“The bading chronicles”: an in-depth look into the evolution of homosexual roles and images in Philippine cinema PDF

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“The bading chronicles”: an in-depth look into the evolution of homosexual roles and images in Philippine cinema Author: Maria Cristina D. Nery Introduction Any historical account or retrospective on Philippine cinema will not be complete without a mention of how male homosexuality has been depicted...

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“The bading chronicles”: an in-depth look into the evolution of homosexual roles and images in Philippine cinema Author: Maria Cristina D. Nery

Introduction Any historical account or retrospective on Philippine cinema will not be complete without a mention of how male homosexuality has been depicted over the years. Many major players in the film industry are homosexual, after all, and these include filmmakers, screenplay writers, talent managers, entertainment journalists and artists. As such, the subject of homosexuality has been a rich source of material for all genres, from slapstick comedies to romance movies or serious dramatic vehicles. My goal is to present an accurate picture of how male homosexual characters have been portrayed in Philippine films over the decades. To do so, I will review films from each era to enable me to write a balanced and well-informed piece which, I hope, will give an accurate picture of its evolution. I will aim to show how the homosexual identity has undergone a major shift, from earlier films which depicted the gay character as either effeminate and weak or loud and flamboyant. Then I will go on to later films which dare to show and explore other facets of the gay character and to come up with more realistic portrayals of homosexuality and all its issues and complexities. To do so, I have sourced materials and insights from academic publications, print and online news articles and blog sites which deal with homosexuality in Philippine cinema. I also watched several of these films to give me a broader understanding and to experience first-hand the different approaches employed by filmmakers in presenting the different images and issues of homosexuality in the Philippine context. I would liken the writing of this paper to a difficult journey but one worth taking as it has proven to be a rewarding and enriching experience in the end.

From “parlor gay” to “closet queen”: depictions of homosexuality in the first golden age of Philippine cinema

The 1950s to 1960s, which was touted as the first golden era of Philippine cinema, (Carballo) saw most male homosexual characters relegated to supporting roles, such as the "gay" friend or brother of the female lead, the "beautician cum confidante" or a loud, cross-dressing neighbourhood bakla. Ronald Baytan, in his essay on gay identities in Philippine cinema, says that "…the term bakla denotes a man who is effeminate and woman-hearted, who may cross-dress, and who desires a masculine man…" (181) These traits seem to represent the stereotypical gay movie characters of that era, who were usually written in to provide comic relief. Often, they were played by straight actors, who would either portray the characters either as weak and effeminate or loud and flamboyant. As this era was dominated by the so-called macho or manly directors, this could be a factor as to why homosexual movie characters of that era were portrayed in that way, since this is how the macho directors saw them. A classic example is the 1954 film, Jack and Jill, a popular komiks story of a brother and sister, written by Mars Ravelo, and which Sampaguita Pictures turned into a film starring Rodolfo Quizon, more popularly known as Dolphy, and Lolita Rodriguez. In the film, Benita is the sister determined to "make a man" out of her gay brother, Gorio, and enlists the help of her suitors to do so. Dolphy plays Gorio to Lolita's Benita and portrays him as a flamboyant cross dresser. The twist happens when Benita is forced to disguise herself as male to take the place of her ailing father who works as a family chauffeur, while Gorio, appearing as a damsel in distress named Glory, is adopted by the

rich family. Though Gorio's character seems to share the title role, the real leads in the film are Benita and Gardo, the scion of the rich family, whom Benita falls for. Baytan, in the above-mentioned essay, makes an intuitive observation. He notes that the "…homosexual occupies a paradoxical position in Philippine cinema. On the one hand, he is everywhere-as a beautician, dancer, talent manager…On the other hand, his life in all its lived complexity is perpetually absent in the national cinema because of the hetero-patriarchal culture's fear of seeing two men expressing affection for each other." The movie, Jack and Jill, seems to prove this true. The film ends with Benita and Gardo ending up together, and Benita getting her other wish fulfilled, as it appears Gorio has become more “manly” and now prefers to be called “Gregory”, though not for long. So one wonders, if Benita could have her prince charming and a happy ending, why wasn't Gorio allowed the same privilege? But Dolphy's over-the-top portrayal was such a success, it would henceforth set a benchmark for the way actors would portray gay roles in other films. As Clodualdo del Mundo, screenwriter and film historian writes "The influence of this character is hard to overstate in Philippine movies and television, to the extent that cross-dressing seems to have become a rite of passage for Pinoys who pursue a career in comedy." It also did much for his career and he went on to play more memorable cross-dressing roles in other films such as Pepe en Pilar and Facifica Falayfay. But the next decade would see some progress as some daring filmmakers attempt a more serious and realistic portrayal of homosexuality in their films.

