Many things in the movie, in my opinion, were questionable on whether or not they were considered ethical. First of all let me start with the whole prayer woman concept. In my opinion I think the whole profession of being paid to pray for other people is a sham. I don’t believe people should make personal gains from any religious-affiliated activities. If someone really has faith, they would not need someone else to pray for him or her. Besides I don’t think that one should only pray when they want something done. There are many people who say they are religious, they pray all the time, and go to church often. Yet they are dependent on God for everything, they want Him to do everything. Why is that? Does anyone pray to God just to thank him for what they already have? They pray when they want something, then praise/blame him if something does/not happen. I don’t agree with that. Having faith is having faith no matter what, whether or not “miracles” happen. I believe that there is a higher power, however I don’t rely on it make things happen (or not) for me. We shouldn’t be so dependent and believe that everything is just going to happen. I believe that God is there to remind us to have faith, faith that we can do things ourselves. An example of what I’m trying to say is when Mike asked Malen to cure his baby. He wanted so much for his son to come back to life that he demanded her to perform a miracle, yet when she was unable to do it, he was angry. He only went to her when he wanted something “extraordinary” done; yet when she couldn’t deliver then he got mad. That’s why I’m saying people expect too much with “half-ass” faith, then get mad when they don’t get what they want. I think that’s dumb.
Second, it was unethical for Malen to take the place of her mother as a prayer woman. She did not fully understand why her mother did it and in my opinion she was just exploiting the people. I understand that she needed to make money but there are better, and “honest” ways of making money. In a way she can’t be blamed because that’s all she knew how to do, however, it wasn’t ethical because she was lying to people to make them believe she would pray for them. Why would she pray for them if the only person she cares about is herself? If she really did care about the people and really did pray for them (which happened in the end) then I guess it’s all right.
Another ethical aspect was Mike trying to con tourists, although finally the con was on him when he got “played”. He used his good looks to get what he wants by taking advantage of others, but I think he deserves what he gets for stealing from other people. It is also a matter of karma because he keeps doing these bad things, then his son dies and he ends up killing someone. In the reading it talked about how we treat others and moral behavior. He had no morals by deceiving and stealing from people, that is why bad fortune struck him. I am a firm believer of karma because what goes around does come back around.
In the end though I believe Malen, through some changes in attitude and heart, had achieved positive moral values. She took it upon herself to give others something they could not get for themselves (faith). She had a choice to continue helping people or leave with Mike, yet she chose to help others. She underwent a spiritual change, but there are other factors that change people and the way they think. Luckily for her, her change was positive, and she was able to find her way after being lost.
I thought it was a weird film especially with the way it started. I understood the story overall however I didn’t really catch on to the “alcoholic priest”. I believe his issue was another ethical one. If you are a priest there are certain things you can and cannot do. Drinking isn’t one of them and its worse since he is an alcoholic. It’s sort of like an oxymoron. It is not ethical in the sense of the religious morality, because if he weren’t a priest, it wouldn’t seem as horrible. Since he is an esteemed member of the church, and for someone like a priest to have a drinking problem, it makes me totally lack faith in the church. If this is the person I am going to confess my sins to, then I would want that person to be the holiest person ever. It makes no sense that I’m confessing my sins, if the person I’m confessing to is morally impure. It doesn’t set a good example for me. Anyway maybe it was just me, but I didn’t really understand his significance to the story. It was kind of boring at times and not that entertaining, however it did serve its purpose in teaching us about “everyday ethics”. It really was unique to Filipino culture in that it portrayed the heavily religious aspect of Filipino life. Filipinos are very religious people and that has its own set of ethics one must live by, such as is it okay to make money by offering to pray for others.
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