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Deadma Walking

Name: Deadma Walking
Director: Julius Alfonso
Released: 2017
Duration: 109 min

Representation Score

9.1/10

Excellent

2017

TV-PG

Director

Julius Alfonso

Runtime

109 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Deadma Walking succeeds by placing queer identity at the heart of its storytelling. Rather than treating LGBTQ+ characters as secondary, the film uses their unique perspectives to drive a sophisticated narrative about mortality and friendship. The film effectively challenges traditional gender roles and social rituals. By centering the plot on a staged death, it questions the rigid expectations of religious and social mourning, favoring personal ability to act and emotional truth. While the film provides a strong non-Western perspective, it remains focused on a specific cultural and interpersonal lens. It uses a high-concept comedy to explore profound themes of life and death through a underrepresented viewpoint.

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Category Breakdown

Does Deadma Walking have LGBTQ+ representation?

Excellent

The film centers its narrative on the intimate bond between two gay men, exploring the emotional complexities of their friendship and dealing with terminal illness within a underrepresented community.

How does Deadma Walking portray gender?

Good

By emphasizing expressive communication and communal support, the film challenges traditional masculine stereotypes, prioritizing emotional vulnerability over stoic or dominant behavior.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Deadma Walking?

Good

As a Filipino production, the film offers a localized, authentic perspective that challenges Western cinematic norms, providing a culturally specific experience.

How does Deadma Walking represent religion and culture?

Good

The story critiques formal social institutions and religious mourning traditions through a staged funeral, suggesting that personal truth and emotional liberation are more important than traditional funerary decorum.

Does Deadma Walking include disability representation?

Good

The narrative addresses terminal illness by giving the patient significant control over their situation, avoiding the passive object of pity and instead showing active orchestration of their final moments.

Present on Screen

Centering queer protagonists allows for a deep exploration of friendship and emotional labor.
The narrative gives real power to characters facing terminal illness, avoiding the cliché of passive pity.
Challenges traditional masculinity by prioritizing expressive communication and communal support.

Limited or Absent

The film's focus on a specific cultural experience may limit its broader multi-ethnic appeal.
The exploration of disability is tied specifically to terminal illness rather than a wider range of experiences.

Official Synopsis

A Palanca-winning comedy about gay best friends for life John and Mark whose friendship is put to the test when one of them has a terminal illness and asks the other to help him stage his fake death, wake, and funeral as his dying wish. The result is a laughfest of "deadly" proportions.

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