History
indeed repeats itself. That is one of the many reasons we loved the film Heneral Luna where issues and villains seem
to be very much alive and kicking until today. But I argue that history repeats
itself in different contexts that need understanding more than conclusions.
History is a trace to the future but sure it is not the only reason why. Who are the real villains and what
are the real issues? This essay then aims to deconstruct the rhetoric of three memes
uploaded in Heneral luna memes Facebook
group how this General’s mediated history opened today’s discourses in Juan’s
nation.
Social
media, hence through Heneral Luna memes in Facebook, is what social theorist
Jurgen Habermas calls as the public sphere
where public opinion is formed especially among the bourgeoisie or the
middle class. In realization, Antonio Luna has been commodified in the best way
possible through his film’s memes. His story and discourses had undergone rigorous
mediation - from the actual events to oral histories to written accounts. From written accounts to script making then film
production. From the film product to viewing consumption came the public
feedback. It is from the common feedback that Facebook groups were born where
memes are sent by individuals themselves which subject to shared meaning making
and feedback from other members in this public sphere… which landed in media
criticisms, like this.
Mr. American in the Train
Station: Why do we hate to love his
language?
What is Heneral Luna saying in this meme? Yes, that
we should all hate speaking English in this country. But why am I writing in
English? Why are we always writing reaction papers in English? I think
it is because we are not Gen. Luna here but we are Mr. American and his is also our
language. This meme is just a form of resistance attempt (I don’t even know
the tagalog of meme if there is). Why
did we find this scene funny? Perhaps one is because we are not actually
laughing at Mr. American (us presupposed) but at Heneral Luna and his people
because we know English better than them. We watched it not us Filipinos in
love with our native language but as English spectators waiting for the
Filipino General make a grammatical error. How many people nowadays had their
argument invalidated by people just because of the infamous your and you’re error?
This
is not to say that Filipinos of today are hypocrite with the language. Most of us still use Filipino are our mother language. We engage in these discourses
in Filipino. It is just that we actually don’t and should not hate English
anymore for it has become an asset and part of our gratification more than a
colonial influence.
Gregorio
the Gregorgeous: Perceptions of Consumable Beauty
Personally, what I admired most in the film is the choice of actors. From the very cabinet meeting scene, I knew the movie will be spectacular. The familiar faces of actors that I am not sure of names guaranteed me a film of acting not of personalities. This is justified by the memes of actors captioned Started from bottom, Now I’m here which could either be rhetorically interpreted as small actors given break or about these actors’ versatility. Of course I hope public is on the side of the latter explanation.
But then we saw Paulo
Avelino as Gregorio del Pilar and I can’t deny he is really good looking and that
I was rooting for him in Starstruck
back then. I am also sure he’s got the acting talent and angst to play the
young General but his looks are definitely an advantage. However, if we look at
Paulo Avelino getting the role of Gen. Del Pilar in the political economy
perspective, this meme could be promoting for the survival of the film in the
consumer industry. In film and television, real life personalities are usually
played by huge celebrities as a way of giving a high tribute to real icons. Of
course who would not be flattered to be portrayed by the good looking person? Remember
how VP Jejomar Binay wants Alden Richards to portray him?
We may re-ask why
then is Avelino in the second sequel and not John Arcilla with Gen. Luna? Why was
he in the post-credit scene? Because ultimately,
he is the mainstream option when all else fails. We all know that Heneral Luna
film is a risk and it was subject to be one of those substantial pieces that
flopped. I watched the film on its first day and the cinema felt just empty. I
guess if they were sure that the film will be this successful, they would have
considered other actors than Avelino. Reading on the comments and shares of
this meme, there are more excited on this personality’s close-up shots than the
story of Gen. Del Pilar. But who am I to conclude? Maybe we’ll see more of Del
Pilar just like how I can’t remember John Arcilla’s face anymore because to me he is
simply Gen. Luna.
Mascardo Feels: Labor Issues in a Capitalist Environment
https://www.facebook.com/HenLunaMemes/photos/pb.1661669620714616.-2207520000.1443845346./1662494840632094/?type=3&theater
Who did not hate this
lousy General Mascardo? It seemed like all his arguments and behavior is all
lame but we must admit, a part of Mascardo is within us. Especially for most in
the middle class, labor is the way of coping up with life. In a Marxist perspective,
the world appreciates the finish product than the amount of labor poured in it.
Hence, Mascardo in this meme says that Luna is imposing an end product to
him disregard of his labor rights and does not have a power over him
because he is not even in the dominant class, they are just both generals.
On
the first, who in the employment world has not experienced being the deprived
with skipping work whether directly or indirectly? It is either the boss says
so or your work responsibility will be largely affected which at the end of the
day will still be your burden. If we are to understand Mascardo, we may differ in him
on weighing priorities and call of duty. But I think what is this meme trying
to say is that we at some points also set aside work even at the expense of others
or the end product. However, can we blame modern Mascardos when he is already
beaten up by the capitalist society and wants to attend a party sometimes?
And
then there is the caption, “Edi wow, wag
ganon Luna” implying how he consider class in the society. I argue that
this meme imposes that in this capitalist thinking society, Filipinos in one way
use labor to earn power and to use it over another as a form of resistance to
the power to oppress us by the dominant class. If one has seen the movie of
Piolo Pascual and Claudine Barretto Milan
in 2004, we could notice how the character Lino (Pascual) took offense when
he was being instructed by a co-OFW in higher position. Hence, General Luna
here could be a villain today by imposing power over the same General in rank.
Could we then purely hate the Mascardo of today while loving every bit in Luna?
Conclusion
Ultimately I'm down to these questions for myself and to the public sphere - where is Antonio in us today? Do we idolized him because he can do something we can not and will never do? How far can we really go? Is Luna a superhero then all other characters are humans?
We should definitely commend Heneral Luna film for introducing us to Antonio Luna who most of us only know by name. For separating him as a hero of his own rather than Juan Luna’s brother and for giving people things to think about. But I think we should me more proud of ourselves as Filipinos by actively engaging and opening new discourses of nation even as simple as these entertaining memes… although sometimes we are just plain hilarious. Mabuhay ang ensaymada!
We should definitely commend Heneral Luna film for introducing us to Antonio Luna who most of us only know by name. For separating him as a hero of his own rather than Juan Luna’s brother and for giving people things to think about. But I think we should me more proud of ourselves as Filipinos by actively engaging and opening new discourses of nation even as simple as these entertaining memes… although sometimes we are just plain hilarious. Mabuhay ang ensaymada!
Reference:
Edgar, A. & Sedgwick, P. (2002). Cultural
Theory: The Key Thinkers (pp. 182-183). London and New York: Routledge
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