Ramon Bong Revilla should learn from his father how to make movies: Lumaban Ka Satanas aka The Killing of Satan

Maybe it was because my mother insisted to watch The Filipino Channel's Agimat: Kapitan Inggo that I suddenly had a craving for the movie which starred Jolo Revilla's grandfather Ramon Revilla - former Philippine senator and the first ever actor-senator I saw humiliated on the floor of the senate (with the humiliation featured on TV news) when another senator (was it Sen. Maceda?) called on Revilla's failure to identify which of the two government positions (Congressman and Mayor?) holds the most power, to which Revilla sheepishly replied, "Sa aming lugar kasi, mas maraming nagagawa Mayor" or something to that effect.



Ramon Revilla Sr. is a Filipino actor, former Senator of the Philippines, father to thousands of illegitimate children and author of the "Revilla Bill."



"An amendment to the Family Code, enacted into the law on February 2004, states "The illegitimate children may use the surname of their father if their affiliation has been expressly recognized by the father through the record of birth appearing in the civil register, or when an admission in a public document or private handwritten instrument is made by the father."

"The child should not suffer the stigma of his illegitimacy," the senior Revilla was once quoted as saying."

He reportedly also possesses super human powers because he is able to know if a child is indeed his or not by merely touching the kid's head.


"...sabi ni daddy, ‘Hindi kita anak', so ‘yun. Kasi kay daddy, hawakan niya lang ang ulo, alam na niya kung anak niya. May ganun siya eh. Hawakan niya lang ang ulo, alam niya kung anak ka niya o hindi... [Kasi] kung anak niya di naman niya itatanggi e."


Ramon Revilla is also the father of Ramon "Bong" Revilla - a current Philippine senator, a somatic narcissist and who - according to the anecdotes of two reliable friends - is allegedly too lazy to read a film script (what more Senate-related documents?).




He also allegedly invited his male friends to watch him on a movie set where he was shooting a scene with Assunta de Rossi. The scene required that the actress be nude. When the scene was through, he reportedly placed the bathrobe/towel at the far end of the set and demanded that the wardrobe staff or any of the actress' assistant not be available thus prompting Assunta to walk nude all the way to the wardrobe rack.



Ramon Revilla Sr. is also the star of the movie my father took me to the theater to see when it was released back in 1983: Lumaban Ka Satanas! aka The Killing of Satan. I was 7 years old.

The synopsis on its US-DVD reads:

“The Killing of Satan” is a Filipino-made horror-fantasy movie about a man who is chosen by his dead uncle to battle the forces of evil. He fights a man called “The Prince of Magic,” who shoots ray beams from his hands, makes heads spin around and hypnotizes people. Eventually, he finally faces Satan himself and engages him in a battle of magic for the soul of his virgin daughter, the pledged Bride of Darkness.”




At that time, I remembered that the theater was packed and everyone in the audience took the movie dead-seriously with its religious connotations - specially the Santo Nino and Satanic icons / images - unique Filipino folklore and violence. The year the movie was shown was the same year Beningo "Ninoy" Aquino was assasinated.


But what I remember most from it now were the brazen nudity and R-rated edginess when it was supposed to be a horror / Agimat movie meant for the whole family to see. Or was it?

Imagine a movie like that being made for the Metro Manila Film Fest now.

Enteng Kabisote and Panday 2010 would be put to shame. It is also sad that kids now are being fed with movies which promote the ways & manners of how to grow up lame.




Why is this Classic not being shown in Philippine free or cable tv anymore? Does it not deserve to be viewed at least once a year? Either during Holy Week or November 1?


Why is it only available in You Tube? And dubbed in English too! Which removed most - if not a lot - of its seriousness and horror (or maybe time and good sensibility did).


And why is it easily available for purchase in Amazon.com from at least 10 US suppliers and not in Quiapo or Makati Cinema Square?



Apparently, Paragon Video made the film available in the US for the viewing pleasure of Americans who think that it is best seen in the background during a wild drunken party.

Some YouTube comments:


"he bitch-slapped the SHIT outta that snake"
noisydope






"We need a badass filipino like that to save the world from spandex satan."
blazethunda





"this looks like the best movie ever!"
Adom

"Awesome clips from Dragonball evolution!!!!! =D"
link000000

"Is this the new Harry Potter movie?"
ttasd1

"That cannot be real... Is it a real video?"
colflori



Sadly, unfortunately, they do not make films like this anymore.


