordings and publications replaced the original "aura" of what was done in the earlier eras. For him, the new forms of media serves as "alternative oppositional cultures".

As we discussed the topic further in class, our professor mentioned that this so-called "new media" is the masses' reaction or response to the already existing culture simply because "elitism" was often always attached to the culture and the arts of the earlier eras for some reason.

I decided to relate this topic to something very close to my heart and this is none other than dancing.

Like many other forms of the arts, dance has a historical background. I first found out that about this when I was in high school. Being a dance major in the Philippine High School for the Arts, we had a "Dance Theory" subject every other day and this was precisely what we study. Because dance has a lot of more specific genres, (Traditional/Folk dance, Ballet, Street dance or Hiphop, Ballroom, and so on and so forth) I will only focus now on the genre which is most appropriate to tackle in relation with the cultural theories of the Frankfurt School - Ballet.

Ballet was first introduced to the world in the 15th and 16th Century along with the rise of the Italian Renaissance Courts. It was quickly spread to the French Courts and was then funded by French arts patrons and elites. When the Russians finally adopted the Ballet with two official ballet dance companies - The Royal Danish Ballet and the Imperial Ballet, Ballet became more widely celebrated and patronized. Dancers, choreographers, and dance enthusiasts nowadays refer to this style as Classical Ballet.

Here is a video showcasing an excerpt from a well-know Classical Ballet piece, the Swan Lake. In this video, the white swan flaunts her gracefulness in her technique and her very vulnerable character.

Notice its gracefulness, the specific dance techniques which are only seen in Ballet, the infamous tutu and ballet pointes (which are staples and essentials in ladies' Classical Ballet costume) Also, more often than not, the themes and choreography of Classical Ballet are about fairy tales and the life of the elite - courtship, love, familial feuds, tragedy, climax resolution, grand endings and nothing too political. Now, let us compare and contrast it with another style of Ballet.

Modern Ballet or sometimes also referred to as Contemporary Dance was first introduced to the world by Martha Graham in the early 20th Century. Modern or Contemporary Ballet initially served as a "break". In the 1900's, the European and American dancers started to rebel against the rigid constraints of the Classical ballet. Not only did this radical change alter the technique and some dance disciplines of the Classical, it also liberated the dancers from the most essential part of their costumes - the ballet pointes. This time, instead of having choreography based on years of research and influence from fairy tales and the stories of the elite, the theme of most, if not, all, Modern and especially Contemporary pieces are concerned with more sensitive issues such as politics, social conflicts, the self and its issues with itself, life and the like. 

This video is a sample of a Contemporary dance number in which I was a part of. This long piece was choreographed by La Salle Dance Company - Contemporary's adviser, Mr. Peter Alcedo, Jr. in collaboration with the young choreographers of La Salle Dance Company - Street. This was choreographed for an annual production organized by La Salle Dance Company for the aspiring dancers in the DLSU community - Remix; An Inter-Lasallian Dance Competition. 

This piece was the spot number for Remix '09: Youth for Nation. It features the failures of the disaster management teams/leaders of the nation, how society reacts and copes with the calamities and in turn how the government simply "does nothing". 

Watch out for the little girl in school uniform, oversized white polo and the a blue plaid top with a black scarf, hihi.

Did you see the difference between the two styles? I can very much relate this radical transition of the High to Mass culture, which was studied and shared to us by the Frankfurt School, to the evolution of Classical to the Modern or Contemporary style. Both transitions were caused by resistance, the pursue for freedom and openness and the emerging interest of the society with political of societal issues.

Will there be further developments? Will there be another genre or style as other theories emerge? I guess the only way to find out is to stay tuned! ;)

♥ Reese Corpuz