By Ruel S. De Vera
Associate Editor

MOVIES are a devotion for some people, and going to the movies is a pilgrimage. Yes, the latest movies can usually be found on DVD and there’s a lot being shown on TV, but going to the movies is an event. The best example I can think of when it comes to turning a trip to the movies into something to look forward to comes from a movie itself: “Annie!” In that movie, Daddy Warbucks and the Little Orphan parade down a line of white-gloved attendants—in the middle of a delightfully over-the-top kickline number called, naturally, “Let’s Go To The Movies”—to watch ____. The movie was beside the point; it was the going that mattered.

Today, it takes a herculean effort to get a bunch of people together early and quickly enough to be able to go see a movie together. Texts have been returned and there’s the discussion of which mall to go to and which place to have dinner at before/after… Yep, it’s a big deal. Too bad people don’t dress up to go to the movies anymore—aside from the requisite jacket for the frosty air-conditioning (read: Power Plant Cinema)—would you believe people used to turn out in suits and jewelry to watch a feature? Nowadays, people look like they just returned from a trip to 7-Eleven.

But there is an anticipation that lends itself uniquely to a movie night. All that hassle becomes a countdown to having a good time. There are requisites to such a night of course.

But there are things that can quickly ruin such a major expedition to the cinema. These are the dreaded don’ts at the theater, but people do, anyway.

1) Unspoiled: Imagine that you’ve stayed off the Net, basically ignored friends who have gone to see the movie before you, and been saying “ABCDEFGHIJKL…” with ears covered up all week just so you won’t find out the big twist at the end of the movie. Then, just as you’re waiting to enter the theater… this loudmouth comes out, stating, “Wow, I can’t believe Dumbledore died!” Now, granted a lot of people do this as a joke, blurting out red herrings, but there are many more people who do this still. Look, if I want to know that she’s a guy, Bruce Willis is a ghost and that dude has a friggin’ twin then I will look it up myself. Thanks for nothing.

2) Foot Forward: I understand you are tired from work or saving the world or something, but there is nothing that allows you to a) put your foot on top of the empty chair in front of you, or b) put your foot against my backrest and start whacking it. But that’s not the worst. To do these things after taking off your shoes and socks, what the hell is wrong with you? Where did I hide that Taser…

3) Food Fight: OK, I can see you got that bucket of butter-substance popcorn, but can you please refrain from playfully flinging it at your friend-squeeze-companion because he or she said something funny? That’s because the popcorn inevitably misses your friend completely and hits the unfortunate person behind—who happens to be me. Here’s a deal: you throw popcorn at me and I can throw hotdogs at you. With the bun and dressing.

4) Commentary: Nuff said. If I wanted a blow-by-blow account, I’d buy the DVD.

5) Dialogue Coach: You’re watching the movie and then in the darkness someone’s cellphone is clearly on. Then you hear the hushed but still very much audible dialogue: “Hello! I’m at a movie. What’s that? Really? I’m in a movie…” and on and on for five minutes! Wait, did you not listen to the Kung Fu Panda at the start of the film?

These are a few of my cinema cine-nots, what are yours?

Read about the brouhaha over the movies of would-be national artist Carlo J. Caparas in the October 5, 2009 issue of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine.

By Ruel S. De Vera
Associate Editor

DEFINED by the spaces we gain consciousness in, we expand horizons but only to the limits of what surrounds us. Filipinos are born into socio-economic classes which are driven home by where we reside. Be it hovels, one-room apartments, old apartments, high-rise studio condos, townhouses which go up and down, charming bungalows, split-level houses and mansions; we are where we live.

Once we leave home and graduate from school (itself another form of housing) we branch out in search for a new home, one which we will define, shaped by what we are capable of and ultimately what we earn. This is the sliding scale of adulthood vis a vis a dwelling. We start off staying with our parents or in laws, then move on to a tiny apartment somewhere where we will struggle to be ourselves in an ever crowded universe.

Even the structures around us, the structures we pass and enter and exit, they define us as well. The Big Dome is about big events, big games and big concerts. Our schools start out small because we are small and grow, first unto high school, a measure even in the name, all the way to the higher learning that comes with college and beyond.

Perhaps the worst thing is to not be able to go home anywhere. We have a semi-humorous term for it, NPA (No Permanent Address), which is just another term for homeless. In that sense, it is an individual exile that is particularly galling because everyone else has a permanent address. It is the kind of loneliness and being alone that is unforgiving and cannot be forgiven.

What keeps them going? A dream of a place all their own.

That house, the one we finally own, the one we finally planned and built, is the dream. It is the single moment of definition and self-actualization. This house exists in all our heads, and, in a unique melding of planning and lives, duplex dwelling in the minds of married couples. What furniture shall we buy? What color will our walls be? Where does the TV go? And what kind of dog do we get?

Imagine all the opportunities that had to have been taken to reach that point, when you are able to conceive of a house, inside and out, and actually bring it into fruition. As Queen once said: “It’s a kind of magic.” It is an idea finally made concrete, a dream made real.

