Page 142 - Key Words in Religion Media and Culture

Narrative 125

Rizal’s death was rapidly transformed into a martyrdom, which in turn
became for many Filipinos a lens for reinterpreting not only his death but his
life and work. At the outset, it is important to make clear that the sequence of
repetitions, amplifications, elaborations and, finally, reverberations is by no
means set in stone. In other words, repetitions or elaborations of a narrative
may well happen before amplifications, for example, or simultaneously with
reverberations. Repetition and amplification can happen together, as can all
four processes. As I also consider repetition within the three other processes,
I have kept this first section the briefest.
The story of Rizal’s execution was reiterated textually, visually, and
materially. In the London Times, the story of his execution received only a
few lines, whereas in Spain, his death was a lead story on the front page of
several Spanish newspapers. For example, both Todas Las Noches and Una
Información devoted almost their entire front page to the news, including
a realistic-looking picture of the execution in the former and a large
photograph of Rizal himself in the latter. Such extensive coverage in Spain
is not surprising given that at that time the Philippines was a Spanish colony.
The rapid transmission, repetition, and amplification of the story relied on a
comparatively new form of communication: the telegraph. Within two years,
the Philippines were no longer governed by the Spanish, and Rizal’s bones
were exhumed, placed in an ivory casket and, as we shall see, later given a state
burial at “an expressly designed” monument. The result was that the story
of Rizal’s life and death was repeated again and again, especially annually
on Rizal Day (December 30). The story of Rizal is firmly embedded within
the Filipino educational system, with teachers regularly retelling the story
of Rizal to school children. Through this repeated iteration of the narrative
of his death, his memory has been preserved, revivified, and disseminated.
Both repetition and amplification revivify in their own particular ways and
sometimes do in tandem with each other. These repetitions have contributed
to the story of his death and life being amplified, and amplified in many
different ways. It is to amplification that we now turn to consider in greater
detail.

Amplifications of narratives

A microphone amplifies a voice, making it louder and bringing it closer.
There is a sense in which amplification creates a certain kind of intimacy
between a speaker and a listener. A poor amplification system can do the
opposite, distorting the sound and distancing listeners from the original
sound. Obviously, even the very best systems can compress, condense,
and change the tone and pitch of a voice. Narratives are both literally and
metaphorically amplified through an entire host of modern media. When an