Rafer, Sophia A.

Searching+Reading/Watching+Thinking History

Instructions:

1. Search two (2) books about Philippine History (cite Author[s], Full Title, year of
publication, name of the publisher?

Dekada '70, written by Lualhati Bautista, and To the Young Women of

Malolos, written by none other than our national hero, Jose Rizal, are the two
novels I choose to use for this activity.

● Bautista, L. (1988). Dekada '70 ang orihinal at Kumpletong Edisyon.

Carmelo & Bauermann.
● Rizal, J. (1958). To the Young Women of Malolos. R. Martinez & Sons.

2. Additionally, search two (2) documentaries about any topics in Philippine History in
YouTube, websites, and other social media (cite: a. Full Title of the documentary b.
Author[s] of the documentary c. Date of “publication”/upload d. the entire URL address)

The two documentaries that caught my attention and I found on youtube

are BATAS MILITAR from The ML Chronicles and Pre-Colonial Women: Sexual
Aggressive? From History with Lourd.

● The ML Chronicles, & Garcia, H. (2017, July 5). BATAS MILITAR: Martial
Law Under President Ferdinand E. Marcos Full Documentary. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be3wLiPUN9A

● News 5, & de Veyra, L. (2017, March 22). Pre-Colonial Women: Sexual

Aggressive?HistorywithLourd.YouTube.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=tZH7adiOMtI

3. Read/watch these forms of evidence and answer the following questions:

· What are the respective themes of the books and documentaries? Give at least three (3)
in one book, thus 6 on two books; and 3 on one documentary, thus 6 on two
documentaries

Good vs. Evil, Peace & War, Courage & Perseverance are the themes of
Dekada '70. Because it was revealed in the novel that the dictatorship treated
Filipinos badly, killing thousands of Filipinos, many of whom were primarily
innocent and others of whom lived in defiance of their control. In fiction, the poor
"Jason" Amanda's kid, who was a victim of salvage, was murdered for being
Rafer, Sophia A.
Searching+Reading/Watching+Thinking History

accused of marijuana consumption. Peace and War, as well as perseverance, are

two key themes in the novel, as the Bartolome family was subjected to Martial
Law as a result of Jules' imprisonment and torture, as well as abusive
government, threats, and bombing. Amanda, who was formerly a submissive
housewife, learned to stand up for herself and her family as a result of this. She
struggled and learned how to oppose the oppressive government with
persistence, and with the help of her family and fellow Filipinos, she was able to
achieve triumph.

To the Young Women of Malolos is a novel by Jose Rizal, and its themes
are Courage and Perseverance, Prejudice, and Heroism. The battling spirit
displayed by the young women of Malolos astonished Jose Rizal. He expresses
great joy and satisfaction over the battle they had fought. The novel's author
sought to underline that women everywhere, not just in Malolos, should have the
bravery to overcome all of the prejudices that males and other cultures have
imposed on them.

The key topics in the documentary Pre Colonial Women by History with
Lourd are Courage and Perseverance, Prejudice, and Love. The video depicted
how women were perceived and acted in the pre-colonial era. It demonstrates
how the husband and wife are supposed to be free in terms of sexual intercourse
and judgment. Before the Spanish occupied the Philippines, Filipinas had power
and freedom. Everything, including women's roles in society, had changed as a
result of the colonization.

The ML chronicles' BATAS MILITAR is a remarkable documentary about

Martial Law. It detailed how brutal the dictatorship was to the people, and how
millions of Filipinos died in the process of fighting for their independence. It also
depicts how Filipinos, including some government officials, struggled for their
freedom and peace. Where some people are willing to die in order to save their
family and future generations from misery. The documentary's three main
themes are peace and war, heroism, and good vs evil.

What particular historical writing style or styles were utilized in your selected books?
The same goes for your selected documentaries.

For Dekada 70, Three Filipino women, and Pre-Colonial Women the
writing approach or writing style of the two authors and Lourd Deveyra in
the documentary is narrative and descriptive. The two novels begin by
narrating the protagonist's stories and hardships, as well as how they
Rafer, Sophia A.
Searching+Reading/Watching+Thinking History

overcame them, but they also include descriptions of prior events and the
protagonist's appearance. Such as how Amanda fought for her rights and
her family’s reaction when they heard “Jason” died. Also, like how Rizal
describes what women wear during the Spanish colonization and he also
described the responsibilities of Filipino mothers to their children. Lourd
described how women dressed before the Spanish arrived in the
Philippines for the documentary Pre-Colonial Women, and he also narrated
the Filipina and their family duties during the period. The BATAS MILITAR:
martial law documentary, on the other hand, is both descriptive and
analytical; it describes the suffering of all Filipinos during the martial rule
and under the government, and it is all backed up by facts and proof, as
well as higher intellectual effort in historical research.

