Amanda Does: A feminist film study of Lualhati Bautista's Dekada '70

Date of Publication

2007

Document Type

Bachelor's Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in Literature

Subject Categories

Comparative Literature

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

Literature

Thesis Adviser

Ronald Baytan

Defense Panel Member

Marjorie Pernia Evasco
Anne Frances Sangil
Ma. Teresa, Wright

Abstract/Summary

This is a feminist film study of Lualhati Bautista's Dekada '70 that explores the development of a woman's character and how she is represented in written and film forms. Lualhati Bautista, writer of plays, poems and novels for and about women gives importance to the ways in which women are represented in Philippine society. Her novel Dekada '70, was adapted to screen by director Chito Rono two decades after the novel was first released. The film opened a new ground for discourse on both the novel and the film.

Teresa de Lauretis, an Italian author who writes about female representations in films explores the different aspects of cinema that relate to the importance of personal-political ties in film narrative. Her groundbreaking book Alice Doesn't dicusses the signs in the visual images of woman in film.

Their ideas will be woven together to come up with a better understanding of forms of identification of women, while exploring new perspectives in feminist film studies. The reading process for both mediums will be composed of the following: close reading certain parts of the novel, unlocking its politics based on its theme, and moving on to the film adaptation and locating its politics using Teresa de Lauretis' method.

While the title somewhat gives away this study's conclusion, answers to the vital why and how questions will be thoroughly discussed in this text. Chito Rono's translation of Lualhati Bautista's novel through his own filmic styles and techniques will be examined. The film arrangement of scenes most crucial to the politics of the book will be scrutinized. The way that Rono develops the representation of Amanda, down to the seemingly negligible quirks, will be noted. To do these, importance will be given to plot, narrative, and narrativity - three things that are most important in de Lauretis' theory.

This study focuses on Amnada's image. Particular attention will be given to finding out how her character responds to the events that she has to face, how her desires are concretized, how events mold her, and how people treat her. Her journey will be traced, based on both the novel and the film, to assess the significance of her change.

Presented in the conclusion are the different ways identifying women's roles and how these roles are effectively placed on screen. By using de Lauretis' strategies and styles of reading, the reader coild read Rono's film techniques by looking at filmic details such as images and narration. On the whole, this study explores an individual and a country's history, with attention to and from the perspective of a woman, and ends with proposals for a more thriving discussion on feminist film studies in the future.

Abstract Format

html

Format

Print

Accession Number

TU14553

Shelf Location

Archives, The Learning Commons, 12F, Henry Sy Sr. Hall

Physical Description

80 leaves ; ill. ; 28 cm.

Keywords

Feminism and motion pictures; Feminist film criticism; Women in motion pictures

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