So what if it had shades of popular mainstream movies: Indiana Jones,





Star Wars' the (power of the) Force,





and Marilyn Monroe's The 7 Year Itch (the subway air vent scene)?





The movie was and still is distinctly Filipino. Not like the ones made by Ramon Revilla's son which are blatant Xerox copies of Hollywood movies, e.g.

Resiklo (2007) aka 3rd rate, trying hard Transformers copy cat!

and another forgettable movie which copied almost to a T a desert-and-riding-on-a-horse scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.


Revilla Junior, learn from your father. Revilla Senior, teach thy Junior to be original.

Also, Jr, could you please teach your Jolo that there are tons of facial expressions other than startled?


This is Ramon Revilla Sr.'s grandson - & Bong Revilla Jr.'s spawn - Jolo Revilla


pretending to be angry:




pretending to be aroused:




pretending to be God's gift to women:




pretending to be gay:





Lumaban Ka Satanas / The Killing of Satan is so underrated it deserves to be a Cult Classic.


Plus, who knew Pipoy from Ok Ka Fairy Ko could be such a bad ass.

Why Lady Gaga hearts Maria Aragon's version of Born This Way

"Every once in a while - whether people believe it or not, I have a very bad day..When I saw you singing Born This Way, I was so overjoyed I began to cry...This industry is very difficult for women sometimes and they want to tear us down and tear us apart.

I worked on Born This Way for so long and I knew that the world would rip it to shreds when it came out. But when I saw you. So young and so beautiful singing those words so purely it reminded me of why I wrote the song in the first place and it reminded me of why I make music. Thank you so much for reminding me of why I am so passionate about what I do. Never give up on your dreams Maria."


When American Idol judges say "You made the song your own" I did not understand what they meant. All I knew was that I loved the contestant's rendition of it and want to hear their version of it again and again and again.

Now I get it.

The first time I heard Lady Gaga's new song Born This Way, I did not latch onto the lyrics or the music no thanks to its distracting & noisy dance beats. I couldn't even remember its tune.

But when Lady Gaga herself tweeted Maria Aragon's version of the song - apparently, the link was sent to her by one of her best gay friends Perez Hilton - I forgot that it was a Lady Gaga song and heard it as if for the first time and couldn't help but feel Maria's version is the way the song is meant to be sung.

I wonder if the 7 million viewers who watched Maria Aragon's cover wished they were born to sing a song that way, because I so sincerely do.



p.s. seriousness upfront, the lady who is holding the camera upper right hand side of the screen needs to have her thyroid checked

Kiko Sen pinapansin mo ba jowa mo lately?

Dear Kiko Sen,

Wla aketch info sa personal nyong love and home life wid Tita Shawie.

Pero pansin ko lang kuya, inaalagaan mo ba si Mega?

Natapilok na nga sya,



nakipag-muntikan ng gyera kay Rayver for d sake of Sarah,



and almost Word War 3 with Kuya Aga.



at ngayon making war not love with ultra-Somatic narcissist of them all Hayden Kadiri Kho. ewww.


at ang aking ultra-sensitive gagambabae sense ay may naamoy na hidden aggression against the opposite sex and/or sex or the lack of it?

Galit saka andami inaaway ni Mega, KSP daw siya sabi ng commenters sa Pep.ph.

Kuya, pinapansin mo ba siya? Di kaya tungkol sa`yo lahat ng `to? Displacement much?

In Freud's psychology, displacement (from German Verschiebung, literally meaning 'shift' or 'move') is an unconscious defense mechanism whereby the mind redirects affects from an object felt to be dangerous or unacceptable to an object felt to be safe or acceptable.[1] For instance, some people punch cushions when they are angry at friends; a college student may snap at his or her roommate when upset about an exam grade.

Displacement operates in the mind unconsciously and involves emotions, ideas, or wishes being transferred from their original object to a more acceptable substitute. It is most often used to allay anxiety.

Filipinos are not shallow. Filipinos are codependent. F Sionil Jose is lazy and wrong.

One of my idols, F Sionil Jose - author of the novels Mass, Tree & my favorite The Pretenders - said:

“The Pinoy is shallow, mababaw ang kaligayahan. Their idols (Willie Revillame / Kris Aquino) reflect this shallowness.”

