title: Relax (song)

text: The first official music video for "Relax", directed by Bernard Rose and set in an S&M themed gay nightclub, featuring the bandmembers accosted by buff leathermen, a glamorous drag queen, and an obese admirer dressed up as a Roman emperor, played by actor John Dair, was allegedly banned by MTV and the BBC, prompting the recording of a second video, directed by Godley and Creme in early 1984, featuring the group performing with the help of laser beams. However, after the second video was made the song was banned completely by the BBC, meaning that neither video was ever broadcast on any BBC music programmes.


title: Relax (song)

text: Another MTV video of the studio version includes footage from the Brian De Palma film "Body Double". "Body Double", a popular 1984 erotic thriller film, contains a film within a film sequence in which Frankie Goes to Hollywood performs "Relax" on the set of a porn film.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New Spain (Mexico) and a handful of inhabitants in other minute settlements during the time Louisiana was an administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico). Mass migration did not begin until the 20th century, when the Philippines was a U.S. territory.


title: Filipino Americans

text: As of 2019, there were 4.2 million Filipinos, or Americans with Filipino ancestry, in the United States with large communities in California, Hawaii, Illinois, Texas, and the New York metropolitan area.


title: Filipino Americans

text: The term "Filipino American" is sometimes shortened to "Fil-Am" or "Pinoy". Another term which has been used is "Philippine Americans". The earliest appearance of the term "Pinoy" (feminine "Pinay"), was in a 1926 issue of the "Filipino Student Bulletin". Some Filipinos believe that the term "Pinoy" was coined by Filipinos who came to the United States to distinguish themselves from Filipinos living in the Philippines. Beginning in 2017, started by individuals who identify with the LGBT+ Filipino American population, there is an effort to adopt the term "FilipinX"; this new term has faced opposition within the broader overseas Filipino diaspora, within the Philippines, and in the United States, with some who are in opposition believing it is an attempt of a "colonial imposition".


title: Filipino Americans

text: Filipino slaves and crew members were some of the first Asians in North America. The first documented presence of Filipinos in what is now the United States dates back to October 1587 when Novohispanic ships loaded with slaves and prisoners docked around Morro Bay, California with the first permanent settlement in Louisiana in 1763, where they were called "Manilamen" and at least one served in the Battle of New Orleans during the closing stages of the War of 1812. and a few Filipinos worked as ranch hands in the western U.S. Mass migration began in the early 20th century when, for a period following the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the Philippines was a territory of the United States. By 1904, Filipino peoples of different ethnic backgrounds were imported by the US government onto the Americas and were displayed at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition as part of a human zoo. During the 1920s, many Filipinos immigrated to the United States as unskilled labor, to provide better opportunities for their families back at home.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Philippine independence was recognized by the United States on July 4, 1946. After independence in 1946, Filipino American numbers continued to grow. Immigration was reduced significantly during the 1930s, except for those who served in the United States Navy, and increased following immigration reform in the 1960s. The majority of Filipinos who immigrated after the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 were skilled professionals and technicians.


title: Filipino Americans

text: The 2010 Census counted 3.4 million Filipino Americans; the United States Department of State in 2011 estimated the total at 4 million, or 1.1% of the U.S. population. They are the country's second largest self-reported Asian ancestry group according to 2010 American Community Survey. They are also the largest population of Overseas Filipinos. Significant populations of Filipino Americans can be found in California, Hawaii, the New York metropolitan area and Illinois.


title: Filipino Americans

text: A 2019 census conducted by Pew Research Center showed that Filipino-Americans have a higher level of educational attainment and income than the national average. Filipino-Americans show a higher rate of home-ownership compared to the average for all Asian-Americans. As of 2014, 18% of Filipino-American households belonged to the top 10% household income distribution. As of 2018, Filipino-Americans hold the spot for the second highest median household income. Among all Asians, Filipino-Americans show the lowest poverty rate at 7% after Indian Americans at 6%.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Around 47% of Filipino-Americans hold management or professional jobs. A demographic study of physicians and nurses in the US released in 1998 showed that Filipino-American doctors were the second most numerous subgroup among Asian doctors: There were 1,680 Filipino American doctors per 100,000 persons. The study also showed that Filipino nurses, whether foreign or American-born, had the highest median income among any other ethnicity.


title: Filipino Americans

text: The history of native Filipino peoples, Chinese immigration waves, and Spanish and American rule, plus contact with merchants and traders from many areas culminated in a unique blend of cultures in the Philippines. Filipino American cultural identity has been described as fluid, adopting aspects from various cultures; that said, there has not been significant research into the culture of Filipino Americans. Fashion, dance, music, theater and arts have all had roles in building Filipino American cultural identities and communities.


title: Filipino Americans

text: In areas of sparse Filipino population, they often form loosely-knit social organizations aimed at maintaining a "sense of family", which is a key feature of Filipino culture. These organizations generally arrange social events, especially of a charitable nature, and keep members up-to-date with local events. Organizations are often organized into regional associations. The associations are a small part of Filipino American life. Filipino Americans formed close-knit neighborhoods, notably in California and Hawaii. A few communities have "Little Manilas", civic and business districts tailored for the Filipino American community. In a Filipino party, shoes should be left in front of the house and greet everyone with a hi or hello. When greeting the elderly, '"po'" and "'opo"' must be said in every sentence to show respect.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Some Filipinos have traditional Philippine surnames, such as Bacdayan or Macapagal, while others have surnames derived from Japanese, Indian, and Chinese and reflect centuries of trade with these merchants preceding European and American rule. Reflecting Spanish rule and the Claveria Decree of 1849, most Filipinos adopted Hispanic surnames, and celebrate "fiestas", but the view that Filipinos may be Hispanic is not universally accepted. The Philippines experienced both Spanish and American colonial territorial status, with its population seen through each nation's racial constructs. In a 2017 Pew Research Survey, only 1% of immigrants from the Philippines identified as Hispanic. Many Filipinos choose to identify as Pacific Islander, while others identify as Asian Americans.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Due to history, the Philippines and the United States are connected culturally. In 2016, there was $16.5 billion worth of trade between the two countries, with the United States being the largest foreign investor in the Philippines, and more than 40% of remittances came from (or through) the United States. In 2004, the amount of remittances coming from the United States was $5 billion; this is an increase from the $1.16 billion sent in 1991 (then about 80% of total remittances being sent to the Philippines), and the $324 million sent in 1988. Some Filipino Americans have chosen to retire in the Philippines, buying real estate. Filipino Americans continue to travel back and forth between the United States and the Philippines, making up more than a tenth of all foreign travelers to the Philippines in 2010; when traveling back to the Philippines they often bring cargo boxes known as a balikbayan box.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Filipino and English are constitutionally established as official languages in the Philippines, and Filipino is designated as the national language, with English in wide use. Many Filipinos speak American English due to American colonial influence in the country's education system and due to limited Spanish education. Among Asian Americans in 1990, Filipino Americans had the smallest percentage of individuals who had problems with English. In 2000, among U.S.-born Filipino Americans, three quarters responded that English is their primary language; nearly half of Filipino Americans speak English exclusively.


title: Filipino Americans

text: In 2003, Tagalog was the fifth most-spoken language in the United States, with 1.262 million speakers; by 2011, it was the fourth most-spoken language in the United States. Tagalog usage is significant in California, Nevada, and Washington, while Ilocano usage is significant in Hawaii. Many of California's public announcements and documents are translated into Tagalog. Tagalog is also taught in some public schools in the United States, as well as at some colleges. Other significant Filipino languages are Ilocano and Cebuano. Other languages spoken in Filipino American households include Pangasinan, Kapampangan, Hiligaynon, Bicolano, Chavacano, and Waray. However, fluency in Philippine languages tends to be lost among second- and third-generation Filipino Americans. Other languages of the community include Spanish and Chinese (Hokkien). The demonym "Filipinx" is a gender-neutral term that is applied only to those of Filipino heritage in the diaspora, specifically Filipino-Americans. The term is not applied to Filipinos in the Philippines.


title: Filipino Americans

text: The Philippines is 90% Christian, one of only two predominantly Christian countries in Southeast Asia, along with East Timor. Following the European arrival to the Philippines by Ferdinand Magellan, Spaniards made a concerted effort to convert Filipinos to Catholicism; outside of the Muslim sultanates and animist societies, missionaries were able to convert large numbers of Filipinos. and the majority are Roman Catholic, giving Catholicism a major impact on Filipino culture. Other Christian denominations include Protestants (Aglipayan, Episcopalian, and others), and nontrinitarians (Iglesia ni Cristo and Jehovah's Witnesses). Additionally there are those Filipinos who are Muslims, Buddhist or nonreligious; religion has served as a dividing factor within the Philippines and Filipino American communities.


title: Filipino Americans

text: During the early part of the United States governance in the Philippines, there was a concerted effort to convert Filipinos into Protestants, and the results came with varying success. As Filipinos began to migrate to the United States, Filipino Roman Catholics were often not embraced by their American Catholic brethren, nor were they sympathetic to a Filipino-ized Catholicism, in the early 20th century. This led to creation of ethnic-specific parishes; one such parish was St. Columban's Church in Los Angeles. In 1997, the Filipino oratory was dedicated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, owing to increased diversity within the congregations of American Catholic parishes. The first-ever American Church for Filipinos, San Lorenzo Ruiz Church in New York City, is named after the first saint from the Philippines, San Lorenzo Ruiz. This was officially designated as a church for Filipinos in July 2005, the first in the United States, and the second in the world, after a church in Rome.


title: Filipino Americans

text: In 2010, Filipino American Catholics were the largest population of Asian American Catholics, making up more than three fourths of Asian American Catholics. In 2015, a majority (65%) of Filipino Americans identify as Catholic; this is down slightly from 2004 (68%). Filipino Americans, who are first generation immigrants were more likely to attend mass weekly, and tended to be more conservative, than those who were born in the United States. Culturally, some traditions and beliefs rooted from the original indigenous religions of Filipinos are still known among the Filipino diaspora.


