Batch ’81 (1982): The Brutal Cost of Brotherhood
(WARNING: CONTAINS CONTENT THAT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR SOME VIEWERS)
I was somewhat looking forward to seeing this movie when I my Film professor said that this was another Filipino film produced during the Martial Law era, since those movies excel in narrating deep and multi-layered stories and are not afraid of showing the tragedy experienced by their characters. This film is no exception. It paints a very gruesome and cruel reality of fraternities, how they treat their applicants, and how its own barbaric mindset of belonging can affect its members physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Batch ’81 (1982) is a 1982 Filipino drama film directed by Mike de Leon that narrates the harsh experiences of Sid Lucero (played by Mark Gil) as he goes through initiation of joining the Alpha Kappa Omega (ακΩ or AKO) fraternity due to his mother forcing him to take a course he does not like. He, along with other applicants such as Pacoy Ledesma, Ding Quintos, Ronnie Roxas Jr., and Arni Enriquez (Sid’s roommate), undergo different tests supervised by the frat leader, Vince. At the very first day of the initiation, the applicants were subjected to humiliation as they were commanded to strip naked blindfolded while women are heard giggling and talking about them. Unbeknownst to them, the giggling women were only prerecorded tapes. However, one applicant resisted stripping naked and was promptly kicked out. The remaining neophytes were later submitted to hazing using bats and paddles.
The next months only included more tests involving more humiliation and pain: Pacoy was made to eat food mixed with soda and ketchup after having sex with a teacher; the neophytes were made to run in public only in their underwear, ending with Ding falling behind and him holding up a mosquito net over a frat master all night as a result; the neophytes drinking beer then spitting it back again, with Ronnie being forced to drink it all; and surgical equipment being attached on Sid’s body to increase his pain tolerance. Along with all these, the frat prepares for their talent show play while Abet, the leader of the Sigma Omicron Sigma (ΣOΣ) fraternity, threatens Sid to convince Arni to break up with Tina, Abet’s sister. Arni, however, does not comply despite the threats.
Ronnie decides to leave the frat after all the brutal hardships; however, Vince finds out about this and ties Ronnie to an electric chair for another test, hosted by Ronnie’s own father (who was one of the frat’s founding members). The applicants were ordered to shock Ronnie every time he answers wrong on Vince’s questions, The voltage was gradually increased and Ronnie eventually stops responding to the questions. When Pacoy refuses to shock Ronnie and was forced to replace him, Ronnie suddenly wakes up. His father then explains that this whole test was fake and was only set up to help the applicants trust their masters more. Later, Sid argues with Arni, stating that the frat was in good faith for doing the test. The applicants stop them, finding out that Ronnie decides to stay. They were gladdened by his decision.
After the frat successfully finishes their play on the talent show, Sid, Arni, and Tina were ambushed by the Sigma Omicron Sigma fraternity. Abet makes good on his threats about stopping Arni from dating his sister by beating Arni up and drowning him in a urinal, all while Sid helplessly watches it unfold right in front of his eyes, Tina hysterically bawling and pleading for his brother to stop. Wanting to avenge Arni’s death, Sid convinces Vince to retaliate. The two fraternities settle it on a street, initially beating each other up. However, they both reveal deadly tools to aide them, from knives to a cleaver. Both frats suffer fatalities, such as Ronnie getting stabbed to death and Abet falling to a cleaver strike with the help of Sid. The Alpha Kappa Omega frat were saddened by the incident, but decides to go through with the last hazing. After the last hazing, the remaining neophytes are officially welcomed into the fraternity. The film ends with a voice-over from Sid narrating that he is now one of the frat masters overseeing another group of neophytes.
The movie does a great job of showing the heinous and horrific situations that applicants go through just to get into a fraternity. Time and time again, we in the Philippines hear many news about the brutal hazings that neophytes go through, but the movie excels in showing the deeper details on how they are done. They are disgusting and horrid to look at, and can make lots of viewers to look away at the screen or stop watching the movie. However, this is an example of graphic scenes done right. Unlike Serbis, the other movie that I’ve reviewed that also contained graphic scenes, the graphic scenes in this movie has a purpose, to show the cruel initiation that these applicants go through in order to have a sense of belonging in the frat. The frat members justify their actions by saying that it teaches humility and trust; however, an outside view can see that it is only an abuse of power. The pain and humiliation is said to strengthen the bond between ‘brothers’; however, an outside view can see its vicious effect on the people involved.
However, if a lot of fraternity initiations are obviously cruel, painful, and brutal, why are there still people who join them? That is why the movie does another great job of answering this question by portraying a character arc not normally seen in a lot of movies: the fall arc. Basically, a fall arc is when a character believes in a lie, clings to the lie, rejects a truth, and believes in a worse lie. Sid Lucero is the perfect example of a character who goes through this arc. Sid believes that joining a fraternity will give him a sense of belonging, since all his mother wants is forcing him to take a course that he does not agree studying in. Having a sense of belonging is not limited to a fraternity; however, Sid does not see that. Instead, every time he or a neophyte is subjected to another atrocious test, he clings to the idea that the frat masters are doing this for the better good and that it will all be worth it at the end. When Ronnie initially decided to leave the frat, Ronnie tried convincing Sid of the brutality and the sadism that the frat members seem to have. However, Ronnie denied the idea, saying again that they are only doing this for the better good and that it will all be worth it at the end. For Sid, leaving the fraternity was unacceptable. He rejected the truth that the fraternity’s initiations were brutal or even wrong. In the end, Sid was welcomed into the fraternity and was proud of finally becoming a member. He even eventually became a frat master, despite knowing the pain and humiliation that the neophytes he is overseeing will suffer through. This is because he believes it is justified, that it is something that the neophytes deserve in order to be worthy of being part of the frat. This is the same ideology to a lot of fraternity members. They believe that the cruel, painful, and brutal initiations and hazing was to justify the belonging and brotherhood of the frat.
The era that this film was produced had a big effect on the movie’s themes as well. This, like Manila: In the Claws of Light (1975), was produced during the Marcos’ Martial Law period. The characters in the film are stripped off of their dignity and humanity, while they are humiliated and torture by somewhat sadistic masters, which could be reflected on the Martial Law era.
In a technical aspect, I also loved the cinematography used in the film, such as the usage of Dutch tilts and overhead angles to give emphasis on the uneasiness or powerlessness of the characters. However, one main issue I had with this film was the music used during the fight between the fraternities. The movie had a main theme that was a somewhat cheery ensemble that is usually played during montages of the hazings. This is probably to highlight the irony of the characters having an optimistic outlook on the frat while they were subjected to brutal actions. Unfortunately, this did not have the same effect when it was played during the fight. The cheery ensemble did not fit with the scene, even ironically, and ended up taking a lot of the emotional impact of the scene, especially when bloody deaths were being displayed alongside it.
In conclusion, I am really impressed with this movie. The movie was able to show a sensitive topic and show the true brutal details of it. The portrayal of the characters’ arcs were really unique yet tragic. You can’t help but feel sad but angry towards the characters for staying in the fraternity, thinking that it’s their only way of belonging with a group. The film is not afraid to show how fraternities treat their applicants and how painful the experiences are for them.
