By Nickky Faustine P. de Guzman
While the perpetual crusade of the marketing industry is “truth in advertising,” a key criticism of marketers, advertisers, and public relations (PR) practitioners is that they are propagandists and panderers. “Spin doctors,” they are often called.
LET’S FACE IT, the “rose gold” iPhone 6 is pink.
We all know it. It doesn’t even seem as if Apple tried very hard to replicate the salmony glint of a rose-gold piece of jewelry. It went all in with pink.
PARIS — Derived from a herb used to treat fevers some 1,700 years ago, the anti-malaria drug artemisinin is one of many treatments plucked from the treasure chest of ancient Chinese medicine and repackaged for a modern age.
NEW YORK — In the century since Scottish author J.M. Barrie created Peter Pan for a stage play then a book, the Neverland universe has inspired movies, books, TV shows, plays, videogames and even a pop psychology syndrome describing emotionally immature men.
For the latest iteration of the classic story involving Tinkerbell, Captain Hook and the Darlings, the focus is on the origins of the boy who famously wouldn’t grow up.
Warner Bros’ Pan is a live-action 3-D feature aimed at children that imagines the beginnings of Peter’s story: how he got to Neverland and learned to fly.
“I think Peter Pan has taken on a life of its own in the same way that Sherlock Holmes has,” said director Joe Wright, referring to Arthur Conan Doyle’s crime-solving British literary phenomenon.
“Peter has incredible courage and fun and so I think that reminds us of childhood in an honest and beautiful way. It’s no surprise that Barrie was writing at the same time as Freud. His story is somehow deeply psychologically accurate and acute,” Wright said.
For Wright, the appeal of Peter Pan had little to do with a reluctance to grow up — a complex embodied by the late singer Michael Jackson and his Neverland ranch in California with its carousel, animals and Peter Pan references.
“I always wanted to grow up. I hated childhood. I found it a really difficult period of life. I was bullied and I was quite scared a lot of the time. So Peter Pan offered an escape from all of that,” he said.
The theme of Pan is of a boy with a powerful imagination who is looking for the mother who abandoned him at birth just before World War II. He discovers his identity and confidence along the way.
Newcomer Levi Miller stars as young Peter, with Hugh Jackman as wicked pirate Blackbeard, Garrett Hedlund as (at this stage) friendly James Hook and Rooney Mara as a controversially white warrior princess Tiger Lily.
Underneath the video-game inspired pirate battles, multi-colored tree villagers and cavernous pixie dust mines, Wright says he wanted make a movie that “reconnected and validated the 11-year-old boy in myself.”
“I wanted to make a film from the point of view of a kid who saw the world as a fabulous extraordinary place, full of magic and wonder, without cynicism or irony.” — Reuters
The Binge
By Jessica Zafra
FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD Kimmy is abducted in front of her house by a cult leader.
By Maya M. Padillo
DAVAO CITY — The Department of Health’s (DoH) Davao Region office is spending P2 million to set up a system for collecting complete, accurate, and timely information on health matters that will be used for drafting appropriate policies and programs.
AFTER SEVERAL YEARS not in the Philippines, LUX (one of Unilever’s personal care brands) has returned to the local market with the introduction of its new “Perfumed Bath Collection” featuring body washes and bar soaps, and sans the hair care items.
IN A HOSPITAL in Trece Martires City, Cavite, dengue patients had to be admitted and confined to hospital rooms not sufficiently equipped to deal with the sudden rise in the number of dengue cases and influx of patients.
In Cavite Province alone, the big leap in dengue incidence prompted the Philippine Red Cross to set up an Emergency Field Hospital to accommodate more dengue patients.
With dengue hogging the headlines, Malacañang assured the country on Oct. 4 that the Department of Health (DoH) is closely monitoring dengue incidence in the country, and that the department is on top of the situation.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said the health department has been providing medical services to the provinces, cities, and other areas where there are reports of dengue cases.
While noting that the number of dengue cases has risen in several regions, Mr. Coloma said its incidence has “declined” in other regions as well.
He cited Mimaropa where the number of dengue cases dropped from 1,646 to 1,346; Bicol (from 993 to 868); Western Visayas (from 5,718 to 3,756); Central Visayas (3,481 to 3,326); Eastern Visayas (4,508 to 737); Zamboanga Peninsula (4,743 to 3,981); Northern Mindanao (6,298 to 5,795); the Davao region (5,849 to 2,619); Soccsksargen (5,302 to 5,109); and Caraga (6,946 to 2,598).
