Modular V Summary & Reaction
IP 362-Philippine Drama: History, Art, Culture
Rachelle M. Aurellano & James Funtanilla
In module five, we look at community and theatre, and find that community as theatre can be reflected upon a community of people and the day-to-day situations that occur. As we’ve learned previously, theatre comes in all forms, whether it be a dramatic form, ritualistic form, etc., theatre can also be an element of real life situations. As seen in “Blessed are the Grafters,” a play in two acts, the situations and characters used in this play are imaginary yet, they could actually resemble any actual situations.
Blessed are the Grafters is a play that takes place in the office of Salsipuedes & Co. It opens with the secretary Miss Culasa and the male clerk, Ed. These characters are very interesting, as they argue constantly throughout the play. Ed, as you will notice, is very rude and obnoxious when answering phone calls for Mr Salsipuedes. He is also lazy and enjoys his personal phone calls on the office lines. It seems as if he does no work at all. Anyway, the office of Salsipuedes & Co. is looking for a female secretary and three women come to apply for this position. The first applicant is interviewed by Ed, but upon conducting this interview, he asks inappropriate questions. The next applicant, interviewed by Miss Culasa, seems a little out of place and has no idea about the position she’s applying to. The last applicant is woman with a lot of office experience, but she is a very unattractive woman. She’s very impressive, but the only thing is that she’s seen as “hideous.” Throughout the play, we see a number of characters from the BIR who want to speak with Mr. Salsipuedes about the income taxes he filed. It becomes prevalent that these people from the BIR are actually cheating Mr. Salsipuedes by manipulating the system because of their high positions. Not only do we see characters from the BIR, we have women selling tickets to Mr. Salsipuedes for their fundraiser and also Labor Men asking for money. In just two acts, there is a lot that goes on in the office of Salsipuedes & Co. and a lot of people who go in and out of the office. The grafters of this play become those who personally profits from Mr. Salsipuedes, the BIR, who in the end eventually gets caught for corrupting the system.
Rachelle's Reaction: I enjoyed this module because it was a different approach to understanding Philippine theater. Instead of reading about Philippine theater, module five is an actual play that reflects Philippine society and the people. It was also very different from the previous play, Gabriela Silang, because it was more of a current issue that you could actually relate to versus a historical account dated back to Spanish colonialism. Although the play was imaginary, I found it to be quite relevant to the corruption that the Philippine faces today. The characters of this play were quite interesting because of their dialogues. I had a lot fun reading this play because of the humor that was incorporated and the number of characters who were included in this play. Every one of the character played a very important role in this particular play and none of the characters seemed out of place. I think the only characters I didn’t quite understand were the importance of Gorio, the messenger, and the Janitor. I didn’t get what the point of having them in this play. Perhaps I didn’t grasp the main idea of this play because to understand certain plays, you’ll need a historical background about it. Sometimes, plays are written to reflect society, as I have learned in the previous modules. But aside from that, I really did enjoy this play because it explores Philippine theatre in a realistic view that analyzes the socio-political and economic structures of Philippine society. However, the ending of the play was confusing and I couldn’t understand the reason for why it ended the way it did but I liked the last excerpt by the janitor, “Blessed are the grafters—for they shall—possess—the kingdom—of Muntinglupa.”
Blessed are the Grafters is a play that takes place in the office of Salsipuedes & Co. It opens with the secretary Miss Culasa and the male clerk, Ed. These characters are very interesting, as they argue constantly throughout the play. Ed, as you will notice, is very rude and obnoxious when answering phone calls for Mr Salsipuedes. He is also lazy and enjoys his personal phone calls on the office lines. It seems as if he does no work at all. Anyway, the office of Salsipuedes & Co. is looking for a female secretary and three women come to apply for this position. The first applicant is interviewed by Ed, but upon conducting this interview, he asks inappropriate questions. The next applicant, interviewed by Miss Culasa, seems a little out of place and has no idea about the position she’s applying to. The last applicant is woman with a lot of office experience, but she is a very unattractive woman. She’s very impressive, but the only thing is that she’s seen as “hideous.” Throughout the play, we see a number of characters from the BIR who want to speak with Mr. Salsipuedes about the income taxes he filed. It becomes prevalent that these people from the BIR are actually cheating Mr. Salsipuedes by manipulating the system because of their high positions. Not only do we see characters from the BIR, we have women selling tickets to Mr. Salsipuedes for their fundraiser and also Labor Men asking for money. In just two acts, there is a lot that goes on in the office of Salsipuedes & Co. and a lot of people who go in and out of the office. The grafters of this play become those who personally profits from Mr. Salsipuedes, the BIR, who in the end eventually gets caught for corrupting the system.
Rachelle's Reaction: I enjoyed this module because it was a different approach to understanding Philippine theater. Instead of reading about Philippine theater, module five is an actual play that reflects Philippine society and the people. It was also very different from the previous play, Gabriela Silang, because it was more of a current issue that you could actually relate to versus a historical account dated back to Spanish colonialism. Although the play was imaginary, I found it to be quite relevant to the corruption that the Philippine faces today. The characters of this play were quite interesting because of their dialogues. I had a lot fun reading this play because of the humor that was incorporated and the number of characters who were included in this play. Every one of the character played a very important role in this particular play and none of the characters seemed out of place. I think the only characters I didn’t quite understand were the importance of Gorio, the messenger, and the Janitor. I didn’t get what the point of having them in this play. Perhaps I didn’t grasp the main idea of this play because to understand certain plays, you’ll need a historical background about it. Sometimes, plays are written to reflect society, as I have learned in the previous modules. But aside from that, I really did enjoy this play because it explores Philippine theatre in a realistic view that analyzes the socio-political and economic structures of Philippine society. However, the ending of the play was confusing and I couldn’t understand the reason for why it ended the way it did but I liked the last excerpt by the janitor, “Blessed are the grafters—for they shall—possess—the kingdom—of Muntinglupa.”
James' Reaction: I think that the play was good, it was different from the norm. For one it directly exposes the “government” or the ones who should be upholding integrity in society. What I liked the most was that the play gives insight to others who believe that you really cannot judge a book by it’s cover. Just because it looks and seems good, loyal or righteous doesn't mean that it will be. For myself I got the message to be aware of the different types of unjust people who prey on the innocent. This play portrays the evil of good and the good of evil, just like yin and yang. In all it seems to balance itself in a way that allows for a society to run, in a supposed great country the U.S. citizens still to this day suffer from corruption. It is an inescapable fact of life in any society.
2 comments:
READ. 11-14-07. ASA.
Wehre are the rest? asa/12-03-07
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