Magisa

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Play, download and edit the free video Magisa.

Magisa – meaning “by himself” or “alone” in Tagalog - explores the topic of marginalization and how it ultimately isolates people – with specific reference to the marginalization of Asian people especially during the social distancing period of 2020 due to COVID-19.
Generally speaking, there is nothing standoffish or unique about the character presented. He is a simple man doing honest work and is otherwise non-threatening to anyone in the community. After he accidentally trips, he notices the others playing in the distance, he simply becomes curious and wants to join in the fun, unaware of why there would ever be an issue with something like that. The visual difference presented is something abundantly obvious – much in the same way that race is generally obvious when meeting people. Due to his difference, there is a barrier created by the other two and they ultimately run away from him for this reason. This emphasizes the ways in which some people stereotype anyone that does not assimilate to the way they are and even go as far as to reject or marginalize ‘different people’ – which ultimately leads to the isolation of people who cannot change certain things about themselves (such as race). There are no explicit faces used because this is not something that happens on a person-by-person basis – rather this acts as a commentary on how people are generalized and grouped then treated a certain way because of it.
In the end, there is a moment of discovery that gives viewers the insight that the man is of Asian descent – through the explicit depiction of an average bedroom in one of the less economically affluent regions of Santor, Bongabon, Nueva Ecija, Philippines – where my maternal relatives live. There were subtle hints scattered throughout the piece, which all becomes clear in the end: the man was fully covered – as he planted rice in a rice paddy – to not get burnt, he wore a coned straw hat which is common in southeast Asia, he wore red and blue clothes to represent the red and blue on the Philippine flag, outside his window there is a small palm tree – which is not uncommon in tropical areas such as the Philippines. His room also has common items in reference to his Philippine identity: many pictures to show familial-centric ideals, a thin mat to cover the floor for sleeping, a Nigo which is used to separate hull from the rice grains, the 81 grains of rice within the Nigo which represents the 81 provinces of the Philippines, an Arinola (chamberpot) which is relatively common within Philippine bedrooms at night, and the most abundant depiction – the flag above his bed which directly shows his racial origin.
There is generally some natural, ambient sound throughout the piece, except for the final scene where the character is alone in his room. This silence is used to further emphasize the sense of isolation and distance from the world – as you can even see the two others continuing to play off in the distance.
Ultimately, the goal was to make this piece non-explicit as to why the character was being avoided, only to uncover that this was happening solely because he is Asian. My hope was to raise awareness to the existence of racial marginalization and, if nothing else, rhetorically pose the question: why was he rejected in the first place on the basis of nothing but preconceived notions?

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