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Weighed But Found Wanting

Name: Weighed But Found Wanting
Director: Lino Brocka
Released: 1974
Duration: 128 min

Representation Score

8.9/10

Excellent

1974

Director

Lino Brocka

Runtime

128 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Lino Brocka’s masterpiece is a powerful exercise in social realism that centers on those discarded by society. By focusing on the intersection of disability, mental health, and class, the film exposes the cruelty of institutional power. The narrative succeeds by giving real power to underrepresented figures, using their lived experiences to challenge the perceived moral superiority of the town's 'respectable' citizens. It is a sophisticated critique of how social hierarchies enforce conformity. While the film lacks explicit LGBTQ+ representation, its subversion of social norms creates a space for outsider identities. The strength of the work lies in its refusal to view systemic harm as a personal failing.

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Category Breakdown

Does Weighed But Found Wanting have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film does not explicitly show LGBTQ+ identities or romantic relationships. However, it focuses on characters who exist outside the town's straight-centered social fabric, exploring non-traditional social roles.

How does Weighed But Found Wanting portray gender?

Good

Women on the periphery of respectable society play a significant role in driving the story. The portrayal of a mentally unstable woman challenges traditional maternal roles and patriarchal social structures.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Weighed But Found Wanting?

Excellent

This seminal work provides a strong depiction of a non-Western society. It avoids the Western perspective by centering the lived experiences and linguistic nuances of a Filipino community.

How does Weighed But Found Wanting represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The narrative critiques traditional institutions and the hypocrisy of moral leaders. It deconstructs the concept of respectability, framing social order as a tool of oppression.

Does Weighed But Found Wanting include disability representation?

Excellent

Characters with disabilities, including a leper and a mentally unstable woman, serve as the film's emotional anchors. They are depicted with profound humanity rather than as mere plot devices.

Present on Screen

Provides a nuanced, non-Western perspective that avoids the Western perspective.
Grants significant power and humanity to characters with visible and invisible disabilities.
Effectively critiques the hypocrisy of religious and capitalist social structures.
Challenges traditional gender hierarchies by centering disenfranchised women.

Limited or Absent

Lacks explicit visibility regarding LGBTQ+ identities and romantic relationships.

Official Synopsis

A privileged teenager, disillusioned with the hypocrisy he witnesses in his small town, forms a bond with a lonely man with leprosy and a mentally distressed homeless woman.

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