SONA 2014: No separation of fashion and state here

By Stephanie Salazar

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, in his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 28, took 1.5 hours enumerating his administration’s accomplishments in disaster risk reduction and management, economy, infrastructure, national security, and social services, among many other fronts.

The glitz, glamour, and the Nancy Binay that went on at the Batasang Pambansa that day made Aquino’s speech appear like the sideshow, though.

 

As we all know, the annual Philippine SONA has evolved into a red carpet fashion event over the years. Public figures and their families take the opportunity to showcase Filipiniana garb at its finest (or at its worst, sometimes). Fashion designers get free publicity. Commentators have a field day flattering and trashing attendees’ fashion choices in classic E! Channel mode. And as we all know again, Senator Nancy Binay brought the soggy bacon home this year with her green gown (and the subsequent costume change to white terno). I must admit that although I find physical appearance-bashing the lowest form of humor, I did have a guilty good laugh at the memes the senator has inspired (suffice it to say that from now on, wearing a hot air balloon would be called doing a Nancy Binay). You’ve got to give it to Binay for being a good sport, though.

This meme was the best for me, and apparently Nancy thought so, too

The public attacks on our government officials, their wives, their sisters, and their dogs for promoting this sort of cultural practice are quite understandable. The SONA has become so ostentatious that Miriam Defensor-Santiago last year promised to file a resolution requiring lawmakers to wear an official SONA uniform instead to put an end to this insensitive, “thoughtless extravagance”.

It is interesting to note the stark contrast of how fashion as a political and cultural tool is used in western countries, like the United States, wherein opulent fashion is in fact a big no-no in the realm of politics as it supposedly reminds regular voters of what they don’t have and therefore alienates them. It seems the wisdom of this principle has escaped most of our politicians and their PR strategists.

Part of me, in attempting to be objective, tried to see if there is any good in this SONA fashion practice. I did realize that SONA-as-a-fashion-event appears to be the only widely publicized fete left that celebrates our national costume. Not even the equally highly-publicized entertainment events like the FAMAS Awards Night do this. I thought, too, that it is no one’s fault our national costume is so beautiful that it looks flamboyant, especially when seen in droves.

I also learned that the practice is not really unique to the Philippines; we share our inclination to lace political gatherings with pomp and pageantry with at least South Africa and China (although China has apparently ‘taken some cues’ this year).

Still, in the backdrop of corruption allegations against many government officials and the common knowledge that these gowns cost an arm and a leg, any effort to justify this SONA fashion sense would be a very long shot. Any such effort fails to mask the stench of callousness that marks this practice which hardly considers the plight of the common Filipino who could not spare P25,000 at the least for his or her own Randy Ortiz ensemble but has technically crowdfunded Binay’s Ortiz gown through taxes.

In an article on the Center for Sustainable Fashion website, fashion professor Dilys Williams argues that “fashion and politics have a long and multidimensional relationship, fashion’s political voice taking on a wide variety of guises inside and outside of the pillars of state.” Fashion indeed can express political statements and even national identity. But what political or cultural message are our politicians sending through their fashion decisions? Does it have anything to do with nation-building? Or are they merely saying I can buy you, your friends, and Randy Ortiz?

Through our own SONA fashion show, our national costume is sadly at risk of ceasing to symbolize and celebrate our national identity; it has somehow come to stand for the moral ineptness of our public officials and, partly, our national apathy towards that ineptness as well. I can only hope that one day, our government leaders would stop insulting the sensibilities of their constituents and reinstitute the glory, honor, and sense of culture that our terno ought to represent.

Nostalgic Over the Nineties

By Stephanie Salazar

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover
that your high school class is running the country.
Kurt Vonnegut

I attended our 20th anniversary high school class reunion last weekend (there, I have totally dated myself). To say that it was awesome is an understatement. Needless to say, I am still reeling from my nineties hangover.

We had a similar class reunion during our 10th anniversary, but the level of nostalgia and the sense of connection among my batchmates at the time weren’t quite as intense as during this run.

Perhaps there is truth to the general notion that cultural nostalgia runs in 20-year cycles (although some have claimed it is actually 40 years and some are still confused). I can hardly find published scholarly literature supporting this theory (thesis topic, anyone?), but in any case, I have recently experienced the truth in this for myself.

