IT IS important to embed the Filipino identity in literary works.
This was the message of Thomasian scholars and writers in a forum at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex last Feb. 14.
Joyce Arriola, director of the UST Research Center for Culture, Arts and Humanities (RCCAH), said Philippine literary theory is necessary for the local film industry to break away from dominant Western influence.
“Film adaptation discourse should be contextualized but I need to adapt from Western literary theories which I hope to debunk,” said Arriola.
Joselito de los Reyes, fellow at the UST Center for Creative Writing and Literary Studies (CCWLS), proposed an exhaustive study on Filipino humor.
“Sa kabila ng pagiging masayahin at palabiro natin, bakit wala pa rin tayong malalim at malawakang pag-aaral ukol sa brand of humor natin sa Pilipinas?” de los Reyes asked.
He warned however that humor may also be used to misinform. “Ang humor ay nagagamit sa kampanya at patuloy na nagagamit sa pagpapalaganap ng impormasiyon at dis-impormasiyon,” he said.
CCWLS fellow Chuckberry Pascual said translating English works into the local language will appeal to a wider audience and yields new meaning to the text.
“Ang pagsasalin sa isang akda ay hudyat ng pagkakaroon nito ng bagong buhay at bagong mambabasa,” said Pascual.
Translating works into Filipino can be considered “pagbabalikbayan,” he said.
The series of lectures was part of the RRCAH Research Fortnight 2017, which sought to “set the agenda, to manage, and to evaluate researches in the humanities” of the University.
