Propaganda or not? An Analysis of Tony Velasquez’s “The Kalibapi Family,” 1943-1944
Article
At the height of Japan’s occupation of the Philippines, among the major priorities of the Japanese government was to bring back a sense of normalcy, to pull the Filipinos into their fold, and to support their war causes. This was done through various means, such as wartime propaganda through the control and censorship of Philippine media. The Tribune was one news publication that fell under Japanese control, and its contents, including its comic strips, were heavily censored during the war. This study analyzes the historical and artistic contents of the comic strip “The Kalibapi Family.” Penned by Antonio “Tony” Velasquez, the strip was published by the Tribune from 1943 to 1944. This study seeks to answer the following questions: How did Tony Velasquez illustrate the conditions and different aspects of life under the Japanese Occupation through “The Kalibapi Family” comic strips? Did Velázquez try to satirize the Japanese? Did he put some elements of resistance in the comic strips? Data for the study were gathered through the online archives of the Filipinas Heritage Library and the National Library of Australia. After a process of purposive sampling, 30 strips were selected and explored through content and discourse analysis. The study found that although “The Kalibapi Family” was initially dismissed as propaganda, the comic was generally more pro-Philippine Republic. Velasquez presented a nuanced perspective where he showed how a Filipino artist could portray the real situation at that time in a more comical manner that the general public can understand.
Torture in Martial Law Cinema
Article
In the context of the broad historical amnesia and authoritarian nostalgia that attended the rehabilitation of the Marcoses in Philippine politics, the filmic representation of torture has served as a crucial element in constructing the memory of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. This article examines how torture in Martial Law cinema contributes to the cultivation of the public’s historical consciousness about the dictatorship. Touching on significant concerns about the representability of political violence and trauma, sense memory, and the question of sensationalism, the article analyzes the film ML (2018) by Benedict Mique, which graphically portrays Martial Law torture through conventions associated with torture porn. It highlights how the film’s explicit reenactment of political violence engenders reflections about the crisis of historical memory, and the continuities between Marcos Sr.’s dictatorial rule and fascist violence under the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte. The article explores how such generic adherence to violent cinema can advance our understanding of the complex sensory dynamics of filmic spectacle in shaping political memory and articulating socio-political commentary.
Ranting as Rhetorically Responsive Social Actions on Sports-Talk Radio: A Critical Discursive Approach
Article
This study uses a critical discourse analytic approach to examine the use of rants by callers on a prominent sports-talk radio show. Rather than being simply invective or contentious forms of social interaction, the findings show that rants are typically carefully constructed social actions that often use disclaimers to manage strong epistemic stances regarding knowledge of both the sporting events and sports culture. Rants are often created in opposition to other caller’s comments, making them rhetorically responsive. Rants also generally solicited intersubjective affiliation from the talk show host and displayed carefully crafted, accountable identities that reflect stylistic forms of communication and cultural norms. The up-close, discursive orientation reveals the multifunctionality of ranting in sports-talk radio interactions.
Historyograpikong pagbasa sa mga piling biopic ayon sa mga modelo ng pagsasakasaysayan ni Friedrich Nietzsche
Article
The study examines the historiography within selected biopics that feature the lives of Philippine heroes Andres Bonifacio (1863-1897), Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964), Antonio Luna (1866-1899), Gregorio del Pilar (1875-1899), and Manuel Quezon (1878-1944): Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio (2010), Supremo (2012), El Presidente (2012), Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo (2014), Heneral Luna (2015), Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (2018), and Quezon’s Game (2018). The body of the paper is divided into three substantive sections: (1) some notes on the selected biopics, (2) an explanation of the models of writing history introduced by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) (i.e., monumental history, antiquarian history, and critical history), and (3) discussion of the traces of Nietzschean historiography within the selected biopics. The analysis showed that the most dominant model was monumental history, which highlighted heroic narratives of the past. The next most dominant was critical history, which criticized the mistakes of the past. There were very few traces of antiquarian history, which aimed to be faithful to what happened in the past. Overall, no biopic showed traces of only one model of history; a combination of monumental, antiquarian, and critical history was seen in each examined film.
