Tweaking the mermaid character
(from Viewfinder by Nestor U. Torre)
[H4, Phil. Daily Iquirer, May 25, 2012 issue]
screen is the mermaid move.Ever since National Artist
for Film Gerry de Leon megged its initial and prime exemplar,
"Dyesebel," starring the young and lissome Edna Luna, the tragic
tale of the mermaid both loved and feared by humankind has taken hold of
the Filipino imagination and filled it with a seductive mix of
superstition, fantasy, sex, drama and tragedy.
The mermaid as seductive and tragic heroine has been played again and
again in different productions by new generations of nubile female stars,
not just on the big screen, but more frequently these days on TV.
Fantasy,melodrama, surreal supporting character with magical
powers, catacylysmic events, sinister subplots and extravagant
emotionalizing still rule and carry the day. So, jump right in,
the water's fine!
durable as an attention-grabber? De Leon's original film, which
effectively set the template for the film type, took great pains
to cast the ethereal Luna in the title role.
With her large, twisting eyes and waif-like projection, she looked
other-worldly and quite vurnerable. Thus, she made viewers feel
protective and they were incensed when the movie's opportunistic
characters trapped her and sold her to a traveling circus, which
debased her into a sideshow attraction.
Thus, the Filipino mermaid character type has been made to symbolize
other people who are "different" in various ways, and tend to be so
helpless and trusting that they are often victimized by those who
pretend to care for them.
In keeping with this haunting ethos, a new drama about mermaids would
still be welcome and instructive in a fresh way if its central
or side conflicts could be related to the currently topical
issue of environmental degradation and the urgent need for us
to protect the planet's thereatened ecosystem and vulnerable
species who struggle to survive in it.
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