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Japan: The year in Japanese blogs

lingua → es · id

What were bloggers writing about this year in the Japanese blogosphere? The year in Japanese blogs at Global Voices included posts on everything from an American Enka singer making waves in Japan, to debates on the regulation of “harmful” Internet content, to the Olympic torch relay in Nagano.

Culture

The year started with new year celebrations, which include eating osechi, a traditional Japanese New Year food, and the Japanese custom of visiting shrines, called Hatsumode.

One blogger wrote of how new years celebrations had changed over the years (translation by Hanako Tokita):

昔の頃のように、古式ゆかしき伝統にのっとったお正月を過ごされたのは
はて　どれくらいあるだろう・・・
私が幼い頃は、毎年のお正月にはお約束のようにして
親戚や知人がお年始の挨拶に来られて
それはそれは普段になく　賑やかな感じで　まさにお正月!！っという特別な日だった。
御節料理だって、正月にしかお目にかかれない代物ばかり。

I wonder how many people actually spend their New Years the traditional way…
When I was a child, every year around New Year, relatives and acquaintances would always come to visit for New Year's greetings.
It was unusually busy and was a special day with a true New Year's feeling.
Osechi was also full of stuff that you would see only at New Year.

されど　時は平成、、、それも２０年ともなると
御節料理も普段・・・しかも年中　お目にかかる代物ばかりの食材だし
飽食の時代の申し子とも云える現在っ子達には
めずらしくもなんともないようでして、感激の欠片も無いのが現状のようだ。。。

However, in this 20th year of the Heisei era,
even osechi is made up entirely of ingredients that one sees everywhere, all year round.
Today's kids, who might be called the children of the age of gluttony, don't seem to find [osechi] unusual and are not thrilled at all. This seems to be the reality…

Staying with the theme of culture, one of Japan's most well-known cultural icons, geisha, have recently taken up blogging. One blogger described how blogging had helped them become a geiko (translation by Scilla Alecci):

一度は諦めて普通のお仕事をしていたのですが・・・やはり諦められないものですねぇ。
なんとかならないか、と色々探していたところ・・・とあるブログを発見
それが、今私を引いて下さったお姉さんのブログだったのです
高級クラブ街だと思っていた北の新地に芸妓さんがいるのかーっ、と目から鱗。
そして、素敵なお着物姿のお写真に・・・一目ぼれ
早速連絡させて頂いて、お会いして頂いて（あまりにお姉さんがお綺麗なので、「私のような小娘がココにいていいのかーっ」恐縮　笑）、見習いさんさせて頂いて（素敵なお茶屋さんに感動）、芸妓：さく良となったのです。

I tried to contact several geisha houses and organizations in Kyoto but the only replies I got were “Impossible!” or “Only if you start as a maiko”.
Then I gave up and started a normal job, but… no, I couldn't give up. And just when I was considering other ways to make it… I found a certain blog.
It was the blog of an older geisha who eventually drew me in.
I couldn't believe to my eyes when I realized that there were geiko in the north of Shinchi, an area full of classy clubs. And when I saw their pictures in those splendid kimono… it was love at first sight!!
So I asked them to contact and meet me (I couldn't help feeling embarrassed, with such beautiful women, wondering to myself, “Will they accept a young girl like me here?”).
They took me in with them as an apprentice in that wonderful teahouse, and that is how I became Sakura, the geiko.

Media

Under the heading of media, one of the most talked-about topics in Japanese blogs this year was the controversy over WaiWai, a weekly column published in the Japanese newspaper Mainichi shimbun, written by Australian Ryan McConnell. WaiWai featured some of the most scandalous articles from Japan's weekly tabloids, translated to English with added “embellishments”.

GV posts on the WaiWai controversy include a translation of an article by a Japanese resident in Ecuador at a blog entitled Nanmei (南瞑), and an article by blogger Michi Kaifu (海部美知), who contends that to women, WaiWai was sexual harassment. Blogger polimediauk, meanwhile, reacted to Mainichi's apology about the WaiWai articles, complaining about the fact that foreign and Japanese staff have been treated differently in the affair. Mainichi was later embroiled in a separate scandal revolving on a slip-up in which the newspaper erroneously identified a Wikipedia editor as involved in an attempted murder.

Citizen media was another topic discussed in blogs. 2008 saw the demise of the Japanese version of the citizen journalism website OhMyNews, as well as a debate on the collapse of journalism, as expressed in a book by Japanese journalist Takashi Uesugi. Bloggers have also recently written about the crisis in primary news reporting, and about the future of video.

Technology

The year has seen a difficult situation in the IT industry in Japan. A New York Times article explaining how the country is running out of engineers was received positively by bloggers, who expressed concern about the future of IT jobs in Japan.

Another popular topic this year in the area of technology was the arrival of Google's new Street View service, introduced in Japan in August, which brought with it a range of reactions, some supportive but others highly critical. IT professional Osamu Higuchi (樋口理) at Higuchi.com wrote a post in his blog on August 7th titled “Letter to the people at Google”, in which he asks the company: “Could you please remove the residential roads of Japan's urban areas from Street View?” In one passage, he explained how the situation of residential streets in Japan differs from the situation in the West:

米国、特に西海岸に住んでいる人は自宅のプライベート空間とパブリックな空間の境目は、所有権的にも精神的にも公道と私有地の間にあると思います。というか、みなさんの感覚では公道に面した自分の庭のほうが公的な空間で、自分の庭をきれいにしていないとコミュニティの景観上よろしくないと思っていますよね？

In the United States, and particularly in the case of people living on the west coast, the boundary line between private space and public space, both in terms of actual ownership and in terms of the way people think, is in the boundary line between the public road and privately-held land. In fact, I think that you all will agree that your home's garden, which faces the street, actually feels itself more like a public space, and that not keeping your front yard tidy ruins the look of the community, right?

ところが日本の都市部生活者は逆で、家の前の生活道路、いわゆる路地のほうが感覚的には自分の生活空間の一部、庭先なのです。日本の都市部では、家の前の公道を掃いたり、打ち水をしたり、雪かきをしたりするのが居住者のつとめとされています。下町を歩いているとよくわかるけれど、家の前の路地に鉢植えとかちょっとした物置とかをはみ出して置いてあるのもその感覚の表れです。

For people living in urban areas in Japan, though, the situation is quite the opposite. The residential street in front of a house, the so-called “alleyway” (roji/路地), feels more like a part of one's own living space, like a part of the yard. In urban areas in Japan, sweeping the road in front of one's home, sprinkling water over it, shoveling snow off it, these are all considered to be the responsibility of the resident. Wandering around the older parts of the city, you'll see evidence of this way of thinking in the potted plants and little storage rooms crowded out [onto the street].

(For follow-up posts on the Street View debate, see GV's special coverage page.)

Society

On the topic of society, the Akihabara knife massacre on June 8th in Tokyo brought with it reflection on the changing nature of labour conditions in Japan and of the difficult situation faced by young people. While some wrote about the deeper social reality which led to the actions of killer Tomohiro Kato, others debated the changing nature of social media, and still others connected the killings to Toyota's Kanban (Just-in-Time) system.

Other social issues discussed in blogs include a series of scandals related to the use of cannabis, the revision of the nationality law, Japanese immigration to Brazil, and the future of the Japanese language.

In closing

On a brighter note, the coming of spring brought with it the fall of cherry blossoms, a few photos of which are included below.

Photo by Danny Choo CC-BY-NC-SA

Photo by sputnik CC-BY-NC-SA

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All Quiet in Guinea After Coup, Say Bloggers

Mialy Andriamananjara · 18:48 · Sub-Saharan Africa

lingua → fr · mg · es

Confusion reigned in Conakry following the passing of President Lansana Conte and an apparently successful coup led by Guinean General Moussa Dadis Camara.

Conte had ruled Guinea with an iron fist for a quarter of a century. His hold on power seemed to have weakened in recent years, during which he has lived largely a recluse, reportedly suffering from diabetes. (more…)

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Angola: On The Lack of Human Rights

Clara Onofre · 15:51 · Sub-Saharan Africa

lingua → pt · pl · es

In the mood for the month celebrations for Human Rights Day, Angolan bloggers have a lot to say. The country has not yet ceased to be mentioned in reports about violations to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Despite holding a seat at the Human Rights Council for three years (2007/2010), the truth is that local authorities fail to respect citizens' basic rights. There are several cases, ranging from sub-human prison conditions, arbitrary detention, and people forced from their homes without due compensation, to media censorship.

