The Iron Butterfly

I have always known Imelda Marcos as the “Iron Butterfly”, the wife of the former 20-year president Ferdinand Marcos, the woman who owns a total of shoes more than all my clothes and my shoes combined. I'm not much into History but I know the gist of the story. And from what I heard and what I believe until now, her husband was a smart and great president. He somehow made Philippines better, although he abused his power and forgot why he ran for president in the first place: to serve the country. I believe Imelda Marcos has a huge part in his decisions, especially the declaration of Martial Law. For me, she was the reason for Ferdinand's downfall. And after watching the documentary, I started to get more irritated to her.

Her explanations for different things were illogical, at least for me. First, her reason for her all her shoes and her lavish style of clothing were, according to her, for the Filipinos to have a model and to help them see how to dress well. Yes, I understand her good intentions, but it doesn't make sense. It's like she's boasting about their riches. She said that when she goes to small towns, she has an obligation to dress well to let people see the right way in getting dressed. But really, can those Filipinos afford the clothes she wear? Why can't she just dress in simplicity and show that you don't need expensive clothes in order to look nice?

I also didn't like the way she was so confident about her beauty. Although I like what she said that “It is not expensive to be beautiful. It takes only a little effort to be presentable and beautiful. But it takes some effort.” These words though don't match to her actions and her other words. She is a smart woman but her words contradict. She said the quote above but it doesn't show with her luxurious lifestyle. It's good to be confident about one's self but too much confidence is not good anymore. And her self-confidence is just so apparent. She's so confident about herself that she thinks she'll be in the dictionary someday. I mean, okay she's a famous woman and a lot of people know her, not just from the Philippines but from other countries as well. But why did she have to boast about her beauty and herr legacy? A little humility wouldn't hurt. And I didn't really see that in her.

Lastly, I don't get what she meant when she said that they wanted to preserve democracy when her husband declared Martial Law. Where was the democracy in that? She is good in words and someone might actually believe her explanations because she does speak well. But a lot of what she said didn't really make any sense. It's sad that an intelligent woman like her wasted her beauty and power because of her seemingly narcissistic character.

Chrystine L. Cobarrubias

2013 - 59986

The Strongwoman

According to a popular adage, “Behind every great man is a great woman”. I find this most applicable to Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos. People always recognize Ferdinand Marcos for his intelligence, greatness, and notoriety especially when he declared Martial Law in the Philippines. However, not lagging behind, is the people’s recognition of his partner and first lady Imelda who never left his side. He may be the strongman but she is the face, fellow strategist, and main collaborator in his regime.

The aim of the documentary was to give a peek behind the curtain and see what Imelda Marcos was like. The film interestingly depicted her many colors. It portrays her intelligence, quirks, fanaticism, and her over-all character. It also shows her as a visionary, thinking about how she could improve and add beauty to the country by spearheading and funding projects aimed at beautifying the landscape and at enriching the culture of Filipinos ultimately leading to the country’s progress.

Furthermore the documentary showcases how she sees herself and how people see her. It is surprising how polarized the reactions were. We get to see in the film what her socio-political and cultural views are including how she copes with everyday political pressures and what keeps her strong. It also gives us an idea on why she continues to be popular and loved by other people despite their family’s notoriety.

The Imelda documentary shows that there indeed are different sides and angles to a story. It is interesting how she sees what happened during the Marcos regime in her perspective as opposed to what the opposition interviewees in the documentary thought. This also explores the complexity of man or woman that cannot be ever boxed in particular stereotypes. Politics as shown in this film indeed also molds our society and is crucial in making history. 

Imelda, Imelda...

Wife of former president Ferdinand Marcos who ruled over the Philippines for twenty-one years, Imelda Marcos is one arrogant b... person. Living in her elitist-style life, Imelda Marcos has been known as a narcissistic, egotistic human being. She may have lived her early life as a commoner, but her mindset was that of her being above average and is better than everyone else. In a recent study, this mindset is seen in everyone of us, but her view of herself as a perfect person was above average as well. She sees herself as always being right, always being the best, and always being above ordinary people. For her being the representation or model of the Filipino people, I feel ashamed. She may have the looks, the brains, the talents and whatnot, but she lacks something the Filipino people cherish the most; the Heart.

In her days as the first lady, her political power has granted her an ego boost that is completely unnecessary for her. A full balloon that receives more air would only pop, and soon after her husband and she was accused of corruption. Living her life as she did, buying artworks, traveling the world and such, its no wonder why they were accused of such accusations. Surely many people in politics are corrupt, but her, being able to show off her corruption by spending her life in such elitist ways and got away with it, is truly remarkable. Just how much blessings can one person get. Truly the gods are in favor of her because flaunting out all her bad deeds and not get penalized for them is truly, truly incomprehensible.

To summarize everything in one phrase, "you can get away with anything if you have the looks and confidence".

2013-70005

Formula for a Happy Face; Feed the Body with Good, Mind with Truth, and Soul with Beauty

                “Being beautiful is easy, because it is natural”, it’s not the exact words she uttered but it was Imelda Marcos’s point why she insist to be gorgeous on everybody’s eyes all the time. Well no doubt she is pretty with good voice, followed by men and was the most experienced and knowledgeable person in politics for her children. She was even able to hook in a glimpse of an eye the former President, Marcos. Imelda was famous of her shoes and her presence during the whole electoral campaign of her husband. They are the greatest love/ tag team of that period and were able to persuade the Filipino nation that they deserve to lead the country.

