The film “Ganito Kami Noon,

Paano Kayo Ngayon?” directed

by Eddie Romero was
a brilliant masterpiece ahead of
its time. It depicts how Filipinos
struggled to find their
own identity during the
transition between the Spanish
and American colonization of
the
Philippine islands. The film was
able to address social issues
existing at the time like the
abuse and the maltreatment of
Filipinos by the Spaniards, lack
of proper education of
Filipinos living in barrios and
provinces, and also the struggle
to find the own of identity
of the Filipino people.
At most parts of the film, there
is a big confusion in the true
identity of Filipinos.
The main lead of the film,
Nicolas Ocampo, also known as
Kulas, had many encounters
with the different definitions by
different persons of the word
“Filipino”. Kulas was able
to meet people with different
personalities during his journey
to the unknown after the
death of his mother. At the first
part of the film, Father Gil
Corcuera defined the word
“Filipino” as the Spaniards
living in the Philippines. Also,
Lim, who is a Chinese
merchant,
also identify Filipinos as the
Spaniards living here in the
country. But for Don Tibor,
Filipinos are those who are
ready to take responsibilities.
All of these encounters made
Kulas realize the true meaning
of being a Filipino. Kulas came
up with the realization that
being born in the Philippines is
not enough to be called a
Filipino, being a Filipino means
that we take responsibility to
defend this country, along with
the culture and tradition
acquainted to it.
The other concept that I
liked about this movie was
how the level of Kulas’
happiness decreased all
throughout his journey. As he
continued in his uncertain
adventure, Kulas discovered
and learned new things about
the world. At the beginning of
the film, Kulas seems to be a
happy-go-lucky person even
though he lost so much in his
life. But in his attempt to learn
more and fit into the new
environment he’s into, the spark
in his eyes faded, questioning
his current self. I can relate to
this as a young adult wanting
to conquer the world. During
the early years of my education,
I was not exposed to the
true state of our society. I am
just as student standing in the
corner waiting for things to
happen. It is late in the
game that I began to look
into the world with a
different
perspective. Meeting and
interacting new people with
different attitudes made me
realize
that there is more to explore
in this world. I also started
aiming for more than being
grateful with what I have. With
all of these things changing in
front of my eyes, I realized
that the more you know about
how things work, the more you
learn that our current
society is a very cruel place to
live in.
I had a lot of fun and learnings
watching this classic film. The
values that we can
learn from this film transcends
time. Being a Filipino is such a
pleasure knowing that our
ancestors fought for the
independence of this nation
from the hands of our
colonizers.
The people before us made the
independence we experience
right now possible. Their
undying love for this country
allowed us to enjoy the freedom
that they fought for
The film “Ganito Kami Noon,
Paano Kayo Ngayon?” directed
by Eddie Romero was
a brilliant masterpiece ahead of
its time. It depicts how Filipinos
struggled to find their
own identity during the
transition between the Spanish
and American colonization of
the
Philippine islands. The film was
able to address social issues
existing at the time like the
abuse and the maltreatment of
Filipinos by the Spaniards, lack
of proper education of
Filipinos living in barrios and
provinces, and also the struggle
to find the own of identity
of the Filipino people.
At most parts of the film, there
is a big confusion in the true
identity of Filipinos.
The main lead of the film,
Nicolas Ocampo, also known as
Kulas, had many encounters
with the different definitions by
different persons of the word
“Filipino”. Kulas was able
to meet people with different
personalities during his journey
to the unknown after the
death of his mother. At the first
part of the film, Father Gil
Corcuera defined the word
“Filipino” as the Spaniards
living in the Philippines. Also,
Lim, who is a Chinese
merchant,
also identify Filipinos as the
Spaniards living here in the
country. But for Don Tibor,
Filipinos are those who are
ready to take responsibilities.
All of these encounters made
Kulas realize the true meaning
of being a Filipino. Kulas came
up with the realization that
being born in the Philippines is
not enough to be called a
Filipino, being a Filipino means
that we take responsibility to
defend this country, along with
the culture and tradition
acquainted to it.
The other concept that I
liked about this movie was
how the level of Kulas’
happiness decreased all
throughout his journey. As he
continued in his uncertain
adventure, Kulas discovered
and learned new things about
the world. At the beginning of
the film, Kulas seems to be a
happy-go-lucky person even
though he lost so much in his
life. But in his attempt to learn
more and fit into the new
environment he’s into, the spark
in his eyes faded, questioning
his current self. I can relate to
this as a young adult wanting
to conquer the world. During
the early years of my education,
I was not exposed to the
true state of our society. I am
just as student standing in the
corner waiting for things to
happen. It is late in the
game that I began to look
into the world with a
different
perspective. Meeting and
interacting new people with
different attitudes made me
realize
that there is more to explore
in this world. I also started
aiming for more than being
grateful with what I have. With
all of these things changing in
front of my eyes, I realized
that the more you know about
how things work, the more you
learn that our current
society is a very cruel place to
live in.
I had a lot of fun and learnings
watching this classic film. The
values that we can
learn from this film transcends
time. Being a Filipino is such a
pleasure knowing that our
ancestors fought for the
independence of this nation
from the hands of our
colonizers.
The people before us made the
independence we experience
right now possible. Their
undying love for this country
allowed us to enjoy the freedom
that they fought for
JOHN WYNE R. LOPEZ (LIFE AND WORKS OF RIZAL)

