By: Godfreyna Canja
Self-expression is one of the most important ways for people to connect with one another and interact with the world. Our artistic senses and our urge to speak our minds have been our generation’s way of being more open to discuss social and personal issues, and creative artistry has always been a channel where people can express themselves or spread awareness about something.
Zines date back to the 1930s and were then called “fanzines” – self-published works usually a few pages long with images or texts on things that were relevant to the science fiction fandom. You could think of them as web forums before the internet existed and were a way for fans to discuss common interests, share news, create stories and build on ideas. Eventually catching on with other circles, “fanzines” grew to include other fandoms, and eventually, as the nature of language goes, the word was shortened to “zines.” These “underground” works became highly associated with the punk scene in the ‘70s, and over time, evolved into a form of expression, a tool for information, protest and more. The boundless freedom one can have when creating a zine is truly appealing for someone who just wants a creative outlet.
Photo by Cee Serrano
For instance, Bunny Luz, a long-time zine maker says “I grew up to be an avid reader, obsessed with indie comics from a young age, and was in liberal arts, very much into linguistics and philosophy, which I studied. But I was also into the local rock scene, very punk at that time. Nowadays, I’m more into academic circles of advocacy because I’m hoping to educate-clarify-re-inform. Zines are an excellent medium for that. They represent an authentic and genuine mode of free expression, unbound by gatekeepers of taste and content and freely reproduced and distributed.”
In a society where profitability, capitalism, and censorship run rampant, it may feel like creativity and self-expression can be stifled and constrained. This is where zines, a form of self-published drawings, writings, poetry, essays and anything under the sun, create an outlet without limitations for people to express themselves.
Photo by writer
Even for enthusiasts, zines can become an important tool for inspiration, comfort or even entertainment. Zines can be about anything from serious to mundane – one can easily find something that is relatable, entertaining and informative in a tiny piece of paper.
“I think people are drawn to zines because they’re transformative works. They’re informed entirely by your experience. When I read [someone’s] zines, I’m wondering how their taste was formed and how they express it. I think it’s an even playing field for everyone. Zines can also literally take any form. It can be literary, illustrative, narrative or conceptual – it doesn’t have to be fancy, heavily laid out, overly produced. It just has to get your point across,” shared Bunny.
In the Philippines there are a number of events for zine makers and enthusiasts. Herald X (which was said to have started the zine scene in the country), BLTX (Better Living Through Xeroxography; one of the bigger modern zine expos), location-based events like Lako Lako in Cubao Expo and Munzinelupa in the south, and even adjacent events such as Komiket and Komikon are now teeming with more zine makers.
Zines and zine culture have changed greatly over the years, especially in production value. As Bunny commented, “I am still from a cut and paste school of zines where we used to arrange everything on the page and photocopy it. I like making it like that. Now parang nape-pressure ang madami na kailangan colored, papa-print sa Yza or something (Now it’s like lots of zine makers are pressured to color print it in expensive printing houses or something). But zines are an artifact of time for me. That’s why I make a finite amount and then that’s it – when the print run is over, it’s over.”
However zines may have changed, from the topics they covered to the way they are made, there’s always a certain familiarity with each zine I come across – a nostalgic feeling that you can only get from holding something that someone has filled with their thoughts, feelings and talent. Bunny put it best when she said, “Zine culture has changed a lot since I started but the fundamental principle is the same: self-made, self-actualized, self-propelled.”
With every zine I buy, there’s a connection between the maker’s experience and my experience, their thoughts and my thoughts. The raw kind of self-expression in each zine is vital for the Filipino art and literary community, and it’s wonderful to see it flourish.