title: Filipino Americans

text: The number of Filipino restaurants does not reflect the size of the population. Due to the restaurant business not being a major source of income for the community, few non-Filipinos are familiar with the cuisine. Although American cuisine influenced Filipino cuisine, it has been criticized by non-Filipinos. Even on Oahu where there is a significant Filipino American population, Filipino cuisine is not as noticeable as other Asian cuisines. One study found that Filipino cuisine was not often listed in Food frequency questionnaires. On television, Filipino cuisine has been criticized, such as on "Fear Factor", and praised, such as on "", and "Bizarre Foods America".


title: Filipino Americans

text: Filipino American chefs cook in many fine dining restaurants, including Cristeta Comerford who is the executive chef in the White House, though many do not serve Filipino cuisine in their restaurants. Reasons given for the lack of Filipino cuisine in the U.S. include colonial mentality, lack of a clear identity, a preference for cooking at home and a continuing preference of Filipino Americans for cuisines other than their own. Filipino cuisine remains prevalent among Filipino immigrants, with restaurants and grocery stores catering to the Filipino American community, including Jollibee, a Philippines-based fast-food chain.


title: Filipino Americans

text: In the 2010s, successful and critically reviewed Filipino American restaurants were featured in "The New York Times". That same decade began a Filipino Food movement in the United States; it has been criticized for gentrification of the cuisine. "Bon Appetit" named Bad Saint in Washington, D.C. "the second best new restaurant in the United States" in 2016. "Food & Wine" named Lasa, in Los Angeles, one of its restaurants of the year in 2018. With this emergence of Filipino American restaurants, food critics like Andrew Zimmern have predicted that Filipino food will be "the next big thing" in American cuisine. Yet in 2017, "Vogue" described the cuisine as "misunderstood and neglected"; "SF Weekly" in 2019, later described the cuisine as "marginal, underappreciated, and prone to weird booms-and-busts".


title: Filipino Americans

text: Filipino Americans undergo experiences that are unique to their own identities. These experiences derive from both the Filipino culture and American cultures individually and the dueling of these identities as well. These stressors, if great enough, can lead Filipino Americans into suicidal behaviors. Members of the Filipino community learn early on about "kapwa", which is defined as “interpersonal connectedness or togetherness.”


title: Filipino Americans

text: With "kapwa", many Filipino Americans have a strong sense of needing to repay their family members for the opportunities that they have been able to receive. An example of this is a new college graduate feeling the need to find a job that will allow them to financially support their family and themselves. This notion comes from "“utang na loob,”" defined as a debt that must be repaid to those who have supported the individual.


title: Filipino Americans

text: With "kapwa" and "utang na loob" as strong forces enacting on the individual, there is an “all or nothing” mentality that is being played out. In order to bring success back to one's family, there is a desire to succeed for one's family through living out a family's wants as opposed to one's own true desires. This can manifest as one entering a career path that they are not passionate in, but select in order to help support their family.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Despite many of the stressors for these students deriving from family, it also becomes apparent that these are the reasons that these students are resilient. When family conflict rises in Filipino American families, there is a negative association with suicide attempts. This suggests that though family is a presenting stressor in a Filipino American's life, it also plays a role for their resilience. In a study conducted by Yusuke Kuroki, family connectedness, whether defined as positive or negative to each individual, served as one means of lowering suicide attempts.


title: Filipino Americans

text: The growth of publications for the masses in the Philippines accelerated during the American period. Ethnic media serving Filipino Americans dates back to the beginning of the 20th Century. In 1905, pensionados at University of California, Berkeley published "The Filipino Students' Magazine". One of the earliest Filipino American newspapers published in the United States, was the "Philippine Independent" of Salinas, California, which began publishing in 1921. Newspapers from the Philippines, to include "The Manila Times", also served the Filipino diaspora in the United States. In 1961, the "Philippine News" was started by Alex Esclamado, which by the 1980s had a national reach and at the time was the largest English-language Filipino newspaper. While many areas with Filipino Americans have local Filipino newspapers, one of the largest concentrations of these newspapers occur in Southern California. Beginning in 1992, "Filipinas" began publication, and was unique in that it focused on American born Filipino Americans of the second and third generation. "Filipinas" ended its run in 2010, however it was succeeded by "Positively Filipino" in 2012 which included some of the staff from "Filipinas". The Filipino diaspora in the United States are able to watch programming from the Philippines on television through GMA Pinoy TV and The Filipino Channel.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Filipino Americans have traditionally been socially conservative, particularly with "second wave" immigrants; the first Filipino American elected to office was Peter Aduja. In the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election Republican president George W. Bush won the Filipino American vote over John Kerry by nearly a two-to-one ratio, which followed strong support in the 2000 election. However, during the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, Filipino Americans voted majority Democratic, with 50% to 58% of the community voting for President Barack Obama and 42% to 46% voting for Senator John McCain. The 2008 election marked the first time that a majority of Filipino Americans voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.


title: Filipino Americans

text: According to the 2012 National Asian American Survey, conducted in September 2012, 45% of Filipinos were independent or nonpartisan, 27% were Republican, and 24% were Democrats. Additionally, Filipino Americans had the largest proportions of Republicans among Asian Americans who have been polled, a position which is normally held by Vietnamese Americans, leading up to the 2012 election, and had the lowest job approval opinion of Obama among Asian Americans. In a survey of Asian Americans from thirty seven cities conducted by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, it found that of the Filipino American respondents, 65% of them voted for Obama. According to an exit poll conducted by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, it found that 71% of responding Filipino Americans voted for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 general election.


title: Filipino Americans

text: In a survey which was conducted by Asian Americans Advancing Justice in September 2020, of the 263 Filipino American respondents, 46% of them identified themselves as Democrats, 28% of them identified themselves as Republicans, and 16% of them identified themselves as independents. According to interviews which were conducted by Anthony Ocampo, an academic, Filipino American supporters of Donald Trump cited their support for the former President based on their support for the building of a border wall, their support for tax cuts to businesses, their support for legal immigration, their belief in school choice, their opposition to abortion, their opposition to affirmative action, their antagonism towards the People's Republic of China, and their belief that Trump is not a racist. There was an age divide among Filipino Americans, with older Filipino Americans more likely to support Trump or be Republicans, while younger Filipino Americans were more likely to support Biden or be Democrats. In the 2020 presidential election, Philippines Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez alleges that 60% of Filipino Americans reportedly voted for Joe Biden. A Filipino American was among those who participated in the 2021 United States Capitol attack. Rappler alleges that the Filipino-American media has heavily repeated QAnon conspiracies. Rappler further alleges that, many Filipino Americans who voted for Trump, and adhere to QAnon, cite similar political leanings in the Philippines with regard to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, and anti-Chinese sentiment because China has been building artificial reefs in the South China Sea near the Philippines in the 2010s and as a result, they have recently seen the Republican Party as being more hardline with regard to the Chinese government's actions.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Due to scattered living patterns, it is nearly impossible for Filipino American candidates to win an election solely based on the Filipino American vote. Filipino American politicians have increased their visibility over the past few decades. Ben Cayetano (Democrat), former governor of Hawaii, became the first governor of Filipino descent in the United States. The number of Congressional members of Filipino descent doubled to numbers not reached since 1937, two when the Philippine Islands were represented by non-voting Resident Commissioners, due to the 2000 Senatorial Election. In 2009 three Congress-members claimed at least one-eighth Filipino ethnicity; the largest number to date. Since the resignation of Senator John Ensign in 2011 (the only Filipino American to have been a member of the Senate), and Representative Steve Austria (the only Asian Pacific American Republican in the 112th Congress) choosing not to seek reelection and retire, Representative Robert C. Scott was the only Filipino American in the 113th Congress. In the 116th United States Congress, Scott was joined by Rep. TJ Cox, bringing the number of Filipino Americans in Congress to two. In the 117th United States Congress, Scott once again became the sole Filipino-American Representative after Cox was defeated in a rematch against David Valadao.


title: Filipino Americans

text: The Citizenship Retention and Re-Acquisition Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9225) made Filipino Americans eligible for dual citizenship in the United States and the Philippines. Overseas suffrage was first employed in the May 2004 elections in which Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was reelected to a second term.


title: Filipino Americans

text: By 2005, about 6,000 Filipino Americans had become dual citizens of the two countries. One effect of this act was to allow Filipino Americans to invest in the Philippines through land purchases, which are limited to Filipino citizens, and, with some limitations, former citizens.), vote in Philippine elections, retire in the Philippines, and participate in representing the Philippine flag. In 2013, for the Philippine general election there were 125,604 registered Filipino voters in the United States and Caribbean, of which only 13,976 voted.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Dual citizens have been recruited to participate in international sports events including athletes representing the Philippines who competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and the Olympic Games in Beijing 2008.


title: Filipino Americans

text: The Philippine government actively encourages Filipino Americans to visit or return permanently to the Philippines via the "Balikbayan" program and to invest in the country.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Filipinos remain one of the largest immigrant groups to date with over 40,000 arriving annually since 1979. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has a preference system for issuing visas to non-citizen family members of U.S. citizens, with preference based generally on familial closeness. Some non-citizen relatives of U.S. citizens spend long periods on waiting lists. Petitions for immigrant visas, particularly for siblings of previously naturalized Filipinos that date back to 1984, were not granted until 2006. , over 380 thousand Filipinos were on the visa wait list, second only to Mexico and ahead of India, Vietnam and China. Filipinos have the longest waiting times for family reunification visas, as Filipinos disproportionately apply for family visas; this has led to visa petitions filed in July 1989 still waiting to be processed in March 2013.


