ORIGINALS CAMPUS FESTIVAL

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

KABISERA WOMAN OF THE RUINS SHIFT BUKAS NA LANG SAPAGKAT GABI NA BLUE BUSTAMANTE GANITO KAMI NOON PAANO KAYO NGAYON

SHIFT

SIEGE LEDESMA

Shift is totally not the typical, clichéd love story. It is about Estela, a tomboyish girl that works

as a call centre agent, who fell in love with her co-worker, Trevor, who happens to be a

homosexual. Trevor, unfortunately, cannot reciprocate the love Estela has for him. This leads us

to the question, “When sexual preference becomes the immediate obstacle of love, what real

choice does anyone has?”

Some theories of communication were noticeable in the film. One is the Social Penetration

Theory. This theory states that as relationships develop, communication moves from relatively

shallow, non-intimate levels to deeper, more personal ones. Estela and Trevor were barely

friends at the beginning (of the film) but when their team leader asked Trevor to scout Estela, in

order for her to improve her performance, their relationship grew. Their conversations, that were

once shallow, became more personal. Estela even opened up about her past when she fell in love

on a closeted gay and Trevor, on the other hand, shared stories about his, then, current

relationship. As their relationship developed, Estela sparked a connection with Trevor that,

unfortunately, affected her in more ways than she realized.

The second theory visible for me was the Attribution Theory. This theory is very humanistic

which basically means that the reality or meaning varies. That is because individuals have

diversified perceptions. The Attribution Theory attempts to explain causes of behaviour and

attributing or explaining reasons as to why people behave the way they do. But, take note; there

is not a direct relationship between our behaviour and its causes. How did I see this theory in the

film? Well, as I have mentioned before, Estela had fallen in love with Trevor but unfortunately,

because of his sexual preference and ignorance about her feelings, Trevor cannot reciprocate the

feeling she has for him. So the things that may bring joy to Trevor can cause pain for Estela.

Remember when Trevor confessed to Estela that he has a new love affair, Drake, “the most

amazing man” he said. He, of course, was happy about it and excited to share this good news to

his best friend but Estela was perhaps, disappointed. Several nights before that (scene, as shown

in the film) she was rather cheerful and happy when she found out that Trevor and his boyfriend,

then, broke up, what makes one happier than knowing one’s love interest is single, right? She

thought that maybe they’d have a chance, but there she was, few days after, faking a smile as she

listened to Trevor talk about this “most amazing man.” They remained best friends, and she,

painfully, kept listening to Trevor’s stories about Drake until one day Estela decided to just

ignore Trevor, hoping that it take away the love she has for him. But she was wrong, unrequited

love was still as painful, and even more when she misses the one that she loves.

The third theory of communication that I have notice in the movie is the Uncertainty SHIFT

Reduction Theory. The truth set forth by this theory is that people attempt to “make sense” of

interpersonal situations by reducing uncertainty through seeking information. Trevor started to

notice that Estela was avoiding him so he started messaging, texting, and trying to call her to ask

her why, but still, Estela ignored him, (this scene can be further explained by the theory’s axiom

no. 3: information seeking, which states that high levels of uncertainty cause increases in

information-seeking behaviour, as uncertainty levels decline, information-seeking behaviour

decreases) and as his uncertainty level increases, he began seeking information. He visited

Estela’s profile on social media to check on her, still texting her sorry though he’s not sure what

wrong he has done and asking her if they could at least talk so that he would have an idea of

what was going on, why was their relationship shattering until Estela gave in and agreed to meet

up with him. Later on, Estela confessed her love for him by asking, “Mahal mo ba ko?” They

both knew the painful answer that cost their friendship.

BLUE BUSTAMANTE

MIKO LIVELO

Blue Bustamante is different from other melodramatic themed Overseas Filipino Worker stories.

