FELIA, Marie Robin Lee A.

March 3,2021
11-Pattern
Third Quarterly Exam: Writing an Article Critique

Topic Outline

I. INTRODUCTION
A. The author, Jose Gutierrez III, is a PhD Candidate (Film Studies) at the Hong Kong
Baptist University School of Communication and an assistant professor (on study leave)
at the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication. He is also a
filmmaker.
B. The title of the article is “Lukács, Kracauer, and Lino Brocka's Manila in the Claws of
Light (1975) Plaridel: A Philippine Journal of Communication, Media, and Society, 2016”
C. The author’s main point is to affirm the films of Lino Brocka as realists by analyzing the
cinematic realism of his film, Manila in the Claws of Light, through the notions of Georg
Lukacs and Siegfried Kracauer.
D. The chosen research methods are appropriate in explaining and analyzing how Brocka’s
cinema is realist through the author presenting the ideologies of Kracauer and Lukacs. It
is relevant that he used these concepts and statements to study the film Manila in the
Claws of Light.
II. SUMMARY
A. The main point of the article tackles the characterization of realist film, based on the
notions of Lukacs and Kracauer. As a way to be free from the wretchedness of society or
what they call as “damaged modern condition” by showing the cinematic realism of
everyday life of the ordinary man, who deals with the "abstraction” or the organic
creation of physical reality.
B. It also points out the opposition between Lukacs’ and Kracauer’s ideology;
1. Lukacs - cinema frees the ordinary person from the damaged condition
2. Kracauer- physical reality frees cinema from mass ornament and in turn frees
spectators from the abstraction of the condition of modernity, instead of the
illusion of wholeness in modern life that abstraction the modern capitalist brings.
C. It presents the life of Lino Brocka and the society he was in and how his experiences
shaped his perception and responsibility, not only as a director but as a public person
and participant of society.
D. The article discussed how the film demonstrates Kracauer’s notion wherein realist film
helps spectators to overcome the abstraction and a means to observe the disintegrative
tendencies of the modern conditions. It also discussed how the film represents a
Lukacsian sense in the latter part of the film.
E. The arguments presented in the article are the principles of Lukacs and Kracauer in
realist film.
1. The Ordinary Man- Lukács argument that historical change “must be seen
through the eyes of ordinary, or ‘typical’ characters, rather than ‘world-historical
figures’”.
2. Physical Reality- “Kracauer’s plea for a cinematic realism of everyday life”
III. CRITIQUE
A. The article has given sufficient information about the two ideologies and the background
of Lino Brocka as a citizen artist. There is an in-depth analysis of the film and the author
emphasized the principles of the two realist film theorists. This makes the article strong.
B. The article presented the ideas and concepts of Lukacs and Kracauer in realist film.
These concepts and statements demonstrated by the author are very relevant in
studying the film Manila in the Claws of Light. Multiple applications helped in
understanding the notions better.
C. However, without a proper background of the theories, the article can be hard to
understand at first.

IV. CONCLUSION

A. Key points of the article:

1. The ideologies of Lukacs and Kracauer regarding realist film
2. Lino Brocka and his experiences, his work ethic, and his responsibility as a
director and a public person in society
3. The demonstration of Manila in the Claws of Light using the concepts and
statements of Lukacs and Kracauer as artists and activists.
B. Key points of own analysis:
1. The use of sufficient research and information about the topics is a strength of
the article.
2. The clarity of the article
3. The weakness of the article and how it would improve
C. The significance of the article is for us to have a deeper understanding of the film Manila
in the Claws of the Light, and why the director makes these kinds of films. It gives clarity
and a better understanding of the two concepts by emphasizing the notions of cinematic
realism by Georg Lukacs and Siegfried Kracauer.
Article Critique
The realist aspect of Lino Brocka’s films has been noted by film critics and scholars (Gutierrez
III, 2017). According to an article by The Criterion Collection, his film, Manila in the Claws of
Light, is a howl of anguish from one of the most celebrated figures in Philippine cinema. In this
paper, I am going to evaluate the article "Lukács, Kracauer, and Lino Brocka's Manila in the
Claws of Light (1975) Plaridel: A Philippine Journal of Communication, Media, and Society,
2016." by Jose Gutierrez III. He is a PhD Candidate (Film Studies) at the Hong Kong Baptist
University School of Communication and an assistant professor (on study leave) at the
University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication. He is also a filmmaker. Based on
his credentials, he is qualified to write about the topic which tackles all about a film since he
deals with various theoretical, historical, and critical approaches to cinema. The author’s main
point is to affirm the films of Lino Brocka as realists by analyzing the cinematic realism of his
film, Manila in the Claws of Light, through the notions of Georg Lukacs and Siegfried Kracauer.
The chosen research methods are appropriate in explaining and analyzing how Brocka’s
cinema is realistic through the author presenting the ideologies of Kracauer and Lukacs. It is
relevant that he used these concepts and statements to study the film Manila in the Claws of
Light.

The main point of the article tackles the characterization of realist film, based on the notions of
Lukacs and Kracauer. As a way to be free from the wretchedness of society or what they call
“damaged modern condition” by showing the cinematic realism of everyday life of the ordinary
man, who deals with the "abstraction” or the organic creation of physical reality. Both Lukacs
and Kracauer are influenced by the concept of modernity paired with the tradition of “romantic
anti-capitalist”. The condition of modernity is dominated by systems of technical and conceptual
rationality’ (Aitken, 2006, p. 154), causing the people to be blinded by the manipulative
ideologies of society. According to Kracauer, this indicates the pervasive abstraction that deals
with the actual state of disintegration’ (Kracauer, 1987, p. 95) by gluing the shreds back together
and presenting them as ‘organic creations’ (p. 95).

