Marxism and Conflict Theory

Snowpiercer
Directed by: Bong Joon-Ho
Submitted by: Jemuel L Lesaca
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Marxism and conflict theory are almost the same in some parts. Marxism is a social,
political, and economical philosophy named after Karl Marx. It examines the effect of capitalism
on labor and the struggle between social classes. It also defines economic relations in a
capitalistic economy that will soon lead to revolutionary communism. The conflict theory claims
that the society where we live is in constant competition on their needs and wants in limited
resources. This theory also states that social order in the society is maintained with domination
and power by those who have the authority. This power and wealth are being sustained by
those in the higher position by any means possible; by suppressing the powerless and the poor.
These theories are present in the movie Snowpiercer. This movie is set in the future after a
failed experiment reducing the Earth's temperature.

The train "Snowpiercer" is where all the people who survive lived. The train sustains all
the life on the train but you can see the line of separation between the poor and the rich people.
So the revolution has begun, on their way to the very front to try and claim the power from those
who have authority. They match forth towards the very front witnessing all the things that they
never had in a long time because of their social class. From the beginning and from the plot of
the story it shows the theory of Marxism, the line between the poor and the rich, and the
revolution that it caused. But after the plot twist where the revolution of the protagonist is
planned by his father figure and the head of the train was all staged in order to reduce the
population of the train and to sustain life in that closed ecosystem the theory conflict theory pops
up. The competition for limited resources and the domination and suppression of the people
who live on the back of the train.

Marxism and conflict theory is a kind of practical yet inhumane way of managing
resources, people, and power. The power blinds the holder from being humane. If you killed a
killer the number of killers is still the same but if you kill a hundred killer you decreased it but it's
inhumane though. The way the present government manages its people is kind of like these
theories. Some people support this inhumane way of treating the criminals because they stain
the country, solving crimes with another crime, and using power to gain another position. This
theory summarizes the cause and effect of abusing the power of the authority.
 Post-colonialism Theory
El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere
A novel by Dr. Jose P. Rizal
Submitted by: Jemuel L Lesaca
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The unique identity of the Philippines fades away slowly as the colonizers step foot on
our land. Slowly affects the way out fellow Filipinos read, write and live. They slowly put their
culture into our own culture. And then own our country sooner. But our katipuneros fight with the
exchange of their own lives for the liberty of our country but our culture and the way we live is
not the same as before. Dr. Jose Rizal created 2 novels El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere
showing how the Spaniards take control of our country and how they stain our motherland.

Noli Me Tangere tackles the struggles of Crisostomo Ibarra after arriving in the
Philippines. He was returning to his hotel when he met Lieutenant Guevarra, a friend of his
father, and he told Crisostomo about the events that lead to his father’s death. He visits the
grave of his father, he learns from the gravedigger that his father’s corpse was ordered to be
transferred to a Chinese cemetery by the curate of the town which is Padre Damaso. He hosts a
luncheon in which the old friar Padre Damaso invites himself, the old friar berates Crisostomo’s
father, Crisostomo strikes the friar with the dinner knife ready to strike. He became
excommunicated from the church. Then the idea of the revolution began, he planned it with
Elias, who told Crisostomo about the revolutionary group in the first place. The uprising failed
and many of the members where killed, especially Elias. El Filibusterismo is the continuation of
a revolt planned Crisostomo Ibarra in his new alias Simoun with the help of Basilyo, again the
uprising failed and Simoun commits suicide.

In these two novels, we can observe the influence of the colonizers to the colonized
people. Changing their culture slowly and using their advanced expertise in suppressing the
people. The way the people respect the priests more than the leaders of the land, the way
people see powers as a tool for suppressing the powerless and especially these events that
stains the motherland awakens the heart of our fellow katipuneros. Also, these novels picture
the way the colonizers treats the Philippines within their occupation for more than 300 years.
The uprising of the townsfolk to the governments symbolizes the fight of our fellow Filipinos for
our own independence.
 Queer Theory
Bata-bata Paano ka Ginawa and 2 Mommies
Submitted by: Jemuel L Lesaca
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Queer theory is all about understanding different kinds of sexual desires and how society
defines or view it. Nowadays having a different sexual orientation other than being a male or
female is slowly accepted by society and by the law. Being open about these orientations is not
a big deal at all, it’s their choice and it is them who will handle it. Quer theory also rejects the
traditional relationships extending from the orientations to the number of relationships they
have.

The movie Bata-bata Paano ka Ginawa tackles the issues of a not traditional family
having one mother with different fathers. For their child, it causes confusion on whos their real
father. We can also observe that the issue is on the mother’s side, as I understand the movie,
the mother is looking for attention from one man to another wanting to have an affair with her
co-worker. The movie 2 mommies is all about how the gay father do his duties as a father to his
son. The problem is that they have different views about parenting and that some children are
too young to understand all about these sexual orientations and other people view these sexual
orientations not accepted to the society.

These 2 movies give hope to the LGBTQ community for the acceptance of their choices.
The mainstream media also helps people understand all about these sexual orientations.
Having this kind of theme for movies gives the society a view and chance to understand our
fellow Filipinos with their sexual choices