Summary

This thesis examines how women are articulated in terms of praxis, construction, and contradictions in four documentary films, namely: Sunday Beauty Queen (2016), Yaya (2018), Overseas (2019), and Contemporary Bayani (2019). As the research explores the female OFW experience in these documentary films, a feminist analysis is employed while analyzing film language. Surrounding this analysis are the semiotic representations and cultural ideas attached to how the documentaries frame women. Taking this into account, the feminist-formalist discourse method is then utilized in order to analyze how cinematic elements such as cinematography, dialogue, sound, and editing are used as mise en scenè devices and how the films challenge the government’s notion of “bagong bayani.” A further analysis is included to justify the construction of ideas and uses of technical elements in these films.

Through the study, it is found that the selected documentary films articulate women’s experiences in terms of praxis, construction, and contradictions, firstly through the depiction of traditional female roles in domestic work, secondly through the uncovering of the exploitive and difficult realities faced by these women, and using this to lastly challenge the government’s notion of “bagong bayani.” Understanding how these three intersect with each other allows society to confront the decades-long glorification of the term, as debunked by the four documentary films.