The coming season of drought due to El Niño may possibly contribute to an increase in the number of dengue cases. The long hours of water interruption will force household to stockpile water in containers where mosquitoes can breed. These water containers must be covered or properly sealed to prevent them from being used as breeding grounds.
According the January-August 2015 DoH Epidemiology Bureau estimates, 55,079 people were suspected of having been infected with dengue after showing some of its symptoms like high fever, muscle pain, and skin rashes. The figure 55,079 represented a 9.15% increase compared to the same period last year, pegged at 50,492.
The DoH has observed that most of the cases were from Calabarzon, Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Northern Mindanao, and Cagayan Valley.
As for the availability of a dengue vaccine in the country, the DoH said the “new vaccine against the dengue virus” is being registered and undergoing strict safety processing at the Food and Drug Administration offices. The DoH said is targeting to launch pilot testing of the vaccine in select areas some time next year.
Since there are no officially approved or prescribed dengue vaccines yet for public consumption, and, at the same time there, no specific medications to treat a dengue infection, prevention is still the No. 1 and the most important step to deal with dengue.
Essentially prevention is avoiding mosquito bites, if possible.
Top among the best ways to eradicate mosquitoes is to eliminate or destroy the places where mosquitoes lay their eggs. Among these breeding grounds are artificial containers that hold water in and around the home. Mosquitoes also breed in clean water containers like pet and animal watering containers, flower vases, and water storage barrels. Water in flower vases must be replaced or changed at least once a week.
Adult dengue-causing mosquitoes prefer to bite both inside and outside residential areas, during the day and at night time, even when the lights are switched on.
It is advisable to use a mosquito repellent on skin surfaces to prevent mosquito bites. If possible and comfortable, wear long sleeved shirts and long pants for further protection. The use of window and door screens, without holes, help in preventing mosquito bites.
If a member of the household is already infected with dengue, take extra precautions to prevent mosquitoes from biting the patient as they may eventually bite other members of the household, infecting them too.
A mosquito-borne flavivirus disease, dengue has spread to most tropical countries, such as the Philippines, and many subtropical areas. The disease is caused by four closely related viruses, the Dengue viruses 1-4.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization is currently reviewing evidence and will advise the WHO on any recommended use of a licensed dengue vaccine. A meeting has been scheduled on April 2016.
Key considerations include vaccine safety, vaccine efficacy, disease burden, programmatic suitability, including dose scheduling, and cost-effectiveness.
Log on to www.phap.org.ph and www.phapcares.org.ph. E-mail the author at reiner.gloor@gmail.com.
Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
AS ONE of the world’s most recognized shapes turns a century old this year, The Coca-Cola Company (Coca-Cola) decided to launch a 15-country tour showcasing the art that is, and was inspired by, the Coke bottle.
NEW YORK — Tiger Lily may not be played by a Native American actress in a new movie version of the Peter Pan story, but her tough, all-action character is an inspiration to girls, the movie’s director said.
Joe Wright’s controversial decision last year to cast white actress Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily in his live action Pan prompted a petition to movie studio Warner Bros. that has collected some 94,000 signatures.
Wright said the defining image of Tiger Lily as a Native American came largely through the 1953 animated Walt Disney version of Peter Pan.
Scottish writer J.M. Barrie’s century-old play and novel refers to Tiger Lily and her tribe as “pickaninny” warriors — a non-specific but racist term usually used to describe people with dark skin.
Wright’s movie Pan, a prequel to the Peter Pan tale that will be released next month, depicts Tiger Lily as a warrior princess and gives her more authority and fight scenes than any of the men in the film.
“I was particularly keen to make sure Tiger Lily wasn’t a damsel in distress,” Wright told Reuters on Thursday. “Tiger Lily is the bad-ass warrior who is far more pro-active physically in defeating (evil pirate) Blackbeard than any of the boys. She has all the action sequences.”
“When little girls come out of seeing the movie, their favorite character always is Tiger Lily. When asked why, they say ‘because she can do anything.’ I think she is quite an empowering character for little girls and that to me is really gratifying,” Wright said.
Wright said Mara was chosen because she has “a regal quality and also she’s a little bit frightening — you really wouldn’t mess with Rooney.”
Wright cast dozens of black, Indian, Korean and other nationalities to make up Tiger Lily’s tribe in Neverland. “I liked the idea they were indigenous people who were fighting against the colonialist rule of Blackbeard,” he said.
“I can understand how it appears from an outside perspective,” Wright said of the upset over Mara’s casting. “But when people see the film, they get it.” — Reuters
