Haiku

Thunderstorm clash-
Roaring over peaceful night
Soaring the dark

Flash Fiction

Tanaga

Modern Text Tula

Literary Critique

“Parasite” ­­stimulates the audience’s mind.
                Bong Joon-ho has come back to Cannes with a sumptuously watchable and mocking tension dramatization. It runs as purringly smooth as the Mercedes driven by the lead character, played by Korean star Song Kang-ho. Parasite is a peculiar dark comedy about economic wellbeing, desire, realism and the male centric nuclear family, and individuals who acknowledge having (or renting) a hireling class.

                This truly is an awfully captivating film, splendidly composed, eminently structured, with a perfectly cast actors and actresses set to work in a carefully plotted nightmare. It truly played with the audiences’ emotions and mind as the story went on through ups and downs.

                The story started showing Song Kang-ho plays Ki-taek, an indolent, jobless man who lives in a chaotic, stinky and dirty basement with his significant other, Chung-sook, his brilliant yet uncanny daughter, Ki-jung (Park So-dam), and son, Ki-Woo (Choi Woo-sik). They portrayed what low class family experiences in other to live—connecting to the neighbor’s wifi, having people pissed on the wall in front of their window, and letting the window open for ‘free’ insecticide.

                Living the life of having no cash and work, a former school friend of Ki-Woo offered Ki-Woo a lucrative tutoring job. Talk about luck! With a fake college diploma created by Ki-jung, he shows up at the fabulously lavish home of the Park family, wealthy entrepreneur Mr Park (Lee Sun-kyun), his delicate, unworldly wife, Yeon-kyo (Cho Yeo-jeong), their teen daughter, Da-hye (Jung Ziso) and her wacky kid brother, Da-song (Jung Hyeon-jun). They have a loyal, live-in housekeeper named Moon-gwang (Jeong-eun Lee).

                Without much trouble, Ki-Woo got the job, and an admirer, Da-Hye, whom he would be teaching. Yeon-kyo, reveals that she also needs an art tutor for her young son, to mold his painting talents. This where things get thrilling as Ki-Woo recommended his sister, Ki-Jung, with the alter ego of Jessica. In short order, Ki-jung frames the Park chauffeur to get him fired, after which Ki-woo suggests their father, Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), as a replacement, though he doesn’t identify him as such; and soon they hoodwink the Parks into abandoning their longtime housekeeper and hiring their mother, Chung-sook (Jang Hye-jin), though she’s not identified as such.

                 When the Parks go on a camping trip, the Kims move in and savor the luxury and peace. They think they’re a natural fit. They imagined how it feels like to have all the champagne and cool breeze of the aircon; how it feels like to have Da-Hye as their in-law, as the relationship of Ki-Woo and Da-Hye was getting deeper. Everything was going fine, during the first half of the film. It definitely seems like the Kims manipulation were going easy.

                But Bong could never just settle for that, all those fun and excitement of the Kims vanished into thin air as it started to rain and surprisingly, the Parks went home instead. You could never call Bong subtle. After a symbolic rain causes the symbolic sewers to overflow and symbolically flood the Kims’ symbolic basement apartment, Kim Sr. is forced to perform at the Parks’ fancy house party in a symbolic Native American headdress. The climax, though surprising in its splatter quotient, is telegraphed.
                The calm of each family instantly transformed into a horrific, gore, and dreadful party for the Parks’ youngest child, Da-Song. Each character portrayed their roles perfectly, which lies to the question, “Who is the real parasite?” The poor who connect themselves to the rich or the wealthy who suck the marrow of poor people? Or simply the framework the parasite itself, drawing its vitality from the violent communication among rich and poor?

                From the cinematography, acting, and plot, Bong Joo-Ho’s Parasite is something you must consider if you are into drama movies. Its guaranteed that this movie will open your mind to the harsh reality of the poor and rich. Other than this, there are no excuses for watching the movie.
               

Literary Reportage

                      The Life of the Unknown
                             By: Lana Klariz A. Manalo

            One thing that a student named Kyle Austine V. Garcia cannot deny, is that he is a very straightforward person and is not afraid of showing and expressing his own opinions and emotions. As a student, he basically does everything he can to ace his subjects. As a daily routine, all he does is going to school early in the morning then immediately goes back home after class due to the fact that his parents are strict when it comes to time.

            At 2017, the fifteen-year-old Kyle got engages with what they call a famous community namely “Kpop community” with the girl group GFRIEND as a major factor of making him join the community. With the song, Glass Bead, it really captivated his heart to the point that he could not turn back his desire of listening more of them.

            This lead him to the discovery of immature and self-centered fans, this is the fandom of BTS, ARMYS. According to news reports, there are two main reasons why people call the ARMY fandom as toxic community:
               
              1.) Drama, It's like they are incapable of being nice to other fandoms. They're the ones starting fan wars and causing drama in every fandom, for example, a person will say their own opinion and some ARMYS will attack. For example comparing Stray Kids' debut mv to a group that has over 5 years of experience. Ridiculous! Other groups didn't work their asses off to be compared to BTS.

              2.)Obsession, Some ARMY is overly obsessed with BTS to the point where they'll hate on multifandoms for liking other groups besides BTS. BTS is Kpop, Kpop is not BTS. You don't have to love other groups besides BTS, or other fandoms but show some respect at least please.

            “They are so WILD and chaotic to the point that they degrade other fandoms to bring theirs up“Kyle voiced out his opinion about ARMYS that lead to him to something that wasn’t his routine before. The fifteen-year-old started to created multiple anonymous accounts in order to voice out his emotions and opinions, “Fight fire with fire” he said, referring to the reason why did he joined all the hate threads popularizing the toxicity of the community.

            However, Kyle still have a little routine behind his anonymous identity. Catfishing is the phenomenon of internet predators that fabricate online identities and entire social circles to trick people into emotional/romantic relationships.

            “It was basically free money” Kyle insisted. He was surprised how well it worked out to the point he kept on doing it. As of 2020, he had spent 550 euros for League of Legends and currently has $450 left on his account.

            With a determined heart, and remarkable brain, currently seventeen, Kyle this year 2020 is still living his life in the unknown world behind technology and been saving off tons of money as a student. As for his student life, he is still doing his very best to ace his class. May this be an inspiration that every opinion matter, but limit yourself to protect yourself from the harsh words of reality. Always remember to chew your words first, before you spit them out.