Song Criticism

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Chapter I (Introduction and Analysis)

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Maryhill College, Inc. I.

Context of the literary pieces(author, time, place, place it was written or published)

Author: Aristotle Pollisco Time: October 26, 2013 Place: Philippines

II.

Summary of the piece/s “Magda”, a song written by Aristotle Pollisco also known as “Gloc 9”, is a heart-

wrenching narrative of pretty provincial lass, indeed, her father’s “princess”, who had every other lad’s heart besotted by her beauty. Aristotle took the role of ‘Ernesto’ who is Magda’s childhood friend. In the preview of the song, ‘Ernesto’ takes us back to their happy childhood years and recalls such times when they would sail their paper boats in the stream. Those carefree innocent years are cut short when ‘Magda’ meets a man from Manila who suddenly takes her away. “Magda” which short for Magdalena, is a social commentary on the sad turn of events for many of our young innocent girls deceived and led astray and trapped helplessly and hopelessly to becoming “ladies of the night” in the city. III.

Elements of the piece (setting, characters, and their type, etc.) Setting: House, Nightclub Characters: Magdalena & Ernesto (Protagonists) The guy from Manila (Antagonist) Theme: The girl who is trapped in a situation and wherein she has no choice Point of View: 1st person Conflict: Man vs. herself; Man vs. society Symbolism: Chain = trapped, no choice

IV.

Plot diagram analysis The song started to introduce Magdalena and her life of why she became

“the lady of the night”. She was just an innocent girl back then and a princess to her father. Ernesto, Magdalena’s childhood friend, shared the story or the memory of Magdalena then from

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Maryhill College, Inc. time passes. They are always with each other when they were just little making some paper boats and sailing those on a stream. He has feelings for Magdalena when they became teenagers but he refused to open it up to her. Those carefree innocent years are cut short when ‘Magda’ meets a man from Manila who suddenly takes her away. He tried to find Magdalena after several years of not seeing her around and not having any news from her because he really loves Magdalena. Suddenly, he found Magdalena in a place where she is working with a poster of her. When he entered that place where lights are playing on and off, he finally discovered the changes of Magdalena and that her job is dancing in a nightclub house wearing only a pair of shoes, in short, she is a prostitute. Magdalena came along with Ernesto wherein she treats him as his boyfriend and they took a taxi. They stop over at Sta. Mesa, wherein they had the greatest night of their lives. However, Ernesto woke up without Magdalena and the only thing he saw was a letter for him from Magdalena. Magdalena said that she was thankful for the night that they have and she explained everything about why she became a prostitute. She thought that she would find a true love when she left their barrio but she was all wrong. She was happy that Ernesto was the only guy who she kissed and that Ernesto found her however, she said that she is not worthy for him. Magdalena dreamt of Ernesto bringing her to the altar but her heart is full of sorrow, grief and anxiety. Ernesto cannot forget the last words of Magdalena on her letter saying, “Please, do not come back anymore. It is a great gift from God that I have met you.”

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Chapter II (The Critical Approaches)

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Maryhill College, Inc. The song “Magda” used the reader-response approach. It deals more with the process of creating meaning and experiencing a text or the feelings of the song as I listened and understood every word, every rhythm and its melody. At the beginning of the song, I already got the meaning and the flow of the song. The song defines or narrates a girl, Magda, who was an innocent girl at their childhood days and until when she grew up into a lady, she became the “lady of the night”. Then at the end, I finally understood why she became like that because her perspective was narrated on the song and it really got me the feeling of “sadness” because she has to do that to Ernesto, that she really have to leave him because as she said that Ernesto does not deserve a girl like her. Feminist approach is used in the song since it is concerned and talking about the role, position and influence of Magda in the song. Magda is the main character in the song and also Ernesto wherein Magda is the type of girl who was forced to get a job but not a decent one and her whole personality was being judged by a lot of people who does not know why she was forced to do that. This song is for those people who are judging prostitute women without knowing the whole story behind and asking why they did that instead of finding other decent jobs. Psychological Approach is used in the song wherein it viewed the lyrics as a revelation of its author’s mind or the writer’s mind and personality. The writer was aware of the feelings and experiences of the prostitute women in our society. It is somewhat like the writer knows someone who have also that kind of experience in the song that he wrote. He wanted to open up the listeners’ mind or the people who are judging every prostitute women without knowing the whole story of those innocent women who were just forced to do it just to sustain their lives and their families as well.

