Speakers: Dr. Cecilia Fe L. Sta. Maria-Abalos and Asst. Prof. Jean Claire Dy
In March 2020, during the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippines was declared under the Emergency State of Calamity and the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). With ECQ and other iterations of community lockdowns, the Filipino people were subjected to strict social and health protocols.
In the paper presentation entitled, “Examining the Humanizing of the Filipino Audience through Surfeit Images at the Height of the Pandemic,” Dr. Sta. Maria Abalos states that the COVID-19 health and social protocols have exposed the disparity among the social classes. “[The Covid-19 pandemic is not merely a health issue, for the many Filipinos living below the poverty line,” says Dr. Abalos, “social distance as imposed by the quarantine policy is not merely a measurement of space interval but also the visibility of a more pronounced social disparity.” In her study, Dr. Abalos have collected media images that exhibit the precariousness of the Filipino workers living on minimum wage. The result of this collection is the “emergence of ethical obligations” from media images exposure, which have shaped our social values.
With the assertion that exposure to media images that portray the social disparity among classes, how will media framing awaken our ethical obligations and encourage volunteerism?
In the second part of the session, Asst. Prof. Jean Claire Dy discusses the situation of the practice-based research in media production during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This method of research “interrogate[s] the practice itself and then the final outcome is the creative artefact,” says to Prof. Dy. “And the creative artefact is the contribution to knowledge.” The outcomes are in the form of digital media, music, exhibitions, films, and performances.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this practice was at disadvantage due to the difficulty of securing permit for on-the-ground activities. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented various alternatives such as the availability of online resources and tools, wherein the “online world is a treasure trove of research data.”
Considering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, social and health protocols, the alternative ways of gathering data through online resources, and the online world considered as a “treasure trove for data,” how will these affect the future of practice-based media here in the Philippines?