BOMBA: THE BIRTH OF A GENRE

Luigi Conti

Film 102: History of Philippine Cinema

Faculty: Nick Deocampo

March 14, 2012

 The 1970s proved to be a major turning point in the history of the Philippines, both in
politics and in the cinema. Amid protests, terrorist attacks, and civil unrest, the president
declared Martial Law on September 21, 1972, curtailing civil liberties and press freedom.
Lasting until 1981, it is interesting to note how the cinema, in its function as a mirror to a
troubled society, had fared in that span of time.
Not surprisingly, the public found refuge in the movies. In 1970, Uhaw was released to
extensive commercial success. Although not garnering much critical praise1, the film banked on
its sex scenes and adult themes to appeal to a society wrestling with itself. Within the year,
more of these soft-core sex films were released, earning big in the box office.
The emergence of the bomba genre may be attributed to three main factors: the first
and most obvious of which is economic. The bomba film reasserted the duality of the cinematic
medium, emphasizing its effectiveness in earning big bucks. Secondly, the emergence of the
bomba film may be attributed to a cultural factor not entirely exclusive to the Philippines. It
should be noted that the 60s was a period of global sexual revolution, and the subsequent
materialization of the bomba was not a mere coincidence.
Bomba went mostly unnoticed by censors, but by the latter part of 1970s, debates were
raised about the artistic merit of the genre2, as well as the detrimental effects on the industry –
and thus to the medium – itself. With the advent of tighter censorship and socio-political
stability, the genre met its eventual demise in the mid-1990s, with the emergence of home
video media.
In reviewing the evolution of the bomba genre, it is interesting to note the relationship
of society with the screen. As a genre, the bomba did not appear out of nowhere. Its rise and
fall is a result of various factors that operate on cultural apparatuses of their time, one of which
was the cinema. Only by examining these historical links can we eventually grasp the societal
function of the filmic medium and gain a better appreciation of its effects on the cinema we
know today.

1
Clodualdo del Mundo, Jr. went as far as describing the film as “nothing but a disgusting piece of pornography”.
“Uhaw: Unang Bomba” From Urian Anthology 1970-1979.
2
Nicanor Tiongson. “Art or Pornography?” Malaya, 11 August 1985. Print.
1
 This paper will focus more on an examination of the origins of the bomba genre and
how it was born out of Hollywood sensibilities of the cinema than a tracing its evolution
through the years3. A discussion of the implications of the genre in an aesthetic and theoretical
plane will follow.

Defining a Phenomenon
To define “bomba” in the strictest sense of the word would most probably produce an
impasse. In colloquial cinematic terms, it is explained as a “spectacle that has nudity or sexual
intercourse”4. The imprecision of this definition is problematic as it would include a wide range
of films – including, among others, Ishmael Bernal’s Nunal sa Tubig, and Lino Brocka’s Insiang.
To effectively categorize the genre into an exclusive group, Tiongson establishes a
boundary: “Where then does pornography lie? Not in the mere exposition of nudity or sexual
intercourse, but rather in the manner in which that body or act is shown. In short, a
pornographic movie is one which photographs sexual organs and sexual movements with no
other reason but to arouse the moviegoers sexually. Such movies subordinate all other
elements of cinema – script, acting, production design, cinematography, editing, and sound – to
its overriding concern with sexual stimulation.”5

Prehistory in Another Medium

Typical of generic development, the bomba did not emerge from film out of the blue.
Women like Rosanna Marquez, Anna Marie Gutierrez, and Pepsi Paloma did not go about just
doing the deed on-screen without the aid of a precursory medium to film. Such was the role of
komiks.
In the 1960s, some komiks publishers began issuing products with adult content –
replete with sexual themes, as well as nudity and intercourse. By the latter part of the decade,

3
Another, more esteemed author has been able to do it beforehand: Rolando Tolentino, “Introducing the PP
Films”, Palabas column, Bulatlat.com, accessed Feb. 20, 2012, http://www.bulatlat.com/archive1/026roland.html
4
Personal translation of “panooring may paghuhubad o pagtatalik” UP Diksyunaryong Filipino, 2nd ed., s.v.
“Bomba”
5
Tiongson, “Art or Pornography?”,
2
they were selling like hotcakes. One notable series was Cil Evangelista’s Uhaw Komiks, a series
that portrayed movie stars in the nude – an unimaginable feat for motion picture industry at
the time. Nonetheless, the declaration of Martial Law in 1972 put an end to the bomba komiks
industry, although not to the bomba as a genre itself. Like all other commercial endeavors, it
sought to propagate itself through other means.

