Authoritarian Legacies on Screen: A Textual and Contextual Analysis of Representations of the Marcos Regime in Philippine Cinema Across Four Decades

Abstract

This study examines the evolving depiction of the Marcos regime in Philippine cinema from 1986 to the present. This focuses on how films reflect changing political, social, and cultural landscapes. The study uses textual and contextual analysis to answer the following questions: 1) How did the depiction of the Marcos regime in films evolve from 1986 to present times?; 2) How did the technical and narrative elements of these films reflect the shifting political and social landscapes of the country?; 3) To what political, economic, cultural and social factors can we attribute the changing cinematic representations of the Marcos regime in Philippine cinema?; 4) How did these post-EDSA 1 films differ in their treatment of critical issues like ill-gotten wealth, impunity, historical disinformation and the rehabilitation of the Marcoses? The findings reveal a significant shift in the depiction of martial law over time. Early post-EDSA 1 films emphasize victim narratives and historical trauma, focusing on the abuses of the Marcos regime. In contrast, more recent films, especially those produced during and after the Duterte administration, present a more ambivalent or positive view of the Marcos era, reflecting the political resurgence of the Marcos family. These films often use revisionist storytelling techniques, challenging established narratives of victimhood and complicating the public's understanding of the past.