The era of the gay film directors

The 1970s and 1980s saw many gay film directors rise to prominence, and foremost among them were Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal. The journalist and talent manager, Bibsy Carballo, author of Filipino Directors Up Close: The Golden Ages of Philippine Cinema, 1950-2010 notes that 1970s ushered in “…the age of gay directors, when the third sex excelling in the arts and ultimately in cinema began to be accepted and recognized.” She further writes that “It was suddenly a distinction to be in fashion, theater, dance, the fine arts, architecture, the movies, and to be proudly gay.” (Carballo) Despite these developments, there were still few films that seriously tackled the subject of homosexuality and all its complexities. One of the few brave attempts at a serious and realistic depiction of homosexuality was the 1971 film Tubog sa Ginto, directed by no less than the late Lino Brocka. The film starred Eddie Garcia as Benito, a married man and closet homosexual, who struggles to conceal his sexual preference for fear of losing the respect of his wife and only son, played by Lolita Rodriguez and Jay Ilagan, respectively. He even goes so far as to hire a prostitute, played by Marissa Delgado, as his secretary. As she knows he is gay, he asks her to give the impression that they are having an affair, just to quell the suspicions about his sexuality. Though he occasionally and discreetly engages in casual sex with other men, his life changes when he meets an attractive and seemingly innocent young man he picks up on the streets. Diego, played by a young Mario O’Hara, claims to be a "probinsyano" looking for a job in the city, and Benito hires him to be his driver. They become lovers, but Diego turns out to be a scam artist who blackmails Benito by taking photos of their lovemaking

and threatening to expose him if he doesn't give in to his demands. Taking on this role was a daring move for Eddie Garcia, who was often cast as a “contravida” or “ladies man” in most of his films. I can only surmise that Lino Brocka's helming the film might have been a major factor in his decision to accept the role. Eddie recalls Brocka telling him to depict the character "…without exaggeration or stereotyping. You should not make it obvious that the character is a homosexual." And it turned out to be good advice as the role netted him a Famas Best Actor Award and marked a turning point in the history of gay portrayals in Philippine cinema. As the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino notes, "Before Tubog, the gay man is presented in comic terms; the figure was a standard laughing stock, no more, no less. But when Eddie Garcia took on the role, the figure was recast in stark terms, portrayed in a keen light." (Zulueta) The film is indeed commendable in daring to tackle the subject matter honestly and even going so far as to feature kissing and love scenes between Benito and Diego. It also showed a rare image of the male homosexual on film, that of a dignified, manly gay man, who was not loud, effeminate or a cross dresser, but still capable of falling deeply in love with another man. One thing that bothers me is how Eddie’s psychiatrist views homosexuality as a condition that needs to be treated with medication, as if it were a sickness or a disease, even. I’m not sure if this was a compromise or if Lino was trying to make a statement on how homosexuality was viewed at that time. Brocka would go on to direct another landmark film Ang Tatay Kong Nanay (1978), with Dolphy essaying the lead role of Coring, a beautician tasked to look after a child left to him by his former ward. The child, played by Niño Muhlach, grows up

