makaidu

[makaidu]

A Ray of Hope

Camaraderie, spirit of sympathy, and a pure heart. These might just be words to others but it surely are words that can ignite the fire within someone’s heart. In a world full of uncertainty, chaos, and circumstances, it is so hard to lift ourselves up and fight. But sometimes, it only takes a ray of hope to stand up again and redeem ourselves. We just need something or someone to help us find that hope.

We Filipinos are known for being hospitable and having a sense of resiliency that make us different from other countries. It’s the kind of attributes that bind and nourish us. That’s why every time a disaster comes, together, we are one in facing that tragedy.

It was such a celebration of Christmas and new year that the Albayanos were so proud. They were able to survive another year with full of faith and happiness. So eager to face the challenges of 2019 and overcome it. Well, that was my initial thinking until I overheard a news. It was said that a typhoon will strike particularly in some areas of Albay. As a Bicolano myself, my joy and excitement was turned into sadness. We were at the peak of celebrating a new year and this happened. It’s a sudden change of mood as if a child was forcedly separated from her mom or a prince died in a fairy tale movie.

Day 1. As the monster stroked into the village, you could see their frustrated faces, their frightened eyes, their tears falling into the floor. But they couldn’t help themselves because the monster was too big to face. The only thing they were holding unto was their faith, their family. They were deeply disappointed of what happened I mean, how can you combat a natural phenomena. It’s just hard.

Day 2. The monster became stronger. It was not satisfied of the damage that it did on the people. It even destroyed their source of income basically, their lives. It was able to wreck lands that caused landslides which made it even hard to absorb what happened. It was very serious of destroying such beautiful place. The people were rushed into evacuation centers for their temporary homes.

Day 3 came and it seemed like the monster became tired of annihilation and the environment became so friendly. The clouds were white and the sky was blue. Until the evening came, and it gave Albay a massive rain which led to flash floods. It was a devastating moment that I could not imagine

The sun was out and the birds are chirping. Day 4. But my state of mind was saying not to calm down because this day might be just the same as day 3. But I saw a small tree with flowers in it and it was announced that Usman left the Philippine Area of Responsibility. I was so relieved until my phone rang. It was at that time when I realized that I could be of great help to the survivors.

Reinforcement came. Day 5. It was such a nice gesture to help our fellow Albayanos and I was able to become one of the many instruments of goodwill. It was then the #Icare extended that came across to help. A group of people and an alumni of Bicol University. The good Samaritans were able to provide clothes and foods to the survivors at Naga National High School, Tiwi, Albay. As our team saw how satisfied their faces were, all the tiring moments from repacking, calling for donations, and travelling, it all went into smile faces, satisfaction, and sense of fulfillment. These individuals under the #Icare extended do not seek any in return. They served as a ray of hope to others and for them, seeing the children smile and the people around them were more than enough.

That’s what the power of the three aforementioned words. Camaraderie, spirit of sympathy, and a pure heart. To make people happy, and to be of service at all times in any ways possible. A power that will surely make people stand tall, and believe in life again despite of the challenges they faced.

As we voyage towards the great unknown, let us all remember that it will not be a smooth ride. But as long as we become firm and foster those 3 things in our heart, we will reach our destination with a smile in our faces.

“The noblest act is that of making others happy.”

-P.T Barnum.

[makaidu]

WITH OVER SEVEN THOUSAND ATHLETES COMING FROM SIXTEEN DIFFERENT REGIONS, BICOL UNIVERSITY IS NOW READY TO HOST THE NATIONAL STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION OR SCUAA ON APRIL 19-25.

ACCORDING TO THE DEAN OF INSTITUTE OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION, SPORTS AND RECREATION DR. KARINA SALES, BICOL UNIVERSITY WILL OFFER EQUIPMENT, VENUES, AND FACILITIES TO THE ATHLETES THAT ARE WORLD CLASS.

SHE ALSO EMPHASIZED THAT BU IS READY TO CATER A HUGE NUMBER OF ATHLETES . EIGHT OF THE SAID REGIONS WILL BE CATERED BY LEGAZPI CITY, FOUR REGIONS FOR BICOL UNIVERSITY AND FOUR REGIONS FOR THE PROVINCE OF ALBAY.

ORIGINALLY, THE DATE OF THE NATIONAL SCUAA WAS SUPPOSEDLY FROM MARCH 22-28 BUT IT WAS POSTPONED BY THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS DISEASE THREAT.

WITH THE RESUMPTION OF THE EVENT AND THE UPRISING VIRUS, DR. SALES ASSURED THE SAFETY OF THE ATHLETES BY CONTACTING GOVERNOR AL FRANCIS BICHARA ABOUT THE PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES LIKE THE THERMAL SCANNERS THAT THEY WILL PUT IN EVERY VENUE OF THE SAID EVENT.

[makaidu]

The film, 20th Century Women talks about a single mother who would like to raise his son well bit due to the fact that she is alone, she doesn’t know how to do it. As a mother who had his child on a very late age, the gap could be seen in several context like attitude, culture, and beliefs. Dorothea is the mother of Jamie, a 15 year-old high school student who would clearly love to get to know himself more as a young teenager. Dorothea had no experience raising a child that’s why she called some help with her tenants. Abbie who is a cervical cancer survivor, and Julie, Jamie’s best friend, to guide him and lead the way for Jamie’s maturity.

