In the first film, Nailed, it was an examination of 400 years of Spanish and American colonialism in the Philippines. It accounts Philippine and social history through the exploration of the Catholic Church as the story revolves around a woman, Lucy Reyes, who has been reenacting the crucifixion, every Good Friday for the past sixteen years. This woman, had a vision of the Santo Nino, a patron believed to have been sent to her to be used as a kind of sacrifice for the people. Every year since then, she would be crucified and nailed to a cross. She believed that the vision of the Santo Nino was her “calling” by God to be sacrificed. This film takes a look at the implications of worship, cultural, national, and personal identity. It talks about the beliefs that the Filipino’s have when it comes to sacrifices and shows how rituals become routines, a part of daily life. It also shows how American influence has almost taken over the Philippines as we see images of Rambo fans, McDonald chains across the country, etc. and how these influences have already become part of the daily lives of the Filipinos.
In Bontoc Eulogy, it also takes a look at the history of Spanish and American colonialism in the Philippines, through a personal exploration into the narrator’s relationship with his Filipino heritage as explored through the unbelievable story of the Filipino tribal natives brought to the U.S. to be a “living exhibit” at the 1905 St. Louis World’s Fair. It portrays a disturbing look at the cultural arrogance of the world’s largest “ethnological display” in which hundreds of so-called primitive and savage men and women (of the Philippines) were exhibited to the achievements of Western civilization. The narrator speaks about his grandfather, an igorot who was taken out of his tribal life and put into this world’s fair. Literally being forced to live on a reservation, they were looked at as savages because their language, their clothing, and their way of life was different. The kinds of things that went on in this world’s fair was very disturbing, not only for the Filipinos, but for the other racial groups that weren’t the dominant race (white). This portrayal of racial groups really opened up my eyes to not only the positive things about colonialism but mostly the negative things about colonialism. By watching this film, the audience is aware of the history of the different kinds of racial groups but mostly aware of the history behind the stereotypical notion that “all Filipinos are dog-eaters.” This kind of stereotype is linked to a past historical events that had happened and eventually becomes manufactured into the thoughts of people who are not of Filipino descent. The stereotype then re-circulates into the minds of other’s that have no knowledge about the history of Filipinos and continues to think that “Filipinos are dog-eaters.”
I thought both films were interesting and very different, as it took a look at the history of Spanish and American colonialism. I thought it was more disturbing than interesting because I can’t understand why a woman would really want to sacrifice herself and actually reenact the crucifixation of Jesus Christ. This was definitely an influence of Spanish colonialism as they introduced Catholicism to the Philippines. It showed the devotion to God by just that one person, who would nearly sacrifice her life for the sake of everyone to be forgiven by God. It was interesting to see their devotion but at the same time, how it’s contradictory to their way of life, as they still practiced their old animistic ideas. As for Bontoc Eulogy, it was twice as disturbing than seeing a woman get nailed to a cross because you can see the torture and embarrassment the Filipinos had to go through back then. It was upsetting to see that Filipinos were locked up in a reservation, and used to entertain white people, as if they were circus animals. This wasn’t something I had knowledge about and seeing in the film how it really happened, made me upset at the idea that these colonizers not only colonized the countries that were suffering in this world’s fair, but also showing them off as some prized animal, as if they had no feelings whatsoever. But at the same time, I felt like I’ve gained more knowledge about how history has shaped Philippine culture in the way that is has been portrayed and that instead of sticking to what’s commonly being known to other’s as, “this is what all Filipinos do,” we have to knowledge and understanding to change this stereotype/racial profiling of Filipinos.
R.M. Aurellano
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