Figure 1: Ruben Abalos’s Uhaw, starring

Tito Galla, Lito Legaspi, and Merle
Fernandez.
Uhaw and the Birth of a Genre
Not unlike the American Western that had its launch
with The Great Train Robbery (1903), the bomba genre had a
pioneering film, too – Ruben Abalos’s Uhaw, starring Merle
Fernandez and Lito Legaspi.
The film tells the story of a husband and wife
discontent with their sex life after the husband is rendered
impotent by an accident at sea. The wife then has a love affair
with his friend, until the husband dies in another accident.
Critics’ responses have been unanimously poor. Del
Mundo points out that the movie does not have a redeemable
quality, basing his judgment on two things: 1) a lack of
characterization, and 2) a lack of overall production quality
(e.g. script, directing, acting, and music)6. Tiongson, moreover,
classifies Uhaw plainly as pornography, citing the same
reasons. He argues that the film subordinates the elements of cinema to the interest of
prurience7.
It was not surprising though, that, like the bomba komiks that predated it and despite
critical disparage, Uhaw was a hit. Producers immediately joined the bandwagon and
subsequently released other films with the same sensibilities, namely Haliparot, Hayok, Laman
sa Laman, Busog – all released in 1970 – Luray, Hidhid, Ecstasy – in 1971.

6
Clodualdo del Mundo, “’Uhaw’: Unang Bomba,” Pilipino Reporter, November 10, 1970.
7
Tiongson, “Art or Pornography?”
3
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The emergence
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re was p
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eed, at tthe height of thee bomba in 1971, the Filipino
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ovies, in
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Figure 2: December
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ws article
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estments. Proof
roof of this
t was the emergence
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t bomba iindustry
stry alon
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mes such as Rosanna Marquez,
arquez, M
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onne, Annabelle
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at it was capable
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nging do
down cultural institutions
itutions themselves
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he Experimental
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ema of the
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ilippines (ECP).
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he 1980
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t
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ncing su
such
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he Mani
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ore funds
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screening bomba films
fi – the first
fir off which wass Celso A
Ad.
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tead of ttransforming
sforming thee mainst
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m movie audience
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that it was

8
Clodualdo
dualdo d
del Mundo,
ndo, “Towards
“To s the De
Development
ent of the Filipino
lipino Fil
Film,” The
he Philip Express, July 4--5,
Philippines Daily Exp
1976.
4
formed to do, the ECP chose to pander to it9, prompting Marcos to abolish it and turn it over to
the private sector.
Marketing strategies were also used to maximize viewership: consider one news
article10. On December 4, 1970, the bomba star Yvonne wore a “see-through mini” that bared
everything to the public, almost causing a riot. The incident coincided with the release of her
film Climax of Love, and was obviously a gimmick to attract viewers to the film.
Such strategies, aside from the obvious marketing ploy of titles with sexual innuendos,
were exemplary of commercialized cinema, even at the expense of the lives of its viewers11.
“On the part of the audience, this extreme preoccupation with sex is a form of escapism that
blinds and numbs them to social conditions that cry for change. This is the greater violence.”12

Sexual Revolution and Counterculture in the Cinematic Medium

It is interesting to note that the release of Uhaw in the Philippines was almost
coincident with the release of the popular porn film Deep Throat (1972) in the US. Indeed, upon
closer inspection, the emergence of both pornographic industries appeared at roughly the same
time. Most obviously, the cause of these phenomena may be traced to the sexual revolution of
the 1960s, when traditional codes of behavior regarding sexuality and interpersonal
relationships were transformed13.
The upheavals in human conduct were a result of numerous circumstances in scientific
and artistic cultural productions. For example, the pioneering research by Alfred Kinsey on the
sexual behavior of humans opened a scientific discourse into an otherwise taboo issue.
Psychoanalytic theory on human sexuality was also pioneered during the last few decades
before the 1960s, when Sigmund Freud proposed that human behavior was unconsciously
controlled by the libido, or sexual energy. The introduction of intrauterine devices and oral

