On Mock The Week And The "Limits" Of Comedy: Yet Another Absurd Instance Of Pinoy Outrage

.:On Mock The Week And The "Limits" Of Comedy: Yet Another Absurd Instance Of Pinoy Outrage:.

So. After a couple of weeks of Australian bliss, I'm back in town. Not too many people care, but I'll carry on, regardless.

Yeah, I'm definitely lining up a post about my trip soon, but this one just had to be dealt with first, seeing how absurd it really is.

Once again, Pinoy Outrage happens. The outpouring of anger from Filipinos on cyberspace has been as reliable as clockwork, yet what baffles me to no end is the fact that nobody even seemed to take a closer look at the story behind this whole brouhaha, in the first place.

A few weeks back, in the wake of Vice Ganda making rape/fat jokes at the expense of Jessica Soho, there has been a lot of furor over what the comedian did. As is expected, but it makes sense, because rape itself was made light of under the context of poking fun at Ms. Soho's weight.

I understood the outrage at the time because let's face it: rape culture is alive and well in the Philippines, as we find ourselves blaming the victim for being raped, more often than not. I just found it a bit ironic that in the face of decrying rape culture, a lot of the comments against Vice were inherently homophobic in nature, as if Vice's being gay had anything to do with the offensiveness of his joke.

But such is the role of comedy. Comedy pokes fun, and while people can go and throw up their arms in anger over humor that they deem to "cross the line," comedy has always been more than willing to push its boundaries every chance it got. There have been no sacred cows at the altar of comedy. The Pope? Mother Teresa? Dead babies? Cancer? 9/11? Rape? All of those have been made fun of, to varying degrees of success. When the joke is taken "too far," backlash happens, but for the most part, that backlash never stopped a Carlin or a Louis CK from making the joke, anyways.

Yet even within the realm of so-called taboo topics, there exists a place where jokes *can* be funny without having to really trivialize something taboo. Just because we laugh at something doesn't mean it becomes trivial. The feminist website Jezebel even made it clear that rape jokes can be funny, provided that it doesn't attack the victim or make rape seem like it's okay. In a similar vein, satire isn't even about making people laugh, primarily, but about exposing some social ill in a very cutting manner. Does this mean the material stops being offensive? Heavens, no. But the context makes it clear that it is offensive *for a reason*.

It's easy to make crass jokes for shock value, but when you use the crassness of your material to make a point, that changes the meaning behind the joke. For example, when you make a rape joke and poke fun at the rapist for feeling entitled to sex because the girl was "totally asking for it," you make it clear that it's funny because the rapist is a deluded jackass who should not be given the time of day. Failing that, the joke at least does not make the victim the butt of the joke.

So. Let's turn this guideline to the Mock The Week bit where a female comedian quipped about Filipino children being tested upon by cosmetic companies. Is it funny? That's a matter of taste. Is it racist? Why? Because the word "Filipino" was used and it wasn't followed by the words "people are awesomesauce?" So exactly what negative things can anyone say about Filipinos, then?

Is it racist to poke fun at child exploitation as a horrible, horrible thing when you use Filipino children as your example? That's pretty dim. The joke is not on the Filipino children. Not a single negative thing was said about them, nor did the comedian so much as endorse exploiting them for cosmetics. In fact, the comedian was clearly lampooning how horrible a thing it is! So both on the level of comedy and satire, this joke is definitely not one that is merely out to offend, but one that calls our attention to the fact that hey, child exploitation? Not a good thing.

That the race of the children happens to be Filipino is merely incidental to the whole point of the line. Being Filipino is in no way reflected as a negative thing, nor is it used as a way to denigrate the children, either. So remind me again how the joke was racist.

Sure, I don't mind it when people poke fun at the Filipino people, but I do understand why some people could be offended by it, especially if the joke is clearly racist in nature. Unfortunately, this joke is far from it, and the sooner people actually learn to get over ourselves and just freaking read, the sooner we would all realize that we don't actually need to make everything about us.

