Date of Publication

12-1-2025

Document Type

Bachelor's Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts Major in Communication Arts

Subject Categories

Film and Media Studies

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

Communication

Thesis Advisor

Nathaniel M. Arciaga

Defense Panel Member

Kristian Jeff C. Agustin
Fatrick Tabada

Abstract (English)

This thesis uses speculative fiction to explore the emotional and systemic pressures that shape migration and forgetting, especially for Filipinos, whose journeys are often seen as a search for opportunity. Through the feature-length screenplay Nueva Sentera, it examines how migration can also bring emotional strain and expose people to institutional control, where economic and social systems affect their lives and choices. The story is set in the titular utopian town, where Sentera Labs runs Memodyme, a memory-erasure program that lets people trade their pasts for security.

The screenplay follows Leah and Eli, a young lower-middle-class couple torn apart after Leah enters Memodyme to cover her husband’s medical expenses following his sudden hospitalization. Five years later, Eli infiltrates the town to find her—only to discover that she has achieved all her dreams and is now engaged to someone else. Their story reimagines migration not as physical relocation but as psychological reprogramming, reflecting real-world systems that commodify identity and reward emotional compliance. Using a nonlinear structure and atmospheric visual storytelling, memory loss becomes a metaphor for the cost of leaving the past behind.

Nueva Sentera draws on research about the Filipino diaspora, affect theory, and cultural bereavement to form its themes. By grounding its premise in real social realities, the work critiques how neoliberal institutions turn survival into submission—demanding erasure in exchange for peace. Ultimately, it proposes that remembering is itself an act of resistance: a refusal to be rewritten by systems that equate forgetting with surviving. Recommended viewing time: 90 minutes.

Abstract Format

html

Abstract (Filipino)

Sa pamamagitan ng speculative fiction, tinatalunton ng proyektong ito ang ugnayan ng migrasyon, paglimot, at kung paano hinuhubog ng mga sistema ang ating mga emosyon at pagkakakilanlan. Sa feature-length screenplay na Nueva Sentera, inilalarawan ang karanasang Pilipino ng migrasyon, hindi lamang bilang paghanap ng bagong simula, kundi bilang unti-unting pagkawatak ng sarili sa gitna ng pangakong kaginhawaan.

Sa bayan ng Nueva Sentera, pinapatakbo ng Sentera Labs ang Memodyme, isang makabagong programang nag-aalok ng kasaganahan kapalit ng mga alaala. Dito nagtatagpo ang mga kuwento nina Leah, isang call center agent na nagpabura ng alaala upang takasan ang pagod at kawalang pag-asa, at Eli, ang kanyang asawang pumasok sa loob ng sistema upang muling hanapin siya. Ang kanilang paglalakbay ay hindi pisikal, kundi panloob, isang migrasyong sikolohikal na sumasalamin sa mga puwersang ginagawang kalakal ang damdamin at ginagantimpalaan ang paglimot.

Sa nonlinear na estruktura at biswal na wika nitong makulimlim at masinsin, ang pagkawala ng alaala ay nagiging metapora ng “buhay matapos ang pag-alis.” Mula sa pananaliksik sa Filipino diaspora, affect theory, at cultural bereavement, hinahabi ng pelikula ang mga temang ito upang mailantad kung paanong ang mga neoliberal na institusyon ay ginagawang anyo ng pagsuko ang simpleng pagnanais na mabuhay, hinihinging burahin ang sarili kapalit ng kapayapaan.

Sa huli, ipinapaalala ng Nueva Sentera na ang pag-alala ay isa ring anyo ng pagtutol, isang pagtangging baguhin ng mga sistemang nagsasabing ang paglimot ay tanging paraan upang makaligtas. Inirerekomendang haba ng pagbabasa: 90 minuto.

Abstract Format

html

Language

English

Format

Electronic

Keywords

Motion picture authorship; Feature films

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Embargo Period

12-4-2025

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