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NEW Ways
of Looking. Odd, but I have been having a change of
heart, or taste. A shift in aesthetics, too. Aljazeerah
English, for one, has become a source of good
documentaries for me, in the process changing my view of
that region, the Middle East, and the dominant religion
tied to the place, Islam. The network has attracted a
lot of CNN mainstays—from Riz Khan, who moved from BBC
to CNN and to Aljazeerah English, to our very own
Veronica Pedrosa, who almost had the same path as
Khan—and it is creating its own mark: different
perspectives that are surprising because it is almost
like our views.
One
program that should teach our local documentarists is
Witness. It is hosted by Rageeh Omaar, whose brief
introductions are always witty and intelligent. The
words used are never overwrought. Subdued and succinct
to a point, the host allows the images and the events
that follow speak for themselves. This basically is the
problem with most of the local shows: ponderous and
pandering. One does not get a sense also of the host
overtaking the presentation. The host is also not seen
in a melodramatic pose, profile against the setting sun,
with comments that are good for eulogies or graduation
exercises, rather than a footnote to topics about, let’s
say, poverty or education.
Two
presentations that are worth treasuring happen to be
about Bolivia. The first is called “Gladiator Women,”
which is about the women wrestlers of the country. The
context is the election of Evo Morales, the first
indigenous Bolivian, in a country considered to be the
poorest in
South America. The filmmaker Rodrigo Vasquez is the documentarist here
looking at how the battle between identities begin to
take place not in the political arena but in the
wrestling arena. Or, rather, how wrestling becomes the
political arena by which the indigenous population of
Bolivia expresses its frustration and anger.
Martha,
identified as being of Incan descent, takes on Jennifer
Two Faces, who is seen as the symbol of the European
conquistador. When this happens the fight occurs in a
forest of symbols, with Martha fitted in traditional
Inca dress and promising supremacy, even if this comes
only via a sports event that the audience identifies
with. The ring is thick with identification: Martha is
the downtrodden Incan and Jennifer looking like a
waylaid descendant of the rock band Kiss standing for
the white elite, scorned and despised.
In the
language of the staged wrestling, Jennifer Two Faces is
supposed to embody an evil persona. Does this make the
“native” representative of the Good?
Omaar
comes back in another documentary for Witness,
this time on young Bolivian musicians. Rodrigo Vasquez
is the man behind the documentary “Jungle Music,” which
chronicles the return of classical music in a place not
usually associated with such endeavor. Introduced by the
Jesuits, classical music stood for colonization,
civilization, bigotry and oppression. This time, though,
the young boys and girls are being taught to play the
music, hoping that it will help them out of their
poverty.
Grim is
the scenario for these young artists. One day, they are
just waiting for a replacement for their strings. With
one string or two lacking or broken, one young violinist
has to leave the rehearsal and go back to his hovel.
Each string is worth a treasure. Till one day, an
orchestra from the US donates to them used strings. At
the end, a recital is held, a moving testament to how
colonization in the New Land has always been linked to
faith. Shock of recognition, too, is in store for the
Filipino audience, because Bolivia and the Philippines
have much in common: a colonial experience complicated
by the mystery and allure of religion.
The
documentary “Jungle Music” ends with the musicians
playing religious hymns during the reenactment of the
Passion and Death of Christ. The young orchestra plays
with fervor while the Christ is lowered down from the
Cross, the hands of the statue created to be supple, in
the dramatization of one of the highlights of this
religion that helped pave the way for the
conquistadores. The scene hides two levels: the belief
of this people descended from the mighty Incan
empire and the hope that through the music of their new conqueror, they
can rise once more and be freed from alienation.
We do
not know how change can take place in the Bolivian
jungle by way of classical music. It is good that
Witness does not promise anything. The next day
after watching this inspiring piece, news streaming from
TV show protests and conflicts in the city of Santa Cruz
in Bolivia.
AT 2nd
Avenue, a forensic fairy tale. Aljazeerah and this
channel called
2nd Avenue
are worlds apart in content. The two channels, however,
share a modifier: engaging. The cable channel 2nd Avenue
has one series that vows to engage us for the days to
come: a forensic fairy tale. The series is called
Pushing Daisies, the story of a piemaker who is able
to bring the dead back to life, albeit very briefly. You
can imagine the implication. I can ask Ned, the piemaker,
to touch a dead man so he can be alive. Then I ask him
questions, like who would he really want to inherit his
wealth? The policeman can even ask a dead man who is his
murderer.
Ned
works with private investigator Emerson Cod (Chi
McBride, The Nine) to crack murder cases. But a
power like this is bound to get complicated. A major
test case occurs when Ned has to bring his childhood
sweetheart, Charlotte “Chuck” Charles (Anna Friel,
Goal!), back from the dead. Can Ned keep her alive?
Ned is
played by Lee Pace (Waterfalls). Pushing Daisies
also stars Kristin Chenoweth (RV, The West Wing)
as beautiful waitress Olive Snook who likes Ned. Ellen
Greene (Talk Radio) and Emmy Award-winner Swoosie
Kurtz (Dangerous Liaisons) play Chuck’s grieving
aunts, Vivian and Lily. The two are former synchronized
swimmers who believe they’ve buried their beloved niece
forever.
Pushing
Daisies
made its Asian TV premiere on May 6 at
8 pm, and is now seen on Tuesdays on
2nd
Avenue. |
