Nationalism

Ignacio, Gabrielle Chapter II Review of Related Literature Media plays an important role in our lives. Our day is usually comprised of going to work or school and going home to watch our favorite television shows or movies. Aside from the entertainment it brings, it usually influences the way we think, feel or act. For example, a mass shooting happened in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. The incident happened during the screening of “The Dark Knight Rises”. James Holden, the suspect of the shooting, was found guilty of 24 counts of first-degree murder. (Botelho, et al.,2015). It also turns out that Holden owned a Batman mask and called himself “The Joker”. People are now thinking that the movie caused deed. (Wong, 2012) Holden could have committed the crime due to the belief that he should literally bring the character to life. To fully understand the phenomenon, this study aims to uncover how a movie can affect our perception on a specific matter. The study will be using the movie ‘Heneral Luna’ to see how it affects high school students’ view on the Philippine history and the nation as a whole. The research will establish connections between different topics that are considered relevant in arriving to a holistic result. This research will first provide a background on the Philippine history such as the effects of Colonialism, a discussion on Orientalism, the importance of nationalism and the Filipino Identity. Second, since the respondents of the research will be high school students, it will discuss how young people are viewed, why they regard history as a boring subject and their preference between book and movie. In this part, we will be able to determine their views and opinions on the subject before being exposed to the movie. Lastly, it will discuss how films and movies affect us and the relevance of the movie ‘Heneral Luna’. In a paper by Medina (2000), she explained that there are a lot of things to discover and learn when it comes to Philippine History. The Philippines has been influenced by civilizations of the West. It is clearly evident that the Philippines is located in the Eastern hemisphere and is part of the continent of Asia. However, due to being colonized and exposed to practices dissimilar to our neighboring countries, we can be compared with nations from South America who we share a common past. As we recall the discussions we had in our history class, we know that The Philippines is the largest Christian nation in Asia. This can be contributed to the 333 years of Spanish colonization in the country. With this, the Philippines is considered unique and different due to the infusion of our pre-colonial and colonial past. However, even though we grew in the teachings of the West, we have retained the learnings we have acquired before the colonial ages. The Philippines then is considered to be torn in between. There are some practices that foreign visitors and scholars find odd. This has been published in several works. One of these works is from Antonio de Morga who was a high ranking official in the Philippines during the Spanish era. Morga (1609) stated in his book that we Filipinos fancy eating salt fish which begins to ‘decompose’ and ‘smell’ (p.248). Our national hero, Jose Rizal, came across the book and debunked the presumptions of how Filipinos lived and how the Philippines was during that era. Rizal wrote his sentiments as footnotes on the original book. This is then considered an ‘annotated re-edition’ of Morga’s work. However, this wasn’t as successful as his novels and according to Craig, 1927 (as cited in Ocampo, 1998) this is under Rizal’s ‘minor writings’. According to Flores (2011), Rizal presented each rebuttal with interest and provided notes which are incomparable. Even though, Spain colonized the Philippines longer, America seems to have influenced us more. Drona (2006) remarks that we have been presented with images that everything from the West (specifically, in the US) is better than what we have. We are unaware of the negativity the belief brings in how we view matters that greatly affects our nation. We automatically assume that the grass is greener on the other side. This is one of the ill effects of colonialism that has been brought upon us. This is further supported by Said (1978) who pointed out how cultural domination oppressed the people who have been colonized. The West ‘isolated’ the East and saw themselves as superior that the latter. He said that the West believes that they are “genuine creator, whose life-giving power represents, animates, constitutes, the otherwise silent and dangerous space beyond familiar boundaries” (p.57). According to Gramsci, n.d. (as cited in Said, 1978) the thought has become ‘hegemonic’. This is already considered an act of ‘othering’. As defined by Geekfeminism.com “Othering is a process in which one group is seen as "us" and another group as "them". The Philippines is a victim of ‘othering’. However, as we are looking at Americans as our masters or our gods, this creates a conflict. Instead of working on our culture and identity we look forward to being what ‘they’ are and not what we ought to be. This greatly affects the main factor that will lead us to work for our country and bring us to development. Also, this kind of thinking influences the young people’s view of the nation. Due to colonialism and orientalism, our nationalism gets affected. Nationalism as defined by Sen. Recto, n.d (as cited by Constantino, 1984) “a banner of freedom proclaiming the national interests of the people, to be protected and safeguarded by themselves so that the fruits of their efforts and the wealth derived from their God-given resources shall accrue to them and thus enable all of our people to rise above poverty and march on to prosperity, contentment and dignity.” This is further explained by Constantino (1984) who commented that the Philippines used to have a strong sense of nationalism. She believes that