Behind the Filipino Thriller Prison Video
Posted by John Brownlee
You might remember the clip we posted a while back of the 1500 prisoners of Philippines’ Cebu prison rehearsing their version of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” Or, at least, you should… it was only one of the best things we ever posted, inspiring an entire horde of nut-brown Filipino Internet enthusiasts to descend upon Ectomo and regale us with pidgin praise.
But it was worth attention: not only was it awesome, it was an excellent example of how prisoners can be rehabilitate through ebullient fun.
I have to plot this next sentence carefully, because I can still scarcely believe it: racist, Jew-hating, terrorist-supporting television network Al Jazeera, of all people, have filed an excellent report on the Cebu Prison’s Dance Program. It’s unbelievable: if not for the call sign, you’d never guess that this wasn’t done for CNN. A truly excellent look at the progressive genius of some of Cebu Prison’s rehabilitation officers.
Behind the Philippine ‘Thriller’ video - 29 July 07 [YouTube]
Categories: Transvestites, Horror, Clips, Dance
Posted at 1:55 pm on July 31, 2007
15 Comments -
‘Nut-brown’ Filipinos? ‘Pidgin’ praise?
I loved TOM and Ectomo to death but could you please cut the condescending, almost bigoted language?
Would this, a close approximate, be acceptable?
‘These night-black Africans offering their jive-talking praise…’
Not cool, Ectomo.
Comment by C'mon. — July 31, 2007 @ 3:06 pm
“…racist, Jew-hating, terrorist-supporting television network Al Jazeera…”
This is a joke, right? I honestly can’t tell, but I really hope so.
Comment by Xander — July 31, 2007 @ 3:10 pm
I fear your comments regarding Al Jazeera have alienated those who don’t subscribe to the politically-correct interpretation of Middle East history. I’m sorry to learn of this bias built into what’s presented here. Adios!
Comment by Joseph A. Haran, Jr. — July 31, 2007 @ 3:27 pm
“‘Nut-brown’ Filipinos? ‘Pidgin’ praise?
I loved TOM and Ectomo to death but could you please cut the condescending, almost bigoted language?
Would this, a close approximate, be acceptable?
‘These night-black Africans offering their jive-talking praise…’”
Yes, it absolutely would be, at least for me, providing you were talking about dark-skinned Africans who were talking jive.
Look, I’m sorry if you find describing someone’s skin color de facto racist or patronizing. But I don’t: we like describing things here at Ectomo. We often waste words on describing things everyone already knows, because we like playing with language. This is no different. And it’s absurd that I won’t get a single comment when I post a photograph and talk about someone being lily-white or translucent skinned, but when I affectionately describe a bunch of Filipinos whom I obviously have nothing but respect and fondness for as being a beautiful nut brown, insinuations of racism abound.
As for the pidgin, feel free to check the comments to that 1500 Filipino Thriller post. A good deal of the comments are in enthusiastic pidgin.
As for my opinion of Al Jazeera, Xander, yours may very well differ, and that’s okay. For me, the best that can be said about Al Jazeera is that it’s the least of all media evils in the Middle East. They deserve some respect for providing an alternative in an area with nothing but state-censored media, but that doesn’t mean they deserve my complete adoration or sympathy.
Comment by John Brownlee — July 31, 2007 @ 3:48 pm
Fair enough. I’m not about to sing their praises.
I will say that, contrary to popular Western belief, they are not a mouthpiece for extremists, and they’ve never aired beheadings or executions.
I started reading them during the Israeli-Lebanese War last year, and found their coverage of Israel-related matters to be careful and balanced.
Comment by Xander — July 31, 2007 @ 3:57 pm
Xander, just to make up: I still think Fox News is worse. :)
But if you found their coverage of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict fair, I think that’s a pretty big endorsement. I might be inclined to try to follow them more regularly. I would really welcome a balanced media presence in the Middle East.
Comment by John Brownlee — July 31, 2007 @ 4:07 pm
Getting back to the meat of the post, I would like to point out that there is no tshirt of a Thriller-dancing Filipino inmate as of this moment.
I demand that it should be produced in honor of a truly awesome youtubing experience.
Comment by TQ — July 31, 2007 @ 4:12 pm
John: Sure, give them a shot and see what you think. They’re certainly a lot better than the US-funded Al Hura (which I think translates to ‘Fox News for Arabs’).
TQ: Get thee hence to CafePress and make a fortune?
Comment by Xander — July 31, 2007 @ 4:22 pm
And please, don’t bandy about terms like “Jew-hating” and “terrorist-supporting” without a little more to back it up! It makes you sound like certain (read: all) people at Fox News. There’s a big difference between giving the organization “adoration and sympathy” and calling them hatemongers.
From what I’ve read about the station and seen in terms of coverage, while they’ve certainly got a bias, they’re a positive force in the region. Heck, they’re criticized and demonized by Al Qaeda as much as by the American, Israeli, Iranian, and Saudi governments. Got to be doing something right.
I’d like to see the new English-language station they’ve started.
Comment by Angry Sam — July 31, 2007 @ 10:18 pm
Check out the documentary “Control Room” for an interesting exploration of Al Jazeera and (the early days of) the Iraq war.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0391024/
Not glowing praise of Al Jazeera, but given how bad a job every media outlet did then… Plus, it’s an excellent documentary in its own right.
Comment by JD — July 31, 2007 @ 11:35 pm
Al Jazeera is one of the only 24 hour news networks with a spine these days. IMHO, as good as the BBC in demanding real answers from the politicians in its respective region.
Comment by whitebrice — August 1, 2007 @ 12:23 am
“And please, don’t bandy about terms like “Jew-hating” and “terrorist-supporting” without a little more to back it up! It makes you sound like certain (read: all) people at Fox News.”
Oh, gimme a break. Are you REALLY trying to thump me on the head for bandying about unsupported criticisms of one television network with your own sweeping generalization about another? You know, at least I didn’t say that “EVERYONE at Al-Jazeera is a racist Jew-hater.”
Comment by John Brownlee — August 1, 2007 @ 2:22 am
Could’ve been a touch of irony.
Comment by Angry Sam — August 2, 2007 @ 1:20 am
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Trackback by Free — August 23, 2007 @ 1:15 pm
A touch or irony, I’d say he was using a large shovel.
Comment by Prison Lookup — February 15, 2008 @ 5:21 pm