Status : Verified
| Personal Name | Atienza, John Adrianfer |
|---|---|
| Resource Title | Countering the imperial gaze looking relations and the Filipino balik titig in United News newsreels (1944-1946) |
| Date Issued | January 2026 |
| Abstract | This study examines American wartime newsreels about the Philippines, specifically the United News series produced between 1944 and 1946. It interrogates how Filipinos were visually represented during the late colonial period under American rule, the Second World War, and the transition to Philippine independence. While created as news reports and propaganda to advance American wartime interests, these newsreels also reveal recurring colonial narratives shaped by the imperial gaze of the United States, which contain contradictions and tensions, revealing ambivalence in a colonial discourse that presents itself as stable and authoritative. This ambivalence creates “cracks” in the footage, where Filipino presence, capability, and agency emerge through acts of gazing. Grounded in the complex “looking relations” between American and Filipino subjects, the study introduces balik-titig, a Filipino-based gaze framework that highlights moments when Filipinos looked back at or interacted unexpectedly with the camera, thereby disrupting or complicating the colonial narratives imposed upon them. Situating newsreels within the context of American colonialism and wartime history, the study extracts direct and indirect histories through a reading against the grain informed by postcolonial theory. Organized around different forms of agency, the analysis considers Filipino political leaders, guerrillas, and civilians, each engaging the camera differently through balik-titig. Political leaders employed subtle mimicry and measured civility. Guerrillas asserted their indispensability through strategic presence, awareness, and everyday knowledge. Civilians responded with ambiguous or fleeting gazes that conveyed endurance, elation, or resistance to colonial scripting. By foregrounding Filipino presence, capacity, and agency through balik-titig in American wartime newsreels, this thesis advances the scholarly use of newsreels in film history and Philippine historiog |
| Degree Course | Master of Arts in Philippine Studies |
| Language | English |
| Keyword | United News; American wartime; American colonial period; news reels; balik-titig |
| Material Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
Preliminary Pages
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Category : F - Regular work, i.e., it has no patentable invention or creation, the author does not wish for personal publication, there is no confidential information.
Access Permission : Open Access