Dan Brown calls Manila 'gates of hell' in novel

[CVT]

Am now in Chapter 79 and this is where they mentioned Manila (and the Philippines)....

Through her acts of public service, Sienna came in contact with several members of a
local humanitarian group. When they invited her to join them on a monthlong trip to the
Philippines, she jumped at the chance.

Sienna imagined they were going to feed poor fishermen or farmers in the countryside,
which she had read was a wonderland of geological beauty, with vibrant seabeds and
dazzling plains. And so when the group settled in among the throngs in the city of Manila
—the most densely populated city on earth—Sienna could only gape in horror. She had
never seen poverty on this scale.

How can one person possibly make a difference?
For every one person Sienna fed, there were hundreds more who gazed at her with
desolate eyes. Manila had six-hour traffic jams, suffocating pollution, and a horrifying ***
trade, whose workers consisted primarily of young children, many of whom had been sold
to pimps by parents who took solace in knowing that at least their children would be fed.

19.2K:book:

[Manilablock]

Am now in Chapter 79 and this is where they mentioned Manila (and the Philippines)....



19.2K:book:

Ang bilis mo Sir, ako chapter 22 pa lang, hehehe. sa CP lang ako nagbabasa pag nakasakay ng bus na meron gumagapang na ipis...



Ung naususulat sa book, ganyan din ang mapapanood mo sa news, maririnig sa radio at mababasa sa newspaper, iba lang siguro ang dating pag hindi pinoy ang nagbabalita.



"Gates to Hell is open, only your eyes are closed"

[CVT]

Ang bilis mo Sir, ako chapter 22 pa lang, hehehe. sa CP lang ako nagbabasa pag nakasakay ng bus na meron gumagapang na ipis...



Ung naususulat sa book, ganyan din ang mapapanood mo sa news, maririnig sa radio at mababasa sa newspaper, iba lang siguro ang dating pag hindi pinoy ang nagbabalita.



"Gates to Hell is open, only your eyes are closed"

Hindi ko na isinama ang sumunod na (fictional) bad experience niya sa Manila.... Grabe...

One of the reasons kaya naging ganoon si Felicity....

19.2K:book:

[Manilablock]

The way I see it, the problem is not with the book, or who wrote it.

It is how Manila is being marketed.


Ang DFA at DOT ang gusto nila maipakita sa buong mundo "It's more fun in the Philippines", at ipinapakita ung magagandang tanawin.


While our local news.....our local news, pinapakita ung crime, suffering, poor governance, corruption.....etc.

Sabayan mo pa ng mga teleserye at movies na ipinapakita ang Philippines ay hindi safe haven..


Sample lang, ang movie na "Batang Quiapo" ba ay tungkol sa batang relihiyoso?

How about, "Kuratsa and babaeng walang pahinga", does it shows hard working lang talaga ang Pinoy?

[Altis6453]

Heard a sociology professor being interviewed over the radio last week regarding this and he was saying that we Pinoys have a double standard about how we are seen by others.

If it's a fellow Pinoy saying or writing that Manila is the gate of hell, you won't find a lot of uproar or indignant voices being raised. If it's a foreigner saying that, well, it raises everyone's hackles which is strange.

Nagagalit tayo pag sinabi na impyerno at pangit ang Maynila/Pilipinas, pero sa mga pinapalabas na pinoy indie films abroad, yun naman talaga ang pinapakita natin. Hindi yung kagandahan ng bansa kundi yung pangit sa lipunan.

[chua_riwap]

bakit kasi lagi nagiging example ang manila? bakit di pwede lugar sa india? sri lanka? or bangladesh?
napuntahan ko na lahat yan. i would say mas gugutuhin ko manila, kesa sa mga lugar na yan.

[Altis6453]

bakit kasi lagi nagiging example ang manila? bakit di pwede lugar sa india? sri lanka? or bangladesh?
napuntahan ko na lahat yan. i would say mas gugutuhin ko manila, kesa sa mga lugar na yan.

Well, you really can't control what another person perceives and writes about what he perceives insofar as Manila is concerned.

Sa totoo lang, Dan Brown's book, the Da Vinci Code, had an opposite effect. It gave birth to the "Da Vinci Code " tours in Rome and in the Vatican, so dumami pa ang mga nagpunta kaysa yung mga umiwas. The Vatican should be thanking him also because I think St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum got a record number of visits after the movie came out.

[Monseratto]

Manila kasi has the anonymity as the world's most densely populated capital.... and among the poorest also.

[roninblade]

baket andaming butt hurt over this novel? we as a country need to get over ourselves and not react too much about FICTION in books and other media.

[lowslowbenz]

bakit kasi lagi nagiging example ang manila? bakit di pwede lugar sa india? sri lanka? or bangladesh?
napuntahan ko na lahat yan. i would say mas gugutuhin ko manila, kesa sa mga lugar na yan.

Nako, sinabi mo pa!

I was sent to Nigeria by our office for a business trip, guess ano ang inabot ng sumundo sa akin sa airport ...... bulletproof vest!

[CVT]

bakit kasi lagi nagiging example ang manila? bakit di pwede lugar sa india? sri lanka? or bangladesh?
napuntahan ko na lahat yan. i would say mas gugutuhin ko manila, kesa sa mga lugar na yan.

Korek ka riyan....

