Filipino Tropers, UNITE!

Say, what do you think of ancient Filipino warriors? IMO, they're usually Glass Cannons compared to European Knights, Ancient Spartans, Samurais, and Ninjas.

edited 21st Jan '12 12:17:41 AM by judasmartel

Well...I think Filipino fighters were at least partially lightning bruiser too. At least from what I see, Arnis, considering its blinding fast rate of attacks, can pack in quite force.

Also, Eurpeans knights were Lightning Bruiser too. Those armors are much lighter and agile than popular portrayal (for more info, please consult Madass Alex, our resident sword and knights expert).

Indeed. Ninety percent of the time, the hero of any story from any country is often a Lightning Bruiser after all.

As it was said of European knights, "Don't let the armor fool you," i could say of the Filipino mandirigma, "Don't let the lack of armor fool you." Just ask Magellan (no, not that Magellan).

@Filipino Action Films: It seems there's newfound interest in classic action movies of The '90s following the Dark Horse Victory of Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story in the Metro Manila Film Festival (basically the Filipino version of The Oscars in terms of popularity).

The '50s saw Tondo, Manila as a paradise for gangsters. Among all of them stood out Nicasio Salonga, better known as "Asiong", who actually bore the title "King of Tondo" for being the town's number one Bad Ass.

Together with his Five-Man Band, he started a lucrative career as a gangster by extorting money from the villagers in exchange for protection from other gangs who would try to do the same. So of course, that's bad for the other gangs' business, and it's no wonder why they hate him with passion.

The first actor to play the role of Asiong Salonga was Joesph "Erap" Estrada. His present incarnation was played by actor-turned-politician Jorge Estregan.

Here are some of the tropes that apply for this movie:

• Badass Grandpa —> Macho Camp: Viray, the leader of the first rival gang that Asiong defeated in his quest to become the King of Tondo.
• Chariot Chase: Seeing one of these is definitely a Crowning Moment Of Awesome.
• Deliberately Monochrome: The movie was filmed in all the black and white glory of The '50s, which probably gave the movie bonus points for Nostalgia Filter.
• Face–Heel Turn / Et Tu, Brute?: Toothpick, after Asiong's first arrest. Also, he's the one who killed Asiong at the end of the film.
• Five-Man Band
  • The Hero: Asiong Salonga
  • The Lancer: Bimbo (no, not that one)
  • The Big Guy: Tambol (Tagalog for "Drum")
  • The Smart Guy: Kiko (played by Ketchup Eusebio)
  • Those Two Guys: Piring (he's not wearing blindfolds) and Badong
  • Sixth Ranger Traitor: Erning "Toothpick" Reyes
• Foregone Conclusion: In Real Life, Asiong Salonga was killed by Golem's group when Toothpick pulls off an Et Tu, Brute? moment.
• High Octane Nightmare Fuel: The Roaring Rampage of Revenge by Asiong's gang. See, when they get hold of Toothpick, they beat him, dragged him to the local cemetery, beat him up some more, stuffed him in a cheesecloth sack, and set him on fire. And that's not enough. They had to shoot him thrice just to make sure the traitor pays for his crimes.
• Mexican Standoff: The first meeting between Asiong and Golem in the film.
• More Dakka: Played straight to No Kill like Overkill levels.
• Oral Fixation Fixation: Toothpick
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Asiong's brother is a policeman.
• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: As You Know, Filipino nicknames for men in action films run on the Rule of Cool. And "Toothpick" is one of them.
• Tsundere: Asiong's wife Fidela is a Type B. She shows her tsun side the first time we see him come home late, but is otherwise a doting wife to him.

edited 22nd Jan '12 9:55:39 PM by judasmartel

lol there's a Filipino Tropers thread.

EDIT: Looks like eskrima/arnis was mentioned. I'm relatively a novice however, but everything that I learned thus far isn't that useful unless I already have a melee weapon. LOL

And yes, it really is fast. Mabilis. lol

Most (advanced, offensive) movements emphasize severing the opponent's hand/arm, hitting the main arteries on the neck, or a slash through the waist. For obvious reasons, since the primary weapon would be a slashing, bladed one.

