Imelda (2003)

              Imelda is a documentary film directed by Ramona S. Diaz about the life of former First Lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos. It was first released in 2003 at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam. It was also shown during the 2004 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Excellence in Cinematography Award.

            The documentary is about the life of Mrs. Marcos, beginning from her childhood, her meeting and marriage to the former President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, her life during the Martial Law, their exile to Hawaii, and her eventual return to the Philippines. The documentary includes actual interviews from Mrs. Marcos herself where she is allowed to tell her story herself. Hence, the documentary can be seen as a retelling of the history of the Philippines in the perspective of Imelda Marcos.

            Perhaps the most prominent part of the film is Mrs. Marcos’ constant emphasis on the importance of “beauty”. Here, she stated that all her outfits, shoes and jewelry were for the sake of providing the people a “role model”. Even after an attempted assassination on her where she got a number slashes from a knife she wondered “why such an ugly instrument” were used on her.

            It is easy for viewers of the film to see Mrs. Marcos as truly ignorant to the actual state and suffering of the people. With all the wealth and power she held, she became viewed as an arrogant elitist from the higher class. Amusingly, Mrs. Marcos herself might have realized this for she opposed the public showing this film in the Philippines. Perhaps she herself have seen what her true image had been.

            Overall, the documentary Imelda was an excellent take on the showing the life of Imelda Marcos. It was a balanced view of Mrs. Marcos, comparing to past media depictions of her during martial law. The documentary had truly shown what Imelda Marcos is as a person.

Nightfall

           Nightfall is a science fiction short story written by Isaac Asimov first published in the September 1941 issue of the Astounding Science Fiction magazine. The story is about how the people living in a fictional planet called “Lagash” which has always been illuminated at all sides by its six suns, face a time of darkness which they have never experienced before.

            The story tackles various ideas which center mainly on dealing with fear, religion, and the origins of a belief. The way the author depicts each idea in the story is quite interesting. The ideas are matched perfectly to the resulting beliefs due to the ignorance of the people of Lagash.

            The main concept is introduced by Emerson’s quote at the beginning of the story. Isaac Asimov’s take on this question is quite believable. If for instance nightfall does arrives in every 2049 year cycle, people who lived near the end of the cycle will have little to no idea of coming darkness, and hence, they will be unable to comprehend the “reality” before them. But due to man’s natural curiosity, they will still find ways, rather invent theories in order to somehow explain it.

            This is quite similar to the recent “2012 Phenomena” where people around the world conceived various theories about the end of the Mayan calendar. It is said that the “end of the world” was sure to come that day. Scholars and scientist however disputed this. However the event just passed similar to how our normal calendar ends.

            The story can therefore be also seen as a representation of the divergence between religion and science. It implies how the settlement of the difference in beliefs generally results in great conflicts. If the cultists and scientists just somehow tried to cooperate more, a lot more people could have been saved.