In the movie, the Purge is a state-sanctioned chaos intended to promote social catharsis. This begs the question of whether this approach is beneficial or equally hazardous as a form of governance that relies on blind faith. What are your suggestions on how the Philippine context could replicate the Purge? Please provide an explanation.
From my own point of view, the yearly ‘purge’ is designed to provide a spiritual release for participants by legalizing all crimes for a whole day, except for government officials. Nonetheless, I hold the belief that this method is not advantageous since individuals are still capable of engaging in criminal activities even without an annual purge. Such offenses may stem from personal motives or a thirst for retaliation.
Although crimes outside of the purge are less frequent, they still happen, as emphasized in the movie. The annual purge is especially perilous because it prompts people to release their anger and animosity towards others. In a typical society with crime, only those who are wicked or desperate would be willing to violate the law. Regarding replicating the purge in the Philippines, I cannot propose any recommendations given our society’s current problems with crime.
In the event that it becomes necessary, the scenario would involve a group of government officials engaging in corruption, which is a common occurrence for them. However, in this case, they would openly engage in corruption due to the atmosphere of the Purge. Despite their actions being public, they would remain protected and immune from any harm, as the rules of the Purge dictate. Additionally, the scenario would likely entail numerous people killing each other over trivial reasons such as counterfeit bulalo and sold-out One Direction tickets. However, these incidents would be so prevalent that they would hardly make any impact in the news.
