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ABSTRACT
Films have been a platform that allows the proliferation of stories and lessons, facilitating the process of what is remembered and recorded about the self, the society, and the nation. Such notions are critical elements in memory and history building, especially for nations like the Philippines and China, as they have traversed critical junctures of their social and political history. Through a comparative analysis, this article examines the stories and lessons on history and memory as depicted in the films Liway (Kip Oebanda, 2018) and The Blue Kite (Tian Zhuangzhuang, 1993). The discussions highlight the setting and children-characters, as well as meanings and symbolisms in the reflection process, which emphasize the need to investigate the everyday and quotidian stories of those who lived through the Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and China under Mao Zedong. The discussions and reflections raise the need to continue upholding the overarching principles behind the Philippines’ Second Golden Age in Cinema and China’s fifth generation of filmmakers, which is to continue remembering and coming to terms with the nation’s traumatic and tragic pasts.
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Master's Thesis submitted to the UP Diliman Asian Center
2022 January 11
ABSTRACT
This study aims to analyze, through selected memoirs of those who lived through the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, widely referred to as the Cultural Revolution (CR), how personal recollections construct meanings of conflict, survival, and escape through a textual analysis of the following stories on the CR written in English: Life and Death in Shanghai, Zheng Nian; Red Azalea, Min Anqi; and Red Scarf Girl, Jiang Jili. Originally, the CR was meant to purify China from counterrevolutionary and bourgeoisie elements through a perpetual revolution. However, mainstream critiques characterize this period as one with faltering social institutions, economic stagnation, and a culture of violence. The results and insights of the study focus on the thematic texture of the narrations presented in the memoirs to interrogate the process, patterns, and construction of memory and the creation of meaning through individuals’ coming to terms with personal experiences amid a critical period in China’s history. The dynamics occurring among these different narrations should be considered in the study of the CR, not as an attempt to provide an overarching picture. Instead, the significance of this work is in the acknowledgment that history is nuanced. This study considers the contribution of personal and “informal” histories in encouraging appreciation of CR discourse alongside official histories.
DETAILS ABOUT THIS THESIS
Proposal Defense Date: December 12, 2019
Final Defense Date: June 18, 2021
Thesis Adviser: T.S. Clemente, Ph.D.
Reader-Critic: M.C.M. Santamaria, LL.D.
Panel Member: M.D.F. Natividad, Ph.D.
Op-ed for the Philippine Strategic Forum
2021 June 24
In the national context, dreams are manifestations of the collective spirit and the driving force of both development and destruction. But dreams never exist in empty space, especially in a global political landscape filled with overlapping and contesting interests, claims, and beliefs. These eventually manifest into action and become drivers of policy agenda by countries capable of doing so. Consequently, this raises the question whether dreams should be viewed as welcoming indicators of cooperation and unity or as warning signs for the rest of the world to become warier of international powers. This article sheds light on the nature and manifestations of the Chinese Dream. Further posed is a need to examine the promise and obstacles it holds for the Philippines’ pursuit of its national aspirations.
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