It is funny, heart-warming and nostalgic. It portrayed its time setting so convincingly it made me

believe that the movie was really shot in the 90’s. Though I can’t really say that I’m a 90’s kid,

but a 90’s baby, I appreciated the 2 hours of turning back in time.

As I watch the movie, I have noticed that some theories of communication were applied. First is

the Expectancy Violation Theory which simply explains that communication is used to violate

the expectations of an individual. This theory, I can say, is the seed of the film because the twists

of the movie were shown through the violation of one expectation to another. One scene that can

prove this is when George Bustamante went to Japan to work as an engineer. He willingly left

his family because he was expecting a decent job that could provide his wife and son financial

sustenance but as he got there, bad news was immediately shoved into his face; there was no job

for him. He didn’t have a choice but to apply to another one. And George, being in good shape,

was recommended by his friend Roger to the director of the Japanese TV show, Force Five, to be

a stuntman. George accepted the job and became a stuntman on a TV show that, unknowingly,

his son adores. Courtesy of their director’s generosity, George had the chance to talk with his

wife through landline. Of course he lied about his job, and did not feel great about it. He, of

course, asked about how their son was doing, and his wife said the last thing he expected. June,

George’s wife, told him that there was this new show that their son was crazy about, “First Five”

she said, George, though shocked, corrected his wife saying, “Force Five.” And not only that, his

son, Kiko was also idolizing Blue Force, which happens to be the character George was

portraying, or at least stunting. He felt great knowing that his son idolizes him even at least as

Blue Force. The said expectancy violation affected George negatively at first but was perceived

positively later on.

The second noticeable theory in the BLUE BUSTAMANTE is the Interpersonal movie

Deception Theory. This theory claims that communication senders attempt to manipulate

messages as to be untruthful, which may cause them apprehension concerning their false

communication being detected. This theory was evidently depicted in the scene where George

was talking to her wife, June, at the telephone. He lied about his job, telling her that he was

doing well as an engineer in Japan when in reality he was a stuntman on a Japanese TV show,

Force Five. While they were talking on the phone, other non-verbal actions were presented by

George like sweating and stammering which indicates that he may not be telling the truth, which

he was truly not. The theory also states that communication receivers try to unveil or detect the

validity of that information. George though had an advantage in his situation. Because they were

communicating through a telephone, June cannot see the other non-verbal indicators that can

detect the invalidity and untruthfulness of George’s words.

Lastly is the Elaboration Likelihood Model, this theory explains that there are two routes to

persuasion- the central route, which uses message elaboration and can produce a major positive

attitude change, and the peripheral route that illicit a quick response with a minor shift in

attitude. This was theory was clearly applied when George made a decision to accept the job

offered to him as a stunt man. Though some peripheral cues led him to his decision, it still

caused him a major positive attitude change. Even after he was fired as a stunt man for Force

Five, he pursued being a stunt man with the help of his director who recommended him to other

directors because of his job well done.

KABISERA

BORGY TORRE

The story revolves around Andres a father, a friend, and a man willing to sacrifice everything to

keep his family together even if it means doing unfathomable cruelty. He was living a simple life

as a fisherman who supplies fish to various market vendors, until one day, instead of catching

fish he saw two Styrofoam boxes containing illegal drugs, estimated to be worth millions. He

first hid what he retrieved but later on, with the help of his friend, Jose, and a corrupt policeman,

Pablo, and got involved into the world of drug pushing.

There were three observable theories of communication in the said film. One is the

Reinforcement Theory which can be seen on the part of the movie when Jose was trying to get

Andres involved in their drug pushing operation. This theory explains that attitude changes result

from an opinion change produced through reinforcement in areas such as attention,

comprehension, and acceptance. When Jose explained the business of drug pushing to Andres he

was, at first, reluctant, but afterwards, because of greediness and of certain goals he has for his

family, he grew interest on it.

