Telenovela proposed to bring Rizal legacy to mainstream

A hundred and fifty years after Jose Rizal’s birth, a lot of Filipinos still do not know the Philippine National Hero very well, even if his name and work resonate in fan fictions and “fliptop battles." This prompted some members of the academe to suggest ways to bring his legacy to the mainstream, with one of them even proposing that his life be made into a telenovela. “I believe that Rizal's life, not only his myriad loves, but everything else about him, his inner tension, his struggles, his flair for writing, can be turned productively maybe with a minimum of risk for somebody at courageous as Rizal into a telenovela," said Dr. Celia Bulan, a professor in the Department of Speech Communication and Theater Arts at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, during a conference last June 22-24. Classes had been suspended due to bad weather on the last day of the conference dubbed as “Rizal in the 21st Century: Local and Global Perspectives," but a crowd composed mostly of students and professors showed up at the GT-Toyota Asian Center inside the UP Diliman campus for the event. Outside, as the wind was knocking over tarpaulins and potted plants, a lively discussion was going on inside the venue during the parallel session “Rizal: Media and the Arts." “Who is Rizal compared to India’s Ghandi? China’s Mao?" asked a member of the audience during the open forum, quoting Conrado de Quiros’ “Bayani?" published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on June 1. “Sa Pilipinas hindi ganun. Daig pa ni Mr. Bean (si Rizal). Sino ba ang may kasalanan? Gobyerno? Media? KBP (Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas)? Mga may-ari ng network o producer? O mga Pilipino na mismo kahit taun -aon binabasa ang mga gawa niya?" he continued. Fear of criticism UP Film Institute Professor Patrick Campos said the problem may have to do with fear of criticism. “In the Philippines, takot na takot tayong gumawa… lagi tayong natatakot na mapupulaan," he said, noting that even Marilou Diaz-Abaya's Jose Rizal, which was produced by GMA Films, was heavily criticized. “What’s commendable about the GMA film is that they didn’t earn much money, but they were willing to do it," said Campos. He added that in some cases, lack of resources is the problem. “Mario O’Hara made that radical, controversial, absurd film because he made a pito-pito film, we end up doing things like that because we don't have the means for it," Campos said, referring to the 1999 film “Sisa" — a name of one of Rizal’s characters in his novels. On the other hand, Campos noted that there are thousands of Rizal films, and all one has to do is search on YouTube. “Sobrang dami, and they happen in the classrooms. All these teachers ask their students to make a version of [Noli Me Tangere] and [El Filibusterismo]... I think there’s something there that can be tapped," said Campos, admitting that the danger is that students resort to shortcuts. “They have the comic version, which is meant to be a supplement, they’re supposed to help us but the students end up using just those," he said. Rizal fan fictions Today, echoes of Rizal can be found all over, not just on street signs and provinces, but in fan fiction and fliptop battles, a form of verbal jousting that has made its way to the Philippines from African-American origins. Malikhaing Pagsulat Professor Vladimir Gonzales mentioned a handful of Rizal fan fiction, beginning with “Mi Ultimo Adios: An Introspection." Other titles were "Porque Te Vas," Michael Andrada's "Apartment sa Dapitan," Adam David's "Natin 99" and "Bulaklak ng Heidelberg." These works contain dominant ideas from the National Hero, like love for one's country. "Sa 'Bulaklak ng Heidelberg,' makikita na ano mang bagay na buhay kapag inilayo sa kanyang motherland ay mamamatay rin kahit gaano siya kaganda o kabango, matitigok siya kapag nawala sa kanyang bayan," said Gonzales in the parallel session Rizal: Digital Age and Popular Culture. Fliptop battles UP College of Mass Communication dean Roland Tolentino observed that Rizal can also be found in fliptop battles. "Sa fliptop, ang bansa ay narito at ay nasa ngayon. Sa Noli at Fili si Rizal ay umakda ng alegorya ng Pilipinas sa panahon ng kolonyanismong Kastila. Ang fliptop ay gumagamit ng synechdoche, kalakhan ay collection na binubuo ng proper nouns: peklat, magnanakaw, Dionisia, Pacquiao, Boy Bawang at iba pa," he explained. Tolentino noted that fliptop, like Rizal's novels, is about the power of words. “May layon ang pakikipagtunggali na ipakita ang kahinaan ng kalaban gamit ang diskurso at argumento. Puwede mong ibagsak sa pamamagitan ng kapangyarihan ng salita at pagtatanghal nito," he said. - KBK, GMA News