title: Filipino Americans

text: It has been documented that Filipinos were among those naturalized due to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. In 2009, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that 270,000 Filipino were "unauthorized immigrants". This was an increase of 70,000 from a previous estimate in 2000. In both years, Filipinos accounted for 2% of the total. , Filipinos were the fifth-largest community of illegal immigrants behind Mexico (6.65 million, 62%), El Salvador (530,000, 5%), Guatemala (480,000, 4%), and Honduras (320,000, 3%). In January 2011, the Department of Homeland Security estimate of "unauthorized immigrants" from the Philippines remained at 270,000. By 2017, the number of Filipinos who were in the United States illegally increased to 310,000. Filipinos who reside in the United States illegally are known within the Filipino community as "TnT's" ("tago nang tago" translated to "hide and hide").


title: Filipino Americans

text: Filipino Americans may be mistaken for members of other racial/ethnic groups, such as Latinos or Pacific Islanders; this may lead to "mistaken" discrimination that is not specific to Asian Americans. Filipino Americans additionally, have had difficulty being categorized, termed by one source as being in "perpetual absence".


title: Filipino Americans

text: In the period, prior to 1946, Filipinos were taught that they were Americans, and they were also presented with an idealized image of America. They had official status as United States nationals. When they were ill-treated and discriminated against by other Americans, Filipinos were faced with the racism which existed during that period, which undermined these ideals. Carlos Bulosan later wrote about this experience in "America is in the Heart". Even "pensionados", who immigrated on government scholarships, were treated poorly.


title: Filipino Americans

text: In Hawaii, Filipino Americans often have little identification with their heritage, and it has been documented that many disclaim their ethnicity. This may be due to the "colonial mentality", or the idea that Western ideals and physical characteristics are superior to their own. Although categorized as Asian Americans, Filipino Americans have not fully embraced being part of this racial category due to marginalization by other Asian American groups and or the dominant American society. This created a struggle within Filipino American communities over how far to assimilate. The term "white-washed" has been applied to those who are seeking to assimilate further. Those who disclaim their ethnicity lose the positive adjustment to outcomes that are found in those who have a strong, positive, ethnic identity.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Of the ten largest immigrant groups, Filipino Americans have the highest rate of assimilation. with exception to the cuisine; Filipino Americans have been described as the most "Americanized" of the Asian American ethnicities. However, even though Filipino Americans are the second largest group among Asian Americans, community activists have described the ethnicity as "invisible", claiming that the group is virtually unknown to the American public, and is often not seen as significant even among its members. Another term for this status is "forgotten minority".


title: Filipino Americans

text: This description has also been used in the political arena, given the lack of political mobilization. In the mid-1990s it was estimated that some one hundred Filipino Americans have been elected or appointed to public office. This lack of political representation contributes to the perception that Filipino Americans are invisible.


title: Filipino Americans

text: The concept is also used to describe how the ethnicity has assimilated. Few affirmative action programs target the group although affirmative action programs rarely target Asian Americans in general. Assimilation was easier given that the group is majority religiously Christian, fluent in English, and have high levels of education. The concept was in greater use in the past, before the post-1965 wave of arrivals.


title: Filipino Americans

text: The term "invisible minority" has been used for Asian Americans as a whole, and the term "model minority" has been applied to Filipinos as well as other Asian American groups. Filipino critics allege that Filipino Americans are ignored in immigration literature and studies.


title: Filipino Americans

text: As with fellow Asian Americans, Filipino Americans are viewed as "perpetual foreigners", even for those born in the United States. This has resulted in physical attacks on Filipino Americans, as well as non-violent forms of discrimination.


title: Filipino Americans

text: In college and high school campuses, many Filipino American student organizations put on annual Pilipino Culture Nights to showcase dances, perform skits, and comment on the issues such as identity and lack of cultural awareness due to assimilation and colonization.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Filipino American gay, lesbian, transgender, and bisexual identities are often shaped by immigration status, generation, religion, and racial formation.


title: Filipino Americans

text: During World War II, some 250,000 to 400,000 Filipinos served in the United States Military, in units including the Philippine Scouts, Philippine Commonwealth Army under U.S. Command, and recognized guerrillas during the Japanese Occupation. In January 2013, ten thousand surviving Filipino American veterans of World War II lived in the United States, and a further fourteen thousand in the Philippines, although some estimates found eighteen thousand or fewer surviving veterans.


title: Filipino Americans

text: The U.S. government promised these soldiers all of the benefits afforded to other veterans. However, in 1946, the United States Congress passed the Rescission Act of 1946 which stripped Filipino veterans of the promised benefits. One estimate claims that monies due to these veterans for back pay and other benefits exceeds one billion dollars. Of the sixty-six countries allied with the United States during the war, the Philippines is the only country that did not receive military benefits from the United States. The phrase "Second Class Veterans" has been used to describe their status.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Many Filipino veterans traveled to the United States to lobby Congress for these benefits. Since 1993, numerous bills have been introduced in Congress to pay the benefits, but all died in committee. As recently as 2018, these bills have received bipartisan support.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Representative Hanabusa submitted legislation to award Filipino Veterans with a Congressional Gold Medal. Known as the Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act, it was referred to the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on House Administration. As of February 2012 had attracted 41 cosponsors. In January 2017, the medal was approved.


title: Filipino Americans

text: There was a proposed lawsuit to be filed in 2011 by The Justice for Filipino American Veterans against the Department of Veterans Affairs.


title: Filipino Americans

text: In the late 1980s, efforts towards reinstating benefits first succeeded with the incorporation of Filipino veteran naturalization in the Immigration Act of 1990. Over 30,000 such veterans had immigrated, with mostly American citizens, receiving benefits relating to their service.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Similar language to those bills was inserted by the Senate into the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which provided a one time payment of at least 9,000 USD to eligible non-US Citizens and US$15,000 to eligible US Citizens via the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund. These payments went to those recognized as soldiers or guerrillas or their spouses. The list of eligibles is smaller than the list recognized by the Philippines. Additionally, recipients had to waive all rights to possible future benefits. As of March 2011, 42 percent (24,385) of claims had been rejected; By 2017, more than 22,000 people received about $226 million in one time payments.


title: Filipino Americans

text: In the 113th Congress, Representative Joe Heck reintroduced his legislation to allow documents from the Philippine government and the U.S. Army to be accepted as proof of eligibility. Known as H.R. 481, it was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. In 2013, the U.S. released a previously classified report detailing guerrilla activities, including guerrilla units not on the "Missouri list".


title: Filipino Americans

text: In September 2012, the Social Security Administration announced that non-resident Filipino World War II veterans were eligible for certain social security benefits; however an eligible veteran would lose those benefits if they visited for more than one month in a year, or immigrated.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Beginning in 2008, a bipartisan effort started by Mike Thompson and Tom Udall an effort began to recognize the contributions of Filipinos during World War 2; by the time Barack Obama signed the effort into law in 2016, a mere fifteen thousand of those veterans were estimated to be alive. Of those living Filipino veterans of World War II, there were an estimated 6,000 living in the United States. Finally in October 2017, the recognition occurred with the awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal. When the medal was presented by the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, several surviving veterans were at the ceremony. The medal now resides in the National Museum of American History.


title: Filipino Americans

text: Congress established Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May to commemorate Filipino American and other Asian American cultures. Upon becoming the largest Asian American group in California, October was established as Filipino American History Month to acknowledge the first landing of Filipinos on October 18, 1587, in Morro Bay, California. It is widely celebrated by Fil-Ams.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: Montrezl Dashay Harrell (; (born January 26, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. Harrell received the Karl Malone Award as the top power forward in the nation as a junior in 2015. He was selected in the second round of the 2015 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2017 and was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2020.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: Harrell, a 6' 7" power forward from Tarboro, North Carolina, starred at North Edgecombe High School before prepping for a year at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia. There he led the team to a 38–1 record while averaging 25.2 points and 13.6 rebounds per game. Originally Harrell committed to play college basketball for coach Seth Greenberg at Virginia Tech, but after Greenberg was fired, Harrell was released from his commitment and chose Louisville.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: As a freshman, Harrell backed up power forward Chane Behanan, averaging 5.7 points and 3.6 rebounds in 16.2 minutes per game. He played his best at the end of the season, scoring 20 points in the Cardinals' Big East Conference championship victory over Syracuse. In his reserve role, Harrell helped the Cardinals win the 2013 NCAA championship, which was later vacated, to cap his freshman season.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: With Gorgui Dieng's departure for the 2013 NBA draft, Harrell received recognition in the offseason leading to his sophomore year as one of the top returning players in the country. The Sporting News selected Harrell to the preseason All-America third team in its 2013–14 college basketball preview magazine. He and teammate Russ Smith received postseason honors, being named to the American Athletic Conference's all-conference first team. Harrell was seen as a potential mid-to-late first-round pick in the 2014 NBA draft .