Read about the next step in condominium living in the Sept. 27, 2009 issue of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine.

By Ruel S. De Vera
Associate Editor

I NEVER quite understood the saying “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” For one thing, I consider teaching on any level to be one of the most difficult disciplines to learn. Those who aren’t up to snuff simply will not last more than a couple of years at the job. The challenge isn’t just about instruction skill—though classroom presence and technique matter immensely—but about compassion.

One of the most significant discoveries of teachers who endure is how to care just enough about the students. You need to care enough to want to see each one succeed, not let them get lost in the multitude of faces and students numbers—and yet not fall into the trap of taking each student’s story personally. There is no easier or quicker way to burn out than trying to be everything to all.

The vocation of “saving” students is not exactly part of the job description. What should be is to inspire. I honestly believe that the worst students make for the best teachers, because they know what the students are really thinking, and not just the smart and eager ones. The unlikely ones often become the longest-lasting ones.

Teachers get their techniques from all kinds of places. I think it’s invaluable to be interesting in the classroom, to be able to hold their attention. I found my style after perusing a lot of standup comedy, of Letterman and Leno, Robin Williams and Mitch Hedberg, and of course, the great Rex Navarette. A good grasp of “Shaider” and “Bioman” helps as well. I always thought the next step would be to learn to make balloon animals, do magic tricks and maybe eat fire. Let’s see the students sleep through that.

Seriously though, people often develop their personal grasp on what teachers are and do from the movies they watch. Because of the nature of what teachers do, they are a favorite of movie makers. But the different movies often present different teachers and thus different teaching styles. Here are some examples:

1) “Dead Poets Society”: I put this first because it’s usually what other people mention as their favorite movie about a teacher. Sad to say, I have never seen it in its entirety. Yes, I know, horrible. But what I have seen tells me this Peter Weir opus is about inspiring boys with the possibilities of unfettered imagination and passion. As well as the benefits of standing on tables and reciting “O Captain, My Captain.”

2) “Stand and Deliver”: This 1988 project was the progenitor of the Tough Love style of teacher movies. Edward James Olmos is the curmudgeon Mr. Jaime A. Escalante who will lift the kids—and the young defiant Lou Diamond Phillips as Angel Guzman—by teaching them to stand up to reality.

3) “To Sir With Love”: Teaching the Other; that’s what comes to mind when I think about this 1967 movie directed by novelist James Clavell that features a lot of challenging British accents and the mesmerizing Sidney Poitier as the unforgettable Mark Thackeray. It also reminds us that standing straight, wearing suits and speaking in complete sentences will draw respect from any high schooler.

4) “Dangerous Minds” and “Freedom Writers”: These two movies are basically the same save that Michelle Pfieffer is a Marine and Hilary Swank is not. It’s about getting modern-day kids to trust that the teacher really does care, as well as how liberating learning to write can be for anyone.

5) “Finding Forrester”: This J.D. Salinger-like tale from Gus Van Sant has Sean Connery, basketball, the always excellent F. Murray Abraham doing Sallieri in the classroom and a manual typewriter. I can never think of this movie without hearing Connery’s inimitable brogue. It also has amazing insight into the writing process and a killer song in Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s plaintive take on “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”

6) “Remember The Titans,” “Gridiron Gang,” “Glory Road” and “We are Marshall”: Coaches are teachers in more than one way and these well-made true-to-life sports movies show just how much a difference they can make.

7) “Coach Carter”: Why separate this one from the others? Because the similarly true-to-life “Coach Carter” made a difference not just because of his offense-to-defense ideas, but because he stood up for the idea that grades are particularly important for athletes. Plus Samuel L. Jackson is electric in this.

8 ) “Mila”: The idea of the Teacher as Bleeding Heart isn’t new, but this Maricel Soriano starrer is a cautionary tale about how far we might go to save our wayward students. Soriano is really good in this Joel Lamangan tearjerker and a fine example on how saving others can turn into losing yourself.

9) The Indiana Jones movies, the Robert Langdon movies and “21”: These seemingly surprising addition shows the teacher as adventurer, possessing a truly practical approach to their teaching. Harrison Ford’s Jones is a treasure hunter, Tom Hanks’ Langdon is a symbologist/world saver and Kevin Spacey’s character Micky Rosa masterminds a team of MIT students in counting cards in casinos.

10) “The Sound of Music” and “The King and I”: What is a family-friendly fave from 1965 and Yul Brynner’s 1956 Oscar winner doing on this list? Governesses are teachers in many ways and here they brush up against authority and deal with it by song and affection. Plus the songs are really good. Let’s say you are the only person on the planet not to be charmed by Julie Andrews’ pixie hairdo, surely the magnificent Deborah Kerr will win you over.

There are many more, of course, but this is how I would start. What about you? Never forget what “Dead Poets Society’s” John Keating said: I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself.

Read all about some amazing teachers in the Sept. 20, 2009 issue of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine.