#manilaencounters: Filipino Folklore With A Touch Of Modern Pinoy Wit

 

#manilaencounters: Filipino Folklore With A Touch Of Modern Pinoy Wit  

By Miguel Alfonso R. Racelis 

From: Trese by Netflix

It was in the year 2019 when the hashtag #manilaencounters made the rounds on social media. Anyone who was active on their Twitter or their Facebook accounts around that time probably wouldn’t have missed the countless tweets and posts containing the hashtag, most of which were super-short stories (microfiction, to be exact) about fictional supernatural occurrences in the wider area of Metro Manila. These stories were a stroke of genius, to say the least. It brought out the creative wit of Filipinos in writing. What makes it all the more impressive as well is that they were able to tie in classic Filipino folk legends into a modern metropolitan setting in Manila, something very similar to the premise of popular graphic novel and animated show, Trese. While this is a trope that we’ve already seen being used in media in other countries, seeing these mythical stories which originated from usually rural settings become a form of popular literature and told in an urban setting is truly awe-inspiring. This trendy microfiction has the potential to become world literature, and that’s what we’re gonna talk about in this blog. 

Popular Literature and World Literature: What’s The Difference?  

#manilaencounters as Popular Literature 

Before we delve into why #manilaencounters has the potential to be world literature, let us first  briefly define popular literature and world literature. Popular literature is simply literature that was written with the majority of the public as the intended readers. Popular literature is usually written to entertain, and mostly contains themes that are relatable to the general public, thus making it relatively easy to consume. It is fair to say that the microfictional #manilaencounters falls under this description.

There is no denying that #manilaencounters is something that was made by people from the masses, and can be consumed by the masses as well. We can see this from tweets such as the one in the photo above. Most of the stuff that was written under the trend are derived from experiences and traditions that are common amongst the majority of Filipinos. For instance, the tradition of pagpag has been around for decades. They did an exemplary job in Incorporating this superstition into the modern-day practice of going to 7-11 as a meeting or waiting place and spinning these two elements into a short, yet thrilling story about the spirits of the dead.

#manilaencounters as World Literature 

Literary works that are considered as being worthy of the label ‘world literature’ usually focus on quality, very elevated themes and is usually transcendent above nationality or culture, meaning it is something that can be shared and consumed by everyone in the world regardless of what nation, race, or creed they belong to. So how is #manilaencounters a potential for world literature? Let’s answer that question by looking at a few examples: 

Fans of the popular animated show Trese would probably be able to associate these two tweets above with particular scenes from the animated show. The first tweet describes a creature akin to the nuno, a mythical creature known to dwell underground that also makes an appearance in Trese. The second tweet, meanwhile, is similar to the MRT used as the train to the underworld in Trese.  

As we can see, #manilaencounters shares a lot of its inspiration with Trese, a piece of literature that has gotten worldwide attention, and has been worked into an adaptation by Netflix. Both pieces of literature draws from a rich mythological background that is endemic to Filipino culture. It is arguable that Trese has become a world literature, thanks to it starting out as a national form of literature, and then receiving global attention. It being adapted into animation to be consumed by viewers across the globe further reinforces this claim as well. #manilaencounters possessing many of the same characteristics that Trese had in terms of the rich mythological background and the urban setting suggests that #manilaencounters has the same potential as Trese did. 

In addition to the true albeit still shallow evidence mentioned above, #manilaencounters also has the potential to become world literature because while it is set in a cultural context that may seem foreign to most people from other countries, it is still relatable and engaging enough to be able to pique the interest of people from across the globe. How then can #manilaencounters ‘transcend’ cultural and language barriers? This can happen through the following: (1) #manilaencounters presents a fresh perspective into how we write and consume literature based on Filipino mythology. This practice has long been done in western media, where writers incorporate aspects of classic mythology and legends into a modernistic and more relatable setting, the most prominent example being Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series. Since this practice has already seen success in the global stage, then it is likely for #manilaencounters to succeed in this as well. (2) #manilaencounters is a rare social media phenomenon. This is because through the trend, the creative imagination and writing skills that Filipinos possessed were showcased in large proportions on social media. There is the possibility of it becoming world literature if the trend carries over into other countries as well, inspiring people all across the world to create microfiction while inspired by their respective cultures and native mythologies.