As some of you may know, I have always been active in fandom spaces. In fact, outside of my enjoyment of food, I enjoy discussions about Sailor Moon, 1990s anime, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Filipino media franchise Encantadia. Being in fandom has helped me represent some of the biggest powerhouses in entertainment in the peak of my career a marketing communications professional -- it was the time being a fan started being cool, because we had grown up and had the power to bring our fandoms to life.
But sometimes, I do miss just being a fan.
In this magazine article I wrote for 2ndOpinion.ph back in 2016, I recount one of the highlights of my fangirl life (note that you may need the help of your preferred search engine for some expressions due to my bilingual writing, and this is the original version of what originally made it into the digital 'zine). Anyway, text under the cut!
Suntok Sa Buwan (A Fist to the Stars)
Or, how a Filipina fangirl managed to meet #TeamCap
As I write this in Manila, the #TeamCapFest in Singapore – or, officially, Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” Festival – is still ongoing. I’m missing out on the Artist Sketch Wall, the #ChooseWisely Laser Tag booth and the #TeamCap Combat Fitness Workout, which are usually my jam. But even now I still think that one night of magic was worth it, because the Marvel Blue Carpet Southeast Asia experience let me breathe the same air, even for a few seconds, as #TeamCap: “Captain America: Civil War” director Joe Russo, Chris “Captain America” Evans, Sebastian “Winter Soldier” Stan and Anthony “Falcon” Mackie.
I was a fan of the Captain America films since
2011, impressed by the character of Steve Rogers (and not just Chris Evans’ equally impressive physique). But between being busy at work and life being what it is, I never managed to make time to indulge in this side of fandom. So when #TeamCap announced that they were dropping by Singapore after
their first stop in Beijing, and the link to purchasing the Marvel’s “Captain
America: Civil War” Blue Carpet access pass finally went live less than 7 days
before their arrival, I psyched myself: “Well, you only live once.”
When the confirmation email arrived, I began to
hyperventilate! I resolved to make this my one present to myself this year, and to research where I could save up on: getting a SingTel Tourist SIM instead of
using my roaming plan, having a place to stay, and finding alternate transportation
options besides the MRT, because the advanced “Captain America: Civil War” screening
that I also gained access to would end at midnight (the MRT closes much earlier).
The next few days were a flurry of activity.
While working my hectic day job, I bought chocolate-covered dried mangoes as
presents for #TeamCap, and wrote notes for each member. In order to catch
#TeamCap’s attention and get the really beautiful low-polygon artwork made by a
dear friend signed, I settled on a canary yellow cocktail dress I last wore in, coincidentally, 2011. I also had difficulty booking my flight ticket, and ultimately I
needed to race towards NAIA Terminal 3 to buy it before the ticketing office
closed at 10:00 pm two nights prior to the event! It was a great thing that my close friend Gen and her
husband, both based in Singapore, agreed to house me in their cramped apartment
near Changi Airport (I am forever grateful for their love).
So, I had my tickets, my presents (chocolate-covered dried mangoes from Cebu), my lodging,
plus tips, zip ties (because laglag-bala is still a thing), instructions and well-wishes.
While I barely made it to NAIA Terminal 2 against Metro Manila traffic on
Wednesday, April 20th, my flight was delayed by an hour. I landed
midnight of the 21st, with Gen and her spouse waiting for me at
Changi Airport Terminal 1. After getting settled in, I still had to assemble my event
tickets, confirmation email, the artwork, food and water in my trusty backpack
before finally calling it a night.
On the morning of the Blue Carpet event, Gen
and I took the MRT to Marina Bay Sands to scope out the venue before
#TeamCapFest opened. We saw the Event Plaza, where the festival activities
would be held, and to the Ice Skating Rink, the site of the Blue Carpet experience.
After some waiting, I returned to the Event Plaza to claim my event ticket and
get my loot bag from the festival organizers, Reed Exhibitions. My events
organization experience and fandoms helped me learn more about the team, which
is also behind the annual Singapore Toy, Game and Comic Convention, and the
event program.
Sensing my restlessness, Gen brought me to Temasek
Plaza’s food court one MRT ride away, where we realized I was also too excited to finish my lunch (a rarity for me). When we returned to
Marina Bay Sands by 2:00 pm, it was chaos! People pushed through the barricades
and bouncers not caring for the upcoming event, the area for paid Blue Carpet
access had become much smaller to make way for local celebrities, and the organizers were arguing about security
protocol. Those of us with paid Blue Carpet access worried about losing our
spot, but the folks of Reed Exhibition reassured us that they would figure it
out. It was finally sorted after much negotiation, and at 5:00 pm, we managed
to enter the Blue Carpet access area.
While waiting, I tried to make friends with other
Blue Carpet ticket holders. It hit me that I was one of very few Philippine
fans with paid access; it was full of Singaporeans, Indonesians, Malaysians and
even a Star Wars fan from the 501st Garrison of Brunei! One girl
dressed up for the occasion in a Winter Soldier costume, building her left arm
out of duct tape; another one was armed with fancy Captain America nail art
plus high-heeled shoes to get her past the top of the barricade; while an Indonesian
student cut class just for the event! While we started out being generally
friendly with each other, we ended up fighting for our spots inside the
designated area due to the tight space.
We were situated at the third layer from the
stage; the first layer was for media, the second for VIPs – event sponsors and regional
celebrities. We were interviewed by broadcasters from Singapore, Malaysia,
Indonesia and Taiwan, all covering live. The Philippines was represented by
ABS-CBN, with their up-and-coming young actor Robi Domingo playing correspondent, taking groufies and fanboying
with Filipino fans outside the Blue Carpet. I think the media found me amusing in
my cocktail dress, with my sign and two copies of my friend’s artwork on one
hand, a paper bag and a Sharpie pen on the other arm/hand, plus another sign in my
teeth.