believing that Coring is his father, until his biological mother shows up to claim him as her son. (Blanco) On the surface, it seems that Coring is quite similar to numerous gay characters which Dolphy has played in his past films, and he does resort to some of his old tricks and the usual cross-dressing. But the film marked a departure of sorts as it tackles a sensitive subject matter, the dilemma of a homosexual father who is conflicted on whether to show or conceal his "gayness" from his child, for fear of being rejected. Though known for his comedic skills, Dolphy rises to the occasion and gives a nuanced and effective performance, which earns him Best Actor nominations from the Famas and the Gawad Urian. These two films from Brocka stand out for daring to take a different approach to homosexual characters on film. Another remarkable film, written and directed by Ishmael Bernal, is Manila by Night (City after Dark), which features an ensemble cast and aims to show the effect of the Marcos dictatorship in the lives of various characters in the supposed "city of beauty" that is Manila. Among these are a gay couturier and a lesbian drug pusher, but what is worth mentioning is that it features an openly gay actor, Bernardo Bernardo, playing the homosexual character. Bernardo would further make his mark in film history by winning a Best Actor award for his role as Manay Sharon. As Baytan notes, the three films stand out by daring to "…transcend the Filipino stereotype of the funny faggot bakla" (183), though it would be awhile before other directors followed suit and came up with more interesting, well-written and fleshed out gay characters in their films. The openly gay writer and filmmaker, Nick Deocampo, agrees that Brocka and Bernal broke new ground with these films, but notes that they also paid a price for their courage. He notes how these two filmmakers risked being at "…a precarious position of

being censored by the state-controlled censorship board, or the risk of being shunned by commercial producers for being too serious, when what the public 'wants' are images of homosexuals audiences can laugh at." (397) Thus, it took time before other directors followed suit and came up with films that presented more frank and honest depictions of homosexual characters and the various issues they faced.

The Dolphy effect: straight actors "play gay" for stardom and acting awards Apart from Dolphy, another actor who rose to fame by playing homosexual roles, is Roderick Paulate, more popularly known as Kuya Dick. He started his career as a child actor in the 1960s, starring mostly in dramatic films. He is quite talented and, proof of this is his bagging a Best Child Actor award at the 1968 Manila Film Festival for the film Kasalanan Kaya, when he was merely six years old and a FAMAS Best Child Actor award for Anghel na Walang Langit two years later. He took on his first gay role in the Maryo J. de los Reyes film, High School Circa ‘65 (1979) and this led to many other gay roles in comedy films as Charot and Binibining Tsuperman, to name a few. (Medina) From the titles alone, we can assume that these roles were of the stereotypical effeminate, loud, cross-dressing gay, a role which Roderick seems to have perfected by now. He was so good at playing "gay" that Dolphy chose him to star in Mga Anak ni Facifica Falaypay, the sequel to one of Dolphy's most successful films, with the Comedy King playing the title role. This was quite an honor, and was interpreted by many in the industry as tantamount to his anointment as Dolphy’s successor, as far as playing gay roles were concerned. His biggest-grossing films were those where he played gay roles opposite Maricel Soriano, among them Inday, Inday sa Balitaw and Jack and Poy.

Some dramatic actors and matinee idols occasionally accepted homosexual roles, mostly to challenge themselves and prove their versatility, though most still considered it a big risk to “play gay” on film, so to speak. One of these films was Pusong Mamon, (1998) starring Lorna Tolentino, Albert Martinez and Eric Quizon, one of Dolphy's sons who followed in his acting footsteps. The movie is jointly directed by Joel Lamangan and Eric himself and the story revolves around a gay couple, Ron, and Nick, played by Albert and Eric respectively. They live together as a couple, with Eric, a professional chef taking on the role of a wife, while Albert, an executive, takes on the husband role, though Nick has not fully come out of the closet due to pressures from family and his profession. The two male leads are not your stereotypical effeminate or cross dressing gays as they act manly, are highly-educated, successful and career-oriented. But inside their "love nest", they act like any married couple, and the kissing and love scenes are passionate and realistic. As such, taking on these roles were a daring career move for its two lead actors, who were known as matinee idols and often played leading men in romantic dramas. The conflict starts when Annie, Ron's colleague played by Lorna, seduces him when he is drunk and he gets her pregnant. The feisty Annie then forces herself into the lives of the two men and Ron eventually takes her to live with them. Though the plot and some of the scenes seem highly implausible, the screenwriters infuse it with intelligent dialogue and the actors play their characters so well and this makes for a charming film. It is also commendable for its attempt to show the realities of a gay live-in relationship, which was still a taboo subject at that time. Another actor who took on the challenge of playing a complex homosexual role was Dennis Trillo, in another Joel Lamangan film, Aishite Imasu 1941. As the title

