democracy discourse fellow
Mae Paner
Mae Paner, also known as Juana Change, is a performance artist/activist who has, over the past three administrations of the Philippine Government, eased into the role of satirist, social critic, political loudmouth, public conscience. Perhaps “eased” is the wrong word, for the process has never been easy for her.
Country
Philippines
Categories
Theater
Human Rights
In the time of Gloria Arroyo and Noynoy Aquino, the Juana Change team produced several short videos that called out all forms of corruption and social injustice while advocating for critical thinking, discourse, and positive action. Charter change, pork barrel and other scams, anti-labor policy, “epal,” kleptocracy in public (dis)service—these, among others, have been the object of the Juana Change team’s combined wrath, ridicule, and at least on social media, revenge. These videos are still available to view online, on youtube.
In the time of Duterte, Juana Change’s engagement with the public is changing, due to a dearth in the funding of non-commercial, politically confrontational content and the glut of material flooding the webiverse. The latter has pronounced an already growing public desensitization and apathy to social issues. These factored in the creation of Tao Po, a theater piece consisting of four monologues based on real people affected by the state’s war on drugs.
Tao Po
When we brought Tao Po to Europe, for the first time self-proclaimed hard-core supporters of President Duterte went to see the show and stayed for the post-performance discussion. Though I wouldn’t say the presentation converted them into becoming anti-EJK, I saw that it caught them unaware, surprised them in ways they hadn’t foreseen, shook them. In short, Tao Po got to them. The power of the reality presented, combined with the presence of actual survivors, widows, and orphans of the “war on drugs,” was perhaps too great to ignore, much less label, as they had kept hammering on in social media prior to the tour, as “fake news.”
This project, made possible through the DLSU Democracy Discourse Series, endeavors to further such vital, if uncomfortable, engagements on the local front. It aims not just to expand Tao Po‘s audience per se, but to go beyond preaching to the choir, thus deepen the impact, thus drive home the discourse where it matters most – to those not just indifferent to but supportive of the government’s methods in waging this “drug war.” Under this project Tao Po will debut in Mindanao and Central and Western Visayas. Talks are underway to effect a performance where a good part of the audience will be composed of state actors, including the PNP. In a nutshell the project seeks to knock on the humanity and compassion of its less likely audience, regardless of political bent and other affiliations.
Learn more about Mae’s works:
https://www.facebook.com/622206027/posts/10158128754596028/
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/7/27/Mae-Paner-Harry-Roque.html