BSIT-2C

Reflection Paper on “Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?”

The film “Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?” directed by Eddie Romero was

a brilliant masterpiece ahead of its time. It depicts how Filipinos struggled to find their

own identity during the transition between the Spanish and American colonization of the

Philippine islands. The film was able to address social issues existing at the time like the

abuse and the maltreatment of Filipinos by the Spaniards, lack of proper education of

Filipinos living in barrios and provinces, and also the struggle to find the own of identity

of the Filipino people.

At most parts of the film, there is a big confusion in the true identity of Filipinos.

The main lead of the film, Nicolas Ocampo, also known as Kulas, had many encounters

with the different definitions by different persons of the word “Filipino”. Kulas was able

to meet people with different personalities during his journey to the unknown after the

death of his mother. At the first part of the film, Father Gil Corcuera defined the word
 “Filipino” as the Spaniards living in the Philippines. Also, Lim, who is a Chinese merchant,

also identify Filipinos as the Spaniards living here in the country. But for Don Tibor,

Filipinos are those who are ready to take responsibilities. All of these encounters made

Kulas realize the true meaning of being a Filipino. Kulas came up with the realization that

being born in the Philippines is not enough to be called a Filipino, being a Filipino means

that we take responsibility to defend this country, along with the culture and tradition

acquainted to it.

The other concept that I liked about this movie was how the level of Kulas’

happiness decreased all throughout his journey. As he continued in his uncertain

adventure, Kulas discovered and learned new things about the world. At the beginning of

the film, Kulas seems to be a happy-go-lucky person even though he lost so much in his

life. But in his attempt to learn more and fit into the new environment he’s into, the spark

in his eyes faded, questioning his current self. I can relate to this as a young adult wanting

to conquer the world. During the early years of my education, I was not exposed to the

true state of our society. I am just as student standing in the corner waiting for things to

happen. It is late in the game that I began to look into the world with a different

perspective. Meeting and interacting new people with different attitudes made me realize

that there is more to explore in this world. I also started aiming for more than being

grateful with what I have. With all of these things changing in front of my eyes, I realized

that the more you know about how things work, the more you learn that our current

society is a very cruel place to live in.

I had a lot of fun and learnings watching this classic film. The values that we can

learn from this film transcends time. Being a Filipino is such a pleasure knowing that our

ancestors fought for the independence of this nation from the hands of our colonizers.

The people before us made the independence we experience right now possible. Their

undying love for this country allowed us to enjoy the freedom that they fought for