We have nothing against Lady Gaga. Or Justin Bieber. Or Beyonce Knowles. Or Mariah Carey. Or… whoever is BIG as far as pop culture is concerned.
Just as we have nothing against The Phantom of the Opera. Or Little Mermaid. Or The Full Monty. Or Jekyll & Hyde. Or… whatever HUGE (often foreign) productions there are in the Philippines.
And just as we have nothing against the Twilight series. Or The Fast & The Furious series. Or Transformers series. Or Iron Man series. Or the oft-repeated re-boot of Spider-Man and Batman and Superman. Or… whatever is breaking box office records nowadays.
But here’s the thing:
When everything else is forgotten because of too much emphasis/attention allocated to those in the mainstream, we’re simply perpetuating the existence of the status quo, which – let’s be honest – isn’t always THAT grand.
After all:
- How many times have we heard the laments of Filipino singers (or at least of those supporting them) who had to leave the country because they couldn’t earn a living in the Philippines (while their foreign counterparts perform to sold-out crowds)?
- How many Filipino painters earn a LOT by selling their works overseas – yet NO ONE pays attention to them in their own country (that is until they make it big)?
- How many Filipino musicians play in lounge bars overseas, where their talents earn them a living, but who will just starve to death (if they choose to stay) in the Philippines?
- How many Filipino writers work in non-literary fields just so they can eat, relegating their passion (and what could be a source of pride for us) to… nothingness?
- How many Filipino ballet dancers now wear Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck or Minnie Mouse or Pluto costumes (in various Disney World venues around the world) because doing so earns them a living, but dancing for the Philippines means they have to stay poor for life?
For as long as we don’t celebrate what we have, we’ll end up losing them.
And this is what Fringe Magazine wants to – attempt to – remedy somehow.
By celebrating those on the fringes.
- So what if many find your artworks weird?
- Or if mainstream media refused to feature your band because your sound is too… loud.
- Or if your film couldn’t get enough attention because it doesn’t have the star power of, say, Sharon Cuneta.
- Or if your designs are considered “junk” by the mainstream market because they’re supposedly un-wearable.
- Or if your venue is only frequented by the “peculiar”.
It’s time to celebrate that OTHERNESS.
So join us at the fringes; only at Fringe Magazine.