Eugénio Costa Almeida [pt] analyzes this dark panorama, mentioning a report released by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in which Angola is accused of not having produced reports on human rights for thirteen years.

“Surpresa? Talvez, para uns quantos que andam arredados da realidade angolana e agarrados ao facto de Angola ser, desde Maio passado, um dos países com assento no conselho de Direitos Humanos para o triénio 2007-2010. Fui um dos que aplaudiu esta entrada. Para mim como para outros seria uma maneira de Angola mostrar que, paulatinamente, os Direitos Humano scomeçavam a fazer sentido no País. Ou seja, a entrada de Angola seria “um passo no caminho certo” como chegaram duas associações cívicas angolanas a dizê-lo. (…) “Mas quando energúmenos ameaçam – e fora de portas – angolanos (jornalistas ou comentadores) perante familiares; quando políticos são espancados e mortos por fiscais do próprio partido por falta de pagamento de quotas partidárias; quando um governador provincial é acusado de esbofetear e agredir trabalhadores e autoridades dessa província de tentarem anular a cultura regional; quando o caso Miala parece ir parir um rato e, provavelmente, os acusados serem mandados para casa e sem terem tido a oportunidade de expor em Tribunal as suas razões evocando este que as ditas estavam fora do processo embora tudo mostrasse que não; quando jornalistas do semanário “Agora” foram ameaçados por indivíduos que se dizem autoridades, durante uma inspecção dos mesmos a um mercado, tudo acaba, infelizmente, por ser muito natural. E, segundo alguns defensores angolanos dos direitos humanos, a violação dos Direitos Humanos em Angola vai acontecendo “Apesar dos esforços do Governo, continuam as detenções arbitrárias, por parte da polícia nacional” e sem que as autoridades centrais autorizem ou deles tenha real conhecimento. Quanto a isto, lamento mas tenho sinceras dúvidas. Ou seja, há um certo “deixa andar” e uma estranha liberdade na actuação e interpretação do que é ser “autoridade” e como lidar com a “liberdade”, com a “igualdade” e com os “direitos humanos”. E quem fica a perder são tão-somente Angola e os angolanos. Mas são actos que acabam por ter repercussões no continente africano e no modo como somos olhados pelos Ocidentais.”

“Surprise? Perhaps to a few who walk sidelined with Angolan reality and clinging to the fact that Angola is, since last May, one of the countries with a seat on the board of Human Rights for the three years 2007-2010. I was one of those who applauded this. For me and others, it would be a way for Angola to show that, gradually, human rights have started to make sense in the country. That's to say, Angola's participation would be “a step in the right direction” as two Angolan civil associations have said. (…) “But when these madmen threaten - openly - Angolan people (journalists or commentators) in front of their family members, when politicians are beaten and killed by their own party's tax officers because of non-payment of party quotas, when a provincial governor is accused of slapping workers and the province's authorities of trying to override local culture, when the Miala case* laboured and brought forth a mouse, and probably the accused will be sent back home without having the opportunity to explain their reasons in Court, which argued that their pledges were outside the process although everything showed the contrary, when journalists of the weekly paper “Agora” were threatened by individuals who claimed to be authorities, during their investigation into a market, everything ends up being, unfortunately, very natural. And, according to some Angolan human rights defenders, the violation of human rights in Angola happens “despite government efforts, there are still arbitrary arrests by the national police” without the central authorities allowing or having in fact knowledge of them. Regarding this, I am sorry but I have sincere doubts. So, there is a certain “let go” and an odd liberty in the interpretation of what is being “authority” and how to deal with “freedom”, “equality” and “Human rights”. And the losers shall be only Angola and Angolans. But these are acts that ultimately have an impact on the African continent and how we are seen by the West. “

*In September the former director of Angola’s External Security Services, General Fernando Garcia Miala, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment by a military court for insubordination. He had failed to appear at a ceremony to demote him after he was dismissed from his post in 2006. Source Amnesty International Report 2008.

