Direk Joey: Pinoys two notches above dinosaurs

Since we have  been a constant observer of Jose Javier Reyes’ activities as teacher, writer, director, juror and moderator in many occasions, we were glad to hit two birds with one stone as we recently journeyed to the Mall of Asia and the SMX nearby. Together with Winnie Ferrer, Mass Media teacher at St. Scholastica’s, we hurried through traffic, to make it in time for Joey’s talk on Information and Media, The Role of the Library in the Re-shaping of Information. This discussion was held in conjunction with the 32nd edition of the Manila International Book Fair.

Combining seriousness with both jokes and exasperation, Joey underscored the importance of books and reading while allowing Google to control our lives. Books have been replaced by tablets and the Internet, he stressed. The 20th and 21st centuries are characterized by information overload, the sheer volume of which is often mistaken for knowledge. As an example, Joey cited the news program that brings both local and international news in 30 minutes.

“We are unable to synthesize and analyze information. We live our lives through ‘cliff notes’, made to believe that a little bit of a lot is good compared to a lot of something little. We have ceased to prioritize what is important,” Joey continued. Through the proliferation of the teleserye, basic values in life are distorted yet are accepted as the truth. “To suffer is to be noble and to be noble is good.” The fact remains, however, that the majority of the population suffer in silence because media teaches that it is noble, and therefore good.

Joey reminded his audience of students and librarians that media is a business founded on profit that must necessarily redound in income for both radio and television industries. It is the profit index that dictates what should be aired, not what will uplift or educate.

Media should have the sense of historical continuity but it does not. All is here and now. Media does not foster continuity. We need a re-education to achieve this which will be “an uphill battle because we are two notches above being dinosaurs.” Scams, problems, graft and  corruption are repeatedly happening because no one seems to remember what brought it about in the past. What the Philippines needs is a public broadcasting outfit that will provide information and support education. It is only here in the Philippines that all media is commercialized. The library has ceased to become the sanctuary of knowledge. To many, books have become a thing of the past.

As a final word to librarians, direk Joey put up a challenge, for them to be vigilant and creative so as to integrate the necessity of reading books as part of the daily lives of students. This challenge brought the audience on their feet, commenting on Joey’s observations. One librarian was so affected she took the floor for a good half hour. We are happy for these reactions and would have stayed longer. But we had to make it in time at the Mall of Asia next door to watch direk Joey’s Ano ang Kulay ng Mga Nakalimutang Pangarap?, his entry to the FDCP Sineng  Pambansa All Masters Edition.

If Joey’s discourse at the SMX gave us hope that all need not be lost in our re-education, direk Joey’s film brought tears to our eyes, Winnie’s, and most of the audience. The film evocatively reveals the helplessness of modern man to fight the ravages of time, that the aged deal with as a matter of course and acceptance, if not aplomb.

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