My impression of Imelda Marcos solely depends on everything
I’ve seen on television and my dad’s snide remarks about the Marcos
administration. All my life, I’ve seen her as a caricature, a ludicrous figure
in Philippine history. All I knew was that she had an enormous collection of
shoes. Only when I watched the film Imelda
did I find out that there is some depth in Imelda Marcos after all.
Not
everything I heard about Imelda Marcos was debunked. Some of the heresy
actually rings true. Yes, Imelda Marcos is incredibly vain. She gives away
signed photos of herself. She always makes an effort to keep her hair in place
and her makeup retouched even on the brink of a political revolution. She has
hundreds of dresses made every year and closets full of jewelery to elevate her
posh image. To Imelda, beauty is everything.
All her efforts during her husband’s
reign were pointed towards beauty. She forced the image of the Philippines to
be among the ranks of first world countries but sadly, the country still
experienced great poverty. Being physically appealing wasn’t exactly a priority
to the common masses. No matter how many cultural centers and museums she
built, the Philippines didn’t get any closer to progressing.
It’s easy to poke fun of Imelda’s
absurd doodles of philosophical ideas about existence but from there, we can
see that Imelda delves much deeper than her designer wardrobe. Imelda should
also be given credit for being an engaging storyteller. She has all the
qualities of a narcissistic and greedy politician but there is something about
her that draws people in. It’s trait that set her apart, that kept her poised
on the throne for many years and made Marcos see her as a suitable wife. It’s
her undeniable charm.
The film ends with us shaking our heads
in disapproval of her lifestyle but for some reason, it does not make us
completely loathe the former first lady. Because most of the story is being
told with her own words, we are forced to see life through her own personal
lens. Imelda is bordering on insane and brilliant. Whatever it is, the film
shows that Imelda is much like everyone else: broken and flawed.
No comments:
Post a Comment