According
to Stuart Hall, Language is one amongst the media by which thoughts, concepts,
and dispositions are characterized in a culture. Language consists of signs and
symbols like our voices, scribed words, photos, and objects in our surroundings
that we use every day in order to represent our own ideas and thoughts to other
people.
Based on
Hall’s The Work of Representation, the concepts, ideas, and thoughts that are
encapsulated in these symbolic forms can be translated and deciphered as
“practices of representation”. Representation is where the production of
meaning takes place in specific cultural context. And through semiotic
approach, we will be able to know how language through representation produces
meaning. An example of representation is
the use of imagery in editorial work. The images and cartoons in editorial are
used in order to communicate photographic meaning about a particular subject.
Through this exhibition and display, the editorial is producing certain
meanings about the subject-matter of the display, thus making it like a
language.
Now
let’s see and evaluate some editorial works of
Cabrera which were published in Sunstar newspaper and currently being
displayed at the CCAD Building of UP Cebu, Cebu City. His works feature his
Iconic characters, the Red and the Blue dog, and sometimes a rat named Ben that
call for social commentary. In these works, we will look the contemporary
social issues shown and how the Filipinos, the Philippines in general is
represented.
Upon
looking all the editorial works, I can say that the Philippines has a lot of
social issues that we need to be concerned about. It can be distinguished that
the artist of the works is looking on the Philippine context because some of
the works are using Philippine symbols. In the work entitled “BaBay,Carabao,”
the Carabao, a domestic animal in the Philippines, is being sold by the Farmer
for his son’s education. Here, it was also represented that the carabao is the
Filipino farmers’ bestfriend for its hard work and it can be used as a tractor
since most Filipino farmers do not have motorized tractors because the
government has no budget or the one in authority corrupted it. Furthermore, the
Filipinos are represented as people who value education and also the farmer’s
ambition of having his son achieve more than him by having a good education.
But sadly, his son just wasted it by spending it on alcohols which represents
another issue common among Filipino youths. In the work entitled “Binignit”,
binignit, a Filipino dessert soup, was showcased and it was shown that it was
photographed first before eating. This work represents how internet and media
affected Filipino’s behavior as things got modernized. Instead of praying
before eating, which is a practice that we acquire from our ancestors and
Spanish colonizers, picture-taking before eating is now more rampant. In the
work entitled “Pakals”, there are the words: ‘LUZON’, ‘VISAYAS’, and ‘MINDANAO’
which represents the three major group of islands here in the Philippines.
Here, it was shown that people in Luzon are being served with food while in the
people in Visayas, and Mindanao were left with empty plates. The food
represents the projects allocated by the government. This work shows the issue
of discrimination and imbalance in terms of project development here in the
Philippines. And lastly, in the work entitled “City Diving”, the Philippine
Flag was shown. Here, there were two dogs about the color of the Flag. They
fought until the flag was destroyed. This represents the Filipinos’ different
perspectives and the torn flag represents that if we kept on arguing instead of
learning from each other’s views, our country will collapse. This Country needs unity! The four
aforementioned works were those who included some Philippine symbols.
The
issue of politics was also manifested in some works like in the “Game of
trolls”. This work was a sort of parody of Game of thrones and instead of
Houses, the faction was the different politicians with their supporters
competing for the throne. The work entitled “Kini akong Lawas” also shows the
issues regarding our current administration. In this, Duterte is forcing people
to eat poop. The poop represents his plans and actions that he implements here
in the Philippines and people also force themselves to accept and like it due
to fear. I also observed that the characters representing the politicians in
the works are all fat. I don’t want to judge but for me, it is just
appropriate. Their fatness can symbolize the money and resources they corrupted
and consumed for themselves. There were also works that tackles fake news,
cyberbullying, and internet addiction wherein the phones, internet, and fake
news were personified. But what really captivated and really communicated well
for me is the work entitled “Kubkob pa More”.
The
work “Kubkob pa more” talks about the poor justice system here in the
Philippines. In the work, it is shown that red and blue are digging in the
ground where Lady Justice and other skeletons are buried. Red and Blue
represents Filipinos who are trying to seek for justice. They may be the
families of the victims of extrajudicial killings or the tanim droga. Lady Justice represents the personification
of the justice that is unbiased and right. While, The skeletons beneath the
ground the victims of the poor justice system who were just forgotten, burying
with them the truth.
With
all the representations shown in the editorial works, it is indeed true that
the Philippines has still a lot of contemporary social issues that need to be
resolved. With all the editorial works that I’ve seen, I was very impressed
with how the representations of different subjects can actually communicate
with the viewer and establish meaning. May these representations reach more
Filipinos to call for an action. An action that will strive for the betterment
of our country and society!
Walang komento:
Mag-post ng isang Komento