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: Harrell decided to stay for his junior season instead of opting for the NBA, and the Cardinals moved to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). In the 2014–15 season, he averaged 15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game and was the inaugural winner of the Karl Malone Award, given to the nation's top power forward. He was also named second-team All-ACC.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: On June 25, 2015, Harrell was selected by the Houston Rockets in the second round of the 2015 NBA draft with the 32nd overall pick. On September 19, 2015, he signed a three-year deal with the Rockets. He made his debut for the Rockets in the team's season opener against the Denver Nuggets on October 28, recording eight points and three rebounds in a 105–85 loss. Two days later, he scored 17 points in a loss to the Golden State Warriors. On November 13, he made his first career start, scoring five points in just under 13 minutes of action, as the Rockets were defeated by the Denver Nuggets 107–98. On March 28, 2016, Harrell received a five-game suspension without pay for pushing a game official. During his rookie season, he received multiple assignments to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' D-League affiliate.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: On November 2, 2016, Harrell had a 17-point, 10-rebound effort off the bench in a 118–99 win over the New York Knicks. On December 21, 2016, against the Phoenix Suns, Harrell made his first start of the season and second of his career. He scored 17 points as a result, tying a career high. On December 30, he set a new career high with 29 points in a 140–116 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. On January 8, 2017, he had 28 points in 26 minutes off the bench on 12-of-13 shooting in a 129–122 win over the Toronto Raptors.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: On June 28, 2017, the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Harrell, Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Lou Williams, Kyle Wiltjer and a 2018 first-round pick from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Chris Paul. On January 11, 2018, he scored a season-high 25 points in a 121–115 win over the Sacramento Kings.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: On July 24, 2018, Harrell re-signed with the Clippers. On October 26, 2018, Harrell scored a career-high 30 points off the bench in a 133–113 win over the Houston Rockets. On February 22, 2019, he matched his career high with 30 points in a 112–106 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Three days later, he set a new career high with 32 points in a 121–112 win over the Dallas Mavericks. In September 2020, Harrell was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. However, the Clippers fell in seven games after the Denver Nuggets came back from a 3–1 deficit. Harrell averaged 10.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in the playoffs due to seeing a significant reduction in minutes from 27.8 minutes per game to 18.7 due to his inability to defend Nikola Jokic.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: On November 22, 2020, Harrell signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. On December 22, 2020, Harrell made his Lakers debut, putting up 17 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists, in a 116–109 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: On August 6, 2021, Harrell was traded to the Washington Wizards as part of a package for Russell Westbrook.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: On February 10, 2022, Harrell was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Ish Smith, Vernon Carey Jr., and a 2023 second-round pick. On February 11, Harrell made his Hornets debut, putting up 15 points and six rebounds in a 141–119 win over the Detroit Pistons.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: In 2012, Harrell was a member of the United States team at the FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship that won Gold in São Sebastião do Paraíso, Brazil.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: Harrell enjoys collecting and designing sneakers. Through social media, he finds sneaker customizers who can make his shoe designs a reality. Harrell wears different shoes during the first and second half of every basketball game. In August 2018, the NBA modified its shoe policy allowing NBA players to wear any colored shoes.


title: Montrezl Harrell

text: Harrell left the 2020 NBA Bubble in Walt Disney World for a family matter, which was later revealed to be to tend to his grandmother, who died soon after. He missed the first two games in the bubble as a result.


title: Nippon TV

text: JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed subsidiary of The Yomiuri Shimbun Holdings, Japan's largest media conglomerate by revenue and the second largest behind Sony. Nippon Television Holdings forms part of Yomiuri's main television broadcasting arm alongside Kansai region flagship Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, which owns a 6.4% share in the company.


title: Nippon TV

text: Nippon TV's studios are located in the Shiodome area of Minato, Tokyo, Japan and its transmitters are located in the Tokyo Skytree. Broadcasting terrestrially across Japan, the network is sometimes contracted to , and abbreviated as "NTV" or "AX". It is also the first commercial TV station in Japan, and it has been broadcasting on Channel 4 since its inception. Nippon Television is the home of the syndication networks NNN (for news programs) and NNS (for non-news programs). Except for Okinawa Prefecture, these two networks cover the whole of Japan.


title: Nippon TV

text: When Nippon TV started in 1953, its English acronym "NTV" was used as its first corporate logo, with a colored version later used in 1972 after the launch of color TV broadcasting. The logo was designed by Takada Masajiro, an assistant professor at Tokyo University of the Arts.In 2003, Nippon TV launched a new corporate logo with the introduction of Nandarou, the broadcaster's mascot. The orange dot in the 2003 logo represents the sun with the 日 in gold representing tradition. The logo was designed by Junichi Fumura, an employee of the broadcaster. On January 1, 2013, Nippon TV changed its logo as part of its 60th anniversary, with the "日" kanji changed to number 0 with a diagonal line inside, to denote starting from zero and starting anew. The change was inspired by the on-screen clock, usually located in the upper left corner of the screen.


title: Nippon TV

text: In 1978, as part of its 25th anniversary, Nippon TV introduced a Monsho in addition to the corporate trademark.The logo was designed with the Nippon TV's "sun" and the earth represented by the Mercator projection, symbolizing NTV's leading position in the television industry.The logo is colored blue, representing clear skies. The Monsho was designed by Masahiro Touzawa, an employee of the broadcaster.


title: Nippon TV

text: On August 28, 1992, as part of its 40th anniversary, Nippon TV invited Hayao Miyazaki to design its first mascot. The mascot was shaped like a mouse with the tail of a pig, symbolizing creativity, curiosity, and hard work. The mascot's name was collected from an audience nomination campaign and voted on from 51,026 names. The winning name of the mascot was "Nandarou", literally translating to "What is it?" The mascot was supposed to be used for one year only, but it was used until 2009 after audience popularity.


title: Nippon TV

text: The history of Nippon TV began in 1951 with the announcement by US Senator Karl Mundt (best known as the key proponent of Voice of America) that commercial television will be set up in Japan (then under United States-led Allied Occupation of Japan). According to Canadian-Japanese writer Benjamin Fulford, Mundt recommended Matsutarō Shōriki to the CIA (which later hired Shōriki as a CIA agent under the codenames "podam" and "pojackpot-1"); with executives of "The Asahi Shimbun" and "Mainichi Shimbun", Shōriki then persuaded then-Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida to form a commercial television network in Japan.


title: Nippon TV

text: On July 31, 1952, Nippon TV was granted the first TV broadcasting license for a commercial broadcaster in Japan. The Nippon Television Network Corporation was established in October of the same year. After obtaining the broadcasting license, Nippon Television purchased the land for the construction of the headquarters building in Nibancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (currently the Nippon Television Kojimachi branch office), and began preparations for the broadcast of TV programs.However, due to delays in delivering equipment used for broadcasting, test trials were significantly delayed from their initial scheduled date, resulting in NHK being the first to start broadcasting TV programs.On August 24, 1953, Nippon TV started broadcast trials and four days later, Nippon TV officially began to broadcast TV programs as Asia's first commercial broadcaster, with an animated dove spreading its wings in the logo on its first sign-on. The first TV commercial (for Seikosha clocks) was also aired at the same time


title: Nippon TV

text: Due to high prices, television sets were not widely available at the launch of NTV and NHK. As a result, NTV installed 55 street TVs in the Kanto area in an effort to broaden the advertisement impact. This program was a huge success, attracting 8,000 to 10,000 people to watch sports broadcasts such as professional baseball and sumo wrestling.


title: Nippon TV

text: Plans for the expansion of Nippon TV to whole of Japan wasn't continued due to its given license being restricted to the Kanto area only.As a result, the Yomiuri Shimbun Group filed for a separate TV license in Osaka under the name Yomiuri TV. In 1955, Matsutaro Shoriki stepped down as the president of Nippon TV after being elected to the Japan's House Of Representatives.


title: Nippon TV

text: With the issuance of a large number of new TV licenses by the Ministry of Post in the late 1950s, Yomiuri Shimbun and Nippon Television began to establish TV stations outside the Kanto area. On August 28, 1958, Yomiuri TV started broadcasting, marking the start of Nippon TV's expansion into the Kansai area. However, due to the close partnership between Nippon TV and the Yomiuri Shimbun, the network's expansion was opposed by local newspapers, and the network's expansion was slower than that of the JNN affiliates, which are less newspaper-oriented.


title: Nippon TV

text: Following TBS' establishment of JNN in 1959, Nippon Television founded the second Japanese television network, NNN, on April 1, 1966, with a total of 19 affiliated stations as founding members. Nippon Television founded the NNS (Nippon Television Network System) in 1972 to improve collaboration among network stations in the field of non-news programming. On September 15, 1959, Nippon Television's stock was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, becoming the first media company in Japan to list its stock.


title: Nippon TV

text: Nippon Television applied to the Ministry of Posts in April 1957 for a color television broadcast license, which it received in December of that year. Matsutaro Shoriki returned to Nippon TV as the president of the broadcaster after resigning as the Minister of State in 1958. After taking office as the president, he increased his investment in color television. In December 1958, NTV introduced videotape recording in a one-off drama series using American RCA 2-inch quad tape.


title: Nippon TV

text: The first live coverage broadcast from Japan on color TV was the wedding of the Crown Prince (currently Emperor Emeritus Akihito) on April 10, 1959, alongside the first TV program with commercials broadcast in color. In December of the same year, NTV aired Japan's first color VTR broadcast "Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall" from NBC (United States). Nippon TV later obtained a broadcasting license for broadcasting programs in color on September 10, 1960. After a year, NTV aired a total of 938 hours of programs broadcast in color. In addition to color TV broadcast, programs produced in black and white color had been increasing.


title: Nippon TV

text: In October 1963, Nippon TV has successfully trialed overnight broadcasts. On November 22, 1963, using a communication satellite relay, NTV conducted the first black-and-white TV transmission experiment between Japan and the United States during coverage of the Assassination of John F. Kennedy. On July 1, 1966, The Beatles’ concert at the Nippon Budokan, part of their Japanese tour, was shown in color on NTV (prerecorded on tape), with the viewing rate reaching 56 percent.


title: Nippon TV

text: After the death of Matsutaro Shoriki on October 9, 1969, Nippon TV and NHK agreed to integrate signal transmission facilities in the Tokyo Tower.


title: Nippon TV

text: When Kobayashi Shoriki (son-in-law of Matsutaro Shoriki) took over Nippon TV in 1969, he continued the progress of TV broadcasting in color. In April 1970, Nippon TV's color programs accounted for 76.4% of total broadcast time, ahead of NHK which was second with 73%. In October 1971, Nippon TV achieved in broadcasting all of its programs in color.


