The Philippine Culture Industry (with Emphasis on Cinema)

초록

Among the few culture industries in the Republic of the Philippines, the country‟s national cinema has proved to be the most viable and resilient. In spite of having been introduced and promoted by the country‟s colonizers (Spain and the US respectively) and having been heavily subsidized by the Marcos dictatorship, it has also become a vehicle for the occasional expression of nationalist sentiment, to the extent of criticizing the country‟s dominant forces. Existing accounts of the origins and dynamics of Philippine cinema, however, draw from traditional Western models in imagining an autonomous counter-industry, in faithful adherence to the notion of a “national” cinema. This lecture will look at the problematics of these standard approaches, and will attempt a reconsideration of Philippine film appreciation without isolating the industry from the global and ideological forces that impact on its existence.