Name: Ilaida, Shannelyn A.
Course/Year/Section: BSED-MATH 2A
REACTION PAPER ABOUT THE FILM “THE KINGMAKER”
Greenfield's film about the Philippines' former first lady, Imelda Marcos, depicts her
as a monstrously self-pitying, completely remorseless, and incredibly rich woman who
clearly still has her hands on a large portion of the American financial assistance that
successive US presidents once gave the Philippines in exchange for suppressing
communism and civil rights and showing hospitality to US naval power money that she
and her husband, Ferdinand, looted from the public purse. It portrays the wrong doings
of Marcos in their times of leading the Philippines. "Perception is real, but truth is not,"
explains Marcos. She is such a master of denial and image manipulation that it appears
she believes her lies. Corruption and fraud may be the "truth," but the image she
presents for her people is far more important. It's her "perception" that defines her, and
it's far more important than anything true. The most disturbing aspect of "The
Kingmaker" is that Marcos' efforts to rewrite history appear to be working in some ways.
And one could argue that image control is what got the country to where it is now, under
the Duterte regime.
Imelda Marcos showed how mysterious, over dramatic and acted innocent in the
film, as watching her with no remorse and accountability for what they did is insane. The
most dramatic scene in the film are moments in this portrait when Marcos, taking us
around her fabulous Manila home, and speaking in an absurdly queenly and soft-voiced
way about her lifestyle and her plans for the future, unknowingly reveals how loathsome
she is. Or perhaps she does know and doesn’t care, and has a shrewd sense of how
her outrageousness plays well with a certain part of her (sizeable) fan base. But it is
truly stomach-turning as she gives banknotes to poor little children in the street and, on
being taken to a children’s cancer hospital, Madame Marcos winces with disgust at their
poverty and suffering and says to an aide: “Give me some money to give away.” That’s
the most dramatic scene I’ve seen in the film.
It can be an eye opener for the new generation who are curious for the truth ,
wondering about the past, looking for answers and some kind of knowledge about
history of the land. Or stir hatred among the apologists and blind loyalists who are ready
to fight for their politicians and create some kind of political circus over the discussions. I
thought this documentary will make me sympathize with Marcoses. But no, it made me
angrier for what they did than ever before. Though it is just a one sided documentary
film focusing only the wrong doings under Marcos regime, but for me the film is an
enough evidence to end the political dynasty and support good governance.