Abstrakt
Sinisipat ng pag-aaral na ito ang historyograpiyang nakapaloob sa mga piling biographical picture (biopic) na nagtatampok sa buhay ng mga bayaning Filipinong sina Andres Bonifacio (1863-1897), Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964), Antonio Luna (1866-1899), Gregorio del Pilar (1875-1899), at Manuel Quezon (1878-1944): Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio (2010), Supremo (2012), El Presidente (2012), Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo (2014), Heneral Luna (2015), Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (2018), at Quezon’s Game (2018). Nahahati sa tatlong sustantibong seksiyon ang katawan ng papel: (1) ilang tala hinggil sa mga piling biopic, (2) pagpapaliwanag sa mga modelo ng pagsasakasaysayan na ipinakilala ng Alemang pilosopo na si Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) (i.e., kasaysayang monumental, kasaysayang antikuwaryo, at kasaysayang kritikal), at (3) pagtalakay sa mga bakas ng historyograpiyang Nietzschean sa mga piling biopic. Lumitaw sa pagsusuri na pinakanangibabaw ang kasaysayang monumental na nagbigay-diin sa magigiting na salaysay ng nakaraan. Sunod na nangibabaw ang kasaysayang kritikal na pumuna sa mga kamalian ng nakaraan. Pinakakaunti naman ang mga bakas ng kasaysayang antikuwaryo na ang layunin ay maging tapat sa kung ano talaga ang nangyari sa nakaraan. Sa pangkalahatan, walang biopic na iisang modelo lamang ng pagsasakasaysayan ang namutawi; ang kombinasyon ng monumental, antikuwaryo, at kritikal na kasaysayan ay nakita sa bawat pelikulang sinuri.
Ang paglalaro ng politika, ang politika ng paglalaro: Ang kulturang politikal sa sistema’t disenyo ng video game na Political Animals
Article
Abstrakt
Sinusuri ng artikulong ito ang Political Animals, isang turn-based election strategy game na nilikha ng isang Filipinong video game developer na Squeaky Wheel at inilathala noong 2016. Binibigyang-tuon ng pagsusuri ang disenyo’t sistema ng paglalaro ng Political Animals at kung paano nito tinatangkang hulíhin ang kulturang politikal ng halalan sa Pilipinas tulad ng pagtuon sa personalidad, ang pamamayani ng politikal na pagpapadrino, at ang pamamayani ng paggamit ng eskandalo bilang estratehiya ng pagtutunggali ng mga kandidato. Pinahahalagahan ang mga tagumpay at limitasyon ng video game ng pagsasasistema na ito ng kulturang politikal at tatalakayin kung ano ang sinasabi ng laro tungkol sa halalan at politika ng Pilipinas. Mula sa formalistikong pagsusuring ito’y binibigyan ng pansin kung paanong maaaring maging paraan ng pagpapamulat ang mga video game tulad ng Political Animals sa mga isyung panlipunan at politikal ng Pilipinas. Magtatapos ang artikulo sa pagtatáya sa iba’t ibang paraan na maaaring magamit ng mga video game tulad ng Political Animals hindi lamang upang magpamulat sa mga manlalaro kundi maging pundasyon tungo sa posibilidad ng politikal na pagbabago sa labas ng video game.
Abstract
This article analyzes Political Animals, a turn-based election strategy game that was made by the Filipino game developer Squeaky Wheel and released in 2016. The analysis focuses on the design and system used by Political Animals as it attempts to capture the political culture of elections in the Philippines especially the focus on personality politics, the dominance of patronage politics, and prevalence of the use of scandal in the battle between candidates. The successes and limitations of systemizing this political culture is highlighted and what the game says about the elections and politics in the Philippines is also discussed. From a formalist analysis of the game, the article discusses how video games like Political Animals can be a means to show social and political issues of the Philippines. At the end of the article, the different strategies that are used by video games like Political Animals is discussed and how these not only raise the political consciousness of players but also how these can be a foundation for political change outside the video game.