9
Tezza Parel, “Eros and Experiment: Is the ECP “Expanding the Parameters of Human Experience” or Promoting
Sexism and Pornography?” National Midweek, November 6, 1985.
10
Taliba, December 4, 1970.
11
“’Bomba’ – di nakapanood, nagpakamatay”, Taliba, March 22, 1972.
12
Justino Dormiendo, “Sex in the Filipino Film/Seks sa Pelikulang Pilipino” Sagisag, July 1976.
13
David Allyn, “Make Love, Not War: The Sexual Revolution: An Unfettered History”, 2000, Little, Brown and
Company.
5
contraceptives also played a key role in this revolution. Other advances followed suit, resulting
in a less conventional view of human sexuality.

Transformation Amid Sociopolitical Change

The morphology of the bomba film, like of any other genre, cannot be held in place. It’s
historical evolution is fairly linear, and Tolentino traces it quite neatly: the bomba film (1970-
Sept. 1972); bold film, wet look stage (1974-1976); bold film, daring stage (1976-1982); FF
(fighting fish film) films and pene films (1983-1986); ST or sex-trip film (1986-1992); and the TT
films (1992-1998); and the PP films (1998)14.
In the implementation of Martial Law in 1972, the bomba needed to change. The
mestiza was the prevalent star in pre-Martial Law era, embodying the Hispanic influence
located in Tagalog cinema. The western concept of beauty was standardized – with fair skin,
sharp noses, and voluptuous bodies15.
The ultra-nationalist stance of the Marcos regime forbade such screenings of European
bodies in favor of the native image on screen, paving the way for the emergence of the bold
film and its stars such as Gloria Diaz, Elizabeth Oropesa, and Daria Ramirez. The wet look bold
film typically involved the female stars drenched in water, with their assets clearly visible
beneath a thin underdress. In the latter part of the bold film phase, the female leads were
characteristically young-looking – “in tune with the Marcos concern with youth for nation-
building--integrating with efforts such as the Kabataang Baranggay and the lowering of the
voting age”16.
The morphology of the bomba film genre, however, took a tamer turn as Cory Aquino
stepped into power in the late 1980s. Her administration’s drive to reclaim the moral good
resulted in the bomba transforming from the hard core penetration (pene) films in the latter
part of the Marcos dictatorship, into the sex trip (ST) film, a less explicit formulation of the
bomba.

14
Tolentino, “Introducing the PP Films”
15
Nick Deocampo. “Hispanic Influences on Tagalog Cinema,” More Hispanic than We Admit: Insights into Philippine
Cultural History, Issac Donoso (Ed.) Quezon City: Vibal Foundation, 2008, 345-361.
16
Tolentino, “Introducing the PP Films”
6
 The titillating film (TT) was born out of discourse formed in light of Fidel Ramos’s
concept of the reinvention of nation, exemplified in his Philippines 2000 vision. Characterized
mainly by a more active role of the objectified woman, the TT was also allowed more room for
liberal exposure of particular body parts17. Nonetheless, by the turn of the new millennium, the
rise of home media eliminated the need for public screenings of the bomba.
Nowadays, the bomba has arguably died out. There are no more films explicitly
representative of the genre that makes it out to commercial theaters. In fact, it may be argued
further that Philippine cinema today is a cinema of the binary of mainstream and independent,
and that a genre such as the bomba has no place in either of the two.

The Art Debate

What is most explicitly debated in terms of the bomba as a generic phenomenon in
Philippine cinema is whether pornography may be considered as an art form. Can the sex act,
immortalized in celluloid, be considered as a product of human creative consciousness? Do
bomba films exemplify the human condition in a work that merits recognition and
appreciation?
Tiongson gives us an answer: some do, and some don’t18. He proceeds with an analyisis
of three bomba films: Celso Ad. Castillo’s Isla, Peque Gallaga’s Scorpio Nights, and Tikoy
Aguiluz’s Boatman. He notes that the only triumphant film among the three is Boatman, mainly
because it offers an important insight into the “immobility” of the Philippine social classes19. It
tells the story of a poor boatman from Pagsanjan who uses other people and is in turn used by
people of influence, so that he may achieve his dreams of fame and fortune. Throughout the
story, the boatman encounters characters that are metaphorical of present Filipino class
society. Stylistically, it also excels: editing is tight, scoring is creative, acting is sensitive, and
production design in competent. Most of all, though, the sex scenes are controlled – with the
director “never once losing sight of the principal message of his film.”

