The movie Dekada ’70 was perfect for this module. The theme of this module includes ethics as related to authority and power. The film showed two aspects of this: the Philippine government and the power of the husband.
The government was going through a lot of change due the declaration of martial law under Marcos. Many people were unhappy, and therefore a revolution was born. What I like about this was that instead of bitching about the injustices occurring, some of the main characters got involved and acted upon this. The eldest son Jules especially was admirable to me in the film. He was the change he wanted to see in the world, and he also dedicated/gave his life for the cause. It’s amazing to me because even though he has a family and many people care about him, he still fights for what is right. He refused to give up his fellow officers even though he was being tortured. He was unselfish and that is an admirable trait.
What moved me about this film was when one of the brothers died, and they all gathered at his funeral. It was a really touching scene and it sort of did open my eyes to what was going on at the time. There was corruption in the government and I would be extremely angry if that was my own brother. This is also why I like the fact that people gave their lives to get rid of this corruption.
The reading on this module touched upon this topic of conscience in authority figures. It totally makes sense to me because if someone with authority tells you something, we must follow it no matter what our personal thoughts of it are. I heard of things like this happening in the military where they are ordered to kill people, and although the soldier doesn’t want to, s/he does it anyway because they are trained to follow orders. When one doesn’t follow orders because it is considered unethical, they are branded as being insubordinate and are disgraced. This raises the question of whether to follow orders or follow their conscience. It is difficult and personally I wouldn’t know what to do in that type of situation. It is sort of a kill or be killed situation and that is one of the hardest (ethically) to deal with.
The other storyline in this was the father’s refusal to allow the mother to obtain a job. In my eyes I saw him as being really old-fashioned and kind of sexist. In this day in time, women are a lot more independent and are able to take care of themselves. His reasoning was that he was able to financially support the family; therefore getting a job would be useless for the wife. She then mentioned it had nothing to do with money but with satisfaction that she is doing something with her life. I have similar feelings of that as well, because I would want to do something fulfilling that would be worth my time. I wouldn’t want a husband who can buy everything for me and I would be bored at home doing household chores. As a woman, I would like to be able to support myself and make decisions on my own. I would want that freedom. I’m glad she spoke up for herself because her husband was being stupid. Another thing that bothered me in the movie was males were portrayed in dominant roles. It did make it interesting that all her children were male and she was the lone female in the house. I hated the fact that the dad said something like males are better than females. I’m not a feminist and I don’t think females should rule the world, but I get angry at that because it’s unfair. I think everything in this world needs to be equal and fair including genders. It was also interesting to hear the mother converse with her daughter in law and say how she forgot how to interact with females because she lives in a male-dominated home.
In terms of a movie I thought it was, for the most part, enjoyable. Although it was long, it was good in way that it was relatable. Not to say that I have ever been tortured by the government because I’m a primary leader in the rebellion, but they had struggles that I also have. Everyday is a constant fight and there are always struggles. This movie portrayed that well. It also gave us more insight on Filipino culture and how family values come into play. It was generally good and it was one of the better Filipino movies I have seen.
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