The nineties is a rich cultural hodgepodge. This is especially evident in terms of its music, as the era saw Bon Jovi, Boyz II Men, TLC, Dr. Dre, Nirvana, and our very own Eraserheads peacefully coexisting on equal footing. Fashion was diverse as well; the ‘together’ appeal of the preppy look with its Keds and knee-high socks combo happily contrasted with the lousy grunge charm of the plaid flannel polo over white shirt with chunky bulldog boots.

That said, the nineties was also an era I almost missed out on since I was busy being fascinated with the psychedelic seventies at the time (there goes the 20-year rule again). Maybe I can blame the movies Wayne’s World (1992) and Wayne’s World II (1993) for this—my guilty pleasures—both of which featured a lot of seventies music and references (yep, the 20-year rule again).

 

I was also young and rather foolish, thinking I could set myself apart from the rest through superficial differentiation efforts. As a result, many iconic nineties references I learned to embrace and appreciate only when I got older, in a hurried race to catch up and get to know my generation better.

So while at it, I will indulge myself here and list down some top-of-mind, close-to-heart, early nineties pegs and memories (although some of these may also be considered part of the excesses of the late eighties), noting which ones I’ve caught and/or missed out on in my lame efforts to be the cool kid of the decade.

 

The Pop Swatch

This was the biggest craze in wristwatches—literally, too—during the early nineties. It is a very flashy timepiece with its oversized dial and wide, fabric strap sporting colorful designs. Every girl in school had one. Well, except myself. I instead wore a Swatch Scuba divers watch to make a show of how ‘unique’ I was. Ugh. How silly of me! What I’d give now to have partaken in the happy Pop Swatch recollections of my friends during our recent reunion. Nobody knew crap about the Swatch Scuba.

 

 

Grunge Music

(Excuse me while I turn my glum mode on.) Grunge is a Seattle-born subgenre of alternative rock characterized by sludgy guitars; growling vocals; and tormenting, kill-me-now lyrics. The early nineties saw grunge breaking into the mainstream big time, thanks to Nirvana and its album Nevermind. Sadly, I missed the grunge vibe during its heydays, although I was of course familiar with the tunes. I was busy with Led Zeppelin and Queen (ok, I admit, Bon Jovi and Mr. Big as well). It was only during the early 2000s that I came to embrace this music, thanks to Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten which was actually released in 1991. A friend gifted me with a CD and I haven’t looked back, or should I say I’ve been looking back, since. Come to think of it, Ten is so darn miserable no fourteen-year-old with access to alcohol and sharp Staedtler pens should listen to it. But in my twenties, I found that digesting something so wretched can strangely make one feel so alive and human and happy in a deep, dark way.

 

The Trapper Keeper

This is one of the accessories that made going to school cool in the early nineties. It is basically just a binder, usually sporting bold, wild designs, which holds notebooks and folders. It supplements your backpack (your backpack ought to be Lisa Frank, Giordano, or at the least, Jansport). Looking back, I now find it quite strange how some plastic binder could be considered a status symbol, and apparently some people are still trying to make sense of that idea two decades later. But really, if you had the Trapper Keeper during those days, you were cool. The thing is we all had one, including myself, so technically that made us all generic and uncool.

 

Robin Padilla

If I remember correctly, Ang Utol Kong Hudlum (1991) was the first Filipino movie I ever saw on my own volition. I sneaked out of school—we call this Operation Ober-Da-Bakod because we would literally jump over the school fence. Then I met with my cousin at Greenbelt 1 (well, there was only one Greenbelt at the time) and we slipped into the cinema, all on teenage stealth mode. The movie stars Robin Padilla and Vina Morales, but of course the heroine could have been Miriam Defensor-Santiago and we wouldn’t have cared. We were there for the ultimate nineties crush ng bayan. The Bad Boy of Philippine Cinema is a certified nineties icon. He was just all over the place and was totally hard to miss that, at some point, I inevitably yielded to those piercing brown eyes and the sly side smile. So I admit, yes, I betrayed Leonardo DiCaprio with Robin, but Leo was so far away on a cruise ship and I felt lonely.

