Vidal, Estrella E.

BACR 2-1

1. Identify at least 3 scenes/per movie in at least 3 out of 5 movies presented in the festival

and look for a theory that is applicable in explaining the scene. Elaborate your answer.

Shift

Estela and Trevor are both working as call center agents in the same company. They are

members of a team in the company wherein they are competing with the other teams for the

highest sales. At first, they talked about their work. And when they became comfortable with

each other, they started to talk about their personal lives. And as days passed, they became

close and they were together almost every day. They share their similarities but also their

differences especially the gender preference of Trevor. This scene can be explained by the

Social Penetration Theory by Altman and Taylor. Estela and Trevor got to spend more time

with each other and every day, their relationship as friends develops. The tendency is, they

share more about themselves so their relationship gets deeper.

Another scene is when Trevor said to Estela that he broke up with his boyfriend. Estela,

having feelings with Trevor, secretly became glad. Trevor even said that he will not date

boys anymore to give time for himself. But after a few days, Trevor met a new guy and he

eventually fell in love with the guy. When Estela knew this, she got angry because she

thought that Trevor lied to her. This is an example of the Interpersonal Deception Theory by

Buller and Burgoon wherein the sender, who is Trevor, tried to deceive Estela that he will not

be in a relationship for some time.

Last scene is when Trevor asked Estela to go eat in a restaurant. Estela assumed that Trevor

has also his feelings for her. But her expectation was violated when she found out that Trevor

has a new boyfriend. Estela, having her expectation violated, responded negatively to the

situation. She got frustrated and she did not talk to Trevor for several days. This scene is an

example of the Expectancy Violation Theory by Burgoon. Estela expected that Trevor will

confide his feelings for her just because he invited her for a dinner but Trevor did not.

Blue Bustamante

George Bustamante, a family man, decided to go to Japan to work there. Although he hates

to leave his family, he thought that he can give them a better life if he works abroad. And

even though he saw his son crying because he is going to leave, he chose to go abroad. This

scene can be explained by the Elaboration Likelihood Theory by Petty and Cacioppo where

George used the central route to decide. Before deciding, he weighed factors and he even

studied the possible consequences of each choice.

Roger, a friend of George, offered him a job as a stuntman or double for an upcoming

Japanese movie. George was in doubt to take the offer because he thought that his family

would not understand him. And being a stuntman is far from being a sanitary engineer which

was his original job. But Roger encouraged him to take the job because, according to him, it

is for his family’s welfare. After this, George thought that his friend was right. He then took

the job as a double of the superhero, Blue Force, in the movie. This scene is an example of

the Reinforcement Theory by Hovland, Janis and Kelly where George’s attitude towards

being a stuntman changed when his friend reinforced him by telling him that the job is for

George’s family’s welfare.

Roger is convincing George to go to a beer garden but George immediately refused, saying

that he doesn’t drink. But Roger insisted that he helped George talk to his wife on the phone

so he needs to reciprocate his kind deed. This scene is an example of Elaboration Likelihood

Theory by Petty and Cacioppo where Roger tried to convince George by telling him that he

did George a favor. Roger used the peripheral route where he persuaded George, that, to be

able to reciprocate the kindness he did, George must go with him to the beer garden.

Woman of the Ruins

Maria, the long-lost wife of Pasyon, unexpectedly returned from nowhere after seven years.

Olga, a friend of Pasyon, asked her daughter, Sabel, to tend to Maria while Pasyon is away.

At first, Maria had doubts with Sabel. But Sabel kept on insisting that she could be a

trustworthy friend. And as time goes by, Maria learned to trust Sabel. This scene can be

explained by the Uncertainty Reduction Theory by Berger and Calabrese. Sabel and Maria

are total strangers so they have their own doubts with each other. The uncertainty between

the two ladies is reduced by spending more time with each other and by gathering

information from each other/

Maria, who reappears after seven years, has been losing her memories about her life before

she was gone. She did not even recognize her husband, Pasyon. Pasyon thought that his wife

began to get cold with him. He tried to make love with her but Maria resisted. Pasyon got

angry and he punched her in the stomach to force her to make love with him. This part of the

movie is explained by the Reinforcement Theory by Hovland, Janis and Kelly. Pasyon used

his strength to force Maria to obey him.

When Maria and Sabel went picking mushrooms, Maria asked Sabel on how she

distinguishes those poisonous mushrooms from those that are not. Sable said that those

dotted mushrooms can be eaten. But Sabel warned Maria to be careful because, those

poisonous mushrooms are sometimes similar to those which are not. Then Maria answered,

“Just like people”. This scene in the movie can be explained by the Attribution Theory by

Heider. Maria related those poisonous mushrooms, which can be mistaken to be edible, to

those people who pretend to be kind but later, would be a betrayer. Maria has a a personal

reason why she said that to Sabel. Maybe she was pertaining to Sabel who has feelings for

her husband, Pasyon.

2. What message does “Ganito Kami noon, Paano kayo ngayon?” try to present in the

movie? How did the movie represent the Filipino people? What theory did you notice that

was evidently portrayed in the movie? Elaborate.

The message of the film, “Ganito kami noon, Paano kayo ngayon?” is all about searching or

exploring the national identity of the Filipinos at the period when the Philippines was still a

colony of Spain. It is about the struggle of our country to find our own identity.

Different characters have their own interpretation of what is a true “Filipino”. For Nicholas

Ocampo or “Kulas”, the protagonist in the movie, a true Filipino is born and raised in the

Philippines. He also believes that a true Filipino has a Filipino mother and a Filipino mother.

But questions were raised when Don Tibor said to him that a Filipino is educated and wear

nice clothes. Other people said that the true Filipinos were the people who colonized the

Philippines. But because of his naivety, he just did not mind what they all said. But in the

end, Kulas realized that he was right.

The Social Penetration Theory by Altman and Taylor is very evident in the film because as

the journey of Kulas began, he met different people along his way that made his simple life a

complicated one. He started to make friends with the Chinese man, Lim. The Spanish priest

also learned to trust him because of his naivety. He met Diding and he fell in love with her.

He also met Don Tibor, who taught him how to act as a “Filipino”. At first, he has shallow

relationships with those characters but as time went, those shallow relationships got deeper.