title: Nippon TV

text: However, during this period, due to the economic depression in Japan and the discovery of falsification of financial reports by the Ministry of Finance, Nippon TV was in the state of recession. Ratings of other Japanese commercial TV stations also declined during that period, from competing with Fuji TV for second place in the core bureau for most of the 1960s to competing with Fuji TV and NET TV (currently TV Asahi), and then being pulled away from TBS. This led Kobayashi Shoriki to launch business reforms to promote the outsourcing of program productions and decided to build a new headquarters which enabled them to turn losses into profits in 1972.


title: Nippon TV

text: The non-news counterpart of Nippon News Network, Nippon Television Network System, was formed on June 14, 1972. Nippon TV had also been successful in exporting its programs around the world, with programs such as The Water Margin and Monkey being aired on the BBC. On January 14, 1973, NTV airs the live satellite relay in Japan for In October 8 & 15, 1975, the classic film "Gone with the Wind" makes its world television premiere on NTV (Part I on the 8th, Part II on the 15th), about 13 months before NBC airs the film in the North America.


title: Nippon TV

text: Nippon TV also started diversifying its operations, opening subsidiaries such as Nippon TV Music, Union Movies, and Nippon Television Services in the early 70s.In the following years, Nippon TV also participated in cultural events such as the restoration of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in 1984which took 13 years to restore and costing to ¥2.4 billion and also held two special exhibitions at the Vatican Museums. On March 9, 1984, Dan Goodwin, aka Spider Dan, Skyscraperman, in a paid publicity event, used suction cups to climb the 10 floor Nippon Television Kojimachi Annex in Chiyoda.


title: Nippon TV

text: On the 25th anniversary of Nippon TV's first broadcast, the broadcaster launched , the only telethon in Japanese TV, which achieved high ratings and continued to be aired until the present day.But in the 1980s, ratings continue to decline after Fuji TV and TBS promoted much of their primetime programming.This prompted to increase airtime of its news programs and baseball events. Multichannel television sound broadcasting (using the EIAJ MTS standard) began in December 1982. Nippon TV also launched NCN (now known as Nippon TV NEWS 24) in 1987, being the first news channel in Japan.


title: Nippon TV

text: Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli, Inc. designed Nippon Television's mascot character to commemorate the channel's 40th anniversary in 1993.


title: Nippon TV

text: After entering the 90s, although ratings of its Nippon TV affiliates increased, advertising revenue decreased in 1992 due to the collapse of Japan's bubble economy.The number of Nippon TV affiliates increased to 30 after Kagoshima Yomiuri Television started broadcasting in 1994. In 1992, after Seiichiro Ujiie (former journalist at the Yomiuri Shimbun) became president of Nippon TV, the broadcaster carried out major changes in its programming, such as adjusting its late night news programs to air early than its rivals, and ending certain primetime variety shows to boost ratings.These major changes helped become number 1 in ratings from 1993 to 1994 overtaking Fuji TV.As part of its major renovations in the broadcasting industry, Nippon TV launched its first cable-exclusive channel, CS Nippon TV, in 1996.


title: Nippon TV

text: At the start of the new century, Nippon TV and its 29 affiliates won in the triple crown ratings. In December 2000, Nippon TV launched its satellite-exclusive .On April 30, 2003, Nippon TV held a completion ceremony at its headquarters in Shiodome, Tokyo, which it took 7 years to build as part of its 50th anniversary from its opening. However, in October of the same year, employees of the network bribed the surveyed households to increase their ratings. This impacted the ratings of Nippon TV most especially on baseball games. Fuji TV took advantage of the incident when it became number 1 in ratings. Nippon TV started digital broadcasting on December 1, 2003. Nippon TV moved to Shiodome on February of the following year, and high definition production also started. With the rising trend for Internet services, Nippon TV launched Dai2 Nippon TV, the first video on-demand service from a commercial broadcaster in Japan.


title: Nippon TV

text: Analog broadcasting ended on July 24, 2011, fully entering digital TV era. Also in 2011, Nippon TV regained the Triple Crown Ratings after 8 years due to high ratings of the drama I am Mita, Your Housekeeper. Although in 2012 and 2013, this was later taken by TV Asahi on ratings of its primetime programming. Nippon TV later regained the Triple Crown Rating in 2014. On April 26, 2012, Nippon Television Network Preparatory Corporation is founded as part of the network's major reorganization. On October 1, 2012, Nippon Television Network Corporation (first) transitions to a certified broadcasting holding company, Nippon Television Holdings, Inc., and Nippon Television Network Preparatory Corporation is renamed Nippon Television Network Corporation (second).


title: Nippon TV

text: On February 1–2, 2013, Nippon TV collaborated with NHK to air a special program related to the first TV broadcasts 60 years ago. On February 27, 2014, Nippon TV acquired the Japanese division of Hulu. They started airing more programs exclusively to Hulu following its acquisition, which was later criticized from viewers.


title: Nippon TV

text: In 2015, Nippon TV (alongside the other 4 commercial broadcasters in Japan) launched TVer, its free on-demand service. On the Q4 of 2020, they started trials on live online streaming of its channel on TVer. In September 2020, Nippon TV, alongside PricewaterhouseCoopers, collaborated to create a system that uses artificial intelligence to predict audience ratings, which was first trialed on its movie block, Friday Roadshow. From Q4 of 2021, the broadcaster officially started its live online streaming of its channel, albeit with the exception of its late-night news program, news zero, and its succeeding program, despite being included in the trial the year before. Since 2021, Nippon TV currently holds the Triple Crown Rating for 11 years.


title: Nippon TV

text: After the launch of Japan News Network in April 1960, a new group of networks was supposed to be formed between Sendai Television, Nagoya TV, Nippon TV, and Hiroshima Telecasting in 1962.But in 1963, Nishinippon Shimbun, which is a key shareholder of Television Nishinippon, disagreed to Yomiuri Shimbun's plans to expand in Fukuoka Prefecture.This resulted from Television Nisihinippon to withdrew from being part of Nippon TV and losing Nippon TV's local news base in Kyushu. On April 1, 1966, Nippon News Network was formally launched with 19 founding members.


title: Nippon TV

text: The non-news counterpart of Nippon News Network, Nippon Television Network System, was formed on June 14, 1972.


title: Nippon TV

text: The company has intimate connections with Studio Ghibli, led by Hayao Miyazaki. Nippon TV has funded all of the company's productions since "Kiki's Delivery Service" (excluding "Earwig and the Witch", which was fully funded by rival NHK) and holds the exclusive Japanese rights to broadcast their motion pictures. It has also produced and broadcast popular anime series like "My Hero Academia", "Claymore", "Death Note", "Hajime no Ippo",Magical Emi The Magic Star, Orange Road, as well as "Detective Conan" and "Inuyasha" (which are produced through its Osaka affiliate, Yomiuri TV). NTV produced the first, unsuccessful "Doraemon" anime in 1973; when the second, more successful "Doraemon" series premiered in 1979, it was on TV Asahi, which remains the franchise's broadcaster to this day. As of now, NTV is currently producing a second anime adaptation of "Hunter × Hunter". NTV has also been broadcasting the yearly "Lupin III" TV specials since 1989, which they co-produce with TMS Entertainment. Nippon Television announced on February 8, 2011, that it would make the anime studio Madhouse its subsidiary after becoming the primary stockholder at about 85%, via a third-party allocation of shares for about 1 billion yen (about US$12 million).


title: Nippon TV

text: On January 29, 2014, Nippon Television announced that it will purchase a 54.3% stake in Tatsunoko Production and adopt the studio as a subsidiary.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: Can't Buy Me Love is a 1987 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Steve Rash, starring Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson in a story about a nerd at a high school in Tucson, Arizona, who gives a cheerleader $1,000 to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month. The film takes its title from a Beatles song of the same title.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: Ronald Miller is a typical high school nerd living in suburban Tucson, Arizona. He has spent all summer mowing lawns to save up for a telescope. At an opportune moment, he makes a deal with next-door neighbor and popular cheerleader Cindy Mancini. She had borrowed her mother's expensive suede outfit without permission to wear to a party, only to have wine accidentally spilled on it. Cindy reluctantly agrees to help Ronald look "cool" by posing as his girlfriend for a month for $1,000 (which was used to replace the ruined outfit), although she already has a boyfriend, Bobby, who is attending the University of Iowa.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: Ronald then trades his nerdy, yet loyal, friends for the popular but shallow students, and undergoes a complete clothing and hair makeover under Cindy's direction. Over time, a bond develops between them. Cindy has Ronald read a secret poem she wrote that means a great deal to her. In turn, Ronald reveals his interests in astronomy and space travel. On their last date that Ronald paid for, Cindy begins to have real feelings for him and hints that she would like to kiss him, but he misunderstands. The next day at school, they stage a breakup in front of a crowd, but Ronald takes things too far and says some hurtful things about Cindy in front of her friends. She remains calm and distant, but informs Ronald that popularity is hard work and that he needs to make sure that he "stays himself." The next day, Cindy notices him behaving arrogantly at school, and becomes jealous when she sees him flirting with her best friends Barbara and Patty.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: Ronald takes Patty to a school dance, where he performs a dance he learned from an African cultural show on public television he mistakenly thought was the latest dance craze performed on "American Bandstand". At first, the other kids are mystified, but they soon join in, and Ronald's new "trendy" dancing further increases his popularity. On Halloween night, he and some jocks drive to the house of Kenneth, Ronald's best friend, where the jocks test his loyalty by coercing him to hurl dog feces at Kenneth's house. Kenneth is lying in wait and catches Ronald, but lets him go before his father can call the police. Kenneth ignores him the next day at school.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: At a New Year's Eve party at Big John's house, Ronald starts drinking and has a romantic tryst with his date, Iris, in the bathroom. Cindy walks by and hears Ronald reciting her special poem to Iris. Devastated, Cindy starts drinking even more. Later, Cindy's boyfriend, Bobby, unexpectedly shows up at the party. After Bobby learns about Cindy's "relationship" with Ronald, he breaks up with her. Cindy tries to explain that Ronald paid her to pretend they were dating, but Bobby does not believe her and walks out on her. In a drunken rage, Cindy reveals the truth about her and Ronald to the partygoers, and Ronald is immediately ostracized. Dejected, he leaves and spends the night in his garage crying himself to sleep. When school resumes, he finds himself a social outcast, by both the jocks and the nerds. His attempts to reconcile with both Cindy and Kenneth are rebuffed.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: Ronald gets an opportunity to redeem himself at lunch when he sees Quint, a jock, bullying Kenneth after noticing Kenneth helping Patty with her math homework. Quint threatens Kenneth with physical violence if Kenneth does not go back to "his side of the cafeteria." Ronald intervenes, threatening to break Quint's pitching arm if he does not leave Kenneth alone. Ronald points out that the three were all friends at one time: when they were nine, Quint fell out of their treehouse and broke his arm and Kenneth and Ronald carried him twelve blocks to the hospital. Ronald confesses he was desperate to run with the popular crowd but had messed up by trying to buy his way in (unlike Kenneth, who was helping Patty out of a genuine interest in her), that the clique dynamic is "all bullshit" and that it is tough enough just being yourself, and walks away. Quint apologizes to Kenneth and they shake hands as the whole school applauds. Ronald officially redeems himself with his friends and Cindy.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: Recognizing Ronald's worth, Cindy chooses to spend an evening with him rather than hang out with her friends, hopping on the back of his riding lawnmower. Ronald then asks Cindy to prom, and they kiss for the first time, as the Beatles' title song plays. The new couple then ride off into the sunset on the lawnmower.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: The film was shot on location in Tucson, Arizona, at Tucson High Magnet School (then known as Tucson High School). The choreography is by Paula Abdul, who makes an uncredited appearance as a dancer.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: On a date where the main characters begin to bond, they jump the perimeter wall and explore the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group Aircraft Bone Yard on Davis–Monthan Air Force Base that contains 4,400 aircraft.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: The film was originally titled "Boy Rents Girl" but was changed when rights to The Beatles song of the same name were obtained.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: "Can't Buy Me Love" received mixed reviews from critics. Caryn James, in "The New York Times", wrote that the film missed its mark and traded its potential originality for a bid at popularity:


