Hitting the mark
So this movie that has been in the buzz for the past three weeks now has finally hit its P100 million mark, and another hundred more for it to break even. I don't think they could last longer in the cinemas, noting that big production houses are releasing their pictures in the coming days. They'll have to move over or else, but then the response has been remarkable.
I watched that movie twice and I never thought that it was a waste of my money. I'd like to think of it as a form of support to an industry that is somehow making its way into the world. Today the country is talking about this film, tomorrow the world will. Everybody got so giddy and excited about it being chosen as the country's official entry to the Oscars that shows in the cinema were fast selling. Even one cinema I saw was sold out. Typical Filipino, always lining up at the last minute. Always late, but it's better late than never.
But it's sad because there has already been pirated copies of this historical film that has been circulating in the black market. A quick scroll in my feed showed a screenshot of the film being shown inside a bus. A lot of those whom I encouraged to watch also said they'll wait for the DVDs to sell because at least they could save than watching it in the movie house. Yes, it is practical to do so but technically it is against the law and placing a foot down on the artists, production crew and staff who worked so hard to make a masterpiece. Imagine your own work being sold off by somebody else and you get neither a cent nor a peso for all your efforts, wouldn't that be a stake in the heart?
Why couldn't we just support our own? We could even shell out a lot of money for commercial films that are based on fiction but we do not want to share a single peso to our fellowmen who has worked so hard for a conviction to come into reality. It is because, we could talk things over since we are of the same race (as in, "nadadala lang sa usapan"). Films like these and those that are of the foreign descent have a disparity so wide but quality wise are the same, only that Heneral Luna is a revolution and an awakening to a dying generation.
Recently too, I saw a new breed of Iskolars ng Bayan march the streets near the campus in resistance to the P2.2 billion budget cut that is posed before them. They were shouting the familiar chants I grew up to, bringing those red placards with big bold letters in a position against the administration for their ill support to the young like them. Seeing these young students made me reminisce my youth, when everything seemed to be fixed with a mere chant. I only hope what they are supporting are realities being posed to them, not that they were persuaded by some upperclassmen or were pressured by peers who also joined in.
Advocacy and things like these are an individual's call. There is no mandate, statute or law that states which you should support. As a citizen, you are free to support whatever and whoever you like. Yet, there are those who always join in the bandwagon and it becomes a pathetic joke that we all look down upon. The youth of today need to stand up for themselves and what they believe in. If only the comfort they are enjoying today could be just temporary for them so they could see the other realities of the world. I could say this because I was once a comfortable student too, but my constant immersion with the community opened my eyes that there is a lot of work to do.
So far, so good. A lot of groups moving for the advancement of the country are hitting the mark. I even did so by celebrating my 22nd birthday. But that doesn't mean we all stop at the bar placed. It means there is more room to move up, go reach further and that someday we can make this country an even more better place to live in.
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