Module 3: James Ramos

Module #3: Rights and “American Adobo”
After watching the movie, “American Adobo,” it made me realize how important cultural values are in a sense that it is impossible to erase and have them completely replaced with another. In the movie, we watched five Filipino-American friends living in New York and the events that unfold through a year. Although they are living in the United States and are accustomed to the lifestyle, they continue to present pieces of their Filipino cultural identity: Filipino cooking, catholic religion, and Filipino language. The cast consists of Terry, a religious middle aged single women who is a fabulous Filipino cook, especially pork adobo; Marissa, an extroverted lively woman with a cheating boyfriend; Raul, a playboy; Mike, a Filipino newspaper editor who is considering of leaving his self-absorbed wealthy wife and return to the Philippines, and Jerry, a closet homosexual.
In my opinion, I enjoyed watching the movie because I could more or less relate to it in an American and Filipino sense. Although I watched the movie several years ago when it first came out, I’ve never grasped the film in a more cultural and ethical standpoint until watching it again in class. Being aware and more knowledgeable of the Filipino cultural history and values really helped me understand the movie in a different perspective. For example, I’ve never understood how much social impact the Filipino people had with Catholicism until taking IP273E and IP368B. In my experience growing up, religion was the usual weekly Sunday sessions where my mother would normally force me to attend. However, I’ve never had to go through any type of Sunday school or any other religious activity.
From watching the film again, I finally understood what the small statues were when Terry performed her daily prayer rituals. Prior to my studies here at UH Manoa, I’ve always recognized the virgin Mary and the adult Jesus Christ statue, but I never knew who the baby boy was until recently, Santo Nino. It was fascinating to see her perform these rituals because it symbolized a Filipino practice that was adopted by Spanish Catholic missionaries.
One scene I really enjoyed the most was the conversation between Mike and Chris in the vehicle. Jerry’s explanation of how 300 years of Catholicism influenced many Filipino decision-making and values was one that stuck out to me the most. It was relieving to finally understand what he meant by that because I’ve never really learned the history of the Philippines and its people until attending UH Manoa. So in a sense, I felt as if I could comprehend to the movie more from a Filipino perspective.
The social dilemma I found most controversial in the film was Jerry’s decision of finally telling his mother about his homosexuality. From the American standpoint, which I notice is more of the ‘rights approach,’ I would have done the same thing that Jerry did if I were gay. I would have justified the situation that it was my right to free myself from this hidden discomfort any longer and convince myself that it was more important than any other person’s opinion, even if it were my mothers. It seems as thought it was Jerry’s justification that finally gave him the courage to admit to his mother other then his boyfriend’s support. However, in the end it did not turn out the way he expected his mother to receive it. I guess it was expected for her reaction to end up that way since she kept insisting him to find a wife already.
My question then is, was it appropriate for him to finally admit to his mother about is homosexuality? Or, was it not? As much as Jerry’s actions may have satisfied several aspects of the ‘virtue approach,’ such as honesty, courage, and compassion for his own self, he also went against it by lacking self-control with his religious beliefs, and fairness with his mother’s feelings and expectations. As it explained in the article, the five approaches do not provide any automatic solution to moral problems and dilemmas. They are only “meant to help us identify the most of the important ethical considerations.” It is up to us to decide in the end. It is imperative for us to be aware of both the facts and ethical considerations involved in our moral dilemmas.
All in all, the film was very entertaining compared to the previous films we watched, excluding Imelda however. Furthermore, the situations each character dealt with challenged me ethically with choices I would have made if I were put in their situation. But then again, there is no right or wrong decision; it is just the choices we make and the consequences that come along with them that affect the people around us and ourselves.