implies, it is a period film, and the events transpired during the Japanese occupation, prior to the start of the war. It is a story of a unique love triangle between childhood friends, Inya, Edilberto and Ignacio, played superbly by Judy Ann Santos, Raymart Santiago and Dennis Trillo, respectively. Ignacio, who is gay since childhood, has always loved Edilberto, who in turn is smitten with Inya and the two eventually marry. Ignacio, meanwhile, captures the fancy of Ichiru, a Japanese commander, when he was asked to cross dress and stand in for a singer in a town program. Edilberto is a guerrilla fighter and when he learns that Ichiru fancied Ignacio, he convinces him to get close to Ichiru and pass on information about the Japanese plans to the guerrilla soldiers. Ignacio agrees out of love for Edilberto and his country, but then he eventually falls for Ichiru as well. (Po) As most war stories go, Edilberto and Ignacio both meet tragic deaths and Ichiru kills himself. But, for Dennis Trillo, the actor, his decision to take on this risqué role pays off well as it gave him several acting awards, including Best Supporting Actor at the 2004 Metro Manila Film Festival. The film was also awarded the MMFF 3rd Best Picture and a citation for Most Gender Sensitive Film. Apart from the acting recognitions, Dennis' career took off and he went on to play not more gay roles, but male lead roles in romantic comedies as well as dramatic movies and telenovelas. This development could be seen as a testament to the Filipino movie audiences' growing maturity, as they are now able to accept straight actors playing both gay and straight roles. Adding to the growing list of films which deal with unique and complex homosexual characters is Gil Portes' Markova: Comfort Gay. (2000) It is based on the life story of Walter Dempster Jr., who has had homosexual tendencies from a young age

and experienced abuse and condemnation for most of his life. As a teenager, he was often beaten by his own elder brother, who could not accept his "effeminate" tendencies and wanted him to act manly. He was raped by his brother's friend, and when World War II broke out, he suffered repeated sexual abuse at the hands of Japanese soldiers, along with thousands of Filipino women. They were kept as prisoners for the main purpose of catering to the Japanese soldiers sexual needs, thus earning the name of comfort women and in Walter's case, a "comfort gay". For this challenging and sensitive role, Portes tapped no less than Dolphy to play Walter, and his two sons, Eric and Jeffrey "Epi" Quizon, to play Walter in various stages of his life. Though Dolphy had played gay characters many times, this film marked a departure from his previous portrayals, as it was the first time he was playing a true-tolife character. To his credit, the comedy king and his two sons were all able to do justice to their respective roles, but it was Epi Quizon, who shone in this movie. His portrayal of the teenage Walter, who struggled to please his brother but found it hard to fight his true nature, was so natural and heart-warming that it won him several best supporting acting awards, among them the Famas, the Gawad Urian and in the 2000 Metro Manila Film Festival, where the film was an official entry. As the film industry started to realize the growing importance and influence of the gay movie-going audience, it aimed to broaden its portrayal of homosexuality by offering up films of various genre featuring gay characters in the lead roles. This encouraged more straight actors to portray gay roles to show their versatility, and one of these features a casting coup of sorts, the 2009 film, In My Life, directed by Olive Lamasan. The story focuses on a Filipino gay couple living in America, whose comfortable life is challenged

when the mother of one character migrates to the United States and comes to live with them. The gay couple, Mark and Noel, were played by Luis “Lucky” Manzano and John Lloyd Cruz respectively, while Luis’ real-life mother, Ms Vilma Santos, played Shirley, the meddling mother. Plotwise, I can see some parallels with the 1998 film, Pusong Mamon, in that it has a gay couple living together, whose comfortable existence is "interrupted" by the arrival of a strong female character. In Pusong Mamon, it is Annie, while In My Life has Shirley, and as the stories go, all three learn to get over their initial mistrust and patch up their differences by the end of the movie. As Pusong Mamon was considered a risky move for its two lead actors, the same can be said for Luis and John Lloyd, currently two of the most popular movie and TV idols. In fact, Luis admits to turning down the movie the first time it was offered to him, as he was not comfortable with the intimate scenes. (Cruz) He must have been glad that he reconsidered and eventually accepted the role, as all three lead performers won several acting awards the following year for their inspired and credible performances.

Independent filmmakers and their take on homosexuality Though the above examples have shown the growing acceptance and openness of the public to homosexuality, these mainstream films are still mostly formulaic and tend to gloss over the deeper realities or inner conflicts of being a homosexual in today’s society. If a moviegoer wants raw and realistic portrayals of homosexuality and the various issues they grapple with, it is in independen...