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: Rotten Tomatoes has a rating of 50% based on 24 critics with the consensus: "While "Can't Buy Me Love" gets some value out of its plucky leads, this romantic comedy struggles to find grace in a cynical conceit that belongs in the bargain bin." In 2006, it ranked number 41 on "Entertainment Weekly's" list of the 50 Best High School Movies.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: As of June 2022, it is available for streaming via Disney+ in Canada, and previously on Netflix, Cinemax, Tubi, Hulu, and The Roku Channel in the US.


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: In 2013, Intrada Records released Robert Folk's complete score for the film on a limited edition CD paired with David Newman's work for "Paradise".


title: Can't Buy Me Love (film)

text: In 2003, "Can't Buy Me Love" was remade as "Love Don't Cost a Thing" starring Nick Cannon and Christina Milian. Though the triggering event differs between the two films, many of the aspects/scenes from the original film are reinterpreted in this remake, such as the eating of raw egg in the Home Economics classroom, as well as the cheerleader telling the bully that he is sitting in the wrong section in the cafeteria that he needs to sit in the "asshole section" of the cafeteria.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Uncle Ruckus (born July 4, 1939) is a fictional character on the American animated sitcom "The Boondocks". Voiced by Gary Anthony Williams, he first appeared on television in the show's pilot, "The Garden Party", on November 6, 2005. Created and designed by cartoonist Aaron McGruder, Ruckus enjoyed great success after appearing in the comic strip of the same name.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Ruckus had a turbulent childhood as he was raised by the abusive Mister Ruckus. His mother had a self identity crisis, often praising white people. After being kicked out of his home as a teenager, he traveled to Woodcrest, where he works odd jobs. Ruckus embodies many old American working-class stereotypes: he is crude, short-tempered, obese, rule-neglecting, clumsy, and largely ignorant. He is not good at many things and sometimes considered to be good-for-nothing in general. He is also internally racist, repeatedly proclaiming his love for the white race and disdain of the black race, and he even identifies as Caucasian, saying he suffers from "reverse vitiligo".


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Despite this, Ruckus maintains a close relationship with Robert Freeman and yearns for social acceptance. Despite the blue-collar routine of his life, he has had a number of remarkable experiences, including work as a recording artist.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: He has an intense hatred of anything pertaining to African Americans and goes out of his way to distance himself from black people, especially those of previous generations. Ruckus claims God says the path to forgiveness for being black is to rebuke one's own race. He has a mismatched glass eye due to the beatings he received from his father. Ruckus champions the giant traces of Irish ancestry he claims to have, though a DNA test shows he is "102% African with a 2% margin of error”.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Although Ruckus had a terrible father, the main cause for his personality and view of the world is his mother. Though his mother loved him deeply, she was an extremely deluded and damaged woman who, despite a lifetime of abuse and poor decisions, was convinced that her life would have been better if she had been born white. As a result, Ruckus wishes that all black people were still enslaved or never existed at all. He frequently introduces himself as "Uncle Ruckus, no relation," to indicate that he has no familial connection to the people he is addressing (and because his first name is literally Uncle).


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Ruckus prattles white supremacist rhetoric and calls Michael Jackson (who suffered from the pigmentational skin changing disorder vitiligo) a "lucky bastard" as he doesn't look black. Ruckus claims that he himself has "re-vitiligo", to explain his own skin tone. Ruckus applies a homemade topical ointment of "bleach and sulfur" in order to treat his self-diagnosed condition, stating that he "likes to think it works" and that it has prevented him from "getting any darker these past few years."


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: According to a flashback, in his early 20s (20 years old in 1959) he protested against Martin Luther King Jr.'s marches during the civil rights movement and would occasionally throw bricks at King. Another flashback scene shows Ruckus serving on a Tennessee jury in 1957 (making him a minimum of 70 years old in 2009, although this flashback is not consistent with the show's continuity) that helped convict a blind black man of killing three white girls. In spite of being blind, the African American man supposedly shot the three with a Winchester rifle from about 50 yards away. Ruckus is the only black person on the otherwise all-white jury in a Jim Crow courtroom. During his first encounter with the Freeman family, Ruckus sings "Don't Trust Them New Niggas Over There" in the pilot episode, though he socializes freely with the Freemans thereafter.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Ruckus constantly hurls hateful racist invective at all things black. On being asked if he supports the use of the word "nigga", Ruckus says:


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Ruckus worships white society and culture, which explains why he lives in Woodcrest. Ruckus claims to like the smell of white people, saying they smell like "lemon juice and Pledge furniture cleaner". Despite Woodcrest's newfound acceptance of different ethnicities, the neighborhood apparently has no quarrel with Uncle Ruckus' racist beliefs. Ruckus can be seen employed in a variety of places performing a number of blue-collar jobs. However, that does not mean that all members of that community agree with his outbursts of racist remarks. Rather they tend to ignore them due to his constant racist profiling.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: At one point Ruckus joined the police force after turning down a 7-figure settlement for being wrongfully shot at 118 times, claiming that the officers "were simply doing their job." Even after he becomes an officer, they still beat him on the pretext that "He has a gun." As an officer, he promises to make every black man's life as miserable as he possibly can ("The Block is Hot"). Ruckus also becomes an evangelist after dreaming of going to "White Heaven", preaching that black people must hate their blackness and love the white man to receive entrance into heaven ("The Passion of Reverend Ruckus").


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: The beginning of this episode is also one of the few moments of the series in which Uncle Ruckus admits, or even suggests, that he is or might be black. The episode starts with Ruckus knocking on Robert's front door with the news that he has been diagnosed with cancer. He proceeds to attempt to describe the specific type of cancer he has been diagnosed with in Latin, which is one made up for the show, but he fails to do so, stating: "[...] or some other big word my small negro brain and big lips can't pronounce." Although, he might have been using his "condition" to get some pity out of the Freeman family.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Ruckus has held a vast variety of jobs over the course of the series (car parking valet, police officer, maitre d', movie theater usher, exorcist, etc.) at many of its business establishments. In the banned episode "Uncle Ruckus' Reality Show", he claims to have 32 jobs over the course of the week, so he needs to wake at 4:45 a.m. every morning. Despite holding so many jobs, Ruckus continues to live in a dilapidated home and drive a beaten-up truck.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Although over 70 years old and obese, Ruckus has been shown to be strong enough to pull a car door off its hinges with ease and is an advanced practitioner of martial arts. He has shown himself to be Huey's equal on multiple occasions. His mastery with nunchaku surpasses even Huey's and he is capable of incredible acrobatics. In the series' second season (first heard in "...Or Die Trying"), a sound-alike variation on the tuba piece "Jabba's Theme" (from "Return of the Jedi") is used as a musical theme for Ruckus, drawing a parallel between the "Star Wars" character and the similarly repellent Ruckus.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: In the episode "The Story of Jimmy Rebel", Ruckus records racist songs and sends them to his idol, Jimmy Rebel, a racist songwriter who lives in Spokenhoke, Texas; this character is based on real singer/songwriter Johnny Rebel. Jimmy Rebel and R.R (Racist Records) loves the songs so much that Rebel heads down to meet Ruckus. Although Ruckus is a black man, Jimmy puts this aside. He spends two days with Toby (the false identity Ruckus made up to talk with Rebel) and brings him to Spokenhoke to record songs with him.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: So far, the only episode in which Ruckus does not display any animosity toward blacks is in the episode "The Story of Gangstalicious Part 2".