The second theory depicted was the Elaboration Likelihood Model. It states that there are two

routes of persuasion- the central route which results into major positive change, and peripheral

route which is a quicker and less thought of response. This theory was evident at the scene when

AJ was hit by a car, an because Andres has already spent all his money to build his daughter a

house beside his, he didn’t have anything left for AJ’s immediate operation. So there came Jose

to the rescue. He paid for AJ’s hospital bill but he has his own terms. To reciprocate his favour,

he told Andres to provide another set of illegal drugs for him in order to continue his illegal

business. Andres, out of necessity and scarcity, agreed.

That last theory I have notice in this movie, , is the Interpersonal Deception Theory. KABISERA

This theory claims that communication senders attempt to manipulate messages as to be

untruthful, which may cause them apprehension concerning their false communication being

detected. One scene where this theory was shown is when Pablo, Jose and Andres were getting

the truth out of Kulot, one of their couriers of drugs, about what he said to the PDEA agents.

Kulot lied and told them that he said nothing to the PDEA agents that can be used against them.

The theory also states that communication receivers try to unveil or detect the validity of that

information. Pablo, being a cop and a skilled seeker of truth, detected that Kulot was lying.

Besides, it was obvious with the way he spoke and the excessive sweat excreting from his body.

Later that night, the three of them exterminated Kulot.

Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?

EDDIE ROMERO

The Filipino classic film Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon sends us messages in a

manner that will make us question ourselves and our own nationality. The movie follows a

young man named Nicholas “Kulas” Ocampo who ventures a world beyond his expectations. He

faced a lot of consequences yet he remained witty which gave the film a comic touch. All his

adventures and misadventures started when his mother died, Kulas then was determined to move

away and start anew. As he did, he met a Spanish friar named Padre Gil. The priest asked him a

favour, in which he’ll be greatly rewarded if he accomplishes, he wanted to be reunited with his

son and provide him a decent life and proper education in Manila. Gullible and kind-hearted

Kulas, agreed to the priest’s terms. He searched for the priest’s son, Bindoy, and tried his best to

bring him to Manila in one piece. On their journey, Kulas met a lot of people, some became his

friends, and most especially he met Diding, the love of his life. Soon enough, they’ve reached

Manila. There Kulas was greatly rewarded by Padre Gil’s riches. Staying in Manila, he discovers

the corruption and cruelty of the Spaniards. Later on, he will leave all his riches and even Diding

behind to fight with the true Filipinos and reclaim the land that is rightfully theirs.

The greatness of this movie was brought by the question, “What makes one a Filipino?” is your

nationality dependent merely on the place where you were born and raised and not in what you

believe and fight for? Ask yourself the same question, you claim yourself as Filipino but are you

truly one? I learned from the movie that to be a Filipino one must be courageous enough to to

fight for his nation and fellow countrymen. Your love and loyalty to your nation makes you a

true Filipino.

Kulas is the epitome of Filipino. His character creates a perfect analogy of what Philippines and

the Filipinos were in the Spaniards’ colonization era. Naïve and taken advantage of yet brave and

kind-hearted. What was noticeable in the film is the Filipinos ignorance of the criteria that makes

one a Filipino, you see, during that time natives are called by their regions where they live and

the islands they were from. Maybe that is the reason why the insurgents of the Spanish

government were never triumphant. Cebuanos firght for Cebu, Caviteňos fight for Cavite,

Ilocanos fight for Ilocos, but they never fought as one for the Philippines.

One theory of communication that was clearly depicted in the film was the Expectancy Violation

Theory. This theory sees communication as the exchange of information which is high in

relational content and can be used to violate the expectation of another which will be perceived

as either positively or negatively depending on the liking between the two people. The scene the

best explains this is at the last when Kulas told Diding that he’s going to leave and join the

revolutionaries. Diding, knowing that Kulas is head-over-heels in love with her, never expected

that Kulas could make such a decision. She pleaded him to stay but Kulas was determined to

fight for his nation and become a true Filipino.