Finally watched Triangle of Sadness and I really enjoyed it! I found the debate about socialism/communism vs. capitalism a bit.... well, I'll keep those thoughts to myself for now, lol... But overall, well done film.
Excellent piece. If I may offer some cultural insight which you may or may not be aware of. Prefacing this by stating I haven’t seen Triangle of Sadness, so some of the narrative context will be lost on me.
Speaking as a Filipino and someone who knows the ins and outs of the domestic worker culture throughout both the country and wider Southeast Asia, I think Abigail as a character represents a lot of that inherent, taboo desire we have to see our capitalist oppressors face total retributive justice. We’re an extremely underrepresented community especially in Western media, often typecasted or neglected entirely. But more importantly, Filipino domestic workers (or OFWs) have been/and are subjected to severe abuse by their wealthy employers. We’ve got chips on our shoulders that we like to pretend aren’t there. And this wedge is driven deeper by the country remains deeply influenced by colonial ideal tied to Spanish, Japanese, and American occupation. The average Filipino, especially the average Filipina who flies overseas for domestic helper work lives paycheck-to-paycheck and thinks like a crab in a barrel. Most of us don’t shift beyond the remit of a hyper-capitalist, success-oriented, traditionalist mindset because we were simply never inculcated with that type of broader education.
This isn’t to say that the film’s messaging is valid or that the filmmakers crafted it with this historical lens. I find it more plausible that they simply went with obfuscation because it was an easier centrist message to peddle to the masses. I agree that the idea of human nature being inherently greedy and lacking in atavism is an incredibly Anglo-Saxon idea that most white creators take as a given. My point is more to say that, with a character like Abigail, she isn’t out of the realm of possibility. If anything, she is absolutely possible and perhaps even aspirational, frighteningly so, to a majority of Filipinos out there, owing back to a colonial stamp that has never ever been washed out.
Honestly, I love how original and fresh you are with the topics you choose to talk about. Great piece as always!
love these sorts of comments--feels like you're really reading and sitting with my work. thanks you very much!
Finally watched Triangle of Sadness and I really enjoyed it! I found the debate about socialism/communism vs. capitalism a bit.... well, I'll keep those thoughts to myself for now, lol... But overall, well done film.
Excellent piece. If I may offer some cultural insight which you may or may not be aware of. Prefacing this by stating I haven’t seen Triangle of Sadness, so some of the narrative context will be lost on me.
Speaking as a Filipino and someone who knows the ins and outs of the domestic worker culture throughout both the country and wider Southeast Asia, I think Abigail as a character represents a lot of that inherent, taboo desire we have to see our capitalist oppressors face total retributive justice. We’re an extremely underrepresented community especially in Western media, often typecasted or neglected entirely. But more importantly, Filipino domestic workers (or OFWs) have been/and are subjected to severe abuse by their wealthy employers. We’ve got chips on our shoulders that we like to pretend aren’t there. And this wedge is driven deeper by the country remains deeply influenced by colonial ideal tied to Spanish, Japanese, and American occupation. The average Filipino, especially the average Filipina who flies overseas for domestic helper work lives paycheck-to-paycheck and thinks like a crab in a barrel. Most of us don’t shift beyond the remit of a hyper-capitalist, success-oriented, traditionalist mindset because we were simply never inculcated with that type of broader education.
This isn’t to say that the film’s messaging is valid or that the filmmakers crafted it with this historical lens. I find it more plausible that they simply went with obfuscation because it was an easier centrist message to peddle to the masses. I agree that the idea of human nature being inherently greedy and lacking in atavism is an incredibly Anglo-Saxon idea that most white creators take as a given. My point is more to say that, with a character like Abigail, she isn’t out of the realm of possibility. If anything, she is absolutely possible and perhaps even aspirational, frighteningly so, to a majority of Filipinos out there, owing back to a colonial stamp that has never ever been washed out.