nationalism fuels our willingness to stand and fight for our country. It is through nationalism that we can truly be one and show that we are truly an independent nation. She has also enumerated the characteristics of nationalism, which are: 1.) Nationalism is defensive, protective 2.) Nationalism is mass character 3.)Nationalism must permeate every aspect of Philippine life 4.) Nationalism demands both economic and political independence. She has remarked that nationalism should be integrated in our daily living. We should see the history of the Philippines to how it was experienced by our fellow Filipinos. Not according to the books published by Americans or other foreign countries. As she has mentioned, “A nationalist education would place great importance on the teaching of Philippine history from the point of view of the Filipino people.” One factor of the prevalence of disunity is the supposed advancement or development in society. Tagore (1917) pointed out that people have been working against each other due to advancements in society. We start to fight for ‘material prosperity’ and forget that we are supposed to work as one and aim towards the betterment of society as a whole. Unfortunately, this has become a trend. Instead of applauding achievements, people fear when others attain such leading to disunity. The advancements bring in sweet fruits of labor. However, will it still matter when the essence of a nation has been forgotten? The young people are absorbing and remembering what has been taught to them. The past few years we have been affected by what colonialism has brought us. What would happen if the young people are presented with nationalist ideas and imagery that would boost their nationalism and be able to feel the need to bring this country to prosperity? However, how would we be able represent a country when we are unsure of our identity? According to Zialcita (2004), “It is not easy to affirm a Filipino identity. Like many other nation-states, the Philippines is culturally diverse.” From our pre-colonial to colonial, the country has been influenced by different cultures. This is due to number of islands composing the country. Some might be exposed by cultures coming in from the seas or oceans from the north or it could be from the east, west or south while some are not reached by other cultures at all. The Filipino people are divided according to how much they were influenced by foreign invaders. Up to this day, there is still confusion on what Filipino Identity really is. He pointed out that the Hispanized Filipinos are more likely to look down on the Islamized or the people in the mountains but they are the ones who are less respected internationally. The Hispanized Filipinos has a difficulty when being asked to define their identity due to it being more inclined to being Spanish rather than being Filipino. Drona (2006) suggests that we need to raise our ‘nationalist consciousness’ to arouse our ‘Filipinism.’ We should forget the divisions that have been created and focus on working as one. We should be aware of the significance in acknowledging what our country has to offer. We are citizens of the country and what one does affects the population. He reiterated that we should think collectively and not just individually. We should cater the national interest rather than our own. According to Drona, “It is only with a nationalistic consciousness in his mind and heart will the native Filipino be able to fight, deal and work with utmost determination for his own betterment, those of his children and grandchildren; and consequently of his homeland.” According to Hall (1921), Change comes with time and as years pass, young people are confronted with numerous difficulties which hinder them from knowing and taking part of their responsibilities. Hitchcock (1790) also believes that Young people have been pre-occupied with activities which stop them from having a holistic growth. Young people are easily influenced since they are still trying to look for their place in the society. Even with impressions from Hall (1921) and Hitchcock (1790), a study made by Guerrero, et al., (1998) concludes that Filipino youth prioritizes “marriage and family, friends, education, work, religion, society and money”. Their survey showed that they are proud of being Filipino and ready to defend the coutry in times of need. Many of the scholars believe that one of the factors that could foster a nationalist population is to be able to teach them about the history of the country and make them interested. This would lead them to understand why their nation is such and contribute in the nation-building. According to Fowlkes (2010) the reason why young people or students lack interest in History is because they find it boring. She suggests that the reason for this is the lack of initiative to make teaching history more lively and interesting. It is often consist of memorization and nothing else. This would make the students get tired and bored easily in comparison with other subjects taught in school. An online forum in Quora about the subject confirms Fowlkes’ thoughts. Majority of the people who has participated would point out that the conventional way of teaching history leaves the impression that it is boring and insignificant. It was also mentioned that some students would think that it is not relevant in today’s time since it has happened years ago. Some people pointed out that it is very interesting and controversial but teachers would often focus on the dates and names of people rather than what really occurred in the past. Another factor which could lead them to not being interested is the preference between books and movies. There are teenagers who prefer watching films rather than going through books. However, an infographic in Shortlist showed that a lot of people still prefer book versions rather than film versions of various stories. One factor that led to the result is how it the book was portrayed in the