The global feed went live by opening with a
cosplay competition, where fans from all over the region dressed up as Captain
America, the Winter Soldier, and Iron Man. While there were no Falcon
cosplayers, seeing an Indonesian guy completely nail Iron Man by flipping off
his faceplate to reveal RDJ’s goatee and pulling off RDJ’s swagger made up
for it. I was glad he won first place, because he stayed in character while claiming
his prize, switching his helmet for Tony Stark’s sunglasses! I just wish whoever
took charge of the program picked better hosts, because Stephanie Carrington
and Glenn Ong knew almost nothing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which
showed when they began playing trivia questions while the audience waited.
Finally, it was Blue Carpet time! After a
parade of celebrities from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, Anthony Mackie
was announced first. The man went through the crowd for autographs and selfies twice,
and went up a floor for more autographs,
groufies and hugs! Shortly afterwards, Joe Russo was called; he had serious dad
vibes and seemed pretty chill. I managed to give him my paper bag of dried
mangoes, after which he did a double-take and said, “You’re sure these are for
everyone? All four of us?” I nodded and explained that each #TeamCap member would
find his name outside a box, plus a small gift inside too. I think he didn’t
expect to be included in the presents, given that directors play second fiddle
in appearances like this where the stars take centerstage.
Then it was Sebastian Stan’s turn. For him I
had a gimmick: my sign for him had Romanian phrases, thanks to my Romanian brother-in-law.
When Sebastian finally reached me, he blinked and looked at me in surprise, so
that was a win! He signed all the
artworks along with my sign, bitemark and all.
By then everyone was cheering for Cap himself
to come out. I despaired that Chris Evans might not show up at all, having
admitted to getting panic attacks around crowds – and the hosts just had to share that the Singapore audience’s size had surpassed Beijing’s for the initial leg of the #TeamCap Blue Carpet tour. But he finally appeared,
with the rest of his Marvel team leaving their spots near or on the stage to meet him
halfway (they were soon led back to the stage). To our dismay, Chris’ security
detail told us that selfies and autographs were not allowed, and he kept to the
media side of the Blue Carpet for a good while. But I think someone was looking
out for us that day, because after the interviews he began signing a lot of
stuff, including my friend’s artwork!
The rest of the night went in a haze. I
remember watching Anthony get the crowd to cheer “Team Cap!”, the children who
were part of Marina Bay Sands’ corporate social responsibility program asking
#TeamCap some questions, and a lucky VIP getting a hug from Chris plus a selfie
with #TeamCap. By the time the short program finished and we were asked to move
to the Mastercard Sands Theatre for the sneak preview of “Captain America:
Civil War,” I was dazed, hungry and thirsty. Still, I trooped on and surrendered
my already-depowered mobile phone and my left-over lunch in the reception area,
as per protocol for those with advanced screening access. Unfortunately, the
snack bar at the gate was empty when I got there, the complimentary popcorn and
Coke at our seats still couldn’t fill me up, but those didn’t stop me from
enjoying the film. Out of #TeamCap, it was strange only Joe welcomed us into the screening.
Some fans I encountered after the sneak preview told me that they camped
outside Sands Theatre hoping to catch Chris, seeing Sebastian enter halfway
through the film, while Anthony went around the shops.
So, how was “Captain America: Civil War,”
exactly? Well, it uses a non-linear storytelling style, jumping from past to
present. How far back in the past it goes though is best experienced. But those
jumps help explain the motivations behind Cap’s and Iron Man’s respective stances
towards the Sokovia Accords, and I can honestly say that viewers will
definitely leave the theatre finding both the #TeamCap and #TeamIronMan sides
valid. I was annoyed about a few things though: Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda
Maximoff lost her accent, the Russo brothers used a distracting method of
delineating the “past” and “present” sequences, and Marvel Studios’ weakness remains
its villains.
When the screening finished at midnight, I
claimed my mobile phone and asked a Blue Carpet buddy if I could borrow her
power bank for a bit, since even my spare battery failed me. Some Marvel
Singapore staffers asked me to go on-camera for a short review of the film,
which they said would appear on all Disney broadcast and social media (note: it didn't even show up on Disney Southeast Asia broadcasts). I finally
ended up hailing a taxicab from the other end of Marina Bay Sands to go home,
since the MRT had closed by then and Gen had long since left with her husband although she did wait up for me to get home.
I was extremely tired when I fell to bed, but my heart was still racing, my
mind was still replaying what had happened during the Blue Carpet event.
Besides being ridiculously handsome (even Joe!),
the men of #TeamCap are very nice towards fans and great at engaging with
children; even Chris managed to bring up his game once he reached the stage and
his team. But my new favourite #TeamCap cast member has to be Anthony,
ultimately – his showmanship and genuine personality were so infectious that he
even got Chris to connect with the audience. Plus, Anthony has many talents, because
he suddenly told the deaf-mute child who asked Chris “Do you love Singapore as
much as we love you?” that she was beautiful in sign language!
I almost missed my flight a few hours later, the adrenaline rush taking so long to give way into a shallow sleep. My dear friend Gen, practically the Bucky to my Cap for the whole experience, made sure I was awake, fed, watered and most of all able to get to Changi’s Terminal 1. Now that I’ve returned, I’m keeping my lips sealed about the film until the premiere. I’ve gone through screencaps from the chooseyourteam.asia live feed taken by friends and run Google searches to catch up on whatever I missed from the festival. All things considered, what started out as an infatuation led to one of the most amazing moments of my life.
Originally published in 2nd Opinion on 25 April 2016.
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