 

The Eraserheads

Now this, Pinoy nineties music, I embraced wholeheartedly. I take pride in the fact that I lived during the era of the Eraserheads which is arguably one of if not the most successful and critically-acclaimed bands in the history of OPM. Then there’s After Image, Rivermaya, Parokya ni Edgar, The Youth, Alamid, Yano, Color It Red, Wolfgang, Razorback, and even that ‘guilty-pleasure’ one (Introvoys). I could go on and on. It was the closest feeling to living in the era of The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, which I have always imagined fondly. I thought After Image’s Next in Line is one of the simplest yet most profound songs ever. I learned to play the guitar with Pare Ko, slumped along the school corridors with my classmates during breaks. We were sent to the principal’s office for screaming “Diba? ‘Tang ina!” but it was a glorious moment. Think Shawshank Redemption’s Andy Dufresne getting thrown into solitary confinement for playing that operatic song and coming out of it with a smile. That collective swearing led by Ely Buendia, that infamous sound bite, embodied the era’s brand of resistance.

 

A League of Their Own (1992)

They said I was a promising young girl. And I did feel I could do or be anything I wanted at the time. After seeing this movie, though, I realized the complexity of the choices an empowered woman will have to make in life. What to take? What to sacrifice? What to do with this power and freedom and promise? To this day, I cannot accurately describe how profoundly this movie has affected me as a teenager. It felt like I was forced to grow up. Watch it!

 

Writing this piece has been so fun and sentimental that it has put me at the risk of riding the 20-year itch again—of embracing the era of my youth all over again (step aside, Katie Perry). In this light, and as tribute to my high school batch, I’d like to rephrase Kurt Vonnegut’s quote:

True terror is to wake up one morning and discover
that your high school class has been forgotten.
Stephanie Salazar

 

 

 

World Cup is Spirit Cup

by Cindy Lee

Don’t Let World Cup Be Economic Cup

 

World cup is just past, we wait four years for his coming, with sleepless nights every four years, it is a feast to the football, what is football exactly, why the world is turning for it, people all over the world can’t resist its temptation. In fact, football is a kind of culture, the World Cup is a cultural feast.

Football culture is a simple culture, simple culture is also a kind of fashion culture, the simple culture of football is rule first, power struggle, game score determine success or failure, people enjoy that. Simple culture is no heavy burden relationship, the core of football rules is fair and justice, to protect athletes and promote the development of techniques and tactics.

Fair principle refers to the rules for the consistent principle of both sides, both sides are required to comply with that, everyone is equal in the face of the rules. Under the same rules, whether you are from Europe, Asia, or Africa, could be competitive on the pitch. People can enjoy the pleasure of simple football culture.

Football culture is a kind of wisdom culture. Football is the competition of wise men, the two sides are equal in number, in the same size field, by using the technology of “one-two” “three-two” “side attack” “quick counterattack” “set-pieces” and so on, in order to create an opportunity to score a goal. We enjoy the wisdom in fast attack and defense conversion.

Football is a kind of happy culture, the football field has a broad open view, which could make people fully enjoy the stimulation of sports load and exercise. Football tactics are offensive or defensive, cooperation and personal breakthrough, which fully embody a kind of team spirit. Millions of fans could cheer, jump and dance together, fully enjoy the happiness of football culture.

Merchants wanted to make quick money Because of the World Cup, bars, restaurants, and stores were full of World Cup atmosphere. This is justifiably that merchants earn money with the help of elements of the World Cup, which is also sports economy, however, I want to say, don’t let World Cup be economic Cup, we need spirit cup more.

The reason why the public focus on attention to the World Cup, not because the potential business opportunities of the World Cup, but also the spirit of sports, the World Cup football culture, and the fierce competition, the passionate struggle, the struggle of passion, are a form of human spirit, which are the most precious spiritual wealth of the World Cup. We need to develop, infiltrate our days and nights to watch the World Cup, the World Cup should be our spiritual and cultural feast.

I look forward, Merchants can put this spirit of sports and football culture to infiltrate their own business, let business become a platform of spirit and culture and realize win-win situation of economy and spirit.