The lack of freedom of press in Angola led the blog of the political party FpD –Frente para a Democracia [Democracy Front, pt] to denounce cases of abuse, such as what has recently happened to a journalist imprisoned in Namibe province. A Radio Namibe reporter, Francisco Lopes, was taken for 30 days' corrective imprisonment for, at the time of publication, unknown reasons:

“O gabinete de comunicação da FpD tomou conhecimento por notícia publicada pelo Apostolado de mais uma nódoa para os direitos humanos em Angola. E amanhã é já dia 10 de Dezembro, dia internacional dos direitos humanos.
Até quando vamos aceitar todas estas violações de direitos humanos? Até quando vamos continuar a aceitar este “desgoverno” que continua a espalhar amargura pelo povo angolano? Não se silencie, reenvie esta notícia do Apostolado a todos os seus contactos. Vamos ajudar este nosso irmão a ter justiça”.

“The FpD's public relations cabinet has learnt the news published by the Apostolado [newspaper] of a further stain on human rights in Angola. And tomorrow it is December 10, the international day of human rights. How long will we accept all these violations of human rights? Up to when will we continue to accept this “misgovernance” that carries on spreading bitterness among the Angolan people? Do not go silent, forward the Apostolado's news to all your contacts. Let's help our brother get justice.”

Angola Xyami [pt] blog brings news about a report launched in the US regarding human rights in the world:

“O Departamento de Estado americano acaba de divulgar o seu relatório anual. Este ano, o Sudão, a Síria e o Uzbesquitão foram acrescentados à lista dos piores violadores dos direitos humanos. Daquela lista constam igualmente a Bielorússia, Birmânia, Cuba, Eritreia, Irão, Coreia do Norte e Zimbabué. Relativamente aos PALOPS – Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa, o Departamento de Estado destaca o facto do governo de Cabo Verde respeitar, regra geral, os direitos dos seus cidadãos. Refere, contudo, que continuam a verificar-se problemas nalgumas áreas tais como a violência policial sobre detidos, as precárias condições nas prisões cabo-verdianas, longos períodos de detenção pré-julgamento, violência e discriminação relativamente às mulheres e exploração do trabalho infantil. Já em Angola, o Departamento de Estado americano conclui, no seu relatório, que a situação dos direitos humanos continua a deixar muito a desejar registando-se sérios problemas durante o ano transacto. Entre os problemas: impedimentos no que se refere ao direito dos cidadãos angolanos de elegerem os seus representantes oficiais a todos os níveis, assassinatos levados a cabo pelas forças armadas, polícia e forças de segurança privadas, torturas, violações e péssimas condições prisionais.
O relatório destaca também a corrupção e impunidades cometidas por entidades oficiais, detenções arbitrárias e falta de independência do aparelho judicial angolano. Ainda em relação a Angola, o Departamento de Estado salienta as restrições às liberdades de expressão, de imprensa e de reunião assim como os despejos sem indemnização de residentes de bairros desfavorecidos”.

“The U.S. Department of State has just disclosed its annual report. This year, Sudan, Syria and Uzbekistan have been added to the list of the worst violators of human rights. That list also included Belarus, Burma, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe. Among the PALOPS - African Countries with Portuguese as the Official Language, the State Department stressed that the government of Cape Verde meets, in general, the rights of its citizens. It notes, however, that there are still problems in some areas such as police violence against detainees, precarious conditions in Cape Verdean prisons, long periods of pre-trial detention, violence and discrimination against women and exploitation of child labor. As for Angola, the U.S. Department of State concludes in this report that the field of human rights still leaves much to be desired and there were serious problems over the past year. Some of the problems: the abridgement of citizens' right to elect officials at all levels; unlawful killings by police, military, and private security forces; torture, rape and harsh prison conditions.
The report also highlights official corruption and impunity, arbitrary arrest and detention and lack of judicial independence. Also in relation to Angola, the State Department stressed restrictions on freedom of expression, press and assembly as well as evictions without compensation to residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods”

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Memories of Christmas in Cameroon

George Esunge Fominyen · 14:31 · Sub-Saharan Africa

lingua → es

A good many Cameroonians based abroad love to remember the special moments they spent back home during the Christmas holiday. Bamenda Babe blogging at My African Father is one of them. This budding writer makes an interesting piece of her memories:

