The Philippine Online Chronicles

I am always complaining about things. Once, I was with a friend and there was a newspaper in front of us. I skipped past the news, business, sports, and went to arts and culture and entertainment. Fluff pieces. Advertorials. Press releases. No criticism, no intellectual engagement between writer and reader. It seemed as though the arts and culture section existed only so that there would be space to print ads. My friend rolled her eyes, because she is used to my complaining, as I continued to blast each article for its lack of substance, its inability to engender discourse beyond the basics of conveying information.

And so when I was asked to step in for editor Paolo Chikiamko, who will be editing the upcoming Pinoy Pop section, I realized that I was being given an opportunity to put my money where my mouth is, to start coming up with the content that I believe should be getting published, with articles that engage the reader and push the intellect, and that promote healthy discourse in the various arts.

In expanding the scope of Metakritiko I’ve chosen to include as many art forms as I can, and pretty much any kind of creative work. We will try to look at everything, literally. And even if it isn’t intended as art work, we may start examining something for its aesthetic value. If my writers can think of a spin, a reason to analyze something, to critique anything, then I’m probably going to let them do it.

I’ve found that more and more these days, there is a powerful strand of anti-intellectualism running through society’s consciousness. We don’t want to vote for intelligent politicians because we think they’re so smart that they’re liable to pull one over on us. We don’t want to watch TV shows or films that are smart and challenging, because we just want to relax. We read books that are really cotton candy and fluff in prose form. We say, “Ayaw ko panoorin ‘yan. Ayaw ko muna mag-isip. (I don’t want to watch that. I don’t want to think right now.)” Or when someone says something smart, you’re liable to hear another person say, “Bakit pa kailangan pag-isipan ‘yan? (Why do we have to think about that?)"

But if that’s the way that we approach art, in whatever form, as mere recipients, then we miss out on so much. We, as readers, viewers, listeners, partake in this art. It is through our engaging art that it becomes art, and it is in thinking about it, in the creation of discourse, that we enrich that art, enrich ourselves, and contribute to an enriched social (and hopefully global) consciousness.

In attempting to read, write, and enlighten about the various art forms, we are taking a two-pronged approach. We will have features that will address events, trends, shows, new material, and shakers and movers in the various arts. But this won’t be your usual events coverage or interview. When we do coverage, it will be through a more critical and theoretical perspective. We won’t just tell you who was there, where it happened, and what happened, but we will constantly contextualize these events and try and apply a deeper understanding and analysis of them.

The other prong of the Metakritiko approach will involve providing the basics. We’ve got crash courses in literary theory, basics on art and the elements of film, what to look for when we critique the architecture of the building. There will be lessons in the aesthetics of the various arts, in short, quick, understandable bits written for the layman, so that s/he can better appreciate that art form.

All of Metakritiko’s writers are practitioners in the arts, whether it be as critics or creators (and should there even be a distinction between the two, when it’s the creation of discourse which we strive for?). But this section’s writers won’t bash you over the heads with their credentials, their degrees and awards. It’s not the aim of the section to tell you what to like. The writers will clearly show you what they like, but in doing so, the attempt is to engage you, the reader, to agree or disagree, to join in this critical discourse, whether it be as mere reader, or as a commenter in a thread, or, and here’s an even better, infinitely optimistic idea, to become a creator of your own art or criticism.

We’ll have reviews of the latest films, music, books, art exhibits, and a lot of other things. We’ll throw in lots of writing that goes beyond what you would find in print, whether they be magazines or newspapers. We will push what we can do in terms of criticism, hopefully pushing you, the reader, to expand the way that you think of your favorite book, film, TV show, or dance step.

We will try and present our various critiques and analyses in different perspectives, in different forms. We’ll talk about things that most people won’t bother with, and discuss stuff that most people wouldn’t bother to think.

In one of the early emails that I sent to my writers, to convince them to write for this section, I told them that we would be creating a unique, creative space where we could foster intelligent discourse. They all responded to this. I also asked them to be crazy. To think of the craziest things, the most far out things that they wanted to write about that probably couldn’t get printed in magazines or newspapers. They also responded to this.

If we, the writers and I, deliver these things, then neither you, dear reader, nor I, will have anything to complain about.