The World Cup, it is not only merchants’ carnival, but also a feast of sport spirit, human culture and football culture.

 

Ang Hari ng Kalsada

isinulat ni Ruepert Cao

Isang jeep na nakaparada sa Buendia. Larawan mula sa http://www.seetheworldinmyeyes.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/121205-Travel-Day-855-Manila-Arrival-Day-in-Jeepney-Town-3.jpg

Mainit, maalikabok, harurot. Ilan lamang ito sa mga salitang naglalarawan sa jeep, ang hari ng kalsada ng Pilipinas. Kamakailan ay nailathala sa web site ng GMA News Online ang isang artikulo tungkol sa opinyon ng isang transportation adviser na dapat ay palitan na natin ang jeep (http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/369651/scitech/technology/time-to-let-go-of-the-outdated-jeepney-transportation-adviser-says). At natumbok ng transportation adviser na si Rene Santiago ang aking saloobin tungkol sa jeep. Bakit nga ba ang jeep ay isang cultural icon na ating ipinagmamalaki samantalang ito ay isang bagay na dapat natin ikahiya at palitan na?

Aminado ako na sumasakay ako ng jeep araw-araw dahil sa ito ay mura at mahahanap kahit saan. Ngunit sa tuwing sumasakay ako ng jeep ay hindi ko maiwasang mangamba sa aking kaligtasan. Napabalita kailan lamang na sa Inquirer na ang Chino Roces Ave., halimbawa, ay napakadelikado sapagkat palaging may nangyayaring holdap sa loob ng jeep kahit sa kalagitnaan ng araw (http://www.inquirer.net/philippine-election-2013/articles/615702) at walang magawa ang ating pulisya sa insidenteng ito (pinakikita lamang nito na hindi epektibo ang ating kapulisan sa mga ganitong bagay). Hindi rin ako komportable sa sobrang init sa loob ng jeep at dahil sa bukas ito ay wala akong magawa sa alikabok na tumatama at dumidikit sa aking pawisang mukha. Maarte na kung maarte, ngunit hindi ko rin gusto ang sobrang siksikan sa loob ng jeep. Hindi lamang sa naaamoy ko at humahalo ang pawis ng aking katabi sa aking balat, ngunit hindi ko rin gusto kapag may mataba akong katabi na P8.50 lamang ang binabayad, o kaya’y may namili nang bulto sa palengke at naaamoy ko ang halu-halong amoy ng hilaw na karne o isda. Hindi ko rin gusto na may sasakay na mga pulubi sa jeep (hindi naman sa ako’y maramot) at pupunasan nila ang sapatos ko (o kaya’y aking mga paa kapag ako’y naka tsinelas) ng isang piraso ng basahan na nangingitim na at siguradong napakarumi.

Para sa akin, ang jeep ay larawan ng ating kultura at lipunan, ngunit ito ay isang pangit na larawan, isang pangit na repleksyon ng ating kasalukuyan at kasaysayan.

Hindi ako nagtatakang ang jeep ay kilala sa paglabag ng batas trapiko. Kung saan bawal magbaba ay doon sila magbaba. Kapag ikaw ay nagmamadali ay saka sila maghihintay ang tsuper na mapuno ng pasahero ang kanyang jeep. Madalas nila pinipilit daigin ang mga stop light. Kapag ako ay umuuwi sa gabi at wala nang shuttle papuntang Taguig ay napipilitan akong magjeep na dumdaan sa EDSA, at bawat sakay ko sa jeep ay para kaming nakikipagpantintero sa iba pang jeep at sasakyan na wala ring disiplina. Maraming jeep ang walang prangkisa at kolorum. Maraming naninigarilyo sa loob ng jeep, kasama na doon ang tsuper. At maraming modus sa loob ng jeep lalo na sa gabi. Hindi ko na mabilang kung ilang beses na nagkaroon ng pagnanakaw at pandurukot sa loob ng sasakyan. Bukod pa rito, sa kahabaan ng Taft Avenue ay napakaraming rugby boys sa loob ng jeep ang nagkalat, kaya naman hindi ako sumasakay sa loob ng jeep na wala akong kasama. Natatandaan ko noong unang araw ng klase ko sa aking Master’s ay may mga rugby boys na nakaharang sa bukana ng jeep at hindi ko alam paano dadaan. Ang kaklase kong babae ay gusto nang bumaba dahil sa tatlong rugby boys na nasa loob ng jeep.

