Millennial Traversals: Outliers, Juvenilia, & Quondam Popcult Blabbery

Original Digital Edition (2015);
click on pic to enlarge.

Millennial Traversals: Outliers, Juvenilia, & Quondam Popcult Blabbery is my first book of the new millennium, and like most contemporary claims, that one can be deconstructed at every point: the millennium’s no longer that new, I’ve done other books since 2000 (mostly as editor, but also as dissertation author), and…the present volume is not, or not yet, a book, at least in the printed dead-tree sense that my previous solo-authored ones were. Moreover, aside from my diss, I’ve never really written, much less published, an extensive monograph, which would be the type of book I’d prefer to uphold.[1] Although I expended conscious efforts to ensure that my previously published compilations had as much internal consistency as they could handle, they were still essentially anthologies, as this current one is; and maybe the distinction of Millennial Traversals is that its pretensions reside elsewhere, no longer in trying to appear like a deliberately planned and duly parsed product. My rationale for insisting that the present exercise is still part of the continuum provided by my previous volumes is simple (shaky maybe, but simple): The National Pastime, Fields of Vision, and Wages of Cinema all exist in revised and updated form on my archival blog, so Millennial Traversals merely skipped the paper-and-ink stage and got to be introduced to its readership in digital format.[2] (I’m still planning to have “publishable” PDF versions of all the texts I’ve mentioned here, but I can’t foresee right now how soon I’ll be able to work that out.) In this manner, virtually all my non-academic (and a few academic) film and culture articles will have been compiled in book form.

11011The positive aspects of creating a strictly open-access book revealed themselves in separate stages. I knew that I wouldn’t have to deal with publishers’ and editors’ and readers’ quirks, which for some reason assume creative dimensions when they confront popular culture material; that included the corollary advantage of having the longest manuscript text I ever compiled, nearly double (in terms of number of articles) that of The National Pastime, my previous longest book. When I cooked up a title, I realized I could formulate something that any sensible publisher (or her accountant) might faint upon hearing, and I could lump together anything I wanted without worrying about possible objections like why foreign films? why incomplete period coverage? why the shifts to other media and even to non-media? why the wide divergence in analytical approaches? I could improve on the texts at any time and place, although I do hope to minimize my tinkering once the manuscripts go public. I won’t need to strengthen an opening essay that I knew was too lame by my standards, since I felt when I was writing it that it just needed to be placed out there in order to temper, if not overturn, my very first book’s unexpectedly influential first essay. The foreign-film reviews still seem rather perfunctory, which was why I had no problem eliminating them from my earlier books – but they somehow assumed increasing usefulness the longer I kept at them. The local film reviews similarly dropped out from the pre-millennial books because of their uncertain significance in relation to the rest of my output, although they still could function as markers of an era; in Millennial Traversals they serve to indicate my interest in as wide a variety of film types as Philippine cinema makes available.

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11011Thanks are owed to my previous book publishers (Ma. Karina A. Bolasco, Esther M. Pacheco, Laura L. Samson), my previous editors (Lulu Torres Reyes, Jo-Ann Maglipon, Patrick Campos, Clarissa David, Violeda A. Umali, Cristina del Carmen Pastor, Daisy Catherine L. Mandap, Benjamin Pimentel, Leloy Claudio, Bienvenido Lumbera, the late Raul Ingles, Caroline Hau, Flor Caagusan, Cristina S. Cristobal, Cathy Rose Garcia, Ricky Lo, Berroth Medenilla), and my current editorial assistant, Theo Pie. I had early associations with two still-thriving critics organizations, the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino (Filipino Film Critics Circle) and the Young Critics Circle; despite my sometimes passionate declarations of differences with them, I will also be unable to deny that I drew some foundational strengths, sometimes by resisting their methods but also from following some of their then-sensible practices. To them I dedicate this “book,” such as it is, and for what it may be worth. [Cover design: Karl Fredrick M. Castro; cover pic: Tiyanak publicity still (dir. Peque Gallaga & Lorenzo A. Reyes; Regal Films, 1988); author’s pic: Ellen Ongkeko-Marfil. For larger image, please click on picture above.]

Notes

To read the book lecture “The Millennial Traversals of Millennial Traversals,” please click here.

[1] Two years after this volume came out, a monograph I drafted for Arsenal Pulp Press’s Queer Film Classics, on Ishmael Bernal’s Manila by Night, was published.