So I Wrote About The New Dan Brown Kerfuffle...

.:So I Wrote About The New Dan Brown Kerfuffle...:.
... but of course, expect to see them on the POC and the 8List instead of on my blogs, since I hafta pay the bills. But yeah, in the tradition of my Chip Tsao entries, it's gonna be a doozy.

That's all for now. Next week, I fly out to Australia, and I'm unbelievably stoked about that.

Dark Clouds...

.:Dark Clouds...:.

Lately, I do feel like I'm getting cold feet about  going to Australia. I've been feeling so bruised and battered over the circumstances, and it's been taking its toll on me, in all honesty. I gave so much of myself all this time, so you could just imagine how difficult it really is for me to just go on with my day and ignore the cloud looming over my head.

Had another argument and I almost had to cancel my ticket altogether.

I am so drained. I am so tired. I talked to Christine and Jonsi as they were in town earlier this week, and it was a pleasant surprise hearing from them, but there's no question that I was really feeling the crunch of the trip. It feels like a fool's errand. No... it's not just a feeling. I all but know that I'm going there to have my heart broken.

And yet, I still must.

Because I love her. And I guess I always will.    

My Gwiyomi Video...

... no, I'm not doing one. What do you guys think I am? Stupid? Hahahaha!

That being said, I finally got my Visa, and will be headed to Australia soon! So excited!

Life Gets In The Way. I'm Not Complaining

.:Life Gets In The Way:.

But it's all good, really, and I don't mind. Work in the office has been pretty hectic but awesome, what with all the stuff I've had to come up with for the 8List. You might notice that I've been coughing up lists there, and writing on the POC on a sorta regular basis, and with everything I do currently geared towards my Australian trip, I honestly don't miss blogging that much as of late.
And that's fine, I suppose. I have a lot on my plate, and while I'd love to blog about it all, I try my best to let snippets off it get through on my Twitter or Facebook. I'm going through life at a breakneck pace lately, and I only have games of Tekken Card Tournament to take my mind off of a lot of the stress that's been eating at me, so I suppose I should be very grateful, all things considered.

Our food truck is up and running in Andare, just outside Glorietta, during the weekends. It's called Kuyang, and the food is splendid. You really should go and try it if you're ever in the area. There's still the Rowdy Empire, although KDL has been doing the show by his lonesome for a while already, and I join him every now and then from 9-12 midnight on a Monday or Tuesday, although he's there Mondays to Thursdays.

Yes, I still do my standup comedy and I still do or watch improv, and yes, I'm still very much a mentalist. Wait 'til you see the new stuff I've been up to, even. Overall, life hasn't changed insomuch as it's just been filled with a whole lot more stuff for me to be busy and occupied with. That's something I can't really complain about, even if I do feel like I'm swamped most of the time.
I'm just counting down the days to when I go to Australia, and I hope with all ferventness that things will go swimmingly well once I'm there. Otherwise, I guess I'm going to be a sad sack for a loooong while. Well, what can I do, right?

If anybody actually misses my writing, just check out my output on the 8List. I'm pretty proud of what I've managed to come up with there.
.:Life Gets In The Way:.
But it's all good, really, and I don't mind. Work in the office has been pretty hectic but awesome, what with all the stuff I've had to come up with for the 8List. You might notice that I've been coughing up lists there, and writing on the POC on a sorta regular basis, and with everything I do currently geared towards my Australian trip, I honestly don't miss blogging that much as of late.
And that's fine, I suppose. I have a lot on my plate, and while I'd love to blog about it all, I try my best to let snippets off it get through on my Twitter or Facebook. I'm going through life at a breakneck pace lately, and I only have games of Tekken Card Tournament to take my mind off of a lot of the stress that's been eating at me, so I suppose I should be very grateful, all things considered.
Our food truck is up and running in Andare, just outside Glorietta, during the weekends. It's called Kuyang, and the food is splendid. You really should go and try it if you're ever in the area. There's still the Rowdy Empire, although KDL has been doing the show by his lonesome for a while already, and I join him every now and then from 9-12 midnight on a Monday or Tuesday, although he's there Mondays to Thursdays.
Yes, I still do my standup comedy and I still do or watch improv, and yes, I'm still very much a mentalist. Wait 'til you see the new stuff I've been up to, even. Overall, life hasn't changed insomuch as it's just been filled with a whole lot more stuff for me to be busy and occupied with. That's something I can't really complain about, even if I do feel like I'm swamped most of the time.
I'm just counting down the days to when I go to Australia, and I hope with all ferventness that things will go swimmingly well once I'm there. Otherwise, I guess I'm going to be a sad sack for a loooong while. Well, what can I do, right?

