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Cultural Materialism
Cultural Materialism
derived from two English words:
social structure, language, law, religion, politics, art, science, superstition, etc. materialism materiality, rather than intellect or spirituality, is fundamental to reality
culture
Cultural Materialism
It was first introduced by Marvin Harris in The Rise of Anthropological Theory (1968).
Cultural Materialism
It is an anthropological paradigm founded upon, but not constrained by Marxist Materialistic thought. It is a scientific research strategy that prioritizes material, behavioral and etic processes in the explanation of the evolution of human socio-cultural systems.
Environment
Steward sees environment as both a passive background and an influence on culture. Harris believes that the interaction of people and environment forms one system. Harris schema thus considers environmental changes in a way that Stewards does not.
Culture
Steward conceives of cultures as sets of traits, while Harris sees culture as a system built on the interrelation of different aspects of religion, politics, and kinship. Steward tends to isolate different cultural practices into traits, Harris sees the practices as systemically interrelated.
Society
Steward: social organization, demography, and levels of integration as sub-sets of culture traits Harris: the interrelations of different aspects of social organization as manifestations of relations between different kinds of groups and networks, with differing status and roles
Infrastructure
Production and Reproduction
of Production: the technology and the practices employed for expanding or limiting basic subsistence production, especially the production of food and other forms of energy. Mode of Reproduction: the technology and the practices employed for expanding, limiting and maintaining population size.
Mode
Structure
Domestic economy and Political economy
Domestic Economy: consists of a small number of people who interact on an intimate basis. They perform many functions, such as regulating reproduction, basic production, socialization, education, and enforcing domestic discipline. Political economy: These groups may be large or small, but their members tend to interact without any emotional commitment to one another. They perform many functions, such as regulating production, reproduction, socialization, and education, and enforcing social discipline.
Superstructure
Behavior and Mental
Behavior
Superstructure
art, music, dance, literature, advertising rituals sports, games, hobbies science
Mental
superstructure
Epistemological Approach
Epistemological principles of cultural materialism are specific to the study of human sociocultural systems. For cultural materialists, sociocultural facts have four aspects:
emic
(phonemic)- natives viewpoint etic (phonetic)- observers viewpoint behavior events - the bodys motions mental events - thoughts and feelings
Epistemological Approach
Cultural materialists divide data collection and organization into emic and etic analyses. Emic Analysis
informants
explanation if informants agree on a description or interpretation of data, the data is considered correct
Epistemological Approach
Etic Analysis
does
not rely on an informants description alone, but on explication provided by many observers using agreed- on scientific measures
Emic and etic analyses can add mental and behavior analyses. Therefore they can be..
Epistemological Approach
The Emics of Behavior : Informants description of a natives behavior. The Emics of Thought : Informants description of a natives thought. The Etics of Behavior : Observers explication of a natives behavior. The Etics of Thought : Observers explication of a natives thought.
Epistemological Approach
Cultural materialism rejects the research strategy restricted to the emics of thought only, which is the idealists favorite. Instead, cultural materialists think both emic and etic analyses should go together.
Methodology
Cultural materialism itself is a research methodology. It prefers:
methods: demography, caloric yields ethnography archeological research etic as well as emic analyses
quantitative
Issues
food and protein food and evolution demography, population regulation warfare, culture and environment
Criticisms
Marxists criticize Cultural Materialism for ignoring Structure's influence upon Infrastructure. Postmodernists believe that reliance upon "Etic" in studying culture is not appropriate, as science is merely a function of culture. Idealists criticize Cultural Materialism for ignoring variables such as genetics, and believe "Emic" is more significant than Cultural Materialists allow.
Spirituality
particular perspective on life and its meaning derived from the traditions of the religion covers a persons interior life and awareness and the consequences of this in their daily lives
When we search for spirituality in Asian cinema, we enter into different mind-sets and religious contexts and find different expressions and images from those of the West.
a way of looking at human realities and perceiving how they are open to something more any finite experience makes us realize that we have a desire for something more, that we have a capacity for something more human spirit reaches out to something, someone, who is beyond our ordinary and limited experiences
experience
scriptures and the God-guided history of the people of Israel Hindu traditions with the many faces of the divine Buddha with the powerful ethical and selfless spirituality that has become Buddhism revelations to the Prophet Mohammad and the interpretations of the Koran in leading its followers to Allah
not all Asian religions are comfortable with the notion of the divine all religions understand that there is a greater power beyond us and the world divine can serve as a general word to describe this transcendent experience that so many millions call God
a Buddhist way of life is presumed, emphasizing prayer and rituals in Buddhist temples with the various statues of Buddha
great sense of sacredness of Allah and Allahs omnipotence more explicit in the presentation of prayer, pilgrimages to shrines, fasting no embarrassment in naming God
all films begin with the words In the name of God frequent reference to the Quran and scenes of mosque worship, muezzins calling, imams instructing their students even when the story is quite secular, there are references to the religious context and the will of Allah
principally Filipino cinema that portrays Christianity in Asia reality of God is taken for granted and there is frequent God-language the focus is on the person of the human Jesus with great devotion to Mary and the saints
whether there are many gods or various facets of the divine, Hindu teachers can explain colorful, even flamboyant, full of music and song Hindu shrines, statuary depicting the Gods (with all kinds of human and animal symbolism) depiction of festivals and shrines
is seen as the official adherence to a religion with the formalities of practice more difficult to dramatize personal faith and commitment faith as an asset of the mind to the truths proposed by the religion is only one aspect of faith
Morality
used by religious people
human construct, based on grounded in religious principles of discerning experience and has been between doing good and not communicated in sacred texts doing evil
are more important issues that give life to human spirit, whether religious or secular these issues have become alternate faiths with their particular creeds
respect and disrespect for race, culture and life life issues of birth and abortion, abuse, especially of minors, illness, euthanasia and assisted suicide, death and capital punishment environmental and green concerns
patriarchs and prophets Jesus and his followers and the saints Buddha and the enlightened disciples Mohammad and the saintly mystics of Islam Hindu leaders who are venerated contemporary figures like Mahatma Gandhi
and churches devout people rituals of devotion and emotional reliance of the petitioners in devotions and prayers possibilities of a superstitious approach to God prayer and problem solving and healing role of the hierarchal leadership
Sharon and Pebrero Manay Sharon and Alex Kano and Bea
because of so many sex scenes, it looked like obscene, but has hidden meanings about the objectification of the body
Christian Imaginary
Vangie and Alex scene wherein they are coming out of the school tender scene of Pebrero and Manay Sharon casa scene woman talking to Manay and Bea scene wherein she was talking about Beas past and Manay being a faggot Bacchanalian party
Christian Imaginary
Catholicism is deeply entrenched in the lives of the Filipino people. Houses of the major characters has imagery of Christ or saints but they dont live the teachings of their religion.