[2] Another twist in the publication saga of Millennial Traversals is that it has come out in print form, via the University of Sto. Tomas’s UNITAS: Semi-Annual Peer-Reviewed International Online Journal of Advanced Research in Literature, Culture, and Society. Part I is listed as Volume 88, No. 1 (May 2015), while Part II is Volume 89, No. 1 (May 2016). The links below will take you to the UNITAS open-access website, where the volumes have been uploaded. Addendum: A further twist proceeds from the fact that the printed journal versions were limited in number and not for purchase. Ámauteurish Publishing therefore arranged to reprint these journal issues as a single-volume book edition, out in 2019.

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Book Edition (2019), based on Journal Editions (2015-16);
click on pic to enlarge.

National Library of the Philippines CIP Data

David, Joel.
11011Millenial traversals : outlier, juvenilia, & quondam popcult blabbery : part I: traversals within cinema ; Millenial traversals : outlier, juvenilia, & quondam popcult blabbery : part II: expanded perspectives / Joel David. — Book Edition. — Quezon City : Amauteurish Publishing, [2019], ©2019.
11011172+xxiv (part I) / 180+xxii (part II) pages ; 15×23 cm

Bound dos-a-dos; book opens to the right from both the front cover and the back cover.
ISBN 978-621-96191-0-3 (part I)
ISBN 978-621-96191-1-0 (part II)

110111. Motion pictures – Philippines – Reviews. 2. Film criticism – Philippines. 3. Philippine literature – Reviews. I. Title.

11011791.4375110111101111011PN1995110111101111011P920190153

US Copyright Office Certificate of Registration:
[awaiting notice]

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Contents of the Original Digital Edition
© 2015 by Ámauteurish Publishing
All Rights Reserved
(Subsumed in the following subsequent UNITAS & print editions)

Please click on image for enlargement.

Part I: TRAVERSALS WITHIN CINEMA
UNITAS 88.1 (May 2015)
© 2015 by Joel David & the University of Santo Tomas
Book Edition © 2019 by Ámauteurish Publishing
All Rights Reserved

PRELIMINARIES

Half Title; Also by Joel David; Title Page; Copyright; Description, History & Coverage, Editorial & Ethical Policies; International Editorial Board; Editorial Staff; Dedication:

To the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, the Young Critics Circle, and Kritika –
“…người ta thôi nghĩ về sự may mắn trong hạnh phúc.” (from a Vietnamese proverb)

Table of Contents; Introduction to the UNITAS Print Edition; Introduction to the Original Digital Edition (i-xxiii)

BODY TEXT

First Closure (1-15)

The Golden Ages of Philippine Cinema: A Critical Reassessment

Period-Enders (16-41)

Local Cinema 1980-89
Foreign Cinema 1980-89
Metro Manila Film Festival 1976-86
LGBTQ Filmfests
Pinoy Filmfests ca. 2013
• Sonata (2013)
• Lihis (2013)
• Otso (2013)

Old-Millennium Pinoy Film Reviews I (Various Sources) (42-61)

Birds of Omen
• Pagputi ng Uwak, Pag-itim ng Tagak (1978)
Commercialism Triumphs Again
• Bongga Ka ’Day (1980)
Effective Satire
• Kontrobersyal (1981)
Oversimplifying Class Conflicts
• Burgis (1981)
Naked Debut
• Hubad na Gubat (1982)
A Halfway Sample
• Maestro Bandido (1983)
Repression and Rebellion
• Pedro Tunasan (1984)
Missed Opportunities
• Dope Godfather (1984)
Mysterious Pleasure
• Misteryo sa Tuwa (1984)
Historical Lessons
• Virgin Forest (1985)

Old-Millennium Pinoy Film Reviews II (National Midweek & After) (62-82)

Secret Love
• Mga Lihim ng Kalapati (1987)
Grave Burden
• Pasan Ko ang Daigdig (1987)
Earthbound
• Pinulot Ka Lang sa Lupa (1987)
Image-Building
• Huwag Mong Itanong Kung Bakit (1987)
Komiks without Pain
• Saan Nagtatago ang Pag-ibig? (1987)
Balancing Acts
• Hati Tayo sa Magdamag (1989)
Roño’s Rondos
• Itanong Mo sa Buwan (1988)
• Si Baleleng at ang Gintong Sirena (1989)
Film on Film
• Big Flick in the Sky (1990)
Black & Blue & Red
• Bayani (1992)

