Serum
Mansos, G. M. (2014). Serum, Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication
Serum tells the cyclical story of Namo, a law enforcer in a dystopian society that bans the existence of the homosexuals. In his society, there exists a serum that allegedly normalizes these homosexuals. Despite him being a closet gay and while hiding his gay lover inside their abode, he continues to be the law enforcer who will soon face a bitter reality not only for himself, but also for those like him.
The film is about the unending battle between religion and sexuality. This battle always rages towards the cycle of arguments, doubts, contemplation and compromise. It is mainly associated with the intrapersonal perspective, molded by a governing institution, such as the church. Yet, at the same time, it captures the inevitable decision that social norm will always break its way into the ideals of the closet - usually forcing the closet open with the person inside brought to unknown.
The film takes the form of a cyclical narrative, with the experimentation on sound and editing in order to achieve a phenomenological play of the senses, in order to disrupt the audience from the film, and feel the filmmaker's motive towards the overall theme. Keywords: Queer, Speculative Cinema, Gender Power Relation