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Chapter III (The Criticism)

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Maryhill College, Inc. The chorus part which is, “Magdalena ano'ng problema Bakit 'di ka makawala sa kadena?At sa gabi gabi ikaw ay nasa selda na hanap buhay mo ngayon, Magdalena ano'ng problem, Alam naman natin na dati kang nena At sa iyong ama ikaw ay prinsesa Ano'ng nangyari sa'yo?” tells about the reader-response approach. When I first heard those lyrics, I already got the meaning of the song wherein my mind responded to the text that the song portrays about prostitution which is a social issue in our country today and wherein a lot of people are asking question of why girls like Magdalena chose to get a job like that instead of choosing a decent one. Also in these lines, “Ito'y kwento ng isang babaeng , Tulog sa umaga, gising sa gabi, Ang kanyang mukha'y puno ng kolorete, Sa lugar na ang ilaw ay patay sindi, Simulan na natin ang istorya” the reader-response approach is also present wherein Ernesto started to explain the story of Magdalena which gave me the reason to understand Magdalena of being the “lady of the night”. Then in these lines, “Nung iniwan ko ang baryo natin ang akala ko, Isang tunay na pag-ibig ang matatagpuan ko, Hinanap kung saan-saan at kung kani-kanino, 'Di ko inakalang ito ang kahahantungan ko, Imbis na ako'y sagipin itinulak sa bangin, Ito pala'ng ibig sabihin ng kapit sa patalim, Kung mabaho sabunin, kung makati gamutin, Kung hindi na masikmura ay ibaling ang tingin, Kahit ako ay bayaran at kaladkaring babaeng, Alam ang amoy ng laway ng iba't-ibang babae” wherein these are Magdalena’s point of view and wherein I felt sad and pity her because she have no other choice and in those lines I finally realized that if she did not take that job, the guy she met from Manila might do something not good to her and to her family. Feminist approach is also used in the chorus part which is “Magdalena ano'ng problema, Bakit 'di ka makawala sa kadena?.Ano'ng nangyari sa'yo?”, wherein the writer of the song is concerned about the status or the situation of Magdalena in the song. The writer was asking of what happened to her and that everyone, not just the writer himself, are influenced or affected by her situation because in the line “Ubod ng ganda noong siya ay nagdalaga” tells about that in her teenager days her beauty is being appreciated but then, she is being judged now because she became a prostitute. “Nakita ko'ng larawan niya na nakadikit sa pintuan, Iba man ang kulay ng buhok 'di ko malilimutan, Ang kanyang mata at tamis ng kanyang ngiti”, these are the lines that portrays about Ernesto still recognizes Magda in that poster even a lot of physical appearances have happened to her but it all changes until he saw Magda dancing on the stage wearing only a pair of heels. In that situation, the feminism of Magda has shocked Ernesto. Psychological Approach is stated in these lines, “Ako'y kanyang matalik na kaibigan, Ernesto ang aking pangalan, Kwentong dapat 'nyong malaman, 'Wag nang magbulag bulagan, Bakit ang nais natin ay malaman ang baho ng iba? Pagbibigyan kita, Kilala mo ba si Magda?. In these lines, it reveals the perspective of the writer wherein he wanted to

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Maryhill College, Inc. make it clear for everyone about the whole personality and the whole story of Magda. The writer was aware of the feelings, the experiences and situations of every women who are victims of being the ladies of the night.

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Chapter IV (Reflection)

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Maryhill College, Inc. I find real artistry in Gloc 9’s music and one can clearly feel the vibe of his tunes. And with the kind of melodies we have today where sex as a usual theme is dominating almost every musical genre, this one is far better. Magda shares her life story as narrated by his childhood friend Ernesto. Her story reflects the life of Filipino women who lived their lives as sex workers and dancers in night clubs which is a moral issue that has long been sought to be resolved. It is only due to circumstance and poverty which tends to push these women to do so. Based on my understanding, the song not only reflects our women just like the Feminist Approach that was used in the song but also our relationship with our country which deals with the Psychological Approach that was also used in the song wherein the writer of the song reveals what he wanted to happen and what he want to ask the society the same thing, to understand those prostitute and do not call them as “dirt” in our society. Ernesto represents us the people while Magda symbolizes our nation. While as young people we learn to love and care for our country as time goes by, other nations will do their best to woe us in giving them our most precious resources, be it our natural resources or even human resources only to be exploited in the end. This kind of music is what makes it more than just a simple tune for everyone to groove on. This kind of music reflects what we are. It also tends to challenge us to strive to make our country a better place to live in. “Magda” reminds us that there are many difficult stories to tell, and very few who dare tell it the way Gloc-9 and Rico Blanco do. This song reminds us that there are no judgements, as there are questions and there is no right and wrong, as there is need, love and understanding, but if not, hope is needed to help them out and fix this kind of issue.

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Chapter V (References)

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Maryhill College, Inc. https://thestorybehind2017.wordpress.com/the-story-behind-magdalena-2/ http://www.pinoygigs.com/blog/entertainment/magda-more-than-just-a-song-its-a-life-story/ https://thestorybehind2017.wordpress.com/the-story-behind-magdalena-2/