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Bontoc Eulogy

  • March 1995
  • 56mins

  • Documentary
  • Directed by

    Bridget Yearian,

    Marlon Fuentes,

    Starring

    Jordan Porter,

    Boy in Mosquito Net,

    Enrico Obusan,

    Eliseo Bacolod

    ...

    Marlon E. Fuentes' Bontoc Eulogy is a haunting, personal exploration into the filmmaker's complex relationship with his Filipino heritage as explored through the almost unbelievable story of the 1,100 Filipino tribal natives brought to the U.S. to be a "living exhibit" at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. For those who associate the famous fair with Judy Garland, clanging trolleys, and creampuff victoriana, Bontoc Eulogy offers a disturbing look at the cultural arrogance that went hand-in-hand with the Fair's glorification of progress. The Fair was the site of the world's largest ever "ethnological display rack," in which hundreds of so-called primitive and savage men and women from all over the globe were exhibited in contrast to the achievements of Western civilization.