nelsonbusojr

[nelsonbusojr]

Where the path is bumpy

The night is hot and humid. Three bodies smeared with blood appears in the upland, silhouetted against the pale moon. The tallest man, in the age of thirties, bears the weight of the other guy on his shoulders. The third, fatigued and restless, holds in her left hand a jet-black bag which carries all the necessary things they need to survive. All of them have swollen arms, fresh scars, and ripped clothes. The injured guy almost a half-naked. Under the moonlight, they walk vigilantly through the upland, cautious of every noise and watchful of what might happen around.

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[nelsonbusojr]

Mga bagahe`t bagtásin

May sariling kultura ang mga paa ko. May sarili silang instito. Sa tuwing nakikipagbuno ako sa lumbay o poot o pagkapagal, kusa nilang nilalakbay ang sangnilikha. Iniiwan sa mga nadadaanang kalsada o establishimento ang mga dalahin ng puso. At saka bumabalik nang may maluluwag na bisig, sapat upang yakapin ang mga bagong bagahe na hatid ng oras —

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[nelsonbusojr]

Kapag pagod na ang mga batingaw

Gaano nga ba kaliwanag ang karilyon, at kaya niyang ikubli silang lahat sa dilim, at sa dilim ng dilim?

Minsan— iniisip kong akyatin ito: wawasakin ko ang kandado dahan-dahang papasok pigil-hiningang babagtasin ang paikit-ikit nitong baitang, hanggang sa marating ko ang tuktok—

At saka ako tatalon nang walang pag-aalinlangan o takot. Baka sakaling mailigtas din ako ng liwanag nito.

[nelsonbusojr]

Pasión por la vida

Nagbukas ng bagong parokya ang buwan.

Ngayong gabi: deboto akong humihipo sa nangangahel na liwanag nito. Banayad na nilalakbay ng kamay ng mga busilig ko ang bawat sulok at gilid ng rebulto. Ito ang Patron ng Gabi. At ang bawat paghipo ay taimtim na panalangin: papuri, pagsisisi, paghiling.

O, buwan, alisin mo ang sumpa sa akin ng kalawakan. Ubusin mo ang lahat ng nasa sisidlan ko: dalamhati, poot, bagabag, kahungkagan. Silaban mo ang lahat ng mga payapang galit at pighati. Pagkalooban mo ako ng kalis ng luwalhati. O, buwan, hayaan mong maging tahanan ko ang iyong tabernakulo. O kahit ang predella lamang. At nananampalataya ako: kung magsasara bukas ng umaga ang parokya, maghihintay ako sa labas nito, ilalapat ang mga kamay ko sa hangin, at mag-aabang sa barya ng iyong pag-ibig.

[nelsonbusojr]

FROM A POETRY-GENERATING MACHINE: A Poem about “Pag-ibig”, “Pag-alis” at “Pagbabalik”

“I am advised to sit in front of the machine which records my image. Some casual remarks appear on the screen like “Sandali lang” and “Naghahanap ako ng maiisip”—creating an impression of human-ness (or “poet-ness”). The machine seems making me feel as though it has a thinking of its own. In sociology, we call it “agency”—the capacity to act independently. One may argue that those words or phrases generated by the machine are only operations of its artificial intelligence (AI) stored in it. However, during that moment, it does not matter to me. What I think of is the poem, the machine, and the possibility it hints to me.”

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[nelsonbusojr]

IN ONE`S BLOOD: A Commentary on Friedrich Engels` Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State (Chapter II)

If human society has evolved from stages of development (Engels, 1884), so is the institution of family. Correspondingly, Engels in his writing detailed how families in the past existed in a variety of relational structures, implying the “recentness” of traditional monogamous family which emerged from private property ownership and capitalism. Although I do acknowledge his assertions on human development and how these adaptations took effect on family as an institution, I have disagreement on some principles utilized by Engels such as: the incorporation of phasal descriptions (i.e. savagery, barbarism, civilization in reference to Morgan's work), and the proposal for an ideal family couched in a socialist-communist setting. Premised on such, my commentary will (1) examine the stages of family historically; (2) contemplate on the implications of monogamy to gender relations; (3) evaluate the family vis-a-vis Engels` position against capitalism; and lastly (4) explore sociologically the principle of cultural adaptation, the inappropriateness of savagery-barbarism-civilization description of human development, and the flaw of socialism-capitalism in contrary to Engels’ contentions.

