Ghosts And Ghouls
Hollywood’s got its big blood-and-guts flicks with ghastly finales. Asian cinema has its quiet, sinister narratives. Philippine horror, meanwhile, is quite a different story: we’ve diversified and mutated the genre in dizzying proportions—from mayhem to humorous to the totally implausible. But as anthropologist, teacher, and cultural commentator Michael L. Tan argues, the Pinoy horror film still has a few nasty surprises to offer at every turn. If the mania is the message, then we’re in for a tingling read.
The Fading Art Of Fang
An artistic crucible dwells in the spiritually energetic Cordillera Islands—an 87-year-old lady named Fang Oud. The last of the original artists in the area, she has solely preserved a forgotten Kalinga rite of passage: the art of tribal tattooing. After traveling to the Cordilleras to meet the cultural icon, Swiss-Filipino traveler Raphael Kiefer narrates how he has come away changed forever.
Victims Or Heroes: A Matter Of Estilo
Anxiously, Rogue asked him to write an essay about, of all things, fashion: happily, however, Alfred “Krip” Yuson—distinguished writer, poet, essayist, and hardened raconteur—accepted the strange commission. In his typically humorous, weighty manner, the allusions tumble like a house of cards. After reading his treatise, dress flippantly again at your own peril. Baduy, you will learn, can mean something much more disastrous than those lamentable Facebook status reports.
Heirarchy Of Grief
Michael Jackson is dead, and we all mourn this great deficit in our lives. But why? Did you, after all, know him personally? His shocking passing affected us deeply on a personal level; now we need someone to tell us why. Jonathan C. Ong does just that, by linking media coverage to personal empathy. Weep because you grieve, not because you’re supposed to.
Far From Normal
The lives of Leo, Nette, and Moy’s little boy have been profoundly touched by mostly unwelcome psychic gifts. The three have dealt with the disquiet in different ways—psychiatric therapy, consulting experts, and even painting. Jade Bernas wonders if it is possible to wrest back personal happiness from such deeply wounded lives.
