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  • Photo essay by Geric Cruz
    Editorial 0

    Editorial Note—Issue 5

    Isabelo de los Reyes is an interesting case in Philippine history. Not quite among the ranks of the lunatics, paralytics, and pen-or-sword romantics at the turn of the 20th century ...

    By Mara Coson
  • Resil Mojares
    Essay 0

    Writing the Archive

    In his latest book, Isabelo’s Archive (2012), Resil Mojares attempted to write Philippine history in fragments. Inspired by folklorist Isabelo de los Reyes’s quixotic project of compiling an ...

    By Resil Mojares
  • Illustration by Gwendal le Bec
    Essay 0

    Absent Characters in the National Story

    What would happen if one wrote about the truly marginal characters in Philippine history? Can national narratives accommodate stories that challenge the premises of the nation? (Illustration by Gwendal Le ...

    By Patricio N. Abinales
  • Illustration by Monica Ramos
    Essay 8

    Hang the DJ: The Demise of the Philippine-only Radio Hit

    What do Stephen Speaks and the Carpenter’s “You” all have in common? They were famous only in the Philippines. Glenn Tuazon explores the anatomy of the Philippine-only hit ...

    By Glenn Tuazon
  • Photograph by George Calvelo
    Essay 0

    With Friends like These, PNoy Does Not Need Enemies

    What does the 2014 SONA reveal about the state of the Aquino presidency? (Photograph by George Calvelo) At every moment, I must be mindful of the concerns and perspectives of ...

    By Ronald D. Holmes
  • MR-Issue-5-FINAL_PRINT-FILE-SINGLE-BLEED-CROP_MARKS-X4-FINAL-EDIT17
    Review 0

    In the Claws of the City: Manila in Film

    Urban realism is one of the oldest tropes in Philippine cinema. How else can the camera see the city? On the Job A film directed by Erik Matti, 2013 ...

    By Adolfo Aranjuez
  • Illustration by Miko Revereza
    Review 1

    Cinema Moralia

    Kidlat Tahimik’s utopianism can’t be slotted into Marxian ideological boxes. Robert Nery explains why the filmmaker is a unique critic of the culture industry The Utopia of Film: Cinema ...

    By Robert Nery
  • Illustration by Grace Danico
    Book Bound 0

    Head in the Clouds

    Book Bound is a section where book professionals write about what it’s like to make a living from books. For this issue, the owner of the much-loved Mt ...

    By Padmapani L. Perez
  • Illustration by Jennifer Maravillas
    Essay 3

    Pangasinan Is in the Heart or How to Be a Historian

    One scholar found his identity not in the nation, not in “imperial Manila,” but in the local realities of Pangasinan—a province negotiating the hegemonies of both Manila and ...

    By Erwin S. Fernandez
  • Illustration by Geloy Concepcion
    Essay 0

    Under Whose Watch?

    An essay reflecting on the many ways we see surveillance, and the many ways it sees us (Illustration by Geloy Concepcion) No one talks to the barber anymore. The ...

    By Clinton Palanca
  • Photograph by Charles Aaron Salazar
    Review 1

    Metro Manila as the Happy City: The Present State and Future Prospects of Philippine Urban Life

    City living is about movement. Can the government fix the pains of the daily commute? Paolo Monteiro imagines a Manila for those without cars Happy City: Transforming Our ...

    By Paolo Monteiro
  • Artwork by Gabrielle La Montagne B
    #homework 0

    Shame and Fortune

    It’s easy to pit the reified art world with celebrity culture. For #Homework, a section in collaboration with Planting Rice, Alice Sarmiento asks, is the border between them ...

    By Alice Sarmiento
  • Dex Fernandez
    Editorial 2

    Editorial Note — Issue 4

    We know we have a lot of work to do when our editor-in-chief suddenly invokes Hayek and begins talking about market forces in our editorial meeting. The creative ...

    By Nicole Curato
  • Print
    Review 6

    Sins of the Fathers: The Elite in Philippine Literature

    Caroline Hau critically locates the place of class in Philippine literature (Art by Carina Santos for Recovery.ph.) Gun Dealers’ Daughter By Gina Apostol Mandaluyong: Anvil Publishing Inc., 2010 The ...

    By Caroline S. Hau
  • Art by Dan Matutina
    Review 3

    Fortune 500 Feminism

    Facebook’s COO wrote a feminist manifesto for the corporate world. But can the experiences of a rich woman shattering glass ceilings serve as lessons for the 99 percent? ...

    By Nicole Curato