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: In the episode "The Color Ruckus", it is revealed that Ruckus's mother told him he was adopted and had white heritage. She also invented the disease re-vitiligo and told Ruckus that it alone was the reason he is physically indistinguishable from a normal black person. In spite of this, his father harshly claimed these explanations were lies meant to protect Ruckus' self-esteem, telling his son that he was "just another black nigga like the rest of us." Ruckus refused to believe his father's words and his mother continued to lie about his heritage.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Robert Freeman is the closest thing to a friend that Uncle Ruckus has, though Robert rebukes Ruckus' racist notions. For example, a friendly match of checkers between them ends bitterly after Ruckus makes supremacist remarks. Ruckus is supportive of Freeman during his training for a rematch with Col. Stinkmeaner and is the only one besides Riley who praises him when he fights and kills Stinkmeaner (in the episode "Granddad's Fight").


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Despite all this, Ruckus claims their friendship is a pretense ("The Trial of R. Kelly") and that he still sees him as a "nigga." In the episode "The Real," Ruckus is also one of the "homeless people" that Robert "houses," the other being Jazmine Dubois.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Uncle Ruckus says in "...Or Die Trying" that he has despised Huey ever since the Freemans' arrival in Woodcrest. For Huey's part, he seems to ignore Uncle Ruckus' racist rantings, knowing that debating with the man will do little good. However, when Ruckus challenges him to a martial arts showdown, Huey fights him twice - first with a push-broom handle as a staff and later unarmed.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Neither fight is shown in its entirety. A battered Huey is seen sitting in the theater manager's office after the first one and the episode ends in a freeze-frame as the second one begins. Both fights appear to be references to the Japanese manga series "Fist of the North Star". Ruckus often gets angry at Riley for being a hoodlum, which regularly leads to fights.


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: Ruckus tolerates the Dubois, largely due to Sarah's presence, since she is white. He believes that Tom is lucky to have Sarah and that she is with him out of pity rather than love (even postulating at one point that she taught him how to read). He does not think much of Jazmine due to her half-black status, pejoratively calling her a "mulatto" and a "little half and half." In a moment of relative kindness, he refers to her as a "nice little mixed-breed girl."


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: However, he does seem to hold her superior to a black child, once stating that she is smarter than Riley. In a rare moment, he manages to single-handedly restore her faith in Christmas and in Santa Claus, effectively ending her crying and cheering her up ("A Huey Freeman Christmas").


title: Uncle Ruckus

text: McGruder launched a Kickstarter campaign with the aim of raising $200,000 in order to produce a film focusing on Ruckus. The fundraiser, from January 30, 2013, till March 1, 2013, obtained pledges of $129,963. He stated that crowd-funding would be the sole source of funding for the film's budget. David Brothers of "Comics Alliance" expressed concern that a film about the character might not be effective as a racial comedy outside the context of "The Boondocks".


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: Kumbalangi Nights is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Madhu C. Narayanan. The directorial debut was written by Syam Pushkaran and jointly produced by Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya Nazim under their production house Fahadh Faasil and Friends, in association with Dileesh Pothan and Syam Pushkaran under Working Class Hero. The film stars Shane Nigam, Fahadh Faasil, Soubin Shahir, and Sreenath Bhasi, along with newcomers Anna Ben, Grace Antony and Mathew Thomas in pivotal roles. The cinematography and editing were handled by Shyju Khalid and Saiju Sreedharan, respectively. The soundtrack and background score is composed by Sushin Shyam.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: Set in the eponymous fishing village of Kumbalangi in Kochi, Kerala, the film centres on the strained relationship between four brothers living together in a dysfunctional home, and how they ultimately stand up for each other as a family. Pushkaran came up with the idea for the film based on the time he spent in the village in his twenties. In 2011, he discussed the story with then-assistant director Narayanan, who decided to make his directorial debut with it. By 2016, Faasil and Pothan, both of whom had worked closely with Narayanan and Pushkaran on previous films, had agreed to co-produce the film. Narayanan then spent a year in Kumbalangi to understand its culture better, before shooting began in September 2018.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: The film was released in India and GCC territories on 7 February 2019. It received universal critical acclaim, and has been listed by several publications as one of the best Malayalam films of the decade. The film also achieved considerable commercial success at the box office, grossing ₹39 crore worldwide, against a budget of ₹6.5 crore and gained cult status. It was premiered on 24 May 2019 at the Habitat International Film Festival in Delhi, and also at the International Film Festival of Kerala where it won the NETPAC Award for Best Malayalam Film (Special Mention). It won several awards, including three Asianet Film Awards, six Vanitha Film Awards, four Kerala State Film Awards, seven CPC Cine Awards and two SIIMA Awards. Faasil's character "Shammi" also developed a cult following with many of his dialogues becoming popular.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: Saji, Bonny, Bobby and Frankie are four brothers living in a small, dilapidated house in the village of Kumbalangi. Saji's father had married Bonny's mother, who then gave birth to Bobby and Franky. When their father dies, the mother abandons the boys to join a religious mission, leaving Saji to be the man of the house. Saji has anger management issues, and often gets into fights with Bobby, an unemployed youngster. Franky is ashamed of Saji and Bobby but gets along well with Bonny, who is mute and kind.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: Bobby starts dating Baby, a girl who lives nearby. He eventually proposes to her, but she asks him to talk to her family first. Bobby asks Saji to accompany him, and together they go to meet Shammi, Baby's brother-in-law. Shammi rejects the proposal and ridicules the poor reputation that Bobby's family has among the villagers. Saji tries to console Bobby and asks him to get a job, which he does.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: One day, a fight breaks out between Saji and Franky. Bonny, who is very protective of Franky, hits Saji. Ashamed, Saji leaves the house and takes to drinking with his friend Vijay. In his drunken stupor, Saji tries to commit suicide. Vijay loses his own life in process of saving Saji's life


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: As a result of his remorse, Saji goes to Vijay's house to Apologize to Sathi, only to find her in Labor. He takes her to the hospital, where she gives birth to a baby girl. Saji takes Sathi and her daughter to his house. Meanwhile, Bonny has brought home an American tourist, Nylah, who has been kicked out of her homestay run by Shammi, for inviting Bonny there. Franky is pleased to have the two women in the house, as it gives them some semblance of being a regular family. Bobby even tries to enliven their love lives with suggestions like asking Bonny to take Nylah out to see sea sparkle's at night.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: Sometime later, Saji approaches Shammi again and asks him to reconsider the proposal, which Shammi refuses. Baby makes up her mind to elope with Bobby. However, Shammi finds out about Baby's plans, and turns abusive and violent. He assaults Baby, her sister and their mother, holding them captive in their own home. When Baby fails to return his calls, Bobby gets anxious and decides to check up on her. Bobby's brothers volunteer to help, and the four arrive at Baby's house. Together, they manage to trap Shammi with a fishing net and set the women free. Bobby and Baby are finally reunited and get married.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: Writer Syam Pushkaran conceived the idea for the film by drawing inspiration from the time he spent with his friends in his twenties in the village of Kumbalangi, which was near his hometown. In telling the story, Pushkaran said he wanted to counter the negative stereotypes about the village and its people. Writing the script took around 5 years, during which time Pushkaran worked on other films as well, but the final draft was completed in around six months. Pushkaran clarified that the film was not based on any real-life incident or person and was a relatively difficult one to write. However, he has stated that the character of Saji was influenced by a man with suicidal tendencies he encountered in his village in his youth. In 2011, while he was co-writing "Salt N' Pepper", Pushkaran discussed the idea with its assistant director Madhu C. Narayanan, who became interested in making it his directorial debut. In 2016, the pair worked together again on "Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum" (2017), after which they decided to focus on getting "Kumbalangi Nights" made.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: Fahadh Faasil played the brother-in-law of Baby who firmly opposed to the relationship between Baby and Bobby and ultimately goes to extreme measures to prevent them from being together. Through the character, director Narayanan aimed to depict the misogyny and toxic masculinity that passes for heroism in Kerala. When writer Pushkaran initially approached Faasil he had not expected that he would accept the role of the antagonist, explaining: "He was having a good run, doing successful family films. It was very courageous of him to agree to do this role." Shane Nigam was cast for the part early on in the production process. He played Bobby, the second-youngest brother who has been described by Nigam as a "lazy bum, someone who leads a responsibility-free life, and doesn’t have any serious, long-term plans." He turns his life around for the girl he falls in love with. In an interview, he said that he lived like his character for around three months to the point that he found it difficult to recognise himself after the filming was done, and struggled to move on to his next role, in the 2019 film "Ishq".


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: Soubin Shahir was approached to play the role of Saji even before his breakthrough performance in "Sudani from Nigeria" (2018) for which he earned a State Film Award. The eldest of the four brothers, Saji is a wastrel who lives off the earnings of his hardworking migrant friend, and regularly gets into violent fights with his younger brothers. Writer Pushkaran said that the character was loosely based on a friend from his youth in Kumbalangi named Saji Napoleon, who had had suicidal tendencies. Sreenath Bhasi was initially offered the part of the Bobby. However, by the time the movie was slated to begin shooting, the directors thought he was more suitable as the older brother, Bonny. The oldest brother after Saji, Bonny is a mute who falls in love with an American woman who comes to Kumbalangi as a tourist. Bhasi described his character as "the grounded big brother" of the family. Mathew Thomas, a debut actor, was cast for the role after he was shortlisted from an audition held at his school. For the role of Franky, the youngest brother, he spent six months with the film crew in Kumbalangi, during which he learnt to cook, row boats, cast fishing nets and play football in the forward position.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: Anna Ben played Baby, a determined young woman who has nursed a crush on Bobby since her school days and later dates him. Ben, an aspiring actress, responded to a casting call on Instagram for the movie and was subsequently selected through four rounds of auditions. She said she found it easy to identify with her character, explaining: "[Baby] is modern and traditional simultaneously, rooted, with her own point-of-view ... her clarity of thought, views on religion, and dialogues were all relatable. She sticks to her opinion, but isn’t arrogant." Grace Antony had made her debut appearance in "Happy Wedding" (2016), which made Pushkaran reach out to her for the movie. She played Simmy, Baby's older sister and Shammi's wife. A soft-spoken, traditional woman, Simmy is intimidated by her husband and speaks out against him only when he starts taunting Baby. Antony had also tried out for Baby's role, but was finally cast as Simmy. As her character was older to her, Antony said she imitated the mannerisms and body language of her mother and other housewives she observed for her performance.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: Dileesh Pothan, who had directed "Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum", offered to produce the film during an ad shoot with Narayanan. The film ended up being the debut production of Pushkaran's and Pothan's newly formed production house, Working Class Hero. Meanwhile, Pushkaran discussed the film and the character of Shammi with actor Fahadh Faasil while they were working on "Maheshinte Prathikaaram" (2016). Faasil, who found the character "very layered and complicated", agreed to the part. Subsequently, he also decided to co-produce the film under the banner of Fahadh Faasil & Friends, the production company that he owned with his wife, actress Nazriya Nazim. Faasil had no qualms about producing a film by the debut director, as he had already worked closely with Narayanan, who was then an assistant director, on "22 Female Kottayam" (2012). He explained his decision to co-produce the film, saying, "Meeting producers, convincing them, budgeting and more, takes a lot of time. I didn't want to go through any of that drill. Working with Syam [Pushkaran], Dileesh [Pothan] and the like is a fun experience and it's very dear to me, so I also wanted to give it my all."


