Reference no: EM133301765
Assignment: Add more details and make each paragraph in the essay more complex. The reader should see a difference in detail in all four paragraphs.
Case Study: The title may have already given away the idea that the common repeated motif of the short story is the "monsters" as the central element of movies produced by Checkers Rosario. Through the symbolic use of monsters, the strong Western influence to Filipino appreciation of the film industry, the insecurity and resentment of Checkers towards Western movies, Reva and Checker's journey of remaking their movies with the hope shed by Gaz Guzman, and the beauty behind monstrosity were unfolded. This can be narrowed down to three kinds of monstrosities: the monstrosity of Filipinos to fellow Filipinos / lack of patriotism, the monstrosity of colonial influence, and the monstrosity of man towards his relationships with others.
The story opened itself to its readers through CocoLoco's president, disparaging the low-budget movie industry and discrediting its potential by ripping a poster with the casts' names written in "drippy, bloody letters" - a seemingly monstrous act. The passage "'As the Americanos say, it is time to listen to the music. Your movies are shit.'... In its first week of release, Squid Children played in just one theater in all of Manila, the midnight show at the Primero. 'A place for peasants and whores'..." shows a negative Filipino trait called "crab mentality" wherein even fellow countrymen or those expected to support and protect the country's film industry do not show high regard, worse, causes its downfall. In the story's case, the downfall of low-budget movies. Hence, the monstrosity of Filipinos to fellow countrymen.
This is further highlighted by the passage, "'Their fault!' he said, and I understood what he meant: imported Hollywood romance was what Manila moviegoers were paying to see, and Checkers' low-budget horror could no longer compete. 'All that overacting, that corny shit!'" which explains the second kind of monstrosity which is the Monstrosity of the Colonial Influence. Checkers resents the fact that his downfall was brought about by the rise of Hollywood movies which seemed to be more appealing to the moviegoers. These Hollywood movies put Filipino low-budget films into the shadows, and as for him, poverty and hatred which ironically, he shook off as he collaborated with Guzman with his flashing promise of the merging of the east and the west in the production of movies using Checker's monsters. This can metaphorically equate to the use of colonial power over the colony.
Lastly, a man may tend to be monstrous towards others, even to people who matter. At some point in the story, Checker's and Reva's relationship seemed to have fallen apart due to issues of insecurity, uncertainty, and issues that resurfaced. Such is proven by the passage "Checkers and I spoke less, rarely returned each other's calls, and I learned not to miss him by reminding myself that I was a working, professional actress in America; back home, I didn't know what I was. I never returned to find out." Reva also had thought that she was only beautiful when she played roles of monsters, making her think that she may be a monstress really. Fortunately, however the course of their lives went, the monsters and movies may have been forgotten, "but it makes no difference to Checkers. He comes to me with open arms, like I am a thing of unequaled beauty. On film, everything looks real. It was true: it did look like Checkers meant to help me up, to pull me to safety, and rescue me from that most hostile of planets." Behind monstrosity is still, beauty.