We tend to see Rizal as someone as an epitome of patriotism and nationalism.

Our effort
to boost our national ego can be seen when some Filipinos tried to hold Rizal with God-like
characteristics by parading his name and face everywhere in our country. However, these
attempts to elevate him as an epitome of a great Filipino became too much for an ordinary
Filipino to imitate and follow which is why Andres Bonifacio is more appealing to the ordinary
Filipino because he was more of a “real” person. Thus, Rizal’s ideas and ideals of patriotism are
often ignored and left to be read in the pages of history books. Moreover, even though the
students or Filipinos already read his ideas or works, they were not able to truly understand and
reflect those ideas and ideals because they felt disconnected from Rizal’s God-like capabilities
and they believe that they could never achieve what Rizal has achieved. Fortunately, we had the
capacity to read and uncover more about Rizal’s life and works which will help us reunite with
his goals and ideals of achieving liberation and freedom for our country. The videos I made
focus on the human side of Rizal, the Rizal bill, and his contributions to the development of
national literature. The first video consists of re-introducing Rizal from a different perspective by
presenting information that was not usually taught in the four corners of the classroom. It
includes his childhood, education, and difficult times in his life to showcase his human side. By
presenting these pieces of information, Filipino youth could see heroes like Jose Rizal are
human too; he can laugh, cry, suffer, and make mistakes. To claim that Rizal is a hero that never
had flaws and mistakes is to tarnish who Rizal was a human because even though he is
considered a hero, he had faults and flaws, but he managed to overcome those. Rizal was a
human before he became a hero, he was just like us, but he persevered to become a great
person. The first video would serve as a bait to spark the curiosity and interest of the people
especially the youth, in that way, they would further research on who is Rizal and dive more into
his ideas and ideals rather than just reading his works in a shallow and superficial understanding
for the sake of passing the subject. Moreover, the first part of the video aims to tell the audience
that there are still other stories and information that surrounds our hero and encourages them
to understand him and read his works in a more critical manner because admiring Rizal without
understanding him and his work is a pointless and naive nationalism. The second part of the
project would focus more on the Rizal bill, controversies, and the importance of studying Rizal’s
works that made significant contributions in nationalist literature. Since Rizal’s life is already
discussed in the first video, rather than focusing on the content of his works, the video would
emphasize the importance of reading nationalist literature such us his works to the progression
of our country and society. It would also include controversies that surround the Rizal Bill to
encourage the students to think critically and analyze their own values. Presenting controversial
issues that showcase the different diversity of ideas and values would help the students to gain
a deeper understanding of the values and ideas of others, and of their own to prepare them to
a world full diversity such as perspective, religion, races, and ideas. Moreover, the video also
presents the hazards of teaching the works of Rizal. Since Rizal’s works have the capability to
shape the goals of the Filipinos when it comes to nationalism and patriotism, it is important to
consider these hazards that might especially with the interpretation of his works which can be
distorted in a way that differs greatly from the original purpose and message of Rizal’s work
which is to unite the country. In addition to that, Rizal’s contribution to the establishment and
development of national literature is also tackled to present how Rizal’s works’ effects are still
alive up until now. As we all know, literature has the ability to shed light upon the values and
traditions of a community. It makes its readers ask questions, start discussions, and look for
answers which is what Rizal promoted and encouraged Filipino writers and intellectuals in order
to contribute to the nation-building process of our country. The last part of the video which
tackles the national literature aims to inspire and motivate the Filipino youth to read and write
texts that are rooted in our home that would make the world hear us, to prove that we are not
inferior when it comes to culture and intellectual capacity by promoting our local literature,
culture, history, and languages. The video will include animations, typography, pictures, and
voice over which by offering visuals, will immerse the public. Since the youth nowadays prefer
short and interesting videos, the first part of the video which is a 2-minute video is the best fit
for spreading interest and capturing the curiosity of the audience so that they would also watch
the second video which tackles more on Rizal’s ideas and ideals. In addition to that, a human
brain can easily process visuals compared to text that often cannot reach any audience, as some
of them are not a quick reader. They will be able to remember and recall the details on the video
using visuals which is suitable when an instructor would use it to introduce the topic or subject
to the students. In this way, teachers could also use this video to introduce their students and
incorporate them into their lectures and discussions that could provide general knowledge to
the students. I believe that this project would achieve its objective because I was able to present
the details in an engaging but informative way. Since the first part of the video is short, it could
be posted on different media platforms which can help the students to quickly access the video
and learn in a fast, fun, and enjoyable way. Based on my experience, I have enjoyed and learned
so much from that kind of videos so I believe that the my project be able to capture and inspire
the audiences especially since Rizal is presented in a different light, not as the almost-perfect
Rizal, but as Rizal with his failures, doubts, and life as a normal boy that youth can easily relate
themselves to. Furthermore, the project provided the audience pieces of information that were
not usually taught in schools especially during the secondary level. The project is entitled, “Para
sa Bayan. Para sa Bayani.”, since it does not just aim to teach the audience about Rizal’s life and
works but also his contributions to the liberation of our country which is still not complete unless
the injustices that Rizal condemned in his works still exist and this is where the youth would enter
in the picture. Rizal continues to challenge the Filipino to maximize the opportunity of education
as they are the hope of this country and they will one day grant the motherland the love and
respect it deserves from its people.