I do not personally know F Sionil Jose - though I have been to his Solidaridad Bookstore in Padre Faura to have my copies of Ermita and The Pretenders signed by his literary excellency - so my comments and opinions about him are only based on what I have read him say.

I could only guess that he probably decided to take the obvious route or maybe his years of experience dictated on him the facts of his Filipinos-are-shallow thesis. But I factually feel that it is lazy - and therefore easier - to call people `shallow' or stupid than to find out why they are the way they are.

I feel Filipinos are NOT shallow for still loving, watching and salivating for the antics of alleged mass murderer Willie Revillame.

My gut says the Filipino is NOT shallow for wanting to buy anything and everything with Kris Aquino's face on it.

Most Filipinos are actually codependent. And it is not our fault. We are all conditioned to be one.



**

"Codependency is

* a tendency to behave in overly passive or excessively caretaking ways..

and

* involves putting one's needs at a lower priority than others while being
excessively preoccupied with the needs of others.

* Codependency may also be characterized by denial, low self-esteem, excessive
compliance, and/or control patterns."


Codependence - the concept - had its roots allegedly from the group Alcoholics Anonymous when drunks realized that they are a problem as much as the people around them who let them drink and/or who probably - knowingly/unknowingly - may have caused or encouraged them to drink in the first place (the former is truer than the latter though).

Codependents are intense enablers. Or, "I give you ME, but you must give me ME."

Marge Simpson in the Simpsons episode Regarding Margie forgot she was an enabler/codependent when she had amnesia (she fell & hit her head after inhaling tons of fumes from cleaning detergents).

When she lost her memory, Marge regained her self-esteem and refused to believe Homer is her husband. Her sisters then set her up on a date with a man who unfortunately did not like the idea of a woman having three kids so he dumped her. Homer runs to Marge's defense and explains to the man Marge's classic codependent behaviors and why she is therefore a good catch:



Homer to Man: "You idiot! Do you know what you just gave up?..You just walked away from the sweetest most beautiful woman a guy could want. In ten years, she never had the last slice of pizza and she's never complained. Every election she wishes she could vote for both guys because they both seem nice. And there's a light inside her that makes everyone else look better. And you blew her off."

Man: "Dude, she's got three kids."

Homer: "I...really? Well, she's still great."


Marge eventually got her memory back when she was reminded of Homer's alcoholism.



Homer: "What do you say we stop for a drink on the way home?"

Marge: "You drink?"

Homer: "Uh, yeah, I started while you were in the hospital. You see, I recently tried this thing called beer..."

Marge: (gasps) "I remember everything now. You get drunk all the time!"

Homer: "Oh...but do you also remember that you're an enabler?"

Marge: "Of course! That's why we're such a great team" (she kiss Homer on the cheek).

(Homer begins swerving uncontrollably)

Marge: "Homer, have you been drinking today?"

Homer: "I sure have, partner!"



***

"In families, Codependent behaviors are a set of coping behaviors that are passed from generation to generation...in order to survive...family members across the next three or four generations learn a set of behaviors which help them deal with the emotional pain inherited from the original dysfunctional family unit. These behaviors, although designed to relieve pain, create pain! They constitute a deeply embedded "cognitive set" upon which codependency or dependency disorders are founded. Whether or not addiction existed in our nuclear family, codependency is a deeply rooted compulsive behavior that is born out of a dysfunctional family system."

In Filipino families, an example of a codependent is a Filipina OFW mother I saw in a GMA-7 documentary years ago who was working her butt off in Hongkong to send money to her unemployed husband, unemployed adult children and their unemployed children's wives/husbands and kids.

In my family, codependency is where an aunt does/spends/gives anything and everything for family members. She doesnt ask for anyone's help and she cannot say no when she needs to for fear of being judged or thought little of. She is giving in order to get - be it attention/perceived love or feigned respect.

It is a sick cycle and a sad mindset.

Think of the The Giving Tree and replace it with a friend, relative or person you know who displays self-sacrifice to a fault. Or could it be you?




****

Schools and churches helped us to be codependents too. Didn't they teach us to give and give until the givee's cup runneth over? That we are supposed to sacrifice our selves the way - the nuns in our Catholic school and the priests in any and every church said - Christ did? Aren't we all supposed to deny pleasure and beat ourselves if we fail to act like a good moral super being? So says too mainstream TV.


Again, it is not our fault if we are codependent because everybody is and every good Filipino is supposed to be one.