Dapat may baon kang Vicks Vaporub sa mga lugar na iyan....

Iyong HR Director namin na Amerikana from HQ, pumunta ng Bangalore,- sinundo siya ng HR doon... Nagmotor sila papuntang office... Mabuti na lang daw at hindi siya nakapalda.......

19.2K:book:

[CVT]

Well, you really can't control what another person perceives and writes about what he perceives insofar as Manila is concerned.

Sa totoo lang, Dan Brown's book, the Da Vinci Code, had an opposite effect. It gave birth to the "Da Vinci Code " tours in Rome and in the Vatican, so dumami pa ang mga nagpunta kaysa yung mga umiwas. The Vatican should be thanking him also because I think St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum got a record number of visits after the movie came out.

Para palang si Dante Alighieri iyang si Dan Brown....Nuong isinulat niya ang Divine Comedy- Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso,- dumami ang nagsimba... Renaissance ng simbahan..... Dumami ang miyembro, dumami ang nagsisimba, dumami ang koleksyon.....

Tsaka, para rin palang Star Trek ito:

Sacrifice the few to save the many

19.2K:book:

[lowslowbenz]

^

Yung napasukan ko na mall sa Dhaka ........... Maganda pa yung Makati Cinema Square natin.

[Retz]

5 Reasons Why There is Some Truth to Dan Brown’s Description of Manila as Gates of Hell

In the book, (Dan) Brown described Manila as the most densely populated city on Earth through one of the main characters, Sienna.

"Sienna could only gape in horror. She had never seen poverty on this scale.

"How can one person possible make a difference?

"For every one person Sienna fed, there were hundreds more who gazed at her with desolate eyes. Manila has six-hour traffic jams, suffocating pollution, and a horrifying *** trade, whose workers consisted primarily of young children, many of whom had been sold to pimps by parents who took solace in knowing that at least their children would be fed."

Official data and a tour of many places in Manila will confirm Sienna's observations.

1. Poverty - Despite the three ratings upgrade enjoyed by the Philippines under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, many say that the gains are not felt by the ordinary Filipino. The latest survey by the Social Weather Stations for the first quarter of 2013 found that families who said they have experienced having nothing to eat was at 19.2 per cent or 3.9 million families, up from 16.3 per cent in December. Ironically, the same survey said self-relate poverty went down to 52 per cent of 10.6 million families, from 54 per cent in the previous quarter.

2. Traffic - Trips average 6 to 8 kilometres an hour, resulting in a trip that should only take 20 minutes to stretch to an hour or more during rush hour. Part of the blame is on the growing number of vehicles outpacing population growth, with a 6 per cent annual increase from 2000 to 2008, the bulk of which are in Metro Manila, worsened by poor driver discipline.

3. Pollution - Data from the Air Quality Management Office said that total suspended particulates (TSP) in different parts of Metro Manila was 119 microgrammes per normal cubic metre (ug/NcM) and particulate matter 10 (PM 10) was 74 ug/Ncm, versus annual benchmark of 90 ug/NcM of TSP and 60 ug/Ncm of PM 10.

4. *** Trade - There are different numbers on the extent of prostitution in the country, with one study estimating there are 800,000 women prostitutes throughout the Philippines. A significant number are in Metro Manila. An International Labour Organisation survey of female workers in massage parlors said more than half of them carried their work with a heavy heart. While real and accurate statistics are hard to come by, a walk through the streets at night would confirm how rampant the situation is.

5. Crime - A report by the Philippine National Police said crimes in Metro Manila went up 36 per cent for the first quarter of 2012 to 10,560, while for the first half of 2012 jumped to 29,231.


Source:
5 Reasons Why There is Some Truth to Dan Brown?s Description of Manila as Gates of Hell (VIDEOS & PHOTOS) - 5 Reasons Why There is Some Truth to Dan Brown?s Description of Manila as Gates of Hell (VIDEOS & PHOTOS)

[lowslowbenz]

^
technically true ... so why is Tolentino bitchin?

[Retz]

palitan na dapat ang slogan. hindi na it's more fun in the philippines.

[shadow]

^
technically true ... so why is Tolentino bitchin?

in denial and he's a politician first and foremost.

traffic nga sa Tagaytay hinde niya maayos eh...

[CVT]

Vector Virus,- nice one....

..... stars.

19.2K:book:

[chua_riwap]

Korek ka riyan....

Dapat may baon kang Vicks Vaporub sa mga lugar na iyan....

Iyong HR Director namin na Amerikana from HQ, pumunta ng Bangalore,- sinundo siya ng HR doon... Nagmotor sila papuntang office... Mabuti na lang daw at hindi siya nakapalda.......

19.2K:book:

nung nagpunta kami ng bombay at new delhi on a job assignment. may kasama akong singaporean officemate (female) ko who's been in manila several times. ang dami rin nyang puna sa manila.

pero nung nakita nya those 2 places (lalo na yung outskirts ng city), sabihin ba naman sa akin......."manila is much much better lahhh!!"

BTT
totoo naman lahat kasi.
dapat nga mag-agree na lang si tole at sabihing i-improve na lang ang metro manila, para walang nasusulat na ganyan.

[Monseratto]

Vector Virus,- nice one....

..... stars.

19.2K:book:

Dapat sa Pilipinas pinakawala, sa squatter colony...