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[spiceytuna]

The Representation of Women in Exploitation Cinema: A Critical Analysis

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Exploitation in old Philippine cinema (and even a number of 21st century films) has always been a recurring theme, especially when provided with low budgets and unclear directions. And although these contain borderline questionable and immoral content for the sake of earning, these films still more often than not cater to the “male gaze”, to say the least— which makes it harmful especially when it comes to how women are represented and perceived. 

Scorpio Nights (1985), one of the most acclaimed Filipino erotic films yet controversial, revolves around a very sensual love affair between a married woman and a young man. It all starts when the main character, Danny, plays peeping tom on the wife and her husband every night until it gets to the point where he can’t control his sexual urges anymore. One night, while the husband is still away, Danny goes down to the wife’s home and engages in sexual intercourse, and the wife does not refuse him. This continues on for the majority of the film, until the husband catches them in the act. He shoots Danny and his wife on site, proceeds to have *spoiler alert* sex with his wife’s dead body, and then kills himself after. 

Albeit being more recent than Scorpio Nights, Tuhog (2001) is a film that tells the story of a young woman named Floring and a movie production company that plans to retell her story of being raped by her now convicted grandfather. The producer and director mention that their goal is to create a “socially-relevant” film, so Floring accepts the idea but refuses to be the actress in her own retelling. In an unfortunate and sickening twist of events, Floring and her mother find out that their story was flipped completely. They leave the cinema even before the film ends, and they’re left to relive their trauma in their heads all over again. 

These two films make use of exploitation film genres such as infidelity, incest, rape, and murder— with the common denominator being sex. 

Sexploitation in films, especially Philippine cinema, seems to be a regular occurrence as it doesn’t take much to prove that sex plays a big part in the selling point of a film— it piques interest, other people would admit. Through the analysis of various scenes and overall narrative, exploitation films like Scorpio Nights and Tuhog show us how women are more often than not painted in a very submissive, silenced, and sexually objectified light in a predominantly patriarchal society like the Philippines. 

Because exploitation films tend to place extra emphasis on the “show” than “tell” part of their works, it takes a little more than just watching the films in order to draw out inferences or elements that could potentially mean something deeper. Given the argument stated above, the following scenes and observations to be discussed are what has acted as supporting evidence to it. 

To start off, the wife in Scorpio Nights is a clear manifestation of a common stereotype of women back in the day. How women don’t work, and how they literally just exist in the kitchen and in bed. This state of the wife’s character is amplified especially in bed scenes. While she and her husband engage in sex, she does not give much of a reaction, and while she does give reactions when having sex with Danny, she never acknowledges the fact that she’s cheating on her husband. In simpler terms, she just lies there and takes it. 

Although being a very short scene in Tuhog, the part where Floring reports the rape was very significant and drew out quite a negative reaction in me. When asked about who raped her and when Floring responds that it was her grandfather, the worker says something along the lines of “Aba mahilig pa rin si lolo ah!�� It says a lot how he did not view it as a grave incest and rape issue and just played it off by even making a joke out of it. So here, it shows that Floring wasn’t just seen as an object to her grandfather, but also to some man she doesn’t even know.  

Towards the end of Scorpio Nights, which is probably considered to be the only sentimental part in the entire film, the husband goes home drunk one night and breaks down in front of his wife. He lays out all his setbacks and insecurities in front of her, and asks her if she still loves him. The wife then reaffirms her love for him and holds him until he calms down. However, despite this romantic, non-sexual scene, we see the wife continue sleeping around with Danny in the succeeding scene. In this way, the wife’s character barely developed. 

Exploitation films tend to not pay much attention to proper storytelling and development, so this is one of the other reasons why the wife’s character was oversimplified and merely reduced to a sex symbol. This is proved in the final part of the film, when her own husband kills her. This can be interpreted in a way that the husband no longer wants anything to do with her after finding out she’s been cheating all this time— but it’s still incredibly shocking that he still ends up having sex with her dead body. It feels as if the wife was there to just act as a catalyst or an enabler for Danny and her husband’s sexual desires. 

