Undergraduate Research Paper

The study describes the implications of Tumandok’s (Indigenous Peoples of Central Panay) burial grounds right in the location of the proposed Jalaur River Multipurpose Project Phase II (JRMP-II). The JRMP-II is a development project however appears to be a destructive force to the Indigenous Peoples burial grounds. The study uses the interviews conducted with the Tumandok elders as key informants, personnel of offices in-charge of the construction of JRMP- II, identification and mapping of burial grounds, and close reading of international and domestic laws on and protection of sacred sites experiences. This study argues that burial grounds should be seen as a form of resistance to state sponsored development project as supported by international examples of jurisprudence and laws on the protection of sacred sites and the deep sense of conservation of the Indigenous Peoples for their hallowed grounds. This places Indigenous Peoples’ burial grounds in a pivotal role in the perspective of necropolitics as a material evidence of contestation on State policies. This study hopes to expand the notion of necropolitics by including the power to influence by the dead and their burial grounds on the aggressive policies of the state.

It took some time before cinema become a legitimate art form worthy as an object of study. Francois Truffaut proposed the concept of the auteur where though a large number of people are involved in producing a film, the director has overall artistic power in the movie. This formal approach to the medium invariably leads to the neglect of ‘genre films’. Cultural studies made possible the evaluation of these popular movies by placing them in their social and historical contexts. Using an interdisciplinary approach that gives equal value to both text and context, the dynamics of society and cultural artifacts are revealed in films. The paper will focus on the relatively neglected genre of horror cinema, particularly the work of veteran director Chito S. Roño. The paper aims to document the film career of Chito S. Roño and locate his position in the development of Filipino film industry. The paper then pursues a reading of a range of recent blockbuster horror films—Feng Shui (2004), T2 (2009) and The Healing (2012)-- and highlight their sociocultural and political underpinnings. Lastly this study aims to discuss the dynamics of horror films, particularly its allegorical function, and the role it plays in Philippine society. Feng Shui (2004) is read as a demonstration of overlapping societal anxieties regarding the discourse of upward economic mobility that spills over to the discourses of luck, ethnicity, changing gender roles and politics of domestic space. 7'2 (2009) is read as a reworking of the road movie, juxtaposing the discourse of spatial politics and majority-minority antagonisms in the nation-space. The source of horror is read as the unresolved issues brought about by the subalternization of Filipino-Muslims. The Healing (2012) is read in the context of the dismal state of health care and disintegration of the sense of community; the critique maps the horrors that confront the Filipino body and lays bare possible resistance. This paper takes the position that indeed the selected horror films once historicized perform allegorical functions, and by infusing forms of resistance in the narratives can also help to usher in social transformation to end societal horrors. It took some time before cinema become a legitimate art form worthy as an object of study. Francois Truffaut proposed the concept of the auteur where though a large number of people are involved in producing a film, the director has overall artistic power in the movie. This formal approach to the medium invariably leads to the neglect of ‘genre films’. Cultural studies made possible the evaluation of these popular movies by placing them in their social and historical contexts. Using an interdisciplinary approach that gives equal value to both text and context, the dynamics of society and cultural artifacts are revealed in films. The paper will focus on the relatively neglected genre of horror cinema, particularly the work of veteran director Chito S. Roño. The paper aims to document the film career of Chito S. Roño and locate his position in the development of Filipino film industry. The paper then pursues a reading of a range of recent blockbuster horror films—Feng Shui (2004), T2 (2009) and The Healing (2012)-- and highlight their sociocultural and political underpinnings. Lastly this study aims to discuss the dynamics of horror films, particularly its allegorical function, and the role it plays in Philippine society. Feng Shui (2004) is read as a demonstration of overlapping societal anxieties regarding the discourse of upward economic mobility that spills over to the discourses of luck, ethnicity, changing gender roles and politics of domestic space. 7'2 (2009) is read as a reworking of the road movie, juxtaposing the discourse of spatial politics and majority-minority antagonisms in the nation-space. The source of horror is read as the unresolved issues brought about by the subalternization of Filipino-Muslims. The Healing (2012) is read in the context of the dismal state of health care and disintegration of the sense of community; the critique maps the horrors that confront the Filipino body and lays bare possible resistance. This paper takes the position that indeed the selected horror films once historicized perform allegorical functions, and by infusing forms of resistance in the narratives can also help to usher in social transformation to end societal horrors.

Undergraduate Research Paper

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