Malaki rin ang kontribusyon ng jeep sa polusyon sa hangin. Sabi nga ni Rene Santiago ay walang nakitang pagbabago sa jeep sa loob ng huling 50 taon at dito kaya ang mga makina nito ay luma rin. Hindi lamang sa paraang ito naipapahamak ng jeep, kasama na ang tsuper nito at karamihan sa kanyang pasahero, ang kalikasan. Maraming sumasakay ng jeep ang itinatapon na lamang sa labas ang kanilang mga basura. Minsan nga ay nakasakay ako ng jeep at ang tsuper ay itinapon na lamang sa labas ng jeep ang pinagbalatan at buto ng kinakain nyang mangga. Ang mga pasahero naman at tapon nang tapon ng balat ng candy sa labas ng jeep.

Para sa akin, isa pang hindi magandang aspeto ng jeep ay ang mismong itsura nito. Bihira ang talagang maayos at maganda. Karamihan sa jeep ay hindi na tuwid ang pag-andar, bukol-bukol ang pagkakawelding, nayupi na ang bakal na katawan, at butas-butas at kinakalawang ang sahig. Minsan ay kinakabahan ako sa jeep na butas-butas ang sahig at iniisip ko kung ako ba ay mahuhulog dito o hindi.  Kahit mismong sa Ayala at Bonifacio Global City ay wala akong nakitang maayos na jeep. Kahit ang mga aircon jeep ng Makati ay mainit pa rin at mas siksikan pa kaysa sa ordinaryong jeep.

Sinabi ko sa itaas na ang jeep ay larawan din ng ating kasaysayan. Alam naman nating lahat na ang jeep ay nanggaling sa mga jeep na iniwan dito ng mga Amerikano matapos ang World War II. Ang jeep sa gayon ay hindi sariling atin at masasabing pinagsawaan lamang ng mga banyaga na ating niretoke para maging atin. Hindi tayo katulad ng ibang bansa katulad ng UK na may double-decker bus na maayos ang itsura at isang konseptong sa kanila mismo nanggaling.

Makati Hybrid Bus. Larawan mula sa http://www.interaksyon.com/motoring/assets/2013/05/bus2.jpg

Sa panahon ngayon ay marami ng pwedeng pumalit sa jeep bilang pangunahing mode of transportation na mas efficient, mas malinis, at mas epektibo. Sa Makati ay may hybrid buses na umiikot na mas maluwag at mas komportable kaysa sa jeep. Sa Taguig naman at sa iba pang lugar ay may e-tricycles na maaaring gamitin para makaikot sa iba’t ibang lugar. Maging ang pamahalaan ay pinag-iisipan ang rapid transit system upang maibsan ang trapiko sa mga lugar tulad ng EDSA.

Para sa akin ay dapat na palitan ang jeep nang unti-unti hindi lamang dahil sa ito ay pangit, delikado, o marumi. Lahat ng mga ito ay sinasaklawan ng isa pang mas malaking aspeto ng ating buhay na tinatawag na kultura.  Para sa akin ang jeep ay  repleksyon ng ating kultura: isang lipunan kung saan karamihan ay walang pakialam sa kahit na pinakasimpleng batas; isang lipunan na mahilig magreklamo sa oras ng kalamidad samantalang sila ay walang pakialam sa kalikasan; isang lipunan na walang pakialam sa oras at kapakanan kapwa tao. Lahat ng ito ay nailalarawan ng jeepney, at ang mga masasama at pangit na aspeto ng ating lipunan at kultura ay pinadadali at pinagyayaman ng jeepney. Sa tingin ko ay isang epektibong paraan ang unti-unting pagtanggal sa jeep sa ating sistema upang magbago ang ating kultura at mabigyan ng disiplina ang miyembro ng ating lipunan.

