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50 years’ Commemoration, Marcos Martial Law One-Man-Rule : Commemorative Activities by the Law on Mass Media Class, marichulambino September 20-21, 2022, pursuant to the U.P. President’s memo on #NeverForget #NeverAgain (posts of class members up to 4pm Sept. 21, 2022)
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Submitted hours in advance by class member Malaya to be able to attend and participate in this afternoon’s activities in commemoration of the 50th year of remembering the brutal Marcos martial law dictatorship:
“Material: Maynila sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag (1975) directed by Lino Brocka
“Synopsis: Julio, a fisherman from the barrios, tried his luck in Metro Manila in finding his childhood love, Ligaya. He was then exposed to unfair labor practices, critiquing how even the least fortunate gets preyed on by those higher in the economic scale. There was greed and social injustice all over the film. Julio was also involuntarily forced to know his body’s monetary equal just to make ends meet, an exploitation which sadly happens to this day.
“Review: Taking this film out of context might make a first-time watcher believe that this is not at all related to the Marcoses. However, we tend to forget how our individual problems are actually systematic and political. Juxtaposing the frugal living conditions experienced by the main characters of the film against the Marcoses’ inane claim that they pushed the Philippines into a modern, more progressive country, you will be sure that this ruling family bleeds lies.
“Lives were claimed because of poverty and the society’s hierarchical structure which induces power-tripping. The reality of the working class was covered on screen, in the sense that the system enables the poor to be more drowned into poverty. One of Julio’s friends fell off the construction site, and his coworkers were contemplating as to which hospital he should be brought into, as they very well know that their healthcare would not be subsidized by the firm they are employed under. It is absurd how in situations when urgency is a matter of life and death, the poor are still forced to assess whether they have enough to pay for their bills.
“In commemoration of the 50th year of the declaration of Martial Law, more so the lives lost because of it, with another Marcos in power, we should pursue the horrid truths about the state of the Filipinos under Marcos Sr. Now more than ever, we push back against lies and disinformation. Here’s to never forgetting.” Submitted by Malaya