Keywords: origins of family, Engels, monogamy, private ownership of property, socialism

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SELF AND SOCIETY: Agency, Reflexivity, and Social Structure in the Discourse on "Bobotante"

A multitude of researches (Freud, 1905; Piaget, 1954; Cooley, 1902) in the social sciences has provided varying contentions on the very notion of “self”. However, these dissimilar perspectives seemed meeting at the relationship between the self and his/her society, signaling their influences towards each other (Burk & Stets, 2012). Simply put, the self and society can be viewed within a mutually constitutive process. In this commentary, I will concretize such a process within this proposition: although the self has agency and reflexivity, it is still subjected to structural constraints which crucially affect one`s choices within society.

Keywords: bobotante, agency, reflexivity, social structure

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THE MOURNER, THE MELANCHOLIC: A Comparative Analysis of Banana Yoshimoto`s Moonlight Shadow and Benjamin Bautista`s The Baby in the Bottle

“... literary works about loss and other related themes (e.g. mourning, melancholy, death, etc.) are worth examining for they unveil various forms of individual experiences. By creating different representations, these literatures are considerably extending the discourse on loss — thereby redefining insights on the recurring yet ambiguous aspects of human behaviors (Schroth, 2017). Among these literary works are Banana Yoshimoto`s Moonlight Shadow (1993) from Japan and Benjamin Bautista`s The Baby in the Bottle (1957) from the Philippines. Deviating from Japanese “pure literature” (Mitsui, 1989), the novel Moonlight Shadow explores the story of a young woman who loses her boyfriend and lives through the experience. Comparatively, The Baby in the Bottle is a short story about a couple who never recovers from the misery of losing their first child. It can be contended that these works do not simply echo the reality of death and loss. They also forward the diverging narratives on human responses towards such experiences. Whereas Moonlight Shadow is arguably demonstrating the behavioral process of “mourning”, The Baby in the Bottle is exemplifying the melancholic tendency towards the object of loss. In this paper, these literary representations will be assessed using three levels of analysis: (1) the attitude towards the ‘loved-object’, (2) the manifestation of ‘work’, and finally (3) the portrayal of ‘space’.”

Keywords: Moonlight Shadow, The Baby in the Battle, mourning, melancholia, Freud, loved-object, work, space

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UNWEAVING THE NARRATIVE:   The Deconstruction of Gender Roles in Margaret Atwood`s The Penelopiad

Margaret Atwood`s The Penelopiad strays away from the masculinist and patriarchal narrative of The Odyssey, providing literary space for the silenced voices of Penelope and the twelve maids. This novella narrated by female characters directly opposes Homer`s version and boldly deconstructs the “unchallenged” gender roles of Odysseus (as the heroic husband) and Penelope (as the faithful wife). Thus, The Penelopiad displays how gender is never stationary, fluid and is performative, thereby countering the oppressive cultural norms of gender.

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THE RAMAYANA IN FILM AND WRITTEN TEXT: A Cultural and Literary Contestation

While Valmiki`s Ramayana embodies the Hindus` spiritual truth and human ideals, Paley`s Sita Sings the Blues challenges these realities and recontextualizes the epic in an alternative social setting. This conflict between the written text and the film signifies the attempt to viewing Ramayana beyond its religious borders towards a more contemporary landscape of gender, values (i.e. duty vs happiness), and even its own epic-ness (i.e. the assumed single-story rendering). Hence, these differing narratives are clearly in discursive tension between the ancient Hindu perspective and the contemporary postmodernist view of the canonical Indian epic, therefore creating sites of cultural and literary contestation.

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[nelsonbusojr]

THE IMMOVABLE ENDURES: Wedding Bed as a Symbol of Love and Equality in Homer`s Odyssey

The ending of Homer`s Odyssey significantly deviates from its previous themes (e.g. spiritual quest, cunning over strength, patriarchal view of home) and therefore displays a comforting image of a reunited couple which effectively culminates the exhausting narrative of struggles, disguises and temptation. Although Odyssey centers on journeying home, the presence of the wedding bed gives another layer of meaning to the concept of home, thereupon suggesting the unyielding foundation of love and the unseen yet existing equality between the couple.

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WHAT IS DISPOSABLE IS REPLACEABLE: Human Exploitation in Franz Kafka`s Metamorphosis

Although Franz Kafka`s Metamorphosis may signify psychological inclinations, this novella can also be viewed in the lens of capitalism and its exploitative tendencies towards individuals and families. The transformation of Gregor is not just a representation of his alienation (i.e. disengagement from family, career and self) but also the conversion of roles (i.e. Grete turning to be the “breadwinner”) within the family arrangement. Hence, this forwards a deceitful “metamorphosis” of capitalizing on women amid the deterioration of men — serving and therefore not changing the oppressive system of labor and exchange.