                There’s so much to say about how they live wealthily in the palace, how they lavishly held parties and bought tons of shoes and dresses. But the real thing about her that really annoys me was her way of giving rationale for everything. I just don’t get her. I can’t understand if she was stupid (probably not), weird, sick, pretending to be just like that to make her look innocent (I don’t know what I can do if I happen to see her) or just dumb enough to have too much self confidence and belief to herself. It was just like what one interviewee said in the film that when she thought of something, she believes that it was the best idea in the world. She might even think that she was entitled to have control of the public purse. She brags that she was the representation of the Philippines, being beautiful at all times for she was a model for every Filipino. But she never gets the point that Filipinos never look like that. We never look so beautiful to make ourselves outrageous enough to make people laugh.

                 I never understand her, and probably I won’t bother more to understand her. Still I thank her existence, because I realized how fortunate am I to be just a normal person. 

Imelda Marcos

Being the wife of our former President, the Dictator- President Ferdinand Marcos, Mrs. Imelda Marcos is really a big figure in our country. I often see her in our history books and Imelda Marcos was always tied up with Martial Law, Marcos, and the Aquinos, but I don’t really know who she was. I just knew her name and not her story.

After watching the video documentation about Imelda Marcos, I can say that I knew her better. In her early life, Imelda lived the life of a princess. She was rich; she was dressed in beautiful dresses. She was pretty and was courted by a lot of men, and among them was Ferdinand Marcos who later became her significant other in life.

Being the first lady and the mother of the country, Imelda had many plans for the Philippines. She wanted to enrich and showcase our culture as the heart of being a Filipino, and this led to the building of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Also, during her reign, the lung center, the heart center, and etc. were built. Not only did she care for the cultural aspect of the country, but also the image the Philippines had to other countries. She believed that she was the figure of the Philippines and that she represented and reflected the country. She beautified and dressed herself to show that Philippines is a good country. She has set herself as a standard of beauty to our fellow Filipinos. But little did she know that she was just putting up a show, trying to hide what the real situation of the country was—unhappy and poor.

Imelda’s shoe collection became a very big issue back then, having hundreds of shoes, each would match perfectly with specific attire that she has.  I think that is not a problem, and is very acceptable. Ordinary women can also possess these things and yet, it would be alright. I think that it only became an issue because of Imelda’s position as the first lady, with the people thinking that it is only out of her extravagance and that she is using the country’s money to buy her collection of shoes. But, we could not blame her, because that was the life that she knew how to live. She was treated like a princess in her youth and a queen by her husband.

Although Imelda was not the best first lady our country has ever had, she was an excellent wife to Marcos.  Not only did Imelda love him in his youth, but she loved him until his last breathe, and even until now that he has no life to breathe.

'Di na natuto

            Kung ang sitwasyo’y mas nauna kong napanuod ang pelikula-dokumentaryong Imelda kaysa sa paulit-ulit na kinuha kong subject ukol sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas, panigurado’y paniniwalaan ko ang lahat ng mga binibitawan niyang salita pati bibilhin ko ang mga larawang ipinapakalat niya. Madadala ako sa romansa nila ni dating Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos at tatangkilikin ang mga prinsipyo niya sa buhay na kayang-kayang isalarawan gamit ang hugis ng puso at iba pang mga pangunahing hugis. Halos kalahati ng palabas ay tumatawa ako o ngumingisi sabay iling sapagkat ang lahat ng mga depensa niya’y kung hindi taliwas ay sobrang ang babaw lamang. Tipong hindi makakayang pagtakpan ang kaniyang karumaldumal na nakaraan. Gaya nga ng sinabi ng isa sa mga nakapanayaman, “hindi siya makawala sa sarili niyang realidad” o “gumagawa siya ng sarili niyang realidad” hindi ako sigurado ngunit alam ko ganyan ang ipinaparating niya. Tunay nga naman, base sa mga isinasagot niya sa lahat ng mga katanungan, na ibang-iba ang mga pangyayari nuon sa mga ihinahayag niya. Hindi ako makapaniwala na siya ang asawa ng mabagsik na diktador ng Pilipinas—tila isang batang babaeng ipinagmamalaki ang mga regalo niyang natanggap, mga “medalya” kuno niya, at ng kaniyang kahali-halinang pagmumukha. Bilib nga rin ako sa kaniya sapagkat nagawa niyang humarap sa kamera at isalaysay pati ang parte ng kaniyang pagkatao na masalimuot nang balikan.

            Nais ko ring pagbigyan ng pansin ang konsepto niya ng pagiging isang “ina ng bayan” na ang obligasyon ay magtaguyod at maging ehemplo ng pagtangkilik ng pagmamahalan at “natural” na kagandahan. Hindi nga namang maitatanggi na naisagawa niya ito sa pamamagitan ng pagtatayo ng mga gusaling maaaring pagtampukan ng ating kultura, ngunit sang-ayon din naman ako sa kumento na hindi naman kaya ng Pilipinas ang ganoong leisure sa panahong iyon. Kahit sa ngayon, sino ba ang nakapapasok at nakapanunuod ng mga presentasyon ng ating kayamanan? Masyadong nasasala lamang ang manunuod. Para sa aki’y masyado niyang inisip na ang pagmamahal ay nakapokus sa kultural na aspekto at sa pakikipagbesuhan sa mga tao, nakalimutan niya ata na ang pagmamahal ay pagmamalasakit sa kalagayan ng mga tao. Doon sila mayroong malaking pagkukulang sapagkat masyadong nasentro ang motibo sa kanilang pamilya. Hindi ba’t ilang pares ng sapatos na may tatak na pangalan niya ang koleksyon niya ‘pagkat binabagay niya ito sa kaniyang mga gown? Hindi ba’t ilang mga kwintas, hikaw, singsing, at iba pang mga palamuti ang nakalap sa palasyo? Ang kagandahan ay siya, ‘yan ang totoong pinaniniwalaan niya. Ang pagmamahalan ay naipalaganap niya, ‘yun ang akala niya.