Ang, Patricia Nicole Co, Lizle Stacey C. Tantongco, Eunice N. Yaoching, Rianne Germaine D.

ENGLCOM C36

Imelda Marcos is commonly known for her role as first lady to the former president Ferdinand Marcos. Because of her beauty and poise, it was easy for Imelda to gain the admiration of the Filipino people. Imelda served as a role model and inspiration for the people to pursue a better lifestyle. However, the Marcos regime has made its mark in Philippine history because of its oppressive rule. The Marcoses used their power to obtain wealth from the Filipinos. This occurrence negatively affected Imeldas reputation. Through Imelda, a documentary about the life of the first lady, people are given an overview on the real events according to Imelda herself. Ramona S. Diaz, the director of the documentary, aims to show Imeldas perception on different topics ranging from art to politics. The filmmaker gathered information by interviewing people who personally knew Imelda. Their testimonies gave the audience an idea on how Imelda was as a child, friend and woman. Imelda was also given a chance to talk about her life and the struggles she encountered. Through the technique used by Diaz, the documentary contained credible information that helped in explaining her story. According to the director, she did not want the documentary to be fully focused on the history of the Philippines. Instead, Diaz wanted to concentrate on showing the real character of Imelda Marcos. This documentary featured Imeldas lavish lifestyle and how it molded her personality. The filmmaker also placed emphasis on Imeldas innocence in order to draw sympathy from the audience rather cause controversies.

Because the documentary provides several information about the life of the first lady, Imelda, and reveals the truth behind the Marcos regime, the group believes that the Filipinos in general could be a possible target audience of this documentary. As citizens of the Philippines, they have an obligation to know the events and influential people that have significantly contributed to the growth and development of their country. A good example of this could be the era of Ferdinand Marcos, which was presented to the viewers in the documentary. Aside from what was previously mentioned, the group also believes that people who are curious about the life of Imelda Marcos, and people who wish to gain more knowledge about the Philippine history would be suitable for this documentary. Imelda is a documentary that must be watched by Filipinos because it gives its viewers an access to the life of the former first lady of the Philippines and offers a story that will allow the audience to gain more knowledge about the Philippine history, especially the Marcos regime.

Before watching Imelda, participants must first have an idea on the topics that will be tackled in the documentary. Without a brief background about the first lady, or the Philippine history, viewers will be unable to fully understand and grasp what is being presented to them. Also, the audience will not be able to relate to the events shown in the documentary. With that said, the

group concludes that a person needs to have prior knowledge about the topic before watching the film. Some of the factors that have contributed to the groups favor over the film are the accuracy of the details and the way it was presented to the audience. They believe that it accurately portrayed the life of Imelda Marcos because it was supported by evidences. The film contained several interviews of credible people and footages of the events that truly happened during the reign of Marcos. Overall, the film was generally easy to understand, as it was presented clearly and intelligibly. It was able to get the attention of its viewers throughout the whole film because it had a smooth flow of events. However, the group would like to know the purpose of presenting Imeldas lavish shoe collection, as well as the womans opulent lifestyle. The critiques of t his documentary feel as if this certain part of the film did not have any relation whatsoever to the overall purpose and concept of the film.

In this documentary, the filmmaker made use of certain strategies and techniques in presenting information. Through the use of the rhetorical appeals, the documentary may be able to reach out to its audience through statistics, emotion or logic. All three rhetorical appeals were used in by the filmmaker to thoroughly discuss the topic.

Ethos - The documentary contained several interviews of people who personally knew Imelda Marcos. Through this strategy, the information stated in the film is credible because the data were retrieved from relevant sources. The testimonies of the people being interviewed helped in proving the objective of the documentary. This can be seen in the part where the friends and the teachers of Imelda were interviewed in the documentary. Since the people who knew Imelda believed that the she is innocent regarding the death of Aquino, it is possible the people will consider this true. The audience may easily be convinced when the points are supported by facts or quoted by a credible source. Pathos- This rhetorical appeal was used in various scenes in the film. The documentary showed Imelda Marcos love for her husband and for the Filipino people. In this part of Imelda, the viewers are emotionally moved upon seeing Imeldas innocence. Sympathyinducing scenes like these make the audience feel the same emotion as to what is shown in the documentary. Since Diaz wanted to concentrate on Imeldas character, the documentary emphasized on her charming side and her personality. This gives the audience a reason to empathize with Imelda. Logos- The documentary also made use of logic to convince its audience. This can be seen in the part where Imelda tries to defend herself from the controversies. Her arguments were supported with different reasons on why she claims to be innocent regarding the death of Benigno Aquino. Through her explanation, people ought to believe her claims because of her reasoning. because Imelda is trying to convince the people that that she did not do anything wrong and everything that she is doing is for the country. Through the use of logic, the documentary gives the audience time to process the information and understand the point being presented. This may convince the audience because the argument is backed up with reasons that may help make it true.

In conclusion, the group would like to commend Ramona Diaz for remarkably producing and directing this documentary. This film was able to successfully incorporate all the needed information about Imelda Marcos. The researchers would recommend this film because it not only talks about Philippine history but also the important personalities that have made an impact to the lives of many Filipinos.