Bata Bata Pa'no Ka Ginawa

Introduction

          The novel “Bata Bata Pan’no Ka Ginawa” was written by Lualhati Bautista a Filipino Female writer who gives a big contribution in our Literature. As a Filipino Citizen I am sincerely proud that we have the capacity to compete to other Literature –globally.

         This novel was translated into a movie. This movie narrate the life of modernized mother namely Les Bustamante(Vilma Santos). As we know a mother has a multipartite role in the society especially in the house. She will be the one who take the household chores and give the needs of her children and her husband such as love, care and guidance. Leas life in this movie is miserable. It is miserable because she hasn’t find her appropriate partner in her life. She involves with different men. Les gave her heart with a hundred percent to Ding and also with Raffy. Lea is a loving, caring and a strong mother but her weakness is love. Despite of this she never give up because of her children, Ojie and Maya (a sibling that have the same mother but different father).

This movie shows the society’s view of women like Lea how she became a good mother and how she mould her children to become a fruitful and productive.

Film Awards of this Movie

• Gawad URIAN
• Best Film
• Best Actress – Vilma Santos
• Best Supporting Actress – Serena Dalrymple
• Best Screenplay – Lualhati Bautista
• PMPC STAR Awards
• Best Actress – Vilma Santos
• Young Critics Circle
• Best Film
• Best Director – Chito Rono
• Best Performer – Vilma Santos
• Best Screenplay – Lualhati Bautista
• Gawad Pasado
• Best Actress – Vilma Santos
• FAP
• Best Film
• Best Actress - Vilma Santos
• Best Supporting Actor-Carlo Aquino
• Best Supporting Actress-Serena Dalrymple
• Best Production Design

Analyzing the theme

           For me the theme of this novel/movie was circulated to the love of a family and the right of women here in society. I said that love of a one family is one of the theme in this novel because they are open to each other and her children didn’t abandon her when the father of their tried to get them in her embrace, hence, they value the greatness of their mother. Right of women is also of the theme in this novel because even Lea was not lucky in having a perfect partner, she never neglected her role as a mother to her children.

Plot

         The novel “Bata Bata Pa’no Ka Ginawa” was started on the graduation day of Maya from the kindergarten wherein a program and celebration were held. In the beginning, Lea’s life was happy-her relationship to her children, with friends and with her volunteer co-worker for human rights organization. Lea’s children both growing –up not only their physical appearance but also their mentally perspective. There were the changes in their ways and personalities: Maya’s curiosity becoming more obvious everyday and she always asked why Ojie and Maya have different father. While Ojie crossing the boundaries from boyhood to teenage to adulthood (Ojie learned how to play Villard). 

      A scene came when Lea’s former husband came back to persuade Ojie to go with him in the United States even her live-in partner-Ding want also to get Maya and Bring her in their province. Lea fear of losing both of her children decide to take them away to her embrace.

       In the end, both of Lea’s children decided to choose to stay with her –a decision that Lea never forced upon them. Another graduation day of students was the main event in the novel’s final chapter, when lea was the guest-of-honor. Lea delivered a speech that discusses the topic that how life evolves, and on how time consume itself so quickly, as fast  human beings  grow, change, progress and mature. Lea leaves a message to her audience that a graduation day is not the end because it is actually the beginning of everything else that will come in a person’s life base on her experiences.

Main Characters

The main characters in this novel are:

Lea (Vilma Santos)– the protagonist and heroine in the novel

Maya (Serena Dalrymple)– Lea’s daughter to Ding

Ojie (Carlo Awuino) – Lea’s son to Raffy

Ding (Albert Martines) – Lea’s live-in partner, Maya's father

Raffy (Ariel Rivera) – Lea’s husband, Ojie’s father

Johnny (Raymond Bagatsing) – Lea’s fantasy and co-worker

    Elinor(Angel Aquino)-the second wife of Raffy

Symbolism/Value

         This novel symbolizes the greatness of a mother. Like Lea she tried her best to gave the needs of her children. Lea never perceive to her children that she was very affected to her problem that why men not love her seriously. Mother is like a bamboo tree that after the typhoon the bamboo will stand-up again. This movie is suitable in my generation because it is related to the one major problem of our country, that is the early marriage.

Interpretation

       This movie represents the real life of a mother but not only to a mother but also to the future parents. This movie remind us a moral lesson that- “Marriage is the union of a man and a woman who make a permanent and exclusive commitment to each other of the type that is naturally fulfilled by bearing and rearing children together, and renewed by acts that constitute the behavioral part of the process of reproduction.” Some partners doing sex not because they love each other but it because they just like to try/discover/experience in making sex because of their curiosity. Pornography film are one reason why teenager arouses their feeling to make a coitus. This movie reminds us that: “If you marry to someone, you must think first with a hundred times” and “doing coitus is considered an exercise but not such a game that either you won or lost the important are you enjoyed the game.”