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New-Millennium Pinoy Film Reviews (83-119)

Heaven in Mind
• Sabel (2004)
Domestic Worth
• Serbis (2009)
Survivor’s Guilt
• Boses (2009)
Sighs and Whispers
• Biyaheng Lupa (2009)
On the Edge
• On the Job (2013)
A Desire Named Oscar
• Ilo Ilo (2013)
• Metro Manila (2013)
• Transit (2013)
Beyond Borders
• Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan (2014)
Antonio Luna’s Fall and Rise
• Heneral Luna (2015)
Roads Less Traveled
• Lakbay2Love (2016)
Ice with a Face
• Ma’ Rosa (2016)

Foreign-Film Reviews I (Warm-Ups) (120-137)

A Clockwork Yellow
• The China Syndrome (1979)
Kramer vs. Women
• Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Star-Crossed
• Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Brainless Love
• Endless Love (1981)
Manila Event Short Take I
• Ragtime (1981)
Manila Event Short Take II
• Man of Iron (1981)
Epic Soapbox
• The Mission (1986)
The Stuff of Dreams
• Dreamscape (1984)
Bloody Fine
• The Untouchables (1987)
The Devil to Pay
• The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Foreign-Film Reviews II (Exertions) (138-160)

Form and Function
• Silent Voice (a.k.a. Amazing Grace and Chuck; 1987)
• Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Life after Life
• Mississippi Burning (1989)
• They Live (1988)
…And the First Shall Be the Last
• The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Soldier Blues
• Casualties of War (1989)
Gloria in Excessus
• Glory (1989)
Frontline
• Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Wet Noodles
• I Come with the Rain (2009)
Two Guys, While Watching Avatar
• Avatar (2009)
Hit in the (Multi)Plexus
• Wan-deuk-i [Punch] (2011)

END MATTER

Acknowledgments (From the Original Digital Edition; For the UNITAS Print Edition; First Publication Credits); Index; About the Author (161-171)

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Please click on image for enlargement.

Part II: EXPANDED PERSPECTIVES
UNITAS 89.1 (May 2016)
© 2016 by Joel David & the University of Santo Tomas
Book Edition © 2019 by Ámauteurish Publishing
All Rights Reserved

PRELIMINARIES

Half Title; Also by Joel David; Title Page; Copyright; Description, History & Coverage, Editorial & Ethical Policies; International Editorial Board; Editorial Staff; Dedication:

To the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, the Young Critics Circle, and Kritika –
“…người ta thôi nghĩ về sự may mắn trong hạnh phúc.” (from a Vietnamese proverb)

Table of Contents; Introduction to the UNITAS Print Edition; Introduction to the Original Digital Edition (i-xxii)

BODY TEXT

Non-Film Reviews (1-12)

Adaptation Comes of Age
• La Bohéme (1992)
Disorder & Constant Sorrow
• Subversive Lives (2012)
The Novel Pinoy Novel
• Si Amapola sa 65 na Kabanata (2011)
High Five
• Gang of 5: Tales, Cuentos, Sanaysay (2012)

First Persons (13-31)

Movie Worker
Love Was the Drug
The Dolphy Conundrum
The Carnal Moral of a Brutal Miracle
A National Artist We Deserve

Interviews (32-74)

Star Builders on Parade
The Fantasy World of Rey de la Cruz
Perseverance in a Neglected Dimension
The Critic as Creator
Critic in Academe

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Commentaries (75-94)

Cinemasex
Big Hopes for Short Films
Levels of Independence
Sight & Sound 2002

Culture at Large (95-109)

Kim Dae-jung & the Aquinos
Crescent Tense
Asian Casanovas
The Sins of the Fathers
A Benediction in the Offing

Foreign Scenes (110-130)

Tarriance in Thailand
Empire of the (Risen) Sun
Small Worm, Big Apple
Unease in the Morning Calm

Metacriticism (131-159)

How to Become a Film Critic
Some Words on Film Awards
A Lover’s Polemic

Last Closure (160-169)

Reflections on a National Pastime

END MATTER

Acknowledgments (From the Original Digital Edition; For the UNITAS Print Edition; First Publication Credits); Index; About the Author (170-180; 170-179 in book edition)

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