I am missing a dry, dusty Cameroon and the holiday season over there. It was always a magical time for me. My siblings and I would torture ourselves with excitement the days leading up to Christmas. We would wake up bright and early that day just to make sure the gifts were there. We would count them quietly, long before the household stirred. We would construct a deep foundation of resentment for those who got the lion's share of presents. We would cry injustice, then crawl back into bed and wait for things to unfold. “Maybe Brother has more gifts than me but mine will be sweeter gifts than his.” There was church on Christmas morning. If we could avoid it, we did, but if Father said it was necessary, then we were (at best) reluctant churchgoers. But the shiny dresses and shoes–the crisp, new Christmas outfits people wore–were always a delight. And we wore ours, too, fresh from the Chinese bubble wrap or the Bamenda tailor's shop. Then the presents and the delicious food were kissed and adored with our eyes, fingers, and mouths.

Bamenda Babe was certainly touched by the singing from a group of kids caught on video by a VSO volunteer based in the town of Bamenda in her native Cameroon who blogs at Our Man in Cameroon. Below you can see the video that he posted on his blog:

In the comments section of that post, Our Man in Cameroon explains a bit more about the kids on the video:

….to clue you in the 2 kids on the right just turned up on that day, and the kid on the left isn’t around much - the rest of them are regulars at my door - where they knock and holler till the whiteman comes to play.

It’s beats a Christmas card anyway.

BB - the kid in the middle is Mimi - quite a little local superstar - despite having just turned 3 on the day I filmed this, she seems to be one of those kids that everyone loves.

I bumped into here, as I normally do, on my way to work this morning and she hugged me around the knees. She then waits till I walk 10 yards away and says bye, then another bye after another 10 yards - until she is hollering it into the distance.

I bought a load of tinsel for the VSO Xmas party so they’ve all had bits of it - that particular piece in the film was the last - they couldn’t decide which of them should keep it - so it was cut into 6 tiny pieces.

Have a good xmas everyone…

From another expatriate's blog in Mbingo, a village in the heart of Cameroon's North West Region, we get another point of view about the Cameroonian Christmas. Christine of Mbingo Was its Name writes about the celebration at the local hospital in which she works:

And yesterday was the party of all parties! It was a combined Christmas celebration / retirement for 9 hospital employees, including our hospital administrator, the fathers of two of our anaesthetists, and the expat physio Pat (here since 1973!). I went down to the kitchen at 7am to see how they could cook (over open fires) for 1000 people. People had been working since 5am, most of them as volunteers. My photos are all blurry because of the amount of smoke in the kitchen! One can only be impressed at what folks here pull off.

In Cameroon it is customary to have an after-party at the home of persons celebrating an event and Christine recounts how she stepped into dancing mood:

There was another great party going on there – huge amounts of food (the women had been up til 3am cooking), and the venacular church choir members were singing their hearts out, with assorted drums and shakers audible from half a mile away. Once again I was ushered inside to greet Pa, and have my coke – and when I went out, the dancing had begun. The singers were now dancing in a circle while the drummers were in the middle, and all the kids (some carrying infant siblings on their backs) were dancing in their own smaller circle in the middle. More and more people joined in, and finally one of the older expat women joined and pulled me in too. It was just so much fun – not much to it except moving your feet and going in a circle, but the atmosphere is what is delightful, just the sheer joy of being alive to recognize the goodness of God. These people really know how to celebrate, and we westerners can learn so much from them!

Back in November 2008, Meenosha of Pink Post was already giving some thought to Christmas. She revealed how she ended up not believing in Father Christmas anymore:

I was about 5 or so, and I just heard about news Mr. HoHo coming to our school. Can you imagine how I felt? I was beaming, like I was told God was coming or something. I remember the day before I didn't sleep. We all dressed up how we wanted, no uniform (I was a Hawaiian princess, with my yellow two-piece outfit and my pink flower stuck in my kinky hard-to-comb hair). We sang Christmas carols on the way to school, and eagerly waited for our hero to come….

So Santa Claus shows up in the classroom…

HE IS BLACK!

HE IS LANKY!

HE SWIMS IN HIS OUTFIT!

