Letter from the Editor
Please excuse me if it sounds like I’m tooting our horn a little too loud, but to hell with it, it needs to be said: our generation may very well go down as one of the most creative and most talented.
Ever. It probably doesn’t help that I hold a deep-seated grudge against old people—perhaps a little unfairly—but I’m proud of the art and the magic the youth have created, and have yet to create.
The evidence for our awesomeness is staggering, no matter what National Geographic- esque articles about millennials and their impact of their insane, mind boggling, and unfathomable way of life on civilization will tell you. (They’re not enigmas—the rest of you just haven’t caught up with the way we do things ‘round here yet.) The blessing of improved consumer-level technology has made it infinitely easier and more accessible to express ourselves more than ever, whether it’s through putting out visuals on the internet, making music in your bedroom (and getting some international acclaim for it), or gathering people in droves to clean up the messes our seniors have made. We’re getting really good at this, and I daresay that the amount of things we’re able to make, all of this, are getting our elders thoroughly shookt.
And my most favorite crusty-old-people-were-shookt moment was, of course, when millennials made up a good chunk of the Marcos protests last November. Giving credit where it’s due by saying we were taught well by the previous generations that weren’t trying to twist the truth for whatever selfish reason they might have, but if anyone was afraid of where this country’s future was taking us, there’s no need to after #MarcosNotAHero. Sure, there are some wayward idiots who bafflingly fangirl over the hideous Sandreaux and goosestep for Duterte and Blengblong, but I believe they aren’t representative of the youth who are starting to become woke, one way or another.
My second favorite shookt-old-people moment was when our cover girl ( FINALLY, by the way, because this combo has been a year in the making; I kid you not) Nadine Lustre rattled the backwards-ass “moral sensibilities” of the MTRCB and ridiculously conservative Filipinos with boyfriend and Former Scout Cover Boy™ James Reid in their current starrer Till I Met You, all because their bodies kept telling them yes. They got as far as primetime Filipino TV would let them, and what’s the problem here? Was the show not art, was it not art that was truly representative of society today, was it not tastefully rendered? Is it because both of them don’t really look like they’re over the age of consent, on their best days? That their core audience, according to their network, are minor teens who apparently haven’t heard about the concept of sex? That young
people can’t have sex? Which is it? That’s all horseshit—sex is just as much a work of art, an expression of oneself, mostly to another person, and I love seeing them squirm under its sheer power. She said it in no certain terms, but I feel like Nadine seems tired of all this shackling; I can sense that there’s a freer soul underneath the mainstream sheen foisted on her by the powers that be, waiting to really blossom after doing everything they had to do as Philippine celebrities. Making and putting out art that’s a real, genuine product of their own soul, as all artists are meant to do.
It’s in this spirit of these moments that we’re celebrating all the fiery energy the new blood is bringing to the table. My only hope is that you walk away reading this issue inspired or, at the very least, hopeful that you’re part of a generation (if you are part of this generation) that’s got all the tools to really make some changes around here. And not the kind of change that comes about by killing former drug addicts, either.
I mean, shining the spotlight on the youth is exactly what Scout as a whole is all about, but we thought we’d begin this year by reminding you once again, despite all the obstacles in our way, how awesome it is to be young and to create in 2017. (The less said about 2016, the better.) Take it away, everyone.