Defensive parrying is also important. Riposte attacks are hard to do however unless you're dual-wielding (which is unlikely, and difficult).

edited 25th Jan '12 9:24:58 AM by entropy13

Examples of the usage of Eskrima (which includes Arnis and Kali) in movies:

• Jason Bourne in the films.
• The fighting style used by the Spartans in Three Hundred is said to be Eskrima.

A certain urban superhero used escrima sticks. Dick Grayson as Nightwing was a big fan of the weapon as well.

edited 26th Jan '12 6:53:23 PM by JTheGreat

Oh, forgot to say this. I'm from Marikina, somewhere near SM Masinag.

Going home takes much more time now. A small bridge was planned to be repaired, and ready by Christmas. But NOW, there was some pipe they had to remove, and they needed permission from Manila Water. And so far, there is literally ZERO progress on the bridge, and because of that one bridge, there is like a 40-50 minute time difference, going home.

That looked to me as just hitting people with sticks, with no finesse and efficiency of Arnis.

As You Know, Philippine dramas are regarded as offshoots of the Spanish Soap Opera. However, people are starting to find them bland, even if the TV writers are trying to slightly modify their stories to get crap past the viewer's radar. Problem is, they are often construed to think that Viewers Are Morons, and the more Genre Savvy viewers would say. "It's the Same, So It Sucks".

Here are some tropes that I find in Philippine Soap Operas. Note that there might be similarities between these and the Spanish Soap.

• The Hero is Always Female suffering from Perpetual Poverty. There are two ways to make the heroine symphateic:
  • Abusive parents or relatives who force her to do a lot of jobs, often sacrificing her basic needs, so they might get the money off her for their various vices (alcohol, sex, gambling, and drugs). They may or may not be her true relatives.
  • She's adopted by an ideal family, whether they may be rich or poor. Expect the jealous stepsister to enter the scene and make the heroine's life miserable For the Evulz.
• Most superheroes are Always Male, with the exception of Darna. If the story wants to put in female and kid heroes, expect them to be included in a Five-Man Band.
• The Love Interest is often a Lonely Rich Kid or not even that. He might be the most handsome man in the world, or a Nice Guy with a great sense of justice, or an Upper-Class Twit in search for true love, but there's one thing you only need to know about him: he will come to love the heroine just the way she is. That, or he can't stand her (ex-)girlfriend's horrible efforts to keep him.
• In All the Myriad Ways, The Hero ALWAYS has disappeared parents, and the parent/child search is most often the central point of the plot. It was lampshaded in an online article that all the good guys are always looking for their sons, their daughters, their parents, their brothers and sisters, their whatever flesh and blood. And not only that. The good guys never seem to run out of people to look for.
• There's always a backstory involving the hero's parents and the people around them. In all of those backstories, the bad guys win. So it's up to their friends (and enemies) to hide the child into obscurity so the bad guys won't find them until later in the story.
• The heroine is almost always a Stepford Smiler, as Filipinos are known for. She might be a Plucky Girl, Purity Personified, Extreme Doormat, or a Type B Tsundere. The rival on the other hand, is almost always an Alpha Bitch Yandere of the Murder the Hypotenuse variety. Sometimes not even then.
• The Hero is always All of the Other Reindeer for so many reasons (she's ugly, she's adopted, and she's a freak. A variation would be that the kids are envious of everything she has.) Then some Nice Guy defends her from the bullies, until, well, he has to go somewhere else, usually abroad. Of course, they will meet again when they grow up. Always.
• The Hero is often an Ordinary High-School Student, or an ordinary college student. Of course, expect Jerk Jocks and Alpha Bitches making her school life miserable. Nowadays, though, the heroines tend to be as younger as 6 or 7 years old, but that's not catering to some certain interest groups.
• The Love Interest or The Rival is often a child of the story's Big Bad, potentially making the latter The Dragon or The Dark Chick.
• The Dark Chick now almost always pulls off a Heel–Face Turn, but sometimes can be derailed by a Heel–Face Door-Slam.
• The Hero can undergo a Rags to Riches transformation, especially when the story runs on Revenge.
• The Five Bad Band are almost always Jerkasses (Duh.) who are consummate masters of the art of puppy-kicking. The Big Bad is the greatest chessmaster of them all, but The Dragon or even The Dark Chick is no slouch in that, either. These guys are often the number one reason of heart attacks in the Philippines, so much that the Five-Man Band almost always has to play Spanner in the Works to defeat them.
• The DNA Test. Some guy wants to know who his child really is (it's the hero, of course), so let's do that. If this guy really is the hero's father, it will definitely come out, right? One problem: the Big Bad is Genre Savvy enough to pull off the Screw the Rules, I Have Money! trope to turn the tables around so she can still keep her husband off the Gold Digger hero.
• Hostage Situation. Expect The Cavalry Arrives Late, or not even then.
• The Lancer is often the resident Camp Gay.
• Hell-Bent for Leather, even during hot weather.
• The Hero is often a Butt-Monkey for the rival or the Big Bad.
• Because the Big Bad is the greatest Magnificent Bastard in the story, his favorite MO is Screw the Rules, I Have Money!.
• Pigeonholed Actors. No matter how they try to avert this trope, they just can't.