Which brings us back to F Sionil Jose's i-heart-to-hate-attitude for Willy Revillame and his female counterpart Kris Aquino.

Today is the age when big TV networks create and build up someone to be (have) a (big) personality. By the power of the network's (and its minion's) grey skull, they could now pull out from thin air the words "family," "love" and spin it to mean as if it is - and make it all / and that they're doing it all - for and about us. But actually, all of it is for and about the networks. It was never really all about us and it never will.



And everybody needs to be codependent or else, no one will pay any attention to the church's, school's, TV's & any mainstream institution's machinations, manipulations and mind fuck.

They need to get something from us.

In television, ratings embody this. Specifically, attention is the currency we give them. They want our attention badly they are willing to bribe us for it.

They bribe us with hope. They keep us addicted to hope. Hope is the drug and it comes in many forms: the chance to win tons of money, a house and lot, a kabuhayan showcase.

I remember TV didn't used to be like this, or at least not this desperately needy. It used to be all for fun. Now, networks are taking the taking of our attention seriously as if our life depended on it.

The promise of a good life is being dangled under our noses. And if we feel empty, if we always feel lacking, we will feel desperate enough to bite. Desperation and neediness attract desperate and needy people.






They need us to feel insecure all day everyday so we can look forward to the coming of a grandiose savior which will give us anything and everything we want because we are too little, too weak, too small to provide for ourselves and to be our own Source.

And these are what Willie Revillame, Kris Aquino and the coddlers, enablers, creators of these popularly beautiful monsters live off of - our emptiness is theirs to fill in the same way they would most likely be dead unless we give them our attention.

Regardless of whether they receive good attention or bad is not the point. They'd take anything and everything. This is why Willie and his defunct show was still alive even after the Ultra stampede killed a number of his loyal & faithful audience.

If they ended the show at such a low point, it would be a crass admission of guilt. Plus, Willie is an extension of the big TV network's ego so cutting him off is similar to them severing an arm. It would hurt, it would bleed and it would not look good. (Iimage is everything specially for those who always want to look their best on the reflections off their TV screens.)

But when Willie started rebelling against them, the network saw him no longer as the Golden Child but a monster they will never admit they helped create. The least they could do is devalue him. Meanwhile, all Willie could do is to prop himself up further in a different network whilst still taking full advantage of the same neediness and desperation he helped promote.

And since we are codependently conditioned, we continually provide what Willie wants - and even crave more of it. We allowed Willie to return and we watch him still. We have bought a ticket to play in his game. We buy in, he wins.

He takes the entire pie, we are more than happy with the crumbs.

All these work / operate and have successfully been made possible because of the belief planted in us by big worldly self-professed saviors that something is better and bigger than us.

That there is a powerful stalker who always knows what we are up to and what is best for us. That we should depend anything and everything upon a powerful stalker because us alone, by ourselves, are powerless. We believe we do not hold the key to our lives. Someone else does. And we should surrender our lives to it or him.

Essentially, our dysfunctional psyche and stagnant-platitudes-disguised-as-truths also helps keep all these functioning.

Go ahead, ask yourself and review all the things you have heard, have read or others have said you do, must do, need to do or else "you'll go to hell," "you'll go crazy," "you'll die," "you'll be punished," etc. and see - whether you believe the platitude or not - how you actually unconsciously live it.

e.g.

The fear of dog is the beginning of wisdom

Turn the other cheek so you can have it slapped too

Humble yourself and be proud of it

Love your enemies but secretly hate them

Lack of money is the root of all evil

Suffering now is GOOD because Heaven's reward for it is BETTER. Plus, because your persecutors will be shat on by God anyway: EXCELLENT.

This heart-felt fully beautiful song sums up the mindset of codependence which we have been taught to believe we must aspire to since it is noble and good to do so.




All these are ingrained deep in our selves it would probably take tons of digging through heaps of denial to get to our own core truth. So dig we must.

The Filipino therefore is not shallow. We are actually working through deep ingrained patterns of cultural and personal issues of self-worth.

Dog help us all. But for starters, feel free to first help your self.

Charice is the reincarnation of the Philippine Yoyo

A long, long time ago before the term OFW was used to refer to Overseas Filipino Workers, there lived a Filipino who worked as a houseboy under the employ of an American Family in California.

His name was Pedro Flores.