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: Once the script and main cast was finalised, Narayanan rented a house in Kumbalangi and stayed there over a year to learn more about the place and local culture, leaving just two days before the shooting began. Many of the supporting actors were chosen during auditions held in the village itself. The four brothers’ house in the film was a set, built based on pictures of the interiors of different homes in the area. In order to give it a lived-in look, the crew collected used items and furniture from local households in exchange for fresh replacements. The algae in the surrounding water bodies were grown by the crew, a process which took 10 to 15 days. The film also used special effects to recreate the bioluminescence caused by sea sparkle, often sighted in Kumbalangi's water bodies. Filming began in early September 2018. On the long period it took to make the film, Narayanan said: "Considering the challenge that comes with a script populated by so many characters, we knew we had to approach everything patiently. Fleshing out all the characters and the surrounding details required a lot of time. All that preparation was needed just to get the entire story in a basic synopsis form."


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: "Kumbalangi Nights" has been described as a new generation film, a Malayalam cinema movement characterised by its progressive themes and realistic screenplays. The film critiques hypermasculinity and patriarchy, morality, primarily through the juxtaposition of Shammi and Saji's characters. Writing for "The Hindu", Arjun Jai Singh commented that "both men have psychological issues, but when Saji comes close to the abyss, he realises he must help himself: he goes to a doctor to cry out his emotions. Meanwhile Shammi insists on being “a hero”." Neelima Menon of "Firstpost" opined that the film "not only succeeds in overthrowing the celebrated alpha male but also points out that in theory he is the villain of the story." Namrata Joshi summed up Shammi's character as "the acme of perverse and pathological masculinity that the film gets one up on."


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: The film has also been noted for its feminist undertones. Baby, Nylah, and the absent mother all exercise their free will and agency in their own lives – without a "knight in shining armor" – except, notably, when a man physically overpowers one of them. Isha Sengupta of "The Indian Express" pointed out how the onus of rehabilitating the grown men was not placed on the women, observing that they "serve as an incentive for the men and the situation at their household to change, and not agents who bring about it. They witness. They do not execute. [The men] take charge of their lives and mend their ties, as some enter the kitchen and some find their vocation."


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: The film's soundtrack album and score was composed by music director Sushin Shyam, who also contributed vocals to three of its songs. The Malayalam lyrics on the album were penned by writers Anwar Ali and Vinayak Sasikumar, and the English lyrics by Shyam's bandmate, Nezer Ahemed. The album was launched on 21 January 2019 by Bhavana Studios. The song "Silent Cat", which in the movie is shown as a love song by an American tourist, was sung by German-based artist Kezia Quental, also known as K.Zia.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: In an interview, Shyam said that he was influenced by Italian music while making the album, owing to the similarities he found between the city of Venice, and Kumbalangi. He also revealed that working on the soundtrack was a challenge, explaining: "With a film of this nature, it was quite difficult to take a call on where to place the songs. Naturally, you become a little concerned about your music affecting the mood of the film or people not responding to it well." The songs went through several improvisations to accommodate the changes in the script. The soundtrack received generally positive reviews from critics, appreciating Shyam for his work.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: The film released in India and Gulf Cooperation Council territories on 7 February 2019. It was released a week later in New Zealand, and two weeks later in Australia and the United Kingdom. After its theatrical run, the film premiered at the Habitat International Film Festival in Delhi on 24 May 2019, and was screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala on 613 December 2019.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: The film, which was made on a budget of ₹6.5 crore, had considerable success at the box office. It grossed ₹4.8 crore from the Kerala box office and ₹3.95 crore from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) territories in its opening weekend. In 11 days, the film's total earnings reached ₹20 crore worldwide, of which nearly 50 per cent ticket sales came from its home state and about 45 per cent from the GCC. It ran for seven weeks in Bangalore and Chennai, six in Mumbai and Hyderabad, and five in Delhi. By the first week of April 2019, the film has made ₹27.89 crore in India. By the end of its theatrical run, the film had grossed a total of ₹39 crore worldwide.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: In the overseas market, "Kumbalangi Nights" grossed $475,987 from 36 screens in the United Arab Emirates in its opening weekend and $1,229,943 in eight weeks. It collected $51,406 from 71 theatres in the United Kingdom in the opening weekend there. The film grossed $109,713 (₹76.4 lakh) in the United States in eight weeks. It collected NZ$35,222 (₹17.18 lakh) in New Zealand and $10,617 (₹5.34 lakh) in Australia in two weeks, as well as $38,393 (₹27.21 lakh) in Canada in three weeks.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: The film received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised its script, cinematography, and acting performances, in particular that of Faasil and Shahir. The film appeared on many year-end and decade-end lists as one of the best Malayalam films of 2019 and the 2010s by several publications such as "The Hindu", "Mathrubhumi", and "HuffPost India".


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: In a review for "The Indian Express", G. Pramod Kumar called it "a subtle, but lucid and vivid poem about abandonment and redemption of human lives [...] The importance of love within the family, the brutality of patriarchy that even an eccentric man can exert, and the healing power of human touch and compassion are vividly depicted by both the writer Syam Pushakaran and director Madhu C Narayanan." Writing for "Cinema Express", Sajin Shrijith lauded the film as "one of those brilliantly written, once-in-a-blue-moon films that scores in every department ... "Kumbalangi Nights" is not being liberal just for the sake of it—it doesn't shove its progressive ideas down our throats. It doesn't preach; it simply shows." S. R. Praveen of "The Hindu" concurred, writing: "Madhu. C. Narayanan has the cushion of Syam Pushkaran's perceptive and subtle writing for his directorial debut; even so he makes a mark of his own, helming the beautiful coming together of all the elements that make this film what it is." "The Week"<nowiki>'s</nowiki> Sarath Ramesh Kuniyl agreed, rating the movie 4 stars out of 5 and deeming it "a rare gem" and a "must watch". Sify also gave a positive review, highlighting the cinematography, music and editing as "top-notch" and calling Shahir's performance "one of the finest displays of acting excellence."


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: A negative review came from film critic C. S. Venkiteswaran, who wrote: "In its compulsion to entertain and thrill without a pause, the narrative ends up incorporating in its stride all the clichés of the oldgen films – that of saving the damsel in distress, hero winning the heroine’s heart and body, the climactic trouncing of the villain, and the happy reunion of the family in the end – all churning up a syrupy narrative that leaves the viewers at peace with themselves and the world." Joseph Antony echoed this sentiment in his review for "Outlook", opining that "the artistry of the film loses out to its political ambition [with] barely any of the invigorating spirit that makes stories interesting" and citing Faasil's performance as one of the movie's few saving graces.


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: The film has received polarising reviews for its depiction of mental health and counselling. "The New Indian Express" praised the movie for its attempt to break the stigmatisation surrounding counselling, writing, "A counselling session has many misconceptions attached to it, holding many back from reaching out to a professional. As [Saji] walks out [of a therapy session] with a light heart, another truth is demystified for the Malayali audience - that of what therapy actually involves." "India Independent Films" also commended the scene for being "played out subtly, and with immense respect to his state of mind ... [it] marks a watershed for depicting clinical mental health issues with the sensitivity they deserve."


title: Kumbalangi Nights

text: However, CNBC TV18 criticised its choice of an apparently mentally unwell man as the antagonist, when his actions could have just as easily been done by a healthy person. Film critic Saibal Chatterjee pointed out that mental illness "is a disease to be treated. Instead, Shammi becomes an embodiment of all that is wrong with masculinity ... [the film is not] sensitive to the sensibilities of those suffering mental illness."


title: Inside Edge (TV series)

text: Inside Edge is an Indian sports-drama streaming television series created by Karan Anshuman and released on Amazon Prime Video. It premiered on 10 July 2017, and is the first Hindi-language series distributed by Amazon Originals. The series centers on the Mumbai Mavericks, a fictional T20 cricket team, whose owners operate a league-wide spot-fixing syndicate. "Inside Edge" stars an ensemble cast, featuring Vivek Oberoi, Richa Chada, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Tanuj Virwani, Angad Bedi, Sayani Gupta, Aamir Bashir, and Sapna Pabbi, as well as Manu Rishi, Amit Sial, Karan Oberoi, and Asha Saini.


title: Inside Edge (TV series)

text: "Inside Edge" has received positive critical reception and was nominated for Best Drama series at 46th International Emmy Awards. The second season premiered on 6 December 2019. The show was also been renewed for a third season that premiered on 3 December 2021.