UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES MANILA Reflection of the Past: The Political Cinema as a Mirror of the Political Thought on Overseas Filipino Workers An Undergraduate Thesis Presented to Dr. Josefina G. Tayag Department of Social Sciences University of the Philippines Manila In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science Submitted by: Jaira Rica J. Tadeo 2015-46185 May 2019 Approval Sheet In partial fulfillment of the course requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts Major in Political Science, this seminar paper entitled Reflection of the Past:The Political Cinema as a Mirror of the Political Thought on Overseas Filipino Workers prepared and presented Jaira Rica J. Tadeo to the Political Science Program under the Department of Social Sciences of the College of Arts and Sciences – University of the Philippines Manila. This undergraduate thesis has been examined and is recommended for acceptance and approval by: _________________________________ Professor Josefina Tayag Thesis Adviser University of the Philippines Manila Wherefore, this undergraduate thesis is hereby accepted and approved by: ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Professor Jerome A. Ong Dr. Leonardo Estacio, PhD Chairman – Department of Social Sciences Dean – College of Arts and Sciences University of the Philippines Manila University of the Philippines Manila 2 ABSTRACT This study was centered upon looking into Philippine political films and how these can be used as avenues to study the political thought of University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) students from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). Due to the wide expanse of themes political films tackle, I have decided to focus on a topic that has been relevant for years in the Filipinos’ lives—Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Through an in-depth analysis of Philippine political films revolving around OFWs, literature on labor migration and political films, and of the political thought of UPM students regarding labor exportation, the thesis looked into the possibility that political films may be used as a reflection of the political thought of a people. Through an in-depth literature review, the thesis uncovered the meaning of political films and how these can be categorized. The current situation of the political cinema and of OFWs was also discussed in another part of this study. The collected data from existing literature and conducted revealed certain themes about the political thought of selected students from UPM regarding OFWs and if these were reflected in political films. 3 Table of Contents CHAPTER I: Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………7 General Objective…………………...……………………………………..……..…….10 Specific Objectives...………………...……………………………………..……..…….10 Research Questions……………………………………………………………….........11 Significance of the Study ……………………...…...…………………………..............11 Review of Related Literature ………………………………………………...………..13 Theoretical Framework……………………………...………………….......................18 Conceptual Framework………………………………………..…………....................19 Definition of Terms …………………………………………………………….............21 Methodology…………………………………………………….…………................................22 Population of the Study………………………………………………………………...23 Sampling Design….……………….……………………….………….….……..............25 Data Collection Procedure………………………...…………………………………...25 Ethical Aspects of Data Gathering……………………..……………………………..27 CHAPTER II: Situationer………………………………………………………………..........33 A Brief History of Philippine Migration……………………….……………………..33 Current State of Philippine Migration……….…………………………………....….35 The Philippine Cinematic Industry………………………………………..………….37 Political Films and Philippine Labor Migration………………………………...…....39 CHAPTER III: Results and Discussion ………………...…………………………………….41 Summary and Conclusion……………………………………………………………...86 Recommendations……………………….……………………………………………...90 APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………………..……95 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and, above all, I would like to thank God for without His constant presence in my life, I would be lost. Thank you for the unconditional love, and for giving me a reason to live. The need to glorify You in all things that I do is what has driven me to pursue excellence while maintaining my integrity and honor. All glory to You! I would also like to thank all filmmakers in the Philippine film industry that continue to contribute relevant movies for the Filipino masses. Without these filmmakers, this thesis would not have been possible, and I would not have been compelled to start this thesis. I do not claim any of the films that were mentioned in this study, but they are all films that I enjoyed watching. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my family. To Papa whose sacrifices have always been for me, my sleepless nights seem little in comparison. To Mama who has always been rooting for me, your encouragements and silent support are what keep me going. To my Ate and Kuya, you guys have been my source of comfort and happiness in times of stress. Lastly, thank you to Atom whose wagging tail and tiny kisses never fail to put a smile on my face. Truly, the thought of coming home to my family every week is what kept me going. I would also like to express my appreciation for my thesis adviser, Dr. Josefina Tayag. Thank you for all the advice you have given us. This study would not have been possible without your guidance. Thank you for believing in our abilities and capabilities. Thank you, also, to my best friend, Amiel, for always having my back. I appreciate all the times you checked up on me and kept me company throughout our stay here in UPM. I would not have lived through these past few years without you. 5 I would also like to thank my college friends— JM, Alexa, Cyril, Joy, Mikee, and Butchi—who have been with me throughout this semester. I can’t imagine this semester without your chikas and little kwentos. You guys are my sunshine and rainbows amidst a rainy week and are the highlights of my day. Thank you for being my home away from home. Of course, I would also like to express my appreciation to the people that have participated in my study. This research would not have been possible without your participation and support. Thank you for the time you have devoted to supply data for this study. The success of this research is for you! And, of course, I would like to thank myself for not giving up. I cannot even remember the amount of animes, kdramas, and movies that I have had to sacrifice for this thesis. But even through the deprivation of little things that make me happy, I have stayed sane and contented with life. And for this, I have to give myself due appreciation. There may have been times when I felt unmotivated and too tired, but if I had not picked myself up and braced myself for another day, then this would not have been possible. Chin up, self! I’m proud of you. 6 INTRODUCTION Individuals go through numerous events and circumstances in their lives of which shape their understanding of the world. Different institutions such as their families, education, peers, and even the media can mold how they view different phenomena in our society. The media plays an integral part in the socialization of an individual. It shows a person the current state of their society and how the masses receive and conceive different issues and news (Bardes et al., 2017). In stating this, we can say that the media, of all other forms of influences, is one of the most important influencers in the contemporary world. However, what exactly is media? And what can we consider as media? According to Mehraj et al. (201), media is a mode of transportation for messages, entertainment, and information. Newspapers, magazines, the radio, social media, and even shows on the television are considered media. Basically, the media is anything that conveys a message to its viewers. However, to explore a largely overlooked part of the media, we will focus on something that can equally influence its viewers in this technological age, and this is the cinema. The phenomenon of a film creating a domino effect which then results to having a great impact on a present society is not a new one. A film entitled “Rosetta”, for example, had influenced Belgian policy makers to enact a law called the “Rosetta Law” which protected the rights of teenage workers in their country. In citing this, one cannot deny that the cinema has the capacity to influence our current society nevertheless, it seems more fascinating to note how a film can be used as a reference to check the 7 thoughts of the people when the “Rosetta law” was enacted since this law would not have been enacted if the people did not create clamor upon viewing the film. However, it is interesting how present political situations affect and influence the film industry. In a time where Philippine history is forgotten, it is important for us to know and to document present happenings well. In the defense of the burial of Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani, President Duterte in 2016, reduced the atrocities during Martial law to mere “allegations and challenges”. He questioned what happened during Marcos’ Martial Law by saying “There’s no study, no movie about it.” (Gonzales, 2016). However, the existence of movies such as Dekada ’70 (2002) and Batch ’81 (1982), would quickly debunk the claims of the president. The existence of political films about certain issues shows that they happened or are happening in a country. The recent release