American Adobo -Christine4Heysoo

I found the film interesting in that it was filmed in the United States and most of the sceneries were Americanized. However, you still sense that Filipino pride and atmosphere. All the characters had some dilemma or something missing and they were really great in their role. Though they were successful in one area of their life, they all lack happiness. For example, Marissa who has a great job however was not successful with her relationship with Sam. Gerry, who was gay and had to face the rejection from his mother. Raul, being the youngest, was a player and was not satisfied with his girlfriends. Tere, a nice and a great cook cannot get a date. The climax was obvious when the characters hit a wall, they all had to evaluate what changes they had to make and what they need to give up. There was a part when Tere, the lonely bachelorette threw the Santo Nino statue outside and accidentally hit the guy whom I presumed would be her mate in the end and he was. In the end, they came to accept who they are, their differences, and somehow found what was lacking and they seemed content with their life.

All the characters had the right to be accepted, the right to be happy, the right to be love, the right to know the truth, and the right to enjoy their freedom. However if not very careful with that right, it could hurt them or someone. For example, Raul had the right to enjoy his freedom being a single but along the way, the women who he did not take seriously were hurt and he could also have gotten STD easily because of such right. I liked the part when all the characters were reflecting on what was missing and what went wrong with their personal relationships. They were not perfect but they somehow were able to overcome their personal problems by helping and listening to one another. They looked up to one another and they value their uniqueness. Though they were serious, they also knew how to add humor in their conversation when they came all together for dinner or just celebration.

The film showed some context of the Catholic faith. For instance, when Gerry told the mom that he was gay and have her meet his partner, the mom was disappointed in that her expectations of grandchildren collapse and her religion cannot accept the way things turned out for her son. In Tere’s case, she was lonely and was fully depended in her faith so that Santo Nino and God would intervene in finding a suitor that takes her seriously. When she was frustrated and least expected it, she hit the guy with the Santo Nino statue. There were some parts that the subtitle did not show and I noticed that Raul did not speak Pilipino throughout the movie and spoke English the whole time.

A right is a justified claim on others. It is described as entitlement, interests, powers, claims, and needs. The right is ours, something that we own, or is our due and not dependent on the goodwill of others. Human right is according to the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “everyone has the right to recognition as a person everywhere before the law”. This include “the right to own property,…the right to work,…the right to rest…” We regard rights as important in human action and in an informed decision-making because a right creates an obligation in others to behave in a certain way whether to provide goods or services or refrain from interference. However, humans are interdependent and that our welfare is the responsibility of the society or community we live in. An ethical agent when face with conflict of rights would discriminate the claim rights whether they are wants or needs.

Human rights should not be created or lost by opinion polls or what the majority thinks. We need to consider all sides of the claim of right and what they represent, the social cost, the injustice that it would result. We need to develop social contract and in that no individual in society would choose to have individuals require to do things themselves would be unwilling to perform. The positive rights should proceed because the fundamental shared needs should be first met for the society versus the individual. Rights should be first because it ensures that the freedom and well being of each individual will be protected when others threaten that freedom or well being. Taking up of arms would be justified act because it is a defense of the freedom that is the birthright of the people, protection of property that is acquired through honest industry and hard work, and to fight violence in order for hostility to cease and danger to be removed. Revolution would be a just ethical conduct when the freedom of the people is violated and they are treated injustice, tyranny, oppression, and persecution. I do not think that violence can ever be justified but can be the last resort for self-defense.