''Super Robot - Suffer Reboot'' is the name given to a series of three sculptures by Filipino artist Toym Leon Imao. The sculptures, made from 2014 to 2016, are each inspired by a specific Japanese

mecha In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines, typically depicted as piloted, humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese (language), Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japan ...

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

television series which were popular in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

in the 1970s.

Sculptures

''Super Robot - Suffer Reboot'' is the collective name for three separate sculptures. The names of each sculpture are

alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a literary device. A common example is " Pe ...

s. All of them were first exhibited at the steps of the Palma Hall at the

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

Symbolism

The sculptures were made to symbolize the sufferings and injustices experienced by Filipinos, with an emphasis towards the time of

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

during

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

' presidency, when many Japanese mecha animated series became popular among Filipino children. By 1979, Marcos banned every mecha series considered to have violent content inappropriate for children. Imao, who used to watch ''Voltes V'' and other mecha series, made the sculptures to symbolize his anger when those series' broadcasts were halted by Marcos: "At first it was only because he deprived me of a favorite TV character. And then a sort of political awakening happened. Suddenly, I was affected by what grownups were talking about: Martial law."

References

{{reflist 2014 sculptures 2015 sculptures 2016 sculptures Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos Pop art Works based on animated television series Cultural depictions of Ferdinand Marcos