The final scene—and what I believe has served as the clearest evidence for the claim—is how the retelling of Floring’s rape story in Tuhog was a complete one-eighty of what actually had happened in her life. The title of the remake was “Hayok sa Laman (Lust for Life)”, and it focused on extra sex scenes rather than addressing incest and rape and making it something “socially-relevant” like the producer and director said they would. Even humor was present. Hasmin, Floring’s character, was immensely sexualized, and was given the personality of a troublemaker and turning her into someone who sneaks off to be with her love interest. These scenes in a way watered down the gravity of the rape scene. Violeta, Perla’s character, was a lot less empathic in the film, and she was more submissive, even to the point where she initiates sex with her father—when in real life, Perla has always resented him ever since. 

Just by the scenes in “Lust for Life” alone, these already verify how filmmakers twist and excessively sensationalize characters in order to attract attention. I guess one way to cap off this discussion is to mention how the audience for these films were male-dominant.

Other than the two films being thematically similar in terms of using sex as a way to sell, Tuhog supplements Scorpio Nights in a way that it literally shows how exploitation works—how over sensualizing or over exaggerating a story can draw more attention. However, it’s also little surprising that explicit themes in films like cheating, incest, rape, and murder are very frequent in a predominantly Catholic country. Which is why it’s essential to understand the social realities these films explore, whether they’re explicitly presented or not. 

In essence, the thorough evaluation and investigation of the two films—of exploitative genres—have further brought light into how women are merely portrayed as erotic, weak and passive beings when it comes to male dominance, and how it’s still very much present in the 21st century.

[spiceytuna]

The Truman Show: Understanding Reality

Have you ever imagined living your entire life unsuspectingly being watched by the entire world? Well, that’s “The Truman Show” for you— it feels like the ultimate reality show for anyone out there. 

The Truman Show (1988) follows the story of Truman Burbank’s entire life. Unbeknown to him, his every action is being broadcasted on television with millions of viewers. He is completely oblivious until he starts noticing things that are unusual and eventually learns that everything around him was fake all along. 

It’s not a doubt that watching this film was a little disorienting for me, as it blurred out the lines between the reality show and the outside world at some point, but I will say it was very thought-provoking. There is so much to unpack from this film, but the following elements to be discussed that have set up the work so realistically yet so ironically are what I believe has led to its very compelling and engaging storytelling as a whole. 

Setting and location plays an integral part in this film as Truman’s entire broadcast period takes place in Seahaven Island, a massive constructed set built near Hollywood that mimics the “real” world. With the help of advanced technology, five thousand cameras are installed around this world to monitor and film Truman’s move 24/7. These cameras are built in buttons, sharpeners, bushes, and other objects we don’t expect cameras to be hidden in. To amplify this kind of effect, some scenes are presented with vignette borders, which gives us the feel of looking through the lens of a camera. 

In line with Truman’s childhood trauma and now established aquaphobia, the people behind the show also use weather manipulation in order to prevent and/or discourage Truman from finding a way out of Seahaven. This type of manipulation is seen quite early in the film, when Truman has a moment of contemplation on the beach and it starts raining. However, it only rains above him and nowhere else. 

This kind of setup shows us that there is a clear difference between what happens, or what we see in films and reality. In films, there are really settings that are manufactured and tweaked for the story to progress well— there are boundaries. Reality, on the other hand, there are no limits.

I would say that there was not much play and experimentation when it comes to the props, makeup, costumes, and lighting, as Truman, again, was in a reality show. It’s important to take note that these kinds of shows need to be believable in order for audiences to relate somehow, so it’s no doubt that the filmmakers might have intentionally visually presented the film in this way— completely mundane. 

In relation to reality and media consumption, I guess it goes without saying that human beings tend to possess this toxic habit of escapism and resorting to consume entertainment excessively in order to satiate the lack of “spice” we have in our individual lives— and I, personally, am no exception to this. When multiple things are happening in the world at once (and not exactly positive things), we get overwhelmed. So to solve this, we detach ourselves from reality and look for something to fixate on instead. This is why The Truman Show flourished. Despite Truman’s 100% fabricated and controlled environment, he was the only truly genuine and real person, which was exactly what the people want for their own lives. 

