GATELA, JONATHAN JR. C.

DM 40th
Assignment in Rizal: Life, Works and Writings
2:30 – 4:00 PM (Monday – Wednesday)
Dr. Rolando O. Borrinaga

BAYANING THIRD WORLD: A REACTION PAPER

Who is really Jose Rizal?

His name is found in books, in streets and even in a match box. His face is even carved in
the One-peso Philippine coin. His works are considered as one of the priceless treasures of the
country. And he was even considered by others as some kind of saint or the new Christ. But
among all these things attributed to Jose Rizal, do we really know who the true Dr. Jose Rizal is?
Bayaning Third World, is a detective story about Rizal being Philippine’s National Hero.
Commenting on the movie per se, at first I thought it was some boring documentary about Rizal
but understanding the facts exposed made me interested. The film was in black and white but it
didn’t hindered my amusement because of the funny way they presented the most serious facts
about Rizal.
It is a movie within a movie. In the film, two filmmakers are obsessed with doing a film
about Rizal. Their effort to explain the mysteries of the hero’s life lead them to confront the past
and its characters. This movie sought questions which were never and will never be answered.
The sort of questions where the answers were also buried six feet below the ground along with
the national hero.
The main point stressed in the movie - his retraction as well as the many gray areas about
his life were probed by the two filmmakers. The movie presented the two sides of the coin, but
no one can really say if the retraction is indeed genuine, if Josephine Bracken was really legally
married to Rizal, or if indeed she is true in her feelings for him. These blurry areas in Rizal’s life
proved to be disturbing to me because I only had knowledge of these controversies when I was
able to view the film. If Rizal did make the retraction, what made him do so? And if he didn’t
made it, who forged his signature and made the retraction? So many questions kept plaguing my
mind, the hardest part of which, no one could give the right answer for the people involved were
already dead.
First point, they said that Rizal died as a catholic despite of him being a mason through
his signed letter, others said that the letter was real but the signature was forged given the fact
that Rizal’s signature was easy to copy. On the other hand, some said that the letter was
completely invalid and was just made by the insecure and threatened friars to destroy Rizal’s
reputation.
Further, if you would ask me if he really retracted or not, for me, it doesn’t matter
because as long as his death gave credence to what he believed, fought for our democracy and
his convictions, Retraction really doesn’t make him less of a hero. I believe that Rizal only
became a mason because he was against the government, which happened to be the church and
vice-versa. He isn’t against about God and Catholicism per se but in the “supposedly”
instruments of God’s love and greatness which were the priests who were ruthless to the Filipino
people. Also, he was against the people who sold their religion for wealth and for people who
exchanged their religion for power.
I thought what I know about Rizal was enough to understand his life, works and writing
but having finished this independent film widened my understanding not only for Rizal’s
positive sides but also for his flaws. Jose Rizal being a national hero considering his great
influence not only in the Philippines but to other countries he had gone also with his works, the
great impact he left with our history as a country and culture as its citizen, his weight to some
indigenous religions also has his own flaws and faults because he is also a human being capable
of doing those things.
Less people know Rizal’s “dark side”— controversies, I myself was one of those before I
watched this film. We were focused on his good side, his achievements and contributions for the
betterment of our country but having the chance to know his flaws which until now haunts him,
we must understand him and not condone the fact that he was still a human being. Rizal really
don’t want to be a hero, he just wanted to prove his great passion and love for our country.
Indeed, Rizal chose to die because it was one way to give weight to his beliefs and philosophy.
We all have our own Rizal. We have different perceptions and understanding regarding his life,
works and writings. As for me, though he is not as “perfect” as a national hero should be, I still
salute and look up to him for his immense contributions and grand legacy which is applicable
until now.
Despite his imperfection, it didn’t discredit his heroism. In fact, his controversies made
his life more interesting and it only made him more famous not only during his time but now and
in the future generations. I didn’t get surprised that many critiqued his life but for me he is still
the 3rd world hero of all time.
Bayaning Third World is a film of substance. It is so complex and rich in vivid details,
but what made me like it is that it would move its audience into thinking and questioning the
what if’s and what could be in the life of Rizal. His earthly body had perished but his ideas and
thoughts will forever live and etch indelible imprints in time. Even if our 1-peso coin is in
constant devaluing, Rizal will still remain number one in our hearts.