Pedro, being innately nurturing and caring, took his work seriously.

One time when his ward - a little AmBoy - was bored, his Filipino creativity, talent and ingenuity kicked in and fashioned for the child - with the use of a kitchen knife - a homespun yoyo made of soft wood.

Pedro also taught the boy how to use the yoyo. Unfortunately, all he knew was to make the toy go up and down the string. Still, having seen nothing like it before, AmBoy proudly showed the yoyo to his friends and classmates who also wanted to have one.

Pedro, ever dutiful and ever eager to please, made a lot more yoyo for his excited audience. When Pedro's AmBoss saw the little toy trinket, he was immediately fascinated by its simplicity and awesomeness.

AmBoss, or H.B. Preston to Pedro, studied the yoyo dutifully. Is it worth investing in this novelty?, he wondered.

He decided it is. So he developed the yoyo and made it perform tricks: Walking the Dog, Around the World, Over the Falls, Baby in a Cradle, etc.

He then mass-produced the yoyo and purchased from Pedro the rights to the toy. Pedro sold them to AmBoss in 1929 and H.B. Preston then founded the Duncan Yoyo Company.

The Duncan Yoyo became a big hit in the U.S. and Europe. The YoYo also reached the Philippines in 1933 and AmBoss arrived with the toy majestically Christening himself as THE YOYO EXPERT.

To cut a regretfully interesting story short, a Filipino invented the Yoyo in the Philippine shores and it took an American to develop and make money from it to the hilt.



Flash forward to almost a century later.

Charice sings her heart out in a Philippine talent show. Despite her give-it-all performance, she only manages to reach 3rd place.

In fairness, her talent did not entirely go to waste as she was tasked to sing and dance as a back-up performer to the Grand Champion.

At this time, she entertained thoughts of being a nurse instead of a world-class singer.

Fortunately, a bored teen who was spending tons of time online suddenly decided to upload a video of Charice's give-it-all performance. For some magical reason, the video managed to reach Ellen deGeneres who asked Charice to perform Whitney-Houston-like vocal tricks. Not having seen and heard anything like that before from a small non-black teenager, Oprah wanted to see and hear Charice sing too. And Charice did.
Oprah showed Charice to TALENT EXPERT David Foster.

David Foster, recognizing Charice's potential, this time asked her to perform Celine-Dion-like vocal tricks which Charice - ever talented & ever-eager-to-please - did to a T. He was immediately fascinated by Charice's simplicity and awesomeness.

David Foster studied Charice dutifully and wondered, is it worth investing in this talented novelty?

He decided it is. So he developed Charice, made her perform and became a big hit in Italy, other parts of Europe, Asia and - of course - the US.

Charice's album was mass-produced and she is now labeled as the "New Pop Princess" and called by Oprah as the "Philippine Singing Sensation (in the US)."

When Charice arrived in the Philippines this month, her handlers majestically Christened themselves EXPERTS and decided Charice need not be touched, spoken to, asked or interviewed by local media for security reasons.

To cut a fascinating story short, Charice is a Filipina who honed her talents in Philippine shores and it took Americans to develop and appreciate her to the hilt.



Is America taking our natural resources to make their country rich? Are foreign countries taking our natural resources to make their country rich?

Are we allowing America and foreign countries to take our natural resources to make their countries rich? Do we appreciate our natural resources enough to use it and make ourselves better?

Do we always need to have others shove our potential to our faces before we see and appreciate our own beauty, talent, skills, our selves?

How do we go beyond the pain of our colonial past and use it to propel ourselves to finally decide what WE think of US and not what THEY think we should think about US?

Do we need to have someone outside to tell us how good and great we are inside?

Why can we not see our own inside beauty and not wait hopelessly for others to point that out to us?

Charice knew, saw and was aware of her own awesomeness. She knew, saw, was aware and was prepared to do what it would take for others to see it too.

Her preparedness brought her luck.

Her preparedness called on the opportunity.

Her preparedness called on Tita Oprah, Tita Ellen and Ninong David Foster the same way we and everyone else in the world is now responding to her call.

It started from her.

It was all from her.

And her call was heeded.

Would we ever realize what Charice realized in her self?



Am I even helping resolve this issue?

Are you?




Reference used:
Doomed to be like the Yoyo We Invented
Dirty Dancing (Looking Back 2)
Ambeth R. Ocampo
Anvil Publishing'2010