M2 Lesson 1 Part 2

The Filipino family and their representation in the media

          Not all media representation of the family is bad. In the Philippines you can mention a lot of media
programs that represent good family values and traditions not only in entertainment shows but even in
advertising.

          The independent film Pamilya Ordinaryo in 2016 by Eduardo Roy can be seen as a representation
of both good and bad family. Too young to have a child, the protagonist couple in the film was caught in
the complexity of Philippine society making it so hard for them to carry on with their life as a normal
family. The movie depicted everything that is wrong about starting a family: too young to have a child,
both parents don’t have a permanent work, they don’t even have a decent house to live in, and they
don’t have a support system in their own respective families. Many people who watched criticized the
film as too harsh as it promotes the culture of “poverty pornography”. On the other hand, a good family
was represented because the couple tried everything they could to survive despite the challenges. They
were depicted as positive people and loving parents to their child. In reading and analyzing the film as a
whole, it is a blatant criticism of a failed state of affairs within a dysfunctional Philippine society that
cannot protect and take care of its own people.  

The film is available on Netflix. Watch trailer here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=2YhEN1ET1hk (Links to an external site.)

          Like other social institutions, the family also undergoes changes over time. In his analysis, the
sociologist Randy David captured how the institution of the family transition from its traditional to
modern form. This transition, he argues, had an effect on the way parents are taking care of their
children. In traditional societies, parents think that they own their children and they have the primary
responsibility over them. In modernity however, this responsibility has been taken over by the state.
Read more here: https://opinion.inquirer.net/81285/modernity-and-the-filipino-child