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[nelsonbusojr]

SIGHTSEEING THE REMNANTS OF COLONIALISM: The Colonizer and the Colonized in Jamaica Kincaid`s A Small Place

Using a second-person address, Jamaica Kincaid`s A Small Place brings the readers to the colonial remnants in the island of Antigua vis-à-vis the present conditions of its people. In this frame, the narrator travels with the readers around the traces of colonialism, slavery, and corruption. While the novel is attacking both the colonizers and the colonized, A Small Place also signals a possible reconciliation through deconstructing the master-slave hierarchy towards a human-valuing and egalitarian social arrangement.

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THE PARADOX OF RESISTANCE: Anti-Colonial Attitude and Appropriation of European Values in Pramoedya Ananta Toer`s This Earth of Mankind

Pramoedya Ananta Toer`s This Earth of Mankind unveils the struggle of Indonesian society under the Dutch colonial government with its oppressive laws and institutions. Centering on Minke, Annalise and Nyai, this novel is displaying the structural inequalities (e.g. class, gender, religion) and the Native resistance in their pursuit of human rights and equal opportunities. Although it utilizes an anti-colonial narrative, This Earth of Mankind exposes the paradoxical reality of countering the colonizers but appropriating their European values (e.g. “free human being”) — offering therefore a promising countermove against the hegemonic authority.

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BALANCE, NOT INJUSTICE: The Meaning of Human Suffering in Book of Job

As part of the Wisdom Literature, Book of Job explores suffering as a human experience often associated to the paradigms of piety and sins. Although such a (biblical) text may be understood with religious leanings, it also worth situating the idea of “suffering” in the emphasis on Leviathan and Behemoth, two symbolic creatures with antagonistic qualities — thereupon suggesting balance rather than injustice. With this kind of reading, I argue that Book of Job presents suffering not simply as an after-effect of human actions. Rather, it is an inevitable experience imbricated in the interconnectedness of all entities (i.e. humans as only a part of nature).

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‘UTANG NA LOOB’ IN AN IMPOVERISHED SOCIETY: A Commentary on Reciprocal Obligation within the Family Amid the Oppressive State and Corporations

ABSTRACT :

In the emerging discourse on Toxic Filipino Culture, the practice of utang na loob within the institution of family is now being challenged. The reciprocal obligations of Filipino children towards their parents or other members of the family are being confronted with new developing orientations beyond tradition. As presented in this paper, criticisms on reciprocal obligation are arising from the individualistic and economic understanding of family. On the other hand, the discussions upholding the value of utang na loob are hinged on the Filipino culture of interdependency and collectivity. By exploring these opposing views, this paper crosses the discourse by positioning utang na loob in the larger social realities of family institution. It is therefore argued that reciprocal obligation or utang na loob is a functional familial mechanism evolved in and shaped by the structural poverty in the social system. This practice is forwarded not only as culturally and morally valuable but also economically essential for the survival and stability of Filipino families in a setting of destitution. In this regard, the social adversities (e.g. personal deprivation, exploitation, breadwinner`s curse, etc.) are examined through “the public issues of social structure” and not only within the domain of family. Rather than blaming the practice of utang na loob, this paper contends for the oppressive roles of the state and private corporations — the ones which truly victimize the “breadwinners” of Filipino families in this impoverished society.

Keywords: utang na loob, reciprocity, toxic Filipino culture

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[nelsonbusojr]

Wooing Man

Boy, remember the very first day you kissed a woman, how you entered her womb and labelled yourself a “Man”, how you owned her that night and called her "Your own", how you took hold of her knee pit, her earlobes, her collarbone, her curvaceous hip, among the rest which you think is worthy of your tongue. Remember, how you clothed it all onto your skin and tagged yourself "a God". You have found yourself a crown.

Remember how you woke up next to her the following morning how you saw her naked, lying before your eyes, how she laid her body against your chest, dead – tired with your last night`s storm. Remember how you thought of her like a withered flesh or a fragment or a vestige a residue of your last night`s feast. And then, remember how you thought of your body that morning your skin, your muscles your fortress-like torso You have called yourself “Zeus”, The God of Gods.

But, boy, do no ever forget: you just have broader shoulders, and tougher hands, and bigger muscles; but behind your heavy - built bones, lies a thousand fragile veins. Remember, how your manhood can only survive a storm and not a desert. Boy, you are weak, and frail, and brittle, and breakable.

Remember, how a naked woman exists at the bottom of your masculine heart. You are a man; but you are also a woman.

You just lost a rib.