And last but not least: He doesn't say “HoHoHo”! He lazily says: “Bonjour les enfants”, and hands over a thin bag full of… candies! Who told him I wanted candies? I got enough of that from my mom! Didn't he get my request list? I wanted a Barbie Doll in a mansion, a princess dress, and a playhouse! My world crumbled down in a few seconds…

Speaking of shocks related to Santa Claus (Father Christmas in Africa) Jess in Buea, South West Region of Cameroon has this to say in her blog Jess does da ‘Roon:

Forgive the pun, but every Christmas in Africa’s a white one for me… just without snow. I just walked into the internet joint and next door they’re playing fantastic hits such as “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” and “I saw mommy kissing santa claus”. I’m shocked. Lately my neighbor’s been playing this famous Nigerian gospel singer and talking back to this CD she’s heard a gazillion times. The singer talks on the track, ranting about how people are “enemies of progress” and are jealous, and there’s some long spiel about her getting a pregnancy test… I don’t know. But anyway, my neighbor is sitting there sewing on her foot-pedal machine, just preaching back at the CD, “Hmm-mmm that’s right. Jealous fools. That jealousy will hold you down! Amen!” I’m glad that peaceful Christmas music might be replacing it soon…

While Jess is a US volunteer is living Christmas in Cameroon, Eric Tambe is a Cameroonian is re-visiting how the Day is celebrated in the US in his blog Infotambeblog:

The built up to the day itself is treated differently than say in Cameroon.In the US it is a day celebrated quietly at home with a few friends and family members.People spend money on Christmas trees,including decorating the tree.It is also a cold period in most of the US,so you would not see people dancing in the streets and children moving from one house to the other to visit with their neighbours as in the case in the African countries.People spend a lot of money buying gifts though for friends and family members.This is one period when you do not want to be broke.People will remember you for not providing them with a Christmas gift…

Merry Christmas to all then!

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Gaza/Sderot: Israel and Palestine together on video

Juliana Rincón Parra · 06:14 · Israel , Palestine

lingua → fr · bn · it · zht · zhs

The Gaza/Sderot: Life in Spite of Everything Project is one of the prime examples of the variety of ways a bridge between different cultures and world-views can be created through online media. In this project created by ARTE.tv, a French-German cultural television station, twelve people going on their day to day business on either side of a violent border were exposed on a website for ten week project which ended on December 23rd. The two minute videos documented snippets of the lives of 6 characters in Gaza, Palestine and 6 characters on the other side of the border in Sderot, Israel during two months.

One of the incredible advantages of online media is the interactivity: you can browse the 80 videos in a myriad of ways. You can view them according to chronological order, with a video from Palestine on the right, and a video from Israel on the left. You can also decide to follow the life of one specific character throughout the two month shoot and view the videos that way. You might also wish to pick videos from a map showing where each one was shot or you can select a topic, and see all the videos discussing the particular theme. You can select a language as well: the content is available in Arabic, Hebrew, English, French and German. The site always gives you the option to view what is going on at the same time at the other side of the border, providing the perfect opportunity for viewers to realize that life on either side of the border is far more similar than different: people still have hopes, dreams and concerns.

For example, Heba Safi who belongs to the Young Journalist Club in Gaza, and who speaks in different videos about her life and of those around her: healthcare, the lives of youth in Palestine, being a woman, friendships, shopping, sports and her career, and the hopes that the situation will improve. In this video, she speaks about being a woman and trying to build a career in journalism:

Daniele Mordechai tells viewers about life as a 16 year old girl in Sderot, balancing school with acting and surviving. In the following video, she plays “Red Alert” with children she is baby-sitting in the only sheltered playground in the world:

The different character's conclusions from Gaza can be seen on the following video:

And the conclusions from the people in Sderot can be seen here:

There are many other stories you can view told by students, musicians, house-wives, artists, fishermen, ambulance drivers, martial arts trainers, farmers, doctors, grocery store owners, hair-dresser and boxers: all in all, stories by people who share a deep felt desire for peace.

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Venezuela: Telling the Country's History Through Film

Laura Vidal · 02:46 · Americas

lingua → es · sr · it · zht · zhs

A group of young Venezuelan filmmakers have succeeded in illustrating some of the country's history or adapting famous pieces of literature (both international and national) through films that have been well-received by the general public. Many Venezuelan movies in the past are considered extremely violent, and the emergence of these new kinds of films are showing new expressions of creativity.