They would always say that a mother’s love is the greatest form of affection and that no one could replace her love towards the people the people she values. I was so sad because Dorothea had no one beside her in raising Jamie. I could not imagine myself raising a child of my own with just an ample knowledge about this and here is a child that is so eager to learn about things and life in general. I could not imagine if I’ll put myself in Dorothea’s shoes. That’s why somehow, I could understand Dorothea seeking some help towards her tenant. Though, I just don’t understand it why she would seek help to those two women instead of a father-like figure? When Jamie found out that her mom asked some help from the two, he became angry and he detached himself from hi mom. This is where the Family Communication Patterns Theory might come into place. The Family Communication Patterns Theory is based on the assumption that creating a shared social reality is a basis function of family communication. Due to the fact that the age of Jamie and his mom is way far from each other, whenever Dorothea would share her reality towards her son, Jamie would initially disengage himself because Jamie has a different social reality. Like in the perspective of music, Jamie and his generation tend to like punk and rock music while her mom doesn’t like these kind of music. It makes her cringe and it’s too loud for her. Also, the generation of Jamie is prone and it is normal to have sex. However, in Dorothea’s generation, they are raised into a more conservative era. So the battle between different social realities are present which somehow affect the relationship of the mother and the son. Dorothea is not too focused to teach his son to a point that they became a Laissez-faire type of family under the Family Communication Patterns Theory. Laissez-faire families are both low on conformity and conversation orientation. Children of these families learn that there is a little value in family conversation therefore they tend to question their decision-making and they are mor susceptible to external linkages that is why Jamie is more comfortable in sharing his ideas to Abbie and Julie which are of the same age bracket as Jamie.

Another theory that is present in the film is the Coordinated Management of Meaning. It can be apply into one scene in the movie. That is when Abbie had no one beside her during her check up and she was so devastated. But then again, Jamie presented himself to sho moral support and he accompanied her to the hospital. After the check-up, she found out that she was cancer free therefore, she had a sigh of relief. Because Abbie was so grateful to Jamie for being with her wholeheartedly, Abbie began to pay Jamie by opening herself up and sharing one of her personal experiences in life specifically her journey towards surviving her pain which is cervical cancer. This could drop under one of the two major rules of the Coordinated Management of Meaning which is the regulative rules. It tells that it’s more about how communicators reacts for the message and how they respond or behave towards the message they receive.

Another theory that is present in one of the 20th Century Women film is the Interpersonal Deception Theory. It happened when Jamie, forger the signature of her mother just to make excuses in school. He deceived his teachers with several reasons just to skip classes and their teachers would assume that the excuses are true due to the fact that the signature of Jamie’s mom is written on the letter whee in fact it’s just his alibi to avoid going into school. This could fall under one of the three deceptive strategies under the Interpersonal Deception Theory which is Falsification.

One of the most obvious theory that is present in this film is the Feminist Standpoint Theory which emphasizes social ideologies. In this film, it shows the struggle of a single parent raising a child and it shows that women are vulnerable. However, aside from the struggle of a mother, there are also other salient actors that could help in strengthening the Feminist Communication Theory. Abbie, who is struggling because of her sickness and overcome it, and Julie who is a liberated woman under a very young age, these are not the expectations to a typical woman. People would expect Dorothea to have someone with her say for example, a husband who would help her in raising a child, or Abbie whom should seek help to men, and Julie, whom should be nice, should go to school at her age, she should be someone who is an avid fan of norms and rules because women should obey and submit to that. Just because they do not meet the general social standards of what a woman should be, it doesn’t mean that they are not worthy of celebrating. It doesn’t mean that they are less of a woman nor a person. What the film was trying to say was that, even though there struggles that women are facing, still they have the power to face that hardships and battles and overcome it. It also shows that even though women commit mistakes and they stumble and fall, still, like men, they are able to get up and fight and to conquer their fears just to become stronger and bolder. At the end of the film, it also shows that because of the challenges that Dorothea, Abbie, and Julie experienced, it made them the best version of themselves and it gave them the knowledge and wisdom on how to become a strong independent woman.

[makaidu]

The LGBTQ Community is now in the era where in people are getting interested towards their stories. People nowadays are drawn to their walks of life and is curious of their capabilities. Members of the LGBTQ community are now recognized into various fields—in business industry, in government, and in media industry. Does this recognition seals the deal of a tolerating society? Or are we still yet living in a society where in as long as you matter, you will be remembered and once you don’t, you will wither.

The movie Call Me by Your Name and its achievement towards winning several recognition in various award giving body can testify to its beauty as a film. There has been a clamor with my friends about this movie but I never had the perfect opportunity to actually sit down and watch it. And then suddenly, things fell into its own places and I ended up watching this film. At first I thought it would just be the same Bisexual story and that at the end of the movie, after all the struggles and conflict, they would still end up happy and accepted. But this movie portrayed another perspective towards these kind of relationship and that this could happen and is happening in the status quo. That there are times that our forever only lasts as the summer does.