Out Of Circulation...

.:Yet Another "It's Been A While" Post...:.

Hey. It's been a while.

Well, I wish I could say this is the turning point and I'll be back to my legendary blogging of old, but it isn't. If anything, it's a realization that blogging has become less and less an important part of my life as more things actually happen in it to the point where I can't find time for anything else any longer.

That being said, though, I wish I could make an effort to blog more, really. I want to keep documenting what's been going on in my life and to just see for myself what it all means for me. It's all crazy sometimes, really.

In any case, I'm pretty bushed, and a lot of that is because I had to fix my Australian Visa, as I'm headed to that country sometime next month. That's been eating most of my time, as has been the stuff I've been doing for work, especially with the 8List going into full swing lately. I've been reconnecting with My Beloved, and surprisingly, the Gynius as well. Will wonders never cease.

It's been a crazy time for me, and I'm hoping I can make heads and tails of it soon enough, especially with how I'm trying to get back into the thick of mentalism and everything else in between.

Someday, it'll all make sense. All of it. But for now, I will just remain a tad dazed and confused, I suppose.

On Today's Tragic News...

.:I Need To Get On My Soapbox Briefly...:.

I've been delinquent with blogging, what with My Beloved back in Australia, and all the things I have to deal with at work lately. It's been a time of transition and adjustment for me, and it feels wildly frustrating.

Of course, it is with a heavy heart that I discovered that the great Subas Herrero passed away today. He lived a full life, I believe, and he will be missed. It is sad, indeed, but not necessarily tragic.

However, what is tragic is that today, a 16-year old has apparently taken her life as she was consumed by a system that refused to help her out when she was down. And as much as I'd like to be on my high horse while I'm on my soapbox, too, I realize that in my complicity and complacency, some of that blame falls squarely upon me.

Which is precisely why the last thing I would do is to blame her for it, and to tell her what she did is wrong. It's an exercise of futility: she's not even there to hear it.

I am not a psychologist by practice. I am not the most empathic person around. Despite that, this is not the time nor the place to push one's moral agenda in the middle of a tragedy, and one that could have been prevented, in the first place. I had no desire to jump on the bandwagon, and I will probably jump off it as quickly as I came on it once I get to say what I need to say.

Over on Twitter, I had some very choice words for someone who decided that sensitivity was not the order of the day, and was shocked when he got his back. It upset me to no end because I realized that here was a person who failed to see that this girl who took her own life was a victim, and we don't go around blaming victims.

I think back to the countless gay kids who have killed themselves because they were bullied relentlessly for who they were. I think back to how it must have felt to be in their shoes, and the awful things that they must have gone through, and I cannot, for the life of me, find it in my heart to condemn them. They were already condemned by their tormentors in their lives. Why would I choose to add to that in their deaths?

They were victims, as this 16-year old student was also a victim. Do I want to play the blame game from here? No. I'm not going to even go there. But I just refuse to take it sitting down that someone would dare attack this student, as if she even had any means of defending herself, whatsoever. She does not.

We say of those who have left us: "rest in peace." That's the least we could offer someone whose only true mistake was to put her faith in a system that failed her. And I, for one, choose to do so.

I do not know you, child. I have never met you. But may you rest in peace.