It also points out the opposition between Lukacs’ and Kracauer’s ideology. Wherein Lukacs’
notion of cinema frees the ordinary person from the damaged condition. On the other hand,
Kracauer’s ideology states that physical reality frees cinema from mass ornament that refers to
mediums viewed as mere entertainment and escapes from reality. Instead, it confronts reality by
showing the texture of life, and in turn, frees spectators from the abstraction of the condition of
modernity. It frees the people from the illusion of wholeness in modern life the modern capitalist
brings. Moreover, it opens the eyes of viewers to the disintegration and the damaged condition
of modernity.

Next, it presents the life of Lino Brocka and the society he was in. It tackles how his experiences
shaped his perception. How it changed after his imprisonment, from cinema as “a mirror
reflecting reality” to cinema being a “mirror that confronts the people with the reality of their
human condition”. Moreover, he now sees himself as a public person and a participant. He no
longer isolates himself from society. It also discusses his responsibility as a director to produce
films that “expose and fight for what is wrong” and produce films that “will hurt, will disturb and
films that will not make you rest”.

The article discussed how the film demonstrates Kracauer’s notion wherein realist film helps
spectators to overcome the abstraction and a means to observe the disintegrative tendencies of
the modern conditions. It also discussed how the film represents a Lukacsian sense in the latter
part of the film.

The arguments presented in the article are the principles of Lukacs and Kracauer in realist film.
Lukacs’ argued that “the ordinary man” or the socially typical must connect individual narratives
with the broader social totality. He defines realism as ‘the reproduction of typical people under
typical circumstances’ (cited in Aitken 2012: 50). He says that the film must present a ‘new
world’ to the spectator by showing both the “whole man of everyday life” and “sense of man’s
wholeness”. On the other hand, For Kracauer, films go beyond the abstraction that is inherent in
modern society and reinforced by forms and aesthetics of an escapist (escape reality) —“mass
ornament”—cinema by disclosing the sensuous and ephemeral surface of reality. The true value
of a film is its potential to capture the “physical reality” To let the spectators see the texture of
life which is lost beneath the abstraction that normalizes these experiences.

The article has given sufficient information about the two ideologies and the background of Lino
Brocka as a citizen artist. There is an in-depth analysis of the film. The article presented the
ideas and concepts of Lukacs and Kracauer in realist film. These concepts and statements
demonstrated by the author are very relevant in studying the film Manila in the Claws of Light.
Multiple applications helped in understanding the notions better. An example of this can be seen
in the article. “A Kracauerean cinematic realism of everyday life can be observed in the opening
sequence of Manila in the Claws of Light. The sound of horse hooves and a visually poetic
string of black-and-white images of the streets, “city symphony” style, open the film with a
portrait of Manila waking up to a new day: shop owners setting up their stores, street vendors
preparing their goods, bums still sleeping on the street, etc.” which shows what Kracauer refers
to as “The basic property of film is its capacity for ‘recording’ the aspects of physical reality. “In a
Lukácsian sense, this moment is the beginning of resistance to oppression as Julio connects
the particular to the general and intuitively grasps the totality of it all. The physical reality of the
violent milieu and the social reality of the corrupt system come together in the film that, Brocka
would put it, acts as a mirror confronting the people with the reality of their human condition.” It
shows that both Kracauer’s and Lukacs’ notions are seen in the film Manila in the Claws of
Light. Moreover, it proves how the article gives a clear explanation of the ideas of Kracauer and
Lukacs regarding realist films.
However, without a proper background of the theories, the article can be hard to understand at
first. It would be better if the article gives more history on the ideologies aside from presenting
the ideas of Lukacs and Kracauer. Aside from that, I think the article is accurate and
well-written. It is backed up with different pieces of evidence and research.

The key points of the article include: the ideologies of Lukacs and Kracauer regarding realist
film, Lino Brocka and his experiences, his work ethic and responsibility as a director and a
public person in society, and the demonstration of Manila in the Claws of Light using the
concepts and statements of Lukacs and Kracauer as artist and activist, are all presented by the
author. In my analysis, the use of sufficient research and information about the topics makes the
article strong. Aside from this, I found only one weakness of the article, which lacks the history
of the ideologies that can give more background to these notions of Lukacs and Kracauer. For
further research, the author may add the history so it can be understood better. Overall, the
significance of the article is for us to have a deeper understanding of the film Manila in the
Claws of Light, and why the director makes these kinds of films. It gives clarity and a better
understanding of the two concepts by emphasizing the notions of cinematic realism by Georg
Lukacs and Siegfried Kracauer.
References:

● Aitken, I. (2020). ​Cinematic Realism: Lukás, Kracauer and Theories of the Filmic Real​.
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. doi:10.3366/j.ctv1c29sff
● Gutierrez III, J. (2017). The Realist Cinema of Lino Brocka. Retrieved March 03, 2021,
from ​http://www.plarideljournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/2017-02-Joni.pdf
● Gutierrez, P. (n.d.). Siegfried Kracauer, Realist film theorist. Retrieved March 03, 2021,
from https://jonigutierrez.com/blog/siegfried-kracauer-realist-film-theorist/
● Koutsourakis, A. (2015). Ian Aitken (2012) LUKÁCSIAN film theory and Cinema: A study
of GEORG Lukács' writing on FILM 1913–1971. ​Film-Philosophy, ​19​(1).
doi:10.3366/film.2015.0025
● Manila in the claws of light. (1970, January 01). Retrieved March 03, 2021, from
https://www.criterion.com/films/29221-manila-in-the-claws-of-light
● Stahl, T. (2018, January 18). Georg [György] LUKÁCS. Retrieved March 03, 2021, from
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lukacs/#AesReaWorArtCloTot