“Bontoc Eulogy” by Marlon Fuentes: mockumentary as art and history

Abstract

The United States were ardent to preserve and expand its empires. World fairs and expositions were evident in countries of colonial powers. The St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904 was by far the largest world exposition, with 1,576 buildings, man-made lagoons, allotted over 516 hectares of land in St. Louis, Missouri, with which their colonies were exploited in an inhumane manner, mimicking a ‘human zoo’ as the Westerners pay to gawk at them. Involving more than a thousand of Philippine groups promised with fame and fortune, this display was aimed to showcase the ‘uncivilized’ culture of these tribes, highlighting the struggles of imperialism and colonialism. It made a critical turn in history, and its stories were only imprinted in narratives. In the duration of the study, the researcher has found a number of literary works that focused on the historical event of the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904, most of which are foreign and locally unavailable. An assumption was made that a lack of scholarly studies thoroughly discussing the event of the said exposition—within a Filipino perspective—in addition to Fermin’s 1904 World’s Fair: The Filipino Experience (2004). There exists a critical need of filling the gap of knowledge in history for this exposition was a reminder of a past that should not be forgotten. It was observed that there was no other film that presented the St. Louis World’s Fair from a Filipino point of view, other than the Bontoc Eulogy, a film by Marlon Fuentes in 1995. It is a ‘mockumentary’ that has been in existence for more than two decades, yet unknown by many. It served as the primary material used for this study. This was supported by the researcher’s interview with the film’s director, and fragments of texts and documentaries related to the topic. The Apparatus Film Theory by Baudry was also used, along with other guiding theories. Analytical Autoethnography was employed to examine the film as text based on the researcher’s viewpoints, piloted by the Phenomenology of Husserl and Reception Theory by Hall. Said’s Orientalism was also used in the analysis of the historical context of the said film. The Theory Triangulation concept of Denzin reinforced these theories to interpret the collected data extensively. Mockumentary films in the Philippines, though emerging, are not fully utilized. Hence, this study also aims to function as a demonstration of the genre, not only as evidences of reality but also as aesthetic fragments of art. This research is directed towards finding out how artistic licenses and history interface in the Bontoc Eulogy through assessing its ‘mockumentary’ structure. In addition, the film was also used as an educational material for Philippine Arts 112, which led the researcher to the interest of this study to legitimize the Bontoc Eulogy as a mockumentary and as a proof that such an important historical event exists. As the results indicate, although Fuentes presented the film in the ‘Other’ point of view, his artistic liberties do not affect the film’s value as a historical record of the past. Considering that the film is a historical fiction containing historical and faux footage from various archives and recreations, its actuality and authenticity can be acknowledged and construed by several types of audiences based on their knowledge and own truths. Differing ideas are needed to exist, to be debated and challenged to provide a clearer version of history, for the past can never be written in full detail but it can endlessly be investigated. This thesis, thus, also contributes to conceptual development of the linkage between the commentaries of the Bontoc Eulogy and the making of the film itself. Recommendations include further study on other films, foreign or not, related to the St. Louis World’s Fair or the ‘mockumentary’ genre in relation in a more extensive level; and, application of the conceptualized structure of the Bontoc Eulogy to similar films of fiction.