film. The infographic focused on books-made-to-movie rather than books in general. A study by Moyer (2010) showed that the younger population prefers reading through non-traditional means such as e-book. Her study proved that the younger population still enjoys reading but the materials have changed and the theme of the book as well. Could this mean that a lot of people prefer books over movies? Well, watching movies is still one of the favorite past time of most people. They either watch it for entertainment, educational purposes, etc. What happens when people watch movies? Wong (2012) has written an article titled, 5 Ways You Don't Realize Movies Are Controlling Your Brain. Wong mentioned in his article that when Jaws was released in the theaters people when out killing sharks due to influence of the movie. People were aware that no shark could be as big as the one portrayed but it could be that people automatically assumed that killing the shark was the only way to prevent it from happening. The movie made it difficult for us to separate fact from fiction. It makes us question which is real or not. A more realistic example is when we watch films that are ‘based on a true story’. Can you segregate which is real or not without checking it over the internet? Another point by Wong is that movies were made to control us. He discussed how in the old times where people were grouped in tribes. The young ones would be told stories to control the way they behave. It is through stories that they can be given lessons which would regulate how they act in society. Movies are believed to be made this way as well. It is written with a ‘hidden agenda’. It could be intentionally or unintentionally. This can be proved by placing products in a film where the actors would use it and praise its effectiveness. People then get the idea that they should try out the product for themselves. Does this mean that a movie preference would tell a lot about a person? According to Kuipers (2015), Heneral Luna is brought something new in the big screen which could be considered revolutionary in the Philippine cinema. It was one of the most expensive films made in the Philippines and one of the highest grossing as well. When the movie premiered it didn’t came on top but it succeeded in pulling in a lot viewers and stayed in the cinemas for 9 weeks. Santos (2015) commented that the movie shows ‘the ugly truth’ of Philippine history. A history filled of turning their backs against their comrades and conspiring with the invaders. The movie enticed a lot of viewers due to the magnificent reviews it has made. This study will put into test how effective the movie is in influencing the views of high school students on Philippine history and the nation as a whole. The studies, books and articles mentioned above are factors which are relevant to the study at hand. Those are the areas which could influence the results of the study. The references were able to provide sufficient information that would allow the study to go through. However, establishing a connection between one area to the other is still needed. This will be my main goal in the study. Books: Hitchcock, E. (2007). Memoirs of the Bloomsgrove Family. Ann Arbor, MI: Text Creation Partnership. Hall, G. S. (1922). Adolescence; its psychology and its relations to physiology, anthropology, sociology, sex, crime, religion and education. New York, NY: D. Appleton and Company. Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. New York City, NY: Pantheon Books. Tagore, R. (1998). Nationalism. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing. Zialcita, F. N. (2004). Authentic Though Not Exotic: Essays on Filipino Identity. Quezon City: Ateneo University Press. Constantino, L. R. (1984). Issues without tears : A Layman's Manual of Current Issues (Vol. 2). Quezon City: Karrel. Ocampo, A. R. (1998). Rizal’s Morga and Views of Philippine History. Retrieved from http://www.philippinestudies.net/ojs/index.php/ps/article/viewFile/662/663 De Morga, A. (1609). History of the Philippine Islands. Retrieved from https://archive.org/stream/historyofthephil07001gut/7phip10.txt Thesis: Moyer, J. E. (2010). “Teens Today Don’t Read Books Anymore”: A Study of Differences in Interest and Comprehension Based on Reading Modalities (Unpublished master's thesis). University of Minnesota. Sandoval, G., Mangahas, M., & Guerrero, L. (1998). The Situation of Filipino Youth: A National Survey (Unpublished master's thesis). Social Weather Stations. Medina, E. (2000). A New Perspective on Philippine History (Unpublished master's thesis). Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/doc/22704252/A-New-Perspective-onPhilippine-History. Website: Cabrera, A., Botelho, G., & Ford, D. (2015, July 17). James Holmes found guilty of murder in Colorado theater shooting. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2015/07/16/us/james-holmes-trial-colorado-movie-theatershooting-verdict/ Drona, B. (2006, August 03). Colonial Mentality, "Damaged Culture," IMSCF of Filipinos: Its Roots. Retrieved from http://www.thefilipinomind.com/2006/08/colonialmentality-of-filipinos-its.html Wong, D. (2012, August 06). 5 Ways You Don't Realize Movies Are Controlling Your Brain. Retrieved from http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-you-dont-realize-moviesare-controlling-your-brain/ Flores, P. (2011, February 1). Dr. José Rizal's annotation of Antonio Morga's "Historical Events of the Philippines".1609. Retrieved from http://penelopevflores.blogspot.com/2011/02/dr-jose-rizals-annotation-of-antonio.html Reviews: Kuipers, R. (2015). Film Review: ‘Heneral Luna’ [Review of the movie Heneral Luna]. Retrieved from http://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/heneral-luna-review-1201649617/ Santos, C.R. (2015). Meeting General Luna and Ourselves [Review of the movie Henral Luna] Retrieved from understanding-ourselves http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/207149/meeting-general-luna-and-