What specific historical genre or genres does your selected literature focus on? The
same goes for your documentaries.

Political and social genres can be found in both documentaries and

novels. Dekada 70 is a novel about women's empowerment, or what we call
feminism, in which Amanda, the protagonist, who was used to being submissive
and just doing what her husband told her to do, decided to push herself beyond
her limits. It also deals with events that occurred during ex-President Ferdinand
Marcos' dictatorship. Rizal highlights women's rights during the Spanish
colonization in the novel Young Women of Malolos, and he strongly feels that
both women and men should be treated equally. The history of the heavy
documentary named Pre-Colonial Women focused on the lives of women prior to
colonization. It was once stated that women were equal to or more powerful than
men. Some women were regarded as spiritual leaders, or "babaylan," the male
version of "datu." It also emphasized how accepting the Filipinos are of premarital
sex and how they dress. BATAS MILITAR: martial law under President Ferdinand
E. Marcos focuses on both political and social issues, and the documentary
shows video clips and evidence of how cruel the dictatorship is to Filipinos,
leading to the rise of various activists seeking peace and freedom, rallies, and
other violent acts of people.
Rafer, Sophia A.
Searching+Reading/Watching+Thinking History

Are your two books and documentaries PRIMARY or SECONDARY sources? Classify
your books and documentaries and explain why your source(s) is Primary or Secondary?

The two novels are considered primary sources since it clearly contains
the real-life happening of events where both of the authors experienced it and
state it in the form of a novel. The websites on the other hand are secondary
sources since it interprets and analyzes primary sources where it contains
pictures, quotes, or graphics. Like in the History of Lourd, Lourd Deveyra itself
wasn’t born during the Spanish colonization Era same as the people that he had
interviewed but they are all analyzing and interpreting different pieces of
information from the past. And while in Martial Law those primary data such as
video clips of Marcos speaking about the declaration of martial law to the
Filipinos being bombed are being interpreted and explained by the narrator.

4. Do these Philippine history books and documentaries enhance or change your

learning experience about Philippine history? What are some “biases” you read/watch
from these sources? [Cite 2 on each source, thus 8 overall]

Yes, all of the material I've learned has astounded me. I thought I
knew a lot about Philippine history previously, but after reading the books
and seeing the videos, I realized I only knew a fraction of it. Like in the
history of the heavy documentary, I had no idea that women are allowed to
have premarital sex and that parents pay men to have their daughters'
virginity because they believe that virgin women signify femininity. In my
opinion, the author of Dekada '70 put too much emphasis on women's
emancipation and ignored men's efforts to combat martial law. And the
article only gives the perspective of middle-class families during martial
law; what about the story of lower-class families? Is the pain experienced
by all Filipinos the same? To The Young Women of Malolos, a novel by
Jose Rizal was biased in the sense that Filipinas were urged to perform
specific things, such as delegating responsibility to women. Rizal also
urged women to appear powerful and avoid being meek, which is a
wonderful thing. However, I am aware that we women, as well as men, are
permitted to be unhappy and cry in order to express our feelings. I believe
the program is biased in its portrayal of Pre-Colonial Women since it
claims that while the modern Filipina is no longer powerful, women in
today's society are also powerful and progressively gaining equality. It also
has a section where it claims that today's Filipinas do not act gracefully or
are no longer "Maria Clara." Finally, the documentary on martial law made
Rafer, Sophia A.
Searching+Reading/Watching+Thinking History

it difficult for me to think about the two biases in this film because I
believe it is well-explained and comprehensive. The only bias I believe
appears here is that it does not express or at least provide some of the
benefits of having "Martial Law." The only people interviewed in this
documentary are those who opposed martial law, and no Ferdinand
Marcos sympathizers were questioned. Which, I believe, is unbalanced
because we are supposed to have at least two opposing viewpoints.