Filipino Culture and Norm presented in the movie

        According to my research Filipino Culture and Norm have a big difference from the past and to the present. In the past century, they married first before making sex but now they sex first, marry later. Before, women (mother) is a chaperon only of her husband and work only to the four quadrants of their house but now they have the right to compete with men in the outdoor  work such as perform livelihood and political issues. Before, women discriminated to man but now they become equal.

Concluding Remarks

      “Marriage is the foundation of family and family is the foundation of a nation or in a society. With a perfect marriage of a partner they can produce fruitful, effective and productive children. The characters of a child reflect the good work of a parent.”

      Lea not qualified in a perfect family. She was in a broken family but despite of this she never neglected her role as a mother to her children.  Lea gave all the needs of her children but the only thing the she can’t give to them is a good father. In my logical conclusion, Lea’s children will become injurious since there family is imperfect but I was wrong because lea always guide her children to enter the maze of goodness.

Hence, if Filipinos have the unity like a perfect family nobody can colonize our country. I contrast it to a perfect family that nobody can ruin their good and solid relationship even the power of death.

The Mis-education of the Filipino

          Education is like a, sun that gives us a supreme power in order to live. We use education s our weapon in war during invasion. Sun is our main source of energy and education is our main tool to gain a victory. If we are well educated, we can make a good decision to a problem. Sun emitted us a light to witness the beauty of the world and education emitted us knowledge in order to construct a goal, build dream, make a creed and mold us to become a productive people.

           Filipino known for their being hospitable and a good survivor. Filipinos are hospitable because when they have a visitor they can sacrifice or make a way for the goodness of their visitor. Filipino are also good survivor because if some Filipinos goes to other places (country) they can adapt with the culture, values and language of that place. These two traits were the fruit that bear by the three different countries who invade us. Filipinos were become surplus their being hospitable because when they was already colonized the Philippine some Filipinos sacrifices their language, values, economic attitudes, way of governing our country and race even race our own culture and identity in the field of education. Spaniard is our villain because they put Filipinos in the maze of heinous while American serve us our hero because of helping us in gaining our freedom. The essay of Dr. Jose Rizal entitled “Filipinas Dentro de Cien Añoz” stated that if there is any other colonizer of the Philippines in the future, it would be the US,” and that was came true. Filipino was mis-educated because their education  become a colonial education not  a free education. American want the Filipinos to become a new type of American using the Education. If the Spaniard uses the religion to colonize us, the American use education to colonized us. In American time, Filipino become mis-educated in: LANGUAGE - this was the main problem of Filipinos because Thomasites( American Soldier) mandated and taught Filipino to use foreign Language not their native tongue.  Yes it is good to use English language because this is the language of democracy that is for the people, by the people and all the people. However, we must develop first our native tongue because a person will be master first his/her mother tongue in order to understand immediately the other’s language. Language is the barrier of democracy. An aspiring leader in society use English language in communicating masses wherein the masses half understand and not understand English vocabulary, they just only appreciate its sound without knowing their sense. Adoption of western Values- our national virtue of hospitality change stupid vices. American was master on their own house but the Thomasites not educated Filipino to master and love their country. Filipino tries to imitate their good leadership but they failed because they were mis-educated. ECONOMIC ATTITUDES- Thomasites didn’t give the Filipino an idea to become an industrialized country but they develop us to become an agricultural heaven and that was unfaired. WAY OF GOVERNING- American hold the agency of DEPED. They never give chance the Filipino to handle/manage it because in their instinct Filipinos will against them. Filipino race and identity- this was the starting point of mis-education of the Filipinos because American introduces Filipino in a new World. Filipino became a mockup of American race. The worst is, Filipino learned the American Heroes in even their songs rather than learning the Filipinos heroes and songs. It’s hurt that the Filipino neglecting the sacrifices of their own Filipino heroes in obtaining their freedom-their motherland.

   For me the strongest point of this essay is the “An Uprooted Race” because American removed the contribution of our Filipino heroes and writer like the masterpiece of Dr. Jose Rizal (Noli and Fili) and Jose Palma(National Anthem) who gave inspiration and united to other Filipino heroes  to fight our freedom. As a future teacher it was infinitely applicable because it cling the heart of Filipinos to become a good Filipino citizen. I will always impart on their mind of my student the great contribution of our hero who gave us wings to become free—free to fly any when and anywhere. Their only wish is we must love and respect our country. We must try to defend it like in the court, if it’s our right we must defend it just always have faith in GOD..