I like to believe that the characters served as metaphors or symbols that mirror real life. Truman Burbank does look like the typical person: middle-aged, employed, lives in the suburbs. Personality-wise, he constantly seeks freedom and is very determined about it. And this is once again what made his audience or viewers so attached to him— it was the sense of relatability. 

Christof, or the man that started this all, seems to be the physical manifestation of this idealized, borderline obsessive need for everything to be perfect and undisturbed, these of which hold us back from becoming the best versions of ourselves, because of this we develop this fear of failure and disappointment. As a result, we disengage and do nothing at all. 

Sylvia, previously known as Laura Garland, acts as that little voice at the back of our minds  that tells us that maybe if we tried a little harder to push ourselves out from our shells and experienced the world for what it truly is— all prettiness and ugliness included, then we’d be able to achieve our goals and dreams. 

In the end, Christof, the show’s producer, presents Truman with a choice: to simply ignore truth and live in this manufactured world where he has nothing to fear, or to face reality where struggle is inevitable. Truman—born explorer and now aware of the hoax he’s been living this entire time—chooses the latter. 

With all elements put together, The Truman Show, in its entirety, ultimately makes its audience decide between the same things. Are we simply going to let external factors decide the way we live and act, or will we take the chance to define our own meanings in life?

[spiceytuna]

Batch ‘81: The Struggle between Power and Morality

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Mike de Leon, one of the most acclaimed Filipino filmmakers of our time, is known for many of his works that pose criticism (either metaphorically or literally) towards the Philippine society. Some of these films include: Kisapmata (1981), Sister Stella L. (1984), and Batch ‘81 is no stranger to this concept. 

Batch ‘81 (1982) follows the story of seven college students, one professor, and their experience in one of their university’s fraternities, Alpha Kappa Omega (AKO). The film runs us through the entire initiation or hazing process, and is told through the perspective of the protagonist, Sid Lucero (played by Mark Gil). Throughout the rites, the eight neophytes suffer physical and mental damages– some parts even being lethal, to prove their worthiness to the ‘masters’ of the fraternity. 

Other audiences who have seen Batch ‘81 have expressed that it acts as a metaphor or symbol for the nation under the Marcos era or the Marcos dictatorship through the amount of violence (campus violence in this context) and power plays seen all throughout. However, the majority of the film also digs deep into the human psyche, decision making, and what factors affect or influence these very decisions. Through observation and interpretation, Batch ‘81 is a film that depicts an individual’s struggle in balancing power, morality, self-awareness, and loyalty when put under very compromising circumstances. 

The evidence of the argument stated above are spread throughout as the film progresses; however, the following scenes that will be discussed serve as major justifications for the claim.

In a birthday party within the fraternity, through what seems to be an initiation rite disguised as a drinking game, the neophytes are asked to recite a part of the creed, drink a sip of the beer, spit it back in the glass, and pass it onto the next person to do the same. When the cycle ends, the first person, Roxas Jr., drinks it all. He eventually feels sick and rushes to the bathroom to throw up. While the scene is happening, the fraternity group resumes with their celebration, but the camera shifts its focus to Lucero, who watches Roxas Jr. As the camera zooms in, this becomes the first scene in the entire film where Lucero expresses the slightest bit of fear and vulnerability. 

This scene now establishes a sense of imbalance within Lucero and his mind, as it seems like he expresses empathy for Roxas Jr., and even looks like he wants to help him, but his pride says otherwise. Deep inside he knows that this is just another way of the fraternity to test their strength, so he does nothing. 

During a dinner date between Lucero and Mariel, his girlfriend, Mariel brings up her concern for Lucero, saying that the fraternity will bring nothing but chaos. Lucero says that it’s too shameful to drop out at that point and tries to reassure her by saying that he knows what he’s doing. Mariel does not buy it and tells him that he’s losing himself in the process and that he won’t be aware of it until it’s too late. Here it can be argued that Lucero has already gotten too invested in the fraternity that it has inflated his pride and ego.  Another past scene that showed this aspect was when Mariel refused to watch the fraternity’s dance practices and expressed her dislike towards them, to which Lucero counters with, “Prejudice ka lang.” 