#MiriamFight

Miriam Defensor Santiage (image from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/files/2012/02/miriam.jpg)

by Ruepert Cao

Wednesday was a good morning for me. The sky was clear and the weather was not so bad. I was alone in the office just before 11:00 AM, just before Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago was set to make two important announcements in a press conference in the Senate. It was around 10:30 AM when I read this and I hurriedly asked a friend of mine who works as news producer in GMA 7. He said he’s not sure what Miriam is about to say. I was really excited by it because I really look up to Miriam not only as a politician, not only as a genius, but also as a cultural icon. I was thinking that maybe Miriam would be running for presidency, something that I really wanted to happen. And 11:00 AM arrived.

It was a bittersweet moment for me who wanted to see Miriam bring more action and color to our graft-ridden, corrupted, and definitely corrupted government as Miriam announced that she was battling Stage 4 cancer of the lungs.

I literally whispered, “oh my goodness.” I felt a little depression in me because I really considered Miriam to be instrumental towards a better future for our country. I am a Filipino, and I believe it is my obligation as a Filipino to think of and take care of the future of our country. I love our country, but I hate the government that runs it. I really rooted for Miriam to make more intelligent and reasonable changes in the government. For me she embodied the hopes and aspirations of an ordinary youth who slowly loses appreciation towards our government and I really thought that cancer was going to bring her down.

I was surprised though at her reaction. She was not sad, depressed, or afraid. She was very calm amidst the shock of the press and she was even able to crack jokes, saying that she was disciplined all her life so her cancer cells were disciplined too. Miriam truly is an iron lady because she is not afraid of anything, be it the trapos, showbiz personalities, and even death. In the face of a situation enough to make many people succumb to fear, the feisty and usually emotional senator was able to maintain serenity.

I then asked again my friend from the media how he felt after, and he said that it was a bit sad to know about Miriam’s predicament. I felt the same too and even my supervisor at work felt a bit down to know about it. I just thought that Miriam was not even sad about it and people who support her must remain calm and support her too. I was also amazed at how netizens reacted and supported her. Rappler reflected that 91% of their readers felt sad after reading the news (http://www.rappler.com/thewrap/july-2-2014-edition/miriam-defensor-santiago-has-lung-cancer). Many encouraging words were also posted in social media and in a nutshell, the netizens reminded the Senator that Philippines would not be the same without her, and that God will giver her strength to recover and continue her mission (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/02/14/miriamfight-netizens-pray-miriams-recovery).

Many politicians have joined the ranks of our cultural icons throughout the history. Modern-day politicians came to embody certain things: Ninoy Aquino for martyrdom, Cory Aquino for purity and innocence, Juan Ponce Enrile for longevity, and Miriam for intelligence and wisdom. Miriam already has become a cultural icon especially when she dominated the social media. Why did I say that? Because she has already created waves whenever she speaks. University students came to like her and she has been a frequent guest in commencement exercises of many universities. Everytime she speaks in an issue there is surely a portion of the news dedicated to her. She has had her share of admirers and detractors. Netizens argued against and for her sanity (she’s been labelled as “Brenda” for “Brain Damage”). And of course, her predicaments affected many people.

Miriam always takes the advantage to enlighten people through media. She’s a frequent headliner in news and always trending in social media. She has more than a million followers in Facebook and and many of her posts are about her insights on social issues and concerns. In this way I can say that she emphasizes learning, understanding, and education for us to strike the heart of our problems as a nation. And though she’s one of the top absentees in the Senate due to her frail health, she’s the most productive nonetheless, always passing and writing bills that encourage not only change in systems but change in culture as well (remember Anti-Epal Bill?). I can say that Miriam really is more than a political force: she’s a cultural force as well because her bills and proposals aims to change more than the surface.

We need her in our midst because she’s this one politician that encourages the nation to think, to make intelligent choices, to be educated. Her words, her actions, say that nationalism and love of nation is not enough, but intelligence, wisdom, and concrete actions have their own parts to fulfill if we want progress and change in our society. And these things that she embodies and encourage are really needed in our society which is filled with uneducated and gullible people who would only vote for the rich, the bribing, the famous. We need people like her in the government to clean it up and restore its former glory, and in turn restore the glory that we Filipinos once had.

