Cracks in Censorship: The “Uhaw na Bulaklak” Controversy and Film Regulation under the Early Marcos Dictatorship
Keywords:
State Censorship, Cinema, Bomba FilmsAbstract
It is no secret that the Marcoses have a strong affinity with cinema. During the Marcos dictatorship, the state actively sponsored different programs and institutions to develop the local film industry. During the first few years of Martial Law, Marcos assigned this task to the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures. From 1972-1976, censors functioned as conservative moral guardians and liberal purveyors of cinematic development. By 1976 however, a controversy brought by the release of Uhaw na Bulaklak Part II led to a complete overhaul of the state’s film regulation policy. This article examines the different discourses about the state of Philippine cinema before and after this controversy. It argues that the public reaction to Uhaw na Bulaklak is a product of the inherent contradictions of film regulation during the early Marcos dictatorship. These contradictions stem from the need to project the Marcoses as patrons of cinema while pandering to conservative sectors through the promise of disciplining the film industry.
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