"Pupulutin sa kangkungan": Mike de Leon's art in the service of social change & political activism

College

College of Liberal Arts

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Source Title

DLSU Arts Congress 2020

Volume

4

First Page

49

Last Page

55

Publication Date

2-2020

Abstract

The rise of political nativism on the global stage has allowed numerous events to transpire, and that includes the rise to power of Rodrigo Duterte. His controversy-filled campaign and victory plus his continuing high favorability among his base illustrate his appeal as a strongman, accentuated by his brutal war on drugs that has further divided a nation already split geographically. As a filmmaker with a keen interest in politics, Mike de Leon was not to be shut out of the national conversation resulting from Duterte's win. After a 19 year hiatus, the filmmaker returns with Citizen Jake. Blurring the lines between fiction and reality, the film is De Leon's introspection made public and reveals the director's frustrations about the nation. This study on Citizen Jake will give light to the political activism of De Leon, his vision for the country given its current state, and how he sees his craft as an agent for change in the country's socio-political terrain. Following the language and framework of metacinema and mise en abyme, this study intends to figure out who we are as a nation in De Leon's art and where the artist thinks we are possibly headed. In a kangkungan? Hopefully not.

html

Disciplines

Film and Media Studies | Political Science

Keywords

Mike de Leon—Criticism and interpretation; Politics in motion pictures; Citizen Jake (Motion picture); Philippines—Politics and government—1986- —Fiction; Philippines—Social conditions—1986- —Fiction

Upload File

wf_no

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS