PHILIPPINE SEX MELODRAMAS
“Woman’s Body Power” in Philippine Sex Melodramas by Jamal Ashley Abbas tackles about the beginning of the sex melodrama genre until it influenced the Philippine cinema and it also reviews different films that shows and determines how women characters are portrayed in certain types of films in terms of sexuality and power.
The article was really great because it is not just showing different films to prove what the author really wanted to say but it also has theoretical background that includes ideologies from different film theorists Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx to support its thoughts. Male Gaze theory is one of the theories that can explain some of the ideas and perceptions involved in the article most especially to the viewers and the characters in the film.
The article was really great because it is not just showing different films to prove what the author really wanted to say but it also has theoretical background that includes ideologies from different film theorists Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx to support its thoughts. Male Gaze theory is one of the theories that can explain some of the ideas and perceptions involved in the article most especially to the viewers and the characters in the film.
As I read the article, some part of it focuses about the power of sex workers most especially female sex workers. One of the good examples that it provides is the 1999 film adapted from “Burlesk Queen” during 1977, the “Burlesk Queen, Ngayon” starring Vilma Santos. If we will recall the history in the late 70’s, we will notice that before you become famous or popular, you should go through the “bold film” first.
If we will based to the theoretical background of the article, we will see to the work of Michel Foucault “History of Sexuality,” showing the same idea with Sigmund Freud that Western society has long been fixated on sexuality which they called “repression.” It becomes a metaphor for an individual freedom such as “Technologies of the self” that talks about the specific practices by which subjects constitute themselves as subjects within and through systems of power, and which often seem to be either ‘natural’ or imposed from above; and “Care of the Self” which is the ethical principle that leads people to cultivate themselves.
If we will based to the theoretical background of the article, we will see to the work of Michel Foucault “History of Sexuality,” showing the same idea with Sigmund Freud that Western society has long been fixated on sexuality which they called “repression.” It becomes a metaphor for an individual freedom such as “Technologies of the self” that talks about the specific practices by which subjects constitute themselves as subjects within and through systems of power, and which often seem to be either ‘natural’ or imposed from above; and “Care of the Self” which is the ethical principle that leads people to cultivate themselves.
While if we will compare it to the Male Gaze theory, Mulvey will categorize these films from different labels. It only depends to the character of male on how he views the female character inversely to the female on how she views the male character and also the perception of the viewers to the characters as well.
All of these were clearly explained and criticized in the article of Abbas. This is really a big help for us to show the difference and some theoretical studies about the Philippine sex melodrama, the genre itself and how really woman maligned in sex films.