When Vince, one of the masters, hears about Roxas Jr.’s consideration to leave the fraternity after the night of the birthday party, he straps him into an electric chair and is shocked when the wrong answers to questions are given. This escalates to a point where Roxas Jr. can no longer answer, and his fellow neophytes fight to get him out of the chair (Lucero excluded). It is then revealed that everything was just a set-up in order for them to realize that trust– especially towards their masters, is all they need within the fraternity. 

“Puro frat nalang lumalabas sa bunganga mo, pero anong ginawa mo nung nagkakagulo na? Wala, tumanganga ka kalang! (The only thing that’s coming out of your mouth now is about the frat, but what did you do when the fight broke out? Nothing, you just stared!)” Enriquez spits this out after Lucero hypocritically expresses his support after the scene. Enriquez adds, “Neophyte ka palang, isip master ka na. (You’re just a neophyte, but you think like a master already.)” Here it is observed that even Lucero’s own best friend now notices that he has started to absorb himself fully into the fraternity’s system. 

In addition, when the neophytes celebrate the return of Roxas Jr. in AKO, they fail to acknowledge the fact that he was abused or hit by his dad when he tried to leave. This once again shows that they’re blinded by the “positive” or the benefits they’ll receive at the end of the initiation, concealing all the immoral things occurring. In simpler terms, the neophytes have seemingly adapted to the “the end justifies the means” kind of mindset. 

At the climax of the film, a fight between Alpha Kappa Omega, and another fraternity, Sigma Omicron Sigma, takes place after Enriquez’s unjustified death and results in even more deaths which include: Roxas Jr., Gonzales (AKO) and Abet (SOS).

The entire “rambulan” between the two exposes the violent nature of fraternities and the need to prove that one is stronger than the other– so much that it can even result in homicide. Tracing this back to the argument, it just proves once more that there is a clear conflict when it comes to power, loyalty, and value for human principles and virtues. 

Batch ‘81 comes full circle when five of them, Lucero included, pass the initiation rites and become the future masters. At the end of the film, we see them subjecting the next neophytes to the same initiation process– the same pain and torture they experienced. They become the oppressors next, and this shows how power can take over our morality and ignore what’s right and wrong.

“Brads na kami. Masters na kami. (We are now brothers. We are now Masters.)” Lucero’s ending statement does not draw a clear line between his desire to become part of the fraternity vis-à-vis his desire to continue living for his comrades who had lost and failed in the process. 

In conclusion, the entirety of Alpha Kappa Omega is the culmination of all things stated in the argument. How the men’s initial determination to ‘belong’ or to be recognized, has shaped them into something predictable– but still violent nonetheless. Through the scenes that have been analyzed, expounded upon, and because of this kind of mindset, the inflation of ego, humans may blindy succumb themselves to submission and loyalty which then results in them losing their sense of self and abusing the power they are in control of.

[spiceytuna]

Palacio de San Rodrigo: Social Disparity in the Philippines

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Palacio de San Rodrigo, produced by De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s own students, is a film about privilege, injustice, and inequality present in modern societies. The story follows the lives of the wealthy tenants of Palacio de San Rodrigo and the poor De La Cruz family who makes rags for a living. Throughout the film, three kinds of rainfall occur, all of which benefit those living in Palacio de San Rodrigo and further harm those outside of it, especially the De La Cruz household.

As I was watching this film, I began to notice things that felt too familiar to my surroundings. With that being said, based on my observations and interpretations, Palacio de San Rodrigo is a satirical short film that mirrors today’s Philippine society under the Duterte administration. This will be further elaborated through an analysis of the scenes, characters, and other visual elements present in the film.

This analysis, will be split into two parts. The first part will focus on more implicit details, or elements that acted as metaphors for something deeper while the second part will point out more explicit elements that serve as supplements to the less obvious and to also further support the argument. 

Implicit Elements 

The three types of rainfall will be emphasized upon since the underlying messages very much brought out the message of this film and how it validates the argument. 

During the first type of rainfall, or “Ulan ng Pagpapakasarap (Rain of Pleasure)”, it rained 230 condoms (yes, literally). However, only the tenants from Palacio de San Rodrigo were able to get them. This scene was followed by the tenants engaging in sexual acts. On the other side, it is implied that De La Cruz also engaged in the same activity– but without the use of contraception, as it shows that they have a newborn in the next scene. The lack of celebration for life is expressed in this scene as the child’s parents already start experiencing problems with caring for the child such as the lack of food. Relating this to the Philippine society today, Filipinos who are less privileged than the majority do not have much access to sex and reproductive health education, which is an integral part in learning how to care for a child. This is very harmful because it has the potential to affect family relationships negatively. 

After the first rainfall, a tenant named Lola Loqa gets sick and prays to San Rodrigo to help her. A news anchor then announces that it’s going to rain “Dugong” money (Ulan ng Proteksyon or Rain of Protection). The tenants once again receive their so-called “blessings”. In the De La Cruz household, the baby gets sick, but the parents do not have enough money to buy medicine. De La Cruz then leaves the house to sell his rags, but he isn’t compensated enough. This symbolizes the lack of compassion and empathy from the government towards the people who need them the most. 

In the following scene, Lola Loqa accidentally drops her bought medicine, and De La Cruz helps her pick them up. However, they both fail to notice the last bottle of medicine left on the floor. Lola Loqa only finds out when she’s back home. She immediately assumes that De La Cruz stole it, and broadcasts a video on the news and even lied to make it look like he stole five bottles when he did not at all. The news anchor then announces that punishment is coming. This is a representation of the corrupt Philippine government and how they prioritize the upper classes. This inevitably leads to the third rainfall.

During the “Ulan ng Pagdurusa (Rain of Suffering)”, it rains bullets and the De La Cruz household is directly affected. The family dies and a “HUWAG TULARAN” sign is placed on their doorstep. This is a very clear manifestation of the Extrajudical Killings (EJK) in the country right now, as the family was killed just out of pure speculation and with no due process at all. At the end of the film, it is revealed that the baby was still alive. This ultimately represents innocence– how the truly innocent people are the ones who suffer the most because of the higher-ups.

Explicit Elements

A number of references to President Duterte’s name was present around the film as right at the beginning of it, we see “Palacio de San RODRIGO”. In the succeeding scene, we see condoms labeled with “230” in which can be read as “DU30”, another abbreviation created from the president’s name. “Dugong” money could be associated with the President’s violent measures in order to keep himself in power. (Not to mention that “Dugong” and “Digong” have a difference of one letter.) And although this may be merely a coincidence at first glance, it is still worth taking note of. 

The difference in the color grading for Palacio de San Rodrigo and the De La Cruz househould also clearly establishes the gap between the rich and the poor, as the coloring for Palacio de San Rodrigo was very colorful, boisterous and vibrant. In contrast, the De La Cruz household was very dull, flat, and dreary.

This film very much brought into light the cracks and flaws in the Duterte administration. Backed up with the analysis of the film’s elements such as the scenes and characters, there is enough evidence– both explicit and implicit, to prove that Palacio de San Rodrigo is indeed a reflection of the current Philippine society and a representation of the disparity between the privileged and underprivileged.  

[spiceytuna]

From 2D to 3D: The Lorax

Dr. Suess, a name most people if not all have heard at least once in their life, is a popular American children’s book author and illustrator. He is a writer known for writing in rhyme and presenting themes very much applicable to young children. His popular works include “The Cat in the Hat”, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, and “The Lorax”, all of these which were adapted into films.

The Lorax, however, is a slightly less joyful and humorous work, as this served as more of a warning or wake-up-call concerning environment exploitation to its readers. The animated feature film released in 2012 finds a way to mesh these together to still attract children and other general audiences, while keeping in mind the ultimate message that the book wants to send. 

The Lorax (2012) is mainly set in Thneedville, a completely tree-less town where everyone lives off excessive consumerism and capitalism, even the clean air they breathe is sold through bottles. The story follows a young boy, set on impressing his crush, who secretly leaves town to find the Once-ler and learn about the cause of the trees’ disappearance and if there was a chance he could still find one. Over time, the Once-ler retells his past, of how he committed mass deforestation, and his experiences with the so-called “guardian of the forest”, the Lorax. At the end, the Once-ler hands over the last Truffula Tree seed, and Ted goes back to town to show everyone that trees are not as bad as they seem. 

