What's in a Panti?

While The Panti Sisters may seem like a simple movie, it is filled with a number of ideologies. Tara mga baks, join me and let’s look into the depths of the panti.

 

I. PATRIARCHY in the Philippine setting = OPPRESSION of other genders (Females & LGBTQ+)

1. Don Emilio is portrayed as a rich, powerful, machismo character (controlling behavior, dictates to everyone that he is RIGHT, having an anak sa labas)

2. The fact that Don Emilio is called as Don Emilio even by his own wife and children denotes superiority, formality, lack of filial connection. He was NEVER a husband and father to his family. Sa ending when he told his children to call him papa was the turning point of his character.

3. Don Emilio’s wife as a weak, dependent woman whose concerns revolve around only beauty and material things (retoke and sossy image). However, her character metamorphosed when she decided to leave Don Emilio in the latter part of the movie. While it may be just a simple act of leaving the man who controlled her life as well as the wealth she had for many years, it means so much to be someone strong enough to leave everything behind in exchange for freedom, inner peace and dignity ---things that we should value more than any man or money, ladies!

4. That “Ang unang makapagbibigay sa’kin ng apo, sa kanya mapupunta ang buong 3M na mana” challenge of Don Emilio to his children limits the position and role of females in the society.

Gabbi asks Don Emilio, “Ano ba akala mo sa mga babae, paanakan?”

Also, Chiqui’s line “Samuel, inanakan mo ba ako dahil kailangan mo ako o kailangan mo ako dahil inanakan mo ako?”

Also, Gabbi’s “That unhatched offspring is not a product of love but of need!” asks us to re-evaluate our Filipino family values. I’ve heard many parents say “Anak, mag-asawa ka na, nasa edad ka na, bigyan mo na ako ng apo” na para bang ASAP maka-demand ng apo. Child-rearing is not an easy task. Child-rearing may not be for everyone. Child-rearing may not be a priority NOW. More importantly, may CHOICE po ang mga anak natin.

II. THIRST FOR LOVE and ACCEPTANCE

The three sisters may have differences but one thing that binds them together is their thirst for love, and acceptance from people around them, starting from their own father. Samuel even questions his position on Earth as he asks,

 “Kasi turo ng simbahan, ginawa ng Diyos sina Adan at Eba. Kung ganoon, nasaan ako doon?” - Samuel

Acceptance, equality and love can be understood even without catechism. GOD’s LOVE is for ALL of US. You may not like gays, but such dislike is never a reason for you para pandirihan, bastusin, o saktan sila. Hindi naman din ibig sabihin na straight people lang ang mag-aadjust. Of course, gays do their part in the give-and-take process. We can live harmoniously naman as long as nasa lugar lahat.  Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Hay, people.                              

“May langit ba para sa mga beking katulad natin?” - Gabriel

This question is really heart-tugging. Ramdam mo na they have been treated as outcasts by others to the point that they’re even asking if heaven is possible for them too.

“Hindi mo talaga kailangang maging kadugo para maging magkapamilya.” - Gabriel

Need I explain further?

III. GAY STEREOTYPES

A. Gays as works of evil

“Gawa ng demonyo ang bakla. Labanan mo ‘yan, Gabriel. Kung hindi mo iyan lalabanan, palalayasin kita.” - Don Emilio

Ano ba ang gawa ng demonyo? Ang mga bakla o ang mga taong kung mag-isip ay tulad ni Don Emilio?

*Spoiler Alert: That’s why Daniel HAD to die in the film. Otherwise, hindi magigising sa katotohanan si Don Emilio. Ganito naman kasi tayo di ba : WE REFUSE to open our eyes to things that are OPPOSITE our OWN VIEWS until it’s too late.

As always, ang pagsisi ay nasa huli. Huli man, nagsisi pa rin naman. Yun nga lang, hindi na maitatama o maibabalik oa ng ating pagsisi ang nakaraan. Bakit kasi loading talaga tayong mga tao sa mga ganitong mga bagay-bagay; and why do WE tend to complicate things though nothing is really complicated?

B. Common gay experiences

The movie presented cliché situations (e.g. closeted gays, magka-come out sa pamilya tapos papalayasin, etc.). As an audience baka nakulangan kayo or walang bago compared sa mga past Filipino gay movies na napanood niyo na but usually, gano’n talaga nangyayari. Pero hindi ibig sabihin na same experience for all. Maybe the film, in presenting such clichés, all the more wants us to realize that there is still the experience of stereotyping, which God-knows-when-it’ll-end. Siguro, kaya walang masyadong bago sa mga kwento ng mga bakla sa pelikula kasi in reality, we choose not to see the other sides of being gay. Kung anong nakasanayan natin na ideya ng isang Pilipinong bakla, ‘yun na ‘yun. The way they look (cross-dressers, drag queens), talk and in the words of Don Emilio, gagano’n-gano’n [referring to how gays usually move around] portrayed in the film are the concepts of gays that have been commonly exhibited by Philippine media over the years which, have shaped in some viewers, their stereotypes of 

gays.

IV. What’s new in Panti Sisters?

Although clichéd-themed, ‘di ba literature naman is entails seeing something old with a new perspective. In the Panti Sisters, the whole cast made the entire story-telling fresh, the lines were witty and sensible, the batuhan ng linya and alaskahan that are a must in PH gay-themed movies were different from the usual. What’s more, this was the type of a PH gay-themed movie na hindi OA, cringey, and one that would make the viewer experience a genuine roller coaster of emotions! May mga modern concepts din that were introduced [na for sure ay napa-Google kayo] like:

1. demisexual (Daniel made the effort of explaining this to her parents, but really, it’s not easy to explain this kaya  ‘Chicksilog. Chicks na may itlog’ na lang! Demisexual is just one of the manygenders we have now)

2. Sexual role play (Babala: this depends on the preference of sexual partners and their ability to be creative and to pull off dialogues whether scripted or impromptu. If di n’yo keri, try niyo na lang the hundred ways of Kama Sutra)

3. the use of the pronoun she in the English subtitles (language should not be gender-inclusive)

At syempre, ang napaka-winner na linyahang ---

What is beauty if the panty is dirty?

 

Uyyyy… Sabay tingin sa panty niya! 

** curious as to what would be in store for viewers in the sequel The Panti Sisters: The Hidden Panti [although I have the feeling it would be about their lives after they were banished from the Panti household].