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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is Freddie Gonzaga related to Rio?

2. Whose books is Imelda Marcos said to have banned?

3. What is the name of the club that Pucha and Rio plan to visit in Scene 9?

4. Why is the Odeon failing in Manila?

5. In Scene 9, Rio remembers her grandmother taking her to a movie starring who?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is golfing in Scene 12?

2. At the beginning of Scene 10, what do Perlita and Chiquiting gossip about?

3. In Scene 9, how does Rio's story about her grandmother reflect the changing Manila?

4. Describe the party at the beginning of Scene 14.

5. Describe the speech that Avila delivers in Scene 7.

6. Describe the montage of Scene 15.

7. Why does Rio Gonzaga return to Manila in Scene 3?

8. How does Senator Avila relate to his right-wing counterparts in Scene 12?

9. In Scene 1, what is imparted to the audience through radio clips?

10. What do Nestor and Barbara say about Philippines history in Scene 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay about the intersection between light entertainment and history in this play. Why does Hagedorn choose a soap opera for the frame of the story? What other light entertainment references and elements appear in the narrative? Thematically, how does this serve historical thesis of the play?

Essay Topic 2

At the beginning of Dogeaters, Filipinos speak about the rumors of violence by the regime, and over the course of the play these rumors become explicit. Write an essay about the movement of the violence from implicit to explicit over the course of the narrative. What cruelty is rumored at the beginning? What is the first explicit act of violence, and how does violence spread like a virus thereafter?

Essay Topic 3

In the Manila of Dogeaters, dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda rely on the use of entertainment to pacify dissent and codify their power. Write a three part essay about the way the Marcoses use entertainment to consolidate power:

Part 1) Discuss the purpose of Imelda Marcoses film festival. How does the first lady characterize this festival? What are her aspirations, and how does the populace react to the arrival of stars and auteurs?

Part 2) Discuss the characters of Tito Alvarez and Lolita Luna. What are their entertainment personas and how do these personas dovetail with the Marcos aesthetic? How do these movie stars become entwined in the political?

Part 3) In summation, explore the way Imelda Marcos interacts with the media in the play. What image does the first lady want to project to her people, and how does she use the radio/television interview to do this?

(see the answer keys)

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