edited 9th Feb '12 6:47:26 PM by judasmartel

Ill Girl. Need to inject some tension into the plot line? Give someone cancer, or some other terminal disease, as long as the chances of a cure are slim to none.

Or you mean Million to One Chance?

Say, what do you think of the latest Magical Girl Soap Opera where the MC has an odd laugh and the ability to make true everything she says?

edited 6th Feb '12 3:38:18 AM by judasmartel

Um... I don't actually know? I just catch enough glimpses of these soaps at the dinner table to know I'd rather waste my time with something else.

...We have a Magical Girl Soap Opera? I kind of stopped watching local TV, so I wouldn't know. That wouldn't be Amaya, would it?

Does anyone remember the soap opera with the aliens? All i remember is that one called Agua Bendita or something.

...You Filipinos are weird.

Alice Bungisngis and her Wonder Walis (Mad Laugh Alice and her Wonder Broom)

There's a very recent Internet Backdraft over a bad comment on the magnitude 7 earthquake in the Negros area in the Visayas region. Ahcee Flores wished ill for the victims of the earthquake, stating that all Visayans in that area must die so that the Philippines rid itself of "dorks".

The comments here are very hilarious, if you can understand them, and could only range between pure Narm and High Octane Nightmare Fuel.

edited 7th Feb '12 7:26:57 PM by judasmartel

"It's more in the Philippines," indeed.

@ Kyler Thatch

Yeah! Now i remember!

Ugh, I can't believe someone commented on a sensitive subject, like that. She just ASKED for backlash with that comment.

edited 8th Feb '12 5:06:11 AM by eternalNoob

Well, this is the racism we're talking about in the Philippines. Some people from Luzon feel so superior just because they are closer to civilization, so to speak.

And plus the Unfortunate Implications that the national media deliberately proliferates: They are dim-witted, uncivilized, and funny-looking people who come to Manila to work for the more affluent families there as maids, helpers, cooks, and drivers.

That goes without saying the most popular Filipino nowadays is a Visayan. And the guy is pretty much the only Filipino to get himself invited personally by the President of the United States to the White House.

Again, those dumbass Visayans you see in the movies (and probably in Real Life, too) are just BS portrayals of them in the movies, period. We Visayans are much smarter and better individuals than some proud Luzon jackasses would credit us for.

There is a reason why baddies have a harder time doing their stuff in Davao City compared to the other cities, especially Manila, the center of Philippine civilization.

edited 8th Feb '12 8:32:13 AM by judasmartel

Now now, no hurtful comments against those in the capital. Not everyone there thinks that way.

You know, this kind of cultural divide is just what the Spaniards used to keep people in line during the colonial period.

So says my Kas 1 lessons, anyway.

lol Kas 1. Where did you take Kas 1?

Oh, Philippine history, right? Yeah, so true, that Machiavellian principle the Spaniards used on our ancestors. Divide and Conquer, indeed.