and Beatrice of Divina Commedia kindness and happy disposition blindness cannot see humanitys heart of darkness and just dreams of a good life
Manay Sharon
sees
too much things even things that are not supposed to be seen lost faith in people
Doublings: Parallelisms
Kano/Sharon lesbian or gay and their quest for true love Pebrero/Alex womanizers and objects of gay desire Adelina and Baby jaded and nave, both are innocent women from the province who were lured into prostitution
Doublings: Parallelisms
Virgie/Alex obsessive-compulsive behavior plus pills or drug addiction, strong or weak Sharon/Bea seeing it all or refusing to see
Doublings: Contrasts
Adelina
means of noble one noble in the sense that she has learned to fend for herself; but a walking lie pretends to be a nurse even if shes a prostitute has another partner than Pebrero sees in Baby her young self
Doublings: Contrasts
Adelina
experience taught her many things knows that the important thing is the preservation of the self told Baby on new years eve to keep her mouth shut or she might end up as a corpse before the night ended, Adelina was killed A twist of faith? Absurdity.
Doublings: Contrasts
Baby
Adelinas younger self nave young woman from the province that is to be exploited This can be seen in their conversation where Adelina is in all white with a transparent raincoat (purity) while Baby is shadowed and illumined by her yellow umbrella (the impurities of Adelina).
Doublings: Contrasts
Baby
got impregnated and told her mother and Adelina that she is keeping her baby because she doesnt have money to abort it another irony since it is poverty and not morality that keeps her from aborting the baby
Doublings: Contrasts
Manay Sharon and Adelina
both fond of wearing white men are responsible for making their lives miserable men are troublemakers but both of them still love men Pebrero/Alex and Pebrero/unnamed person
Doublings: Contrasts
Manay Sharon and Adelina
through them, we can see how the Other fight back battle of the sexes: Alex and Vangie (necklace), Greg and Bea, fight of man and woman (Harrizon Plaza), Kano and Alex chase scene
Doublings: Contrasts
Pebrero and Alex
both are lovers of Sharon both are handsome and womanizers both have no direction in life
Doublings: Contrasts
Pebrero and Alex
Pebrero means romance/purification ritual
a hollow character runs away from Baby faints infront of the wrong Adelina represents the citys hopelessness just ride on and trip lang life is one beautiful trip and all he wants is to go with the flow film ends with him lying on a grass which signifies his still stillness
Dissident Ending
imaginative re-creation of Manila:
Carnivalesque Queer Place The Trannie hovers around the film film is populated by people living in the margins
Dissident Ending
The whole film refuses to concede to false resolution.
Dissident Ending
irony of the supposed epilogue:
Alex rehab Vangie continues to excel in school Kano rotting in jail Virgie helps in an NGO Baby found a lover Bea works as a waitress Manay Sharon devout Catholic
Dissident Ending
films irony:
Deus ex Machina Absurdus ad Infinitum
Dissident Ending
films irony
Bernal shoots indoors from outdoors make the characters look like animals inside a cage
Lumberas comment:
The conclusion of the film hitching a ride with Jesus is Bernals sly dig at filmmaking that sells sex and violence and then rides on the audiences religiosity to ease its conscience.
Towards a Conclusion
The film starts with movement because the city is perpetually alive. The wheel mentioned symbolizes fortune and karma. In the ending, characters lives turn 180-degrees.
Towards a Conclusion
A film of care of the self. But contrary to all expectations, mans uphill struggle does not end in fulfillment. Although he is always on the go, he was doomed from the very start. He would never be fulfilled. - Quinto
Towards a Conclusion
A film where individuals had to become true individuals and not types; he created a world where happy endings never came easy. This film finds hope in the consoling and redemptive powers of Art.
Towards a Conclusion
Manila by Night abhors the city but at the same time celebrates it. Through this film, Ishmael Bernal has found his path towards sacred. It is Art, which is the most concrete embodiment of an Artists faith in the living, in the divine