17
Ibid.
18
Tiongson, “Art or Pornography?”
19
Ibid.
7
 Contrast this with del Mundo’s critique of Celso Ad. Castillo’s Nmypha, “an art film with
a defective structure that prevents the director from conveying his message artistically”20. He
observes that Nympha’s director forgot to pursue the movie’s thematic conflict, which is
hypocritical morality versus a sexually promiscuous world, resulting in gaps in the story, and
inconsistencies between the psychological make-up of the characters, and their behavior.
Upon analysis of two reviews of two films from the bomba genre, it is interesting to
note that their viewpoint is distinctly character-based. If the characters are “not worked out as
people, with specific backgrounds, classes, dreams, frustrations, idiosyncrasies, etc. so that the
viewer may understand why they act, think, and feel the way they do in the film, then the
movie fails as art”21. Realism is given importance here, a la Andre Bazin22, albeit with respect to
content rather than form. In retrospect, this line of thinking must be questioned: but whose
realism is this anyway?

Conclusions
In posing the question of whether bomba is art, we essentially question its significance
in the history of Philippine cinema. Even so, perhaps the question lies not in the artistry of the
generic medium, but on its social and historical significance. Perhaps the question to be
answered now is: “Was bomba just a fad? Or did it have enough of a lasting impact to
contribute to Filipino national consciousness?”
Growing up in the immediate period after the demise of the bomba, I myself have my
own bias of Philippine cinema primarily because of the bomba genre. I grew up believing that
every Filipino movie contained lots of sex. Perhaps this is why I chose the present research in
the first place.
Identity is formed through historicity. By examining the bomba as a genre with its own
historical framework, not only do we form a singular, albeit multi-faceted Philippine cinema
identity, but also an identity of the nation.

20
Clodualdo del Mundo, “’Nympha’: Posing as Art/’Nympha’: Umano’y SIning” Pilipino Reporter, 1971.
21
Tiongson, “Art or Pornography?”
22
It should be noted that Andrei Bazin, that great French critic and film theorist, put extreme importance on
“objective reality”.
8
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

“Bomba” UP Diksyunaryong Filipino, 2nd ed. , Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press.
Allyn, David. “Make Love, Not War: The Sexual Revolution: An Unfettered History”, 2000, Little,
Brown and Company.
David, Joel. “Pornography and Erotica”, Wages of Cinema: Film in Philippine Perspective.
Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1998.
del Mundo, Clodualdo. “Towards the Development of the Filipino Film,” The Philippines Daily
Express, July 4-5, 1976.
_________________“’Nympha’: Posing as Art/’Nympha’: Umano’y SIning” Pilipino Reporter,
1971.
_________________. “’Uhaw’: Unang Bomba,” Pilipino Reporter, November 10, 1970
Deocampo, Nick. “Hispanic Influences on Tagalog Cinema,” More Hispanic than We Admit:
Insights into Philippine Cultural History, Issac Donoso (Ed.) Quezon City: Vibal
Foundation, 2008, 345-361.
Dormiendo, Justino. “Sex in the Filipino Film/Seks sa Pelikulang Pilipino” Sagisag, July 1976.
Parel, Tezza. “Eros and Experiment: Is the ECP “Expanding the Parameters of Human
Experience” or Promoting Sexism and Pornography?” National Midweek, November 6,
1985..
Reyes, Emmanuel. Notes on Philippine Cinema. Manila: de La Salle University Press, 1989.
“Yvonne, naghubad sa lobby ng Gala Theater”. Taliba, December 4, 1970.
“’Bomba’ – di nakapanood, nagpakamatay”, Taliba, March 22, 1972.
Tiongson, Nicanor. “Art or Pornography?” Malaya, 11 August 1985.
Tolentino, Rolando. “Introducing the PP Films”, Palabas column, Bulatlat.com, accessed Feb. 20,
2012, http://www.bulatlat.com/archive1/026roland.html