EDE: Film and Theater in the Pearl of the Orient [first draft]

Film and Theater

            Everyday life is filled with struggles and challenges; experiences which may lead to an individual’s happiness or demise. Most often, these experiences and emotions are shown and released in various forms of art like music, poetry, dancing, etc. Even the simplest things like an everyday struggle in a crowded train or the most complex issues like economic depression can be depicted in the arts. Film and theater are two of the most popular entertainment and cultural genres that are often compared and contrasted by the public as two separate forms of art with the same goals and theme like story-telling and character revelation. Today, film is regarded as one of the biggest-earning industries in the world. In United States, Hollywood is known to house the biggest film productions while Bollywood, India in Western Asia (Stevens, CNN). One of the most famous and longest-operating theatrical plays is the Phantom of the Opera which garnered 7 Drama Desk Awards, 6 Tony Awards and 3 Laurence Olivier Awards on 17 different categories (Laurence Olivier Awards). In the Philippines, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) houses performing companies in dance, music and theater namely Ballet Philippines, Philippine Ballet Theater, Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group and Bayanihan Philippine National Folk Dance Company (HISTORY, CCP Website).

            Film and theater have evolved along with the cultures, trends and social backgrounds of the societies within their reach. Theater in the modern west was derived from ancient Greek drama, borrowing many of its terminologies, genres and themes, characters and plot elements. Theater is defined as a form of art that represents real or imagined events in front of a live audience with stage support of lights, sounds and set backgrounds (M. Carlson, 2011). Drama, Comedy, Tragedy and Musicals are some of the major types of theater. The particular place that houses the theater arts is also called “Theatre”.

             Film, on the other hand, is a recorded series of moving images, largely known as motion picture. Like theater, film also depicts either real or fictional experiences from particular events of a character’s life. It is regarded as one of the biggest productions of art that is the most profitable and publicly demanded. The film-making process involves various steps that can take up to years at most. The process includes Development, Pre-production, Production, Post-production and Distribution. 
             In the Philippines, film and theater has contributed largely to the development of art. Jose Nepomuceno’s Dalagang Bukid was the first film produced by a Filipino based on a musical play by Hermohenes Ilagan and Leon Ignacio, marking the start of cinema as an art in the Philippines. Nepomuceno was dubbed as the "Father of Philippine Cinema". Theater, on the other hand, has been one of the cannons shooting out talents from the Philippines to foreign stages around the world. Therefore, allowing public exposure of the Philippine culture and arts in many countries around the world as a base structure for theatrical plays and musicals.

            As two of the most popular entertainment and cultural genres, film and theater are almost always compared to each other. Similarities in the types of art, culture, structure of production and goals are often criticized. Both film and theater are similar in the types of culture they depict, particularly in the Philippines; they often show the early beginnings of Philippine history as well as the present political and economic state of the country and how these affect the people and their daily lives. Like the others, Philippine film and theater have the goals to show and expose the audience to their plot which mostly consists of conflicts that are usually seen in day-to-day life but is interpreted into a much larger and broader perspective. Film and theater provide entertainment and information to their audience. (Soriano, Y! Voices)

            But although both genres need actors and actresses in the performances, they requirements for the actors of the two are different. In film, the actors are recorded, requiring them play their roles from the script and view of the screenwriter while theater actors play their parts from a playwright’s script and require stage presence as they act out on a live audience. Stage and theater actors require much training before every performance in order to act, present and relate to their audience in the best way possible. In terms of production, film can be edited and given special effects before distribution unlike theater which requires much time if change or revision occurs before a performance. The base structure of Philippine film today is much greater than that of theater. Because the era of Hollywood has never been forgotten and is known worldwide, film in the Philippines is given much more funds and attention from both the authorities and the public. Philippine theater, in a sense, is underrated today. Although the various structural components that completes the play is well-rehearsed and is close to perfect, the public demand for theater is not as large as that of film.

            For Philippine film and theater, globalization has made the public prefer foreign films and plays over the local ones, resulting to a drastic fall of Philippine film. Misconceptions about Filipino film and theater have also risen during the past decade. Some of these misconceptions say that Philippine theater only showcases the tribes or cultural ethnic groups of the country and is disinteresting; and that films in the Philippines have shallow plots and only try to either make people cry, laugh or scared. These views often affect the public within proximity, having the Filipino masses assume that they are just as shallow as the arts today or that foreigners are more superior than them, even when in the Philippines. But these misconceptions are just misconceptions, of course. Although underappreciated, Philippine film has slowly risen from its fall with inspirational movies like Mga Munting Tinig (Small Voices) by Gil Portes (2002) and Crying Ladies by Mark Meily (2003). Digital movies were also launched in the Philippine media industry in 2006 an 2007. Adolfo Alix Jr.’s Donsol gave a huge impression as a digital film that included underwater cinematography with the film set in a fishing town called Donsol that is home to rare white whale sharks. The year 2009 was the highest peak of the Filipino film industry’s esteem when Brillante Mendoza’s film Kinatay (Butchere) dubbed him as Best Director in the Cannes Film Festival, shooting him up to the ranks of international directors Maritn Scorses, Gus Van Sant and other directors whose films were entered for category of Best Director. Mendoza’s victory was acknowledged by many Filipinos, including former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo; marking his success a ray of hope for Filipino filmmakers. (Straight website, January 2009)

            Today, Philippine film stands firm in the evolution of trends among the society. Flexible, in a sense, Philippine film maintains its abilities to adjust to the changes in the demands of the public and yet still show the culture which revolves around the country. Theater, on the other hand, is slowly making a mark upon the hearts of the Filipino masses. In whatever forms, Philippine theater provides entertainment and awareness to the audience. Today, various theater organizations like Repertory Philippines, Tanghalang Pilipino and Dulaang UP have made large-scale productions like “Sound of Music” and “Rizal Revisted”. (WikiPilipinas)

NOTE: As this post is the first draft, the title wasn't yet edited. So, the draft title was, "Film and Theater"