At the beginning of the movie, I would be very honest, I was bored because of the ambiance of the story. It seems flat and it’s very predictable. I could still remember, I stopped watching at some point. But as the story progressed, my attention also was diverted again to the movie as if I can’t take my eyes off of it. I started to become interested about the movie when the main characters are actually talking and they’re starting to get to know each other. I started thinking if my theory about the end of the movie would be the same to it’s actual ending or they would alter the ending of the story. I really like how they are able to commit with the scenes provided that the actors are both straight men and that there are scenes that require heavy commitment to achieve the proper emotion and with that I would like to commend them for giving enough justice to their roles. I also liked the fact that the movie sounds so natural therefore the feelings and the emotions are real and they are not backed up by certain musics just for the sake of the audience’s emotion. I like the fact that it was not manipulated just to trigger one’s emotion for that specific scene. I like the fact that they are giving the audience the chance to feel the genuine emotion instead of just gradually feeding them the expected emotions. They did not compromise the natural sound just to consider the emotion. Take the case of the scene where Oliver and Elio went to the town and had coffee and the cars would just randomly pass by them. Elio would raise his voice just for Oliver to hear him say. I like that because it’s like they’re portraying that I am inside their movie and I am a part of that scene.

Considering the different communication Media Theory, the Social Penetration Theory could be of great example in the movie Call Me by Your Name which states that we are all bound to have some kind of relationship with someone and this theory also defines how mere strangers could turn into deeper relationship as time goes by. The characters started with little to none information about each other but as the summer progressed, so as their intimate relationship. Under the Social Penetration Theory, there are several stages present through which relationships develop namely: Orientation stage, Exploratory-Affective stage, Affective stage, Stable stage, and Depenetration and these stages are clearly visible in the movie.

* ORIENTATION STAGE: On this early stage, where in people would usually start with short, simple, and inconsequential talk, Elio and Oliver just shook their hands and exchanged their smiles as they first met. Elio even had an impression towards Oliver and I can still see that Elio has this reservations towards Oliver because it’s the first time that they’ve met each other. Elio is still hiding behind his walls because Oliver is indeed a stranger to him.

* EXPLORATORY-AFFECTIVE STAGE: This is where Oliver started to open up about his interest towards ancient artifacts and Elio’s love for the music and somehow, they were able to go along with each other when Oliver went to the Urban, Elio was the one who assisted him and they’ve talked about certain things and they started to open up which led to the start of a deeper relationship.

* AFFECTIVE STAGE: Elio started to share his personal matters towards Oliver. He showed him the place that he would often indulge himself every time he’s sad. They even shared personal matters. Oliver even hugged Elio which portrays that they are both comfortable with each other.

* STABLE STAGE: This is where Elio and Oliver started to confess their feelings towards each other. Before, the bed of the two are obviously separated from each other. But because of their shared feelings, there came a point in the movie that they slept together with one bed and the level of their intimacy reached to a point of having sex. Also when Elio cried, Oliver knew his problem therefore, he knew how to comfort the sad Elio. They even went somewhere and shared a commonality about music adventure, and swimming. They are so happy because they feel like they are the same and the informations that they gave to each other are somehow beneficial to one another

* DEPENETRATION: Due to the fact that everything is temporary and nothing lasts forever, things will always come to an end. And like every other relationship, Elio and Olivers’ is of no difference. When Oliver was about to go home to his place and the summer was over, Elio was so devastated. He cried and he was so sad because Oliver had to leave. That’s when Elio started to fall out of love of Oliver. Though, deep inside him, he is still hoping that their love will continue. But because of that, it triggered the disconnection between the two. Oliver once called at Elio’s house and he was so hopeful but Oliver called to inform everyone that he’s getting married. With that, Elio was so lonely which led to the withdrawal and termination of their relationship

Another theory that can also be applied to this movie is the Symbolic Interaction Theory. The study of symbols and their use or interpretations. There is this one scene where in they are playing volleyball and Elio is watching Oliver play. Elio went to the table to get water for his friends but Oliver snatched it and he was the one who drank the water. Right after that, Oliver massaged Elio’s shoulder, he put his hands towards hi shoulder. Awkward as it may be, Elio was surprised of that gesture and then Oliver went back to the court. Elio thought that it was just nothing but I remember it right when they were talking on the latter part of the movie, Oliver explained that it symbolizes his attraction to Elio and he wanted to see his reaction.

Overall, I feel like this movie is meant to be out there and it is meant to be celebrated not just because of the fact that the film industry is accepting these kind of non-conventional love films, but because critiques are able to recognize such beauty amidst all the struggles and hardships that the member of the LGBTQ community is facing just to live normal, act normal, and love unconditionally.

We should try to indulge ourselves into these kind of movies to fully understand the enormous capabilities of our brothers and sisters in the LGBTQ community and that they too, are humans and humans as they are, they strip and fall but at the end of the day, they still fight and is continuously fighting for love because that is what they deserve. That is what we all deserve. To love, and to feel loved regardless of our race, status in the society, and gender.