Alfonso, Recelyn D.

BSHM 1C

Elcano and Magellan

"Elcano and Magellan: The First Voyage Around the World" concentrates on
Magellan and Elcano's journey to find a Western sea passage to the Spice Islands.
They sailed out from Spain in 1519 with a fleet of five ships, namely Santiago, San
Antonio, Victoria, Concepcion, and Trinidad, and arrived in the Philippines on March
16, 1521, followed by the Battle of Mactan on April 26, 1521. However, when an
animation of this mission was developed, many Filipinos reacted negatively due to
the unneeded information.
The animation in the trailer is good, yet it is controversial. Because in the
animation shows that our first hero Lapu-Lapu is the one who killed Ferdinand
Magellan where in fact the one who killed Ferdinand Magellan is one of Lapu- Lapu's
men. Also, the clothing worn by the female Filipina in the animation are quite
exposing, which is not the case in real life because ladies in the Philippines were
very conservative in the early twentieth century. The animation is neither true or
consistent with what happened in our country's history. This animation contains
erroneous facts as well as changes to Philippine history.
My opinion to the movie is that it has excellent animation and graphics, but
the concept is inaccurate. The film demonstrates that Magellan is the one who
should be praised by the people, and it turns the Filipinos and Lapu-lapu as the
villain become villains in the eyes of the audience. Lapu-Lapu was battling a foreign
intruder to defend his island's inhabitants, and he did so honorably, for Lapu-Lapu
and the people of Mactan had done nothing to earn an attack by the European
intruders.
The animation should be removed because it is disrespectful to Filipinos,
particularly Cebuanos, because Lapu-Lapu is a Cebuano who was the first to fight
and safeguard our nation from occupiers. The animation has removed the
impression of his heroics.
To reduce criticism and disrespect, I propose that the next time an animation,
video, or movie is created, it should have factual information and be based on what
actually occurs in one's event. Importantly, they should use caution when
representing something or someone who has already passed away.