Paper Bug

The play centers on an unethical, antiheroic criminal Macheath (Mack the Knife) who marries Polly Peachum, the only daughter of the big boss of the beggars who runs the streets of London. Disappointed of her daughter’s sudden decision, he plans to condemn Macheath of his doings and have him executed publicly by hanging; however, his attempts to entrap and pull down Macheath are hindered by the fact that Tiger Brown, the Chief of Police, is Macheath’s old pal. Still, Peachum asserts his influence and eventually leads Macheath to his arrest and death sentence. Macheath avoids his fate through a deux ex machina (a theatrical device), wherein an unexpected character is inserted to intervene with or resolve the protagonist’s situation. His remarkable end is stopped by the surprising declaration coming from the messenger of the Queen relaying Her Majesty’s message to grant Macheath Royal pardon. Despite all his doings, he escapes the finale usually described by the part wherein the bad guy ...

The dominance of French toys representing a miniature copy of the adult world is being countered and overtaken by the existence of toys patterned from famed fictional characters generated by the powerful imagination to out-of-this-world ones, literally. We see more of sci-fi/ anime action figures like Clone Wars, Harry Potter, Marvel characters, assembly types Gundam Wing and Zoids, Star Wars, GI Joe, the ideal Barbie, Disney collectibles, and many more. Gundam Wing, written by Katsuyuki Sumizawa This unquestionable presence disprove Barthes’ claims that toys commonly reflect on the occurrences in the adult world, wherein one, through toys, is trained and prepared for adult responsibilities. Thus, toys nowadays signify the exhibition of wide ranges of ideas for toys to be delighted more by children. I believe that toy makers design their craft works in a way to make children enjoy their innocence and have fun in the world, instead of forcing them to absorb the liability of ...

The 1955 Coco-Cola infomercial, “Pearl of the Orient”, showcases Coke both as a valued commodity and as part of the Filipino lifestyle. For decades, Coca-Cola has, and still, continued to reign in the consumers market stunning other companies with their artistic and viewer-friendly commercials. It has also succeeded in introducing Coke to every Filipino family, regarding Coke as a member whose absence would mean a lot of loss. The infomercial also opens the gateway to the Philippines at that time, presenting Filipino people and culture.  Image Courtesy: Coca-Cola The product Coke is represented here as Coca-Cola’s colonial effort to assert its influence in Philippine culture and establish business imperialism within the country. Coke production is viewed here as the force which offers employment to a lot of Filipinos, and its continuous stay and utilization of resources, sand, sugar cane and even cheap labor, tell the viewers of the Philippines’s richness in resourc...

Painted in 1939 at the time of her divorce with famous muralist Diego Rivera, The Two Fridas is said to be one of the products of the mixed emotions evoked by Mexican nonconformist artist Frida Kahlo during her 47 years of painful living. Frida Kahlo lived in a society which allowed her to aspire to be a listening wife and ideal mother. She used her weak points, her realizations in life, to gather more strength, stand up from every fall and produce one of the most valuable, feminist paintings I have ever seen. After the Mexican Revolution, Mexico stood up for its highly patriarchal system of society, wherein women were viewed inferior to man. They were forced to take the role of subservience, other than the acceptance of being role models to their sons. Respect was less of a concern to deal with since mothers were only able to earn it from their sons, indicating that there narrow possibility of achieving respect when it comes to single women. Other than that, Catholic domi...

Delotavo’s interesting visual artwork reflects on the negative effects the Coca-Cola Company has brought about to a Third World country, the Philippines. Antipas Delotavo is a social realist who only considers things as they are and whose works reveal much about exploited workers. The painting shows the response of Mang Juan, a typical Filipino worker, to the upsurge of foreign colonialism and the aggressive injection of Western influence. Itak sa Puso ni Mang Juan is a feedback on the negative impacts of globalization or commercialization in the Philippines. As perceived, a dagger-like tail of the letter C in the company’s title is pointed at the heart of Mang Juan. This exposes the struggle of an average Filipino worker, the embodiment of the Filipino public or the masa, against the agonizing monopoly and economic control of international corporations, most of which are offering products and services that entice consumers to live life according to “wants”, and not “needs”. ...