S8E4: Edison’s Cameras, Manila’s Trenches

S8E4: Edison’s Cameras, Manila’s Trenches

From The Colonial Department by Lio Mangubat

May 9, 2026 · 16 min · Season 8 · Episode 8

About this episode

This episode explores Thomas Edison's films about the Philippine-American War and their connection to American imperial ambitions.

Yes, Edison as in Thomas Edison, the light bulb guy. At the turn of his century, the tech wizard of Menlo Park produced thousands of movies as a showcase for his company’s vitascopes. Among those movies are five films about the Philippine-American War, produced in a flurry all throughout June of 1899. It turns out that the boom of cinema dovetailed neatly with America’s growing imperial ambitions. But what made this faraway war so compelling for wide-eyed audiences captured by the magic of the silver screen? Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/thecolonialdept Follow us on IG: @thecolonialdept Follow us on TikTok: @thecolonialdept Email us: thecolonialdept@gmail.com References: Rafael, Vicente (2016). Motherless Tongues: The Insurgency of Language Amid Wars of Translation. Ateneo de Manila University Press. Palis, Joseph (2009). “The ethnographic spectacle of the ‘other’ Filipinos in early cinema.” GeoJournal, 74 , pp. 227-234. Robbins, Dylon Lamar (13 July 2017). “War, Modernity, and Motion in the Edison Films of 1898.” Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies, 26 (3). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13569325.2017.1292222#d1e122 Brewer, Susan A. (1 October 2013)…

People in this episode

Host: Lio Mangubat

Topics covered

  • Edison
  • Philippine-American War
  • early cinema
  • American imperialism
  • film history

Keywords

  • Edison
  • Philippine-American War
  • cinema
  • imperialism
  • film

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ateneo de Manila University Press, GeoJournal, Asian Pacific Journal, Library of Congress

Books & works: Motherless Tongues: The Insurgency of Language Amid Wars of Translation, War, Modernity, and Motion in the Edison Films of 1898

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