Four main examples of films from 2008, with thoughts from bloggers are:

Postales de Leningrado (Postcards from Leningrad)

Since illegal and bootlegged copies of movies are extremely popular in Venezuela, El Buho Negro [es] comments in this drawing (as if the owl were a bootlegger):

“I liked Postales de Leningrado so much that when anybody asks for it, I send them to the movies”

Miranda Regresa (Miranda Returns)

El Hijo de la Bohemia [es] says:

Quisiera encontrar un defecto para no hablar de obra perfecta, pero me temo que tendré que verla unas cuantas veces más para lograrlo. La realización es soberbia, conmovedora, arruga el corazón en muchas ocasiones y nos hace amar más a Venezuela. La música (que incluye pinceladas de nuestro “Gloria al Bravo Pueblo”) sin lugar a dudas motiva a ello, pero lo mejor de todo es que … ¡se escucha! ¿Dónde ha estado este Director de Sonido todo este tiempo?

I would like to find a fault so that I wouldn't talk about a perfect film, but I’m afraid I’ll have to watch it several times to do so. The filmmaking is superb, moving, touches the heart on many occasions and makes us love our country even more. The music (that includes brushstrokes of our national anthem) no doubt helps, but the best thing is… we can hear it! Where has the Sound Director been all this time?

Cyrano Fernández

Cyrano Fernández, an adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac was not as well-received as the previously mentioned films, but it certainly raised interest among the bloggers:

Ysabel, in her blog Ventana Actual [es] says:

Cyrano es también un héroe social; es un personaje que defiende la ética y la dignidad popular a toda costa, estrellándose una y otra vez contra la realidad de todos los días (…) actuaciones conmovedoras y plenas de realismo dan solidez a este filme que rompe esquemas dentro de nuestra cinematografía

Cyrano is also a social hero, a character that defends people’s ethics and dignity at all costs, crashing once and again against reality (…) moving performances, all of them full of realism, which gives strength to this film that represents an exception within our cinematography.

Juan, in Hoy Critico [es] makes severe comments from the technical point of view and adds some suggestions:

…me gustaria al menos solo una vez poder ver una pelicula donde el 80% de las palabras producidas no sean groserias y en las que no se trate siempre el tema del “malandreo”…

I’d like to see for once, a film in which the 80% of the words are not so dirty and in which the main theme is not about criminals and their ways…

Boves, el Urogallo (Boves, the Capercaillie)

Boves, el urogallo is another historical drama and an adaptation of the historical novel written by Francisco Herrera Luque, and a film of which the audience and the critics have been waiting.

Blogacine [es]an outstanding blog about Venezuelan films and filmmaking gives a very interesting argument on the literary piece and the character:

Pocos personajes condensan mejor las contradicciones y la tragedia de nuestras guerras de independencia como José Tomás Boves.

No hay acaso mejor manera de entender nuestra independencia que examinarla desde el punto de vista del antihéroe, del antagonista paradigmático que encarna la figura de Boves. Puede que sólo a través de su mirada, Bolívar adquiera una verdadera dimensión humana, alejado del acartonamiento dramático y narrativo al que su figura histórica parece condenada irremediablemente

Few historical characters can condense better the contradictions and tragedies of our wars of independence as José Tomás Boves.

There are no better ways to understand our Independence than to examine it from the point of view of the anti-hero, the paradigmatic antagonist that incarnates the figure of Boves. It is possible that just under his view, Bolívar can acquire a real human dimension, far from the dramatic and stiff figure to which he seems to be irreparably condemned.

And a very interesting argument on the industry itself:

…por un lado, nuestra producción contemporánea de ficción parece poca y, acaso (no me atrevería a asegurarlo) de poco atractivo. No obstante, por otro lado, tenemos una de las industrias más poderosas del mundo en la generación de ficción: la telenovela.

… on the one hand, our contemporary production in fiction seems very little and also (though I wouldn’t dare to confirm it) lacking of any appeal. However, on the other hand, we have one of the most powerful industries in the world in the fiction generation: the soap opera.

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