The book consists of around 70 pages, while the film’s runtime was for an hour and a half long. A TV special in 1972 that had the same flow of the book, ran for 25 minutes. Given that the content in the book was a little too short to be made into a film, extra scenes and elements were created in order to give the main character a proper motivation and goal to achieve. The film was definitely more in-depth given its exposition and added ending, as it gives us a clear understanding of the characters and their motives. However, it did not neglect the book as the written work was still entirely incorporated in the film. Simply put, the film is an extension of the book. 

The book contains a very simple plot. It starts off right when the boy meets the Once-ler and ends with the last Truffula seed being handed over. In contrast to the film’s establishment of its opening and closing scenes, the book allows us to imagine what may have pushed the boy to look for the Once-ler and what the boy could have done with the seed. 

The film adaptation gives its audience the opportunity to immerse themselves through its visual and creative elements. All the way from lively Thneedville, the dark and eerie outside world, to the colorful Truffula Trees in the past. This allows viewers to really get in touch with their senses. The music performances in between scenes serve as additional elements to continue pushing the story forward, just like the illustrations seen in the book.  The film also maxes out the potential of the book by adjusting it to current times– how Thneedville is somehow a manifestation of the spaces we’re living in comfortably today in contrast to the ugly, dull, outside world we tend to be ignorant towards. 

Overall, despite the book and film’s minor differences, these two still show us how exploitative consumerism and industrialization can be, through storylines that are not overly complex. In the end, both works place emphasis on the line, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”, which is the central theme of the story. They do not only bring light into how sometimes we’re not aware of how our behavior or lifestyle affects the environment, but also reminds us that it is not too late to fix this. 

[spiceytuna]

Singin’ in the Rain: An Ode to Film 

In the post-war craze and the sudden increase of leisure time in the 1950s, the film industry was booming with new works. “Singin’ in the Rain”, released in 1952 and directed by Stanley Donen and the actor of Don Lockwood himself, Gene Kelly, is probably one of the best films of all time, as it gives us a picture of Hollywood in the 1920s. As the story is uniquely told through a musical, it’s no wonder that this film has garnered so much recognition and award nominations (Academy Awards, Golden Globes, BAFTA Awards, and more). Although most of these were merely nominations, film critics and audiences still regard the film as a “favorite” or “the best”, in which we can infer that the appreciation shown towards the work goes beyond just its numbers.

“Singin’ in the Rain”, a musical romantic comedy film, is set in the time where silent films were transitioning to ‘talkies’– moving pictures with actual voices in sync with the actors and actresses. It takes us behind the scenes of the industry and how different it was back then.

Two of the most central themes that can be extracted from the film are (1) The abuse of one’s power, and (2) The importance of humility. The abuse of one’s power comes in the form of Lina Lamont. She threatens Mr. Simpson to take over the studio if he were to reveal the truth about her ‘film’ voice being dubbed by Kathy all along. The concept of humility isn’t explicitly emphasized, but it’s seen through how the characters develop. From Don learning how to let go of his pride and going back to his roots and how his career started from doing theatrics, Kathy never lashing out at Lina and her overbearing personality, all the way to Cosmo, ever-optimistic and encouraging towards Don. These three characters end up in better positions at the end and well– it’s well-deserved.

The themes portrayed in the film can very much be seen in present time, as we learn that the industry isn’t just full of stardom, and the people behind it aren’t perfect either. It takes a lot for the people to get to where they are now.

“Singin’ in the Rain” has left a great impression, on me, at least– it’s funny, romantic, and realistic. It has given us films within a film, musical within a musical. It’s highly enjoyable and educational in a sense that you don’t even have to be fully aware of it because the educational aspect is so seamlessly integrated into the story! By the end of the film, not only are you left with a happy or lighthearted feeling in your chest, but also a realization that the film industry has immensely developed and progressed in the past years.

To put it simply, “Singin’ in the Rain” feels like an ode to the world of film and everyone who has put monumental work and effort into it.