Conclusion

By combining the historical context of Spanish-era Philippines, the novel’s challenging and eventual censorship within said country, and the technology behind its printing, I’ve established the role of the challenged text, Noli Me Tangere, in forming the Philippines’ national community. Against all the punitive measures wreaked upon the Noli’s readers, the Filipino people persisted and found community within the Noli itself and in its censorship. They were able to find a patriotic, communal spirit and a sense of nationhood in the novel’s characters and plot that had not quite been as solidified as it was after the novel’s creation. If the reform movement that had been steadily working against the Spanish authorities were tinder, the Noli was surely the match that ignited the Filipino people’s patriotism. Even within the text’s endangerment, the Filipino people strengthened their national community as they formed readership communities around this newly defined Philippine canon through social gatherings centred upon groups reading Rizal’s literary works together. This clear sociopolitical impact on the Filipino people combined with the Noli’s being printed as a book are what led to its preservation for the years that followed. To reiterate, the most noteworthy thing about the Noli, despite its endangerment, is its role in uniting and forming the Philippines’ nationhood by holding a mirror up to its society and giving its people a voice.

Furthermore, this exhibit could be understood as a “new media encounter” that contrasts old media with contemporary media (Liu, 2007). Through this digital medium, I’ve thoroughly contextualized the Noli through the history of the Philippines and its author (which are both integral to its plot), as well as the negative responses to the book and punitive measures enacted upon its readers (which relate to the impact the novel had on the Philippines). By creating an exhibit with digitized items of primary materials, I’ve formed an even more nuanced analysis by showing relevant materials that are tangible, firsthand accounts of the information I’m presenting the audience with. These digitized primary materials also allow the audience to form a more personal relationship with the Noli by understanding its history through visual manifestations of information. This exhibit can also be conveniently accessed from the comfort of one’s home with the use of some digital tool. However, despite these wonderful benefits that are only possible through the digitization of these items, my exhibit also takes away from the Noli’s communal nature—an aspect that’s central to the text and its history. To be able to experience the Noli verbally, audibly, or tactilely in a communal environment would surely be a different experience in comparison to visually experiencing these curated materials through a screen that form a narrative about the novel. In fact, this digitized medium even changes certain nuances of the Noli to some degree. While some things are lost in the process of digitization, Rizal’s love for the Philippines and his people certainly transcends all media—both old and new.