MODULE 1- j. paulo

The film “Nailed” is about the actions of Lucy Reyes during Holy Week in the Philippines. Her tale is told from the point of view of a Filipina who grew up in the United States. Haven’t been raised in the Philippines, the narrator is trying to understand why is Lucy Reyes lets herself get nailed to the cross every holy week. As devoted Christians, some Filipinos reenact the final moments of Jesus Christ on Black Friday, called the Senakulo. Although most are just tied to the cross, there are those who actually gets their hands and feet drilled to the cross with iron nails. Lucy Reyes is one of these people. The narrator tries to understand this kind of faith through four segments labeled “Search for Faith”, “Blind Faith”, “Betrayed by Faith”, and “Unconditional Faith”. Throughout the film, she keeps repeating a line saying something like “I’m not a part of this trance but it is at the tip of my tongue. I’m following the umbilical cord (to the motherland)”. After a very confusing scene where she gets up under a pile of ashes, she says “below the surface is animism”. The film also showed gapangs, or the people who practice self flagellation as penance for their sins.
The second film, “Bontoc Eulogy”, is about the journey of Igorots to the St. Louis fair in the early 1900s. With emphasis of the travels of a man named Markod, the film describes how Igorots were lured from their simple life in the mountains to the fair where they were displayed as exhibits for Americans to see. Besides Igorots, other tribal groups were also taken totaling to a group of 1102. Their homes in the mountains were recreated and they were told to live there as they did in the Philippines. Their normal attire were nothing but bahags or loincloths, which prompted the fair’s authorities to order them to put on American clothing. Later, they were told to take them off and revert to their original clothing to amuse the viewing public. These so-called “savages” were allowed to kill a dog for food weekly which Americans watch in disgust, for in their culture dogs are just pets. The film stated that the purpose of the St. Louis fair was to showcase different forms of life around the world from the richest to the poorest, from the high-class to the lowest of low; and this difference shows the need for everyone to speak one American language.
The two films affected me in different ways. Having been raised in the Philippines until the age of twelve, I know quite well the traditions that occur during Holy Week. Because of this I was not affected very much when the film showed bloody or rather violent scenes such as the self flagellators and when Lucy Reyes was nailed. To me it was just another scene I’ve seen countless times on the television and in real life. I do have memories of bloodstains on my clothes when I got too near to the gapangs, but haven’t been to a Senakulo when they actually nail the “kristo”, the person getting nailed, to the cross. Perhaps then my reaction would be different as seeing it live is more emotional than seeing it on the screen.
I did pick up though on some of the quotes she have been saying throughout the film. The part when she says she’s “following the umbilical cord” means that she’s following her roots to her motherland. Her comment on how “below the surface is animism” relates to the fact that although a majority of Filipinos are Christians, they practice it in a way that combines Christianity with hints of animism. These can be seen in festivals such as the Ati-Atihan and Sinulog. However I’m still not sure on what she meant by “I’m not part of this trance”. My best guess is that all she is not a native born Filipino, by her heritage alone she feels a connection with all the people during Holy Week and is in the verge of understanding it all but still quite couldn’t get it.
“Bontoc Eulogy” had more impact on me than the first film did. As a transplanted Filipino here in Hawaii, I know what it feels like to dive into a way of life totally different from what you’re used to. Although I lived in a semi urban environment in the Philippines, there were still enough cultural differences to be overwhelmed with once I lived here for a few weeks. I could just imagine what it would have been like for Markod and his people. It wasn’t fair for them to be used the way they were, treated like animals in a petting zoo. What is worse is that the Americans thought they were doing some good by bringing all these people together. However it seems to me that they have an ulterior motive. By showing the hardships of understanding each other through numerous dialects they can emphasize how important it is to have one superior language above all others, in this case English. To me this seems to be a precursor to the United States spreading its influence over the world. It starts off with their language, followed by their political and economic views. I am not a historian so I don’t know if this was so right after the St. Louis fair but that’s what the film seemed to imply.
Are the people in the film acting ethically? They say that ethics is all about right conduct with emphasis on a good life or a life that is satisfying. If Lucy Reyes, the self flagellators, the narrator, the Americans, and the Igorots think their life is satisfying, then to them they are living ethically. However what is ethical to one might not be ethical to others. Lucy and the self flagellators believe that they are atoning for their sins and so feels that they are doing a good thing. And there are those who believe their acts are wrong because it is not in the Bible. So saying who is right and who is wrong depends on the person’s point of view. The same can be said of the Americans who brought the Igorots to the St. Louis fair. They thought they were doing a good thing, but an outsider’s point of view might say that they are merely exploiting the Igorots for their personal gain. The Igorots however, not completely understanding the big picture, may be glad that the Americans are showing them life as they haven’t seen before. And because they seem to be good to them, they may believe that the Americans are in fact acting ethical. The bottom line is that there are always two sides to a coin. A person’s perspective and upbringing will always play a factor in deciding what is ethical or not.