I’d like to see Miriam well and up again to beat her political enemies. For me she’s an intelligent choice to be the leader of our struggling nation. She, for me, is not only a symbol of intelligence and wisdom, but of good governance and most especially the indomitable human will and spirit. The country needs politicians like her who has strong political will and deep understanding of law and ethics for us to progress, and not politicians who bank on name and fame to win. I hope that when she survives this ordeal (and I have high hopes that she will) she will run for presidency. And I hope this time we will all make the intelligent choice to elect people who really has the brains, the capacity, and the integrity to serve the nation.

 

Looking for Mr. Smartphone: A Love Story

By Stephanie Salazar

My trusty iPhone 5, after getting smashed here and there a thousand times in the last two years, is now held together only by strips of adhesive tape. Worse, it has started calling people on its own last week. I think the time has come for this thing to rest in pieces before it gets me in trouble.

And so began the fun quest for my next smartphone. I quickly called my mobile service provider to check which handsets I can avail for free (is it free, really?) through their customer retention program. The chirpy service representative presented a gazillion delicious options.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Note 3, S4, and S5. iPhone 4S, 5C, and 5S. Sony Xperia L, M, N, O, P, Q, and Z… something like that. I was overwhelmed. Embarrassed, I told the service representative I can’t decide and will just have to call again.

I felt I must think hard about my pick. Choosing a new phone is much like choosing a boyfriend in an environment where another cute boyfriend material comes around every six months. So like any serious, long-term commitment (of maybe around two years), this required an ‘enlightened’ decision.

I was kidding myself, of course. These smartphones are all functionally the same (I won’t say the same about men, but correct me if I’m wrong). And yet I spent a good half-day surfing the net, comparing one model with another, scrutinizing minor differences, getting increasingly confused. And having fun!

Samsung’s ‘more megapixels’ or iPhone’s ‘bigger megapixels’? Android or iOS? Xperia’s glass body or iPhone’s aluminum case?

Do I really need a smartphone?

Yes, whispered my soul.

Black or white?

We happy, hapless consumers just love playing these games. This whole exercise reminds me of some key concepts in the book Dialectic of Enlightenment by Adorno and Horkheimer (1944), particularly the chapter on The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. The authors argue that in a capitalist society, “mechanically differentiated products are ultimately the same.” Product differences among brands are “fundamentally illusory,” and “advantages and disadvantages debated by enthusiasts serve only to perpetuate the appearance of competition of choice.”

Four-inch or 6.5-inch screen?

All this scheming, apparently, is done by capitalists to keep us plebeians too busy to question our sorry status quo and make even our leisure time an extension of our labor, all to keep the powers-that-be in power.

Should I get the one with a magnetometer?

Adorno and Horkheimer were spot on, I must admit. Because here I am, basking in the glorious oppression of global capitalism, belaboring and even romanticizing the whole phone-picking process with options that are essentially the same!

What the hell is a magnetometer?

I am a poster girl of the culture industry, and God help me, I am enjoying it immensely. Is that so bad? Let’s just say I won’t complain.

Working in a multiracial environment in the last five years, I have been exposed to diverse life stories from different parts of the world. I know of colleagues with terrorist encounters. I’ve heard first hand tales of forced marriages. I have an expat friend who had to look for cow dung around Metro Manila because it was the time of the year for their traditional cow dung worship; needless to say, she had a tough time with that.

What I realized is that we are all oppressed, all imprisoned by something, one way or another. Some are oppressed by political ideologies, some by religion, some by national traditions, some by their spouses. In some cases, it is actually a game of choose-your-own-oppression.

This Touch ID fingerprint security sensor sounds good.

It happened that I was placed in a position to choose Steve Jobs as my oppressor, and oppress me he did even in his deathbed. I guess the question is whether or not we find pleasure in our chosen forms of tyranny. I hope my colleagues are having fun, too.

So what phone did I choose in the end? I picked the iPhone 5s, which is basically my old phone with a bit more chiseled abs. Is it because I thought it was better than the rest? Not really. The Galaxy 5S is better, actually, or at least there’s that illusion. But it would be exhausting to transfer my contacts list onto an Android phone. I’d rather spend my precious time working my ass off to make money for the next time I would need, err, another phone.