The Independent Film "Pamilya Ordinaryo" Might Be A Really Good Eye Opener For Constitutional Reform

Not all Filipino films are bad. In fact, one of them might be a Cinemalaya or independent film eye opener called Pamilya Ordinaryo or called as Ordinary People on Netflix. If you happen to be a Philippine resident who has Netflix then notice it's gotten into the Top Ten picks this week. The film itself might be annoying to watch in many areas but it's an eye-opener. Aries and Jane are both teenagers living in without the benefit of marriage, they have a child together even when they're incapable of raising it. It's a real facedesk but it's not all black and white - stupid people still have some worth like how Jane is trying to be a better mother than her own.

I may not like the Inquirer for its tendency to be partisan but it does list about five disturbing realities in the same film. What are these five realities? Massive poverty resulting in illiteracy and homelessness, teenage parents, the poor are easily taken advantage of, the inherent selfishness of society, and a good mother will do everything to get her child back. The eye-opening film deserves to win an international award. Warning though - you might actually get annoyed by the main characters and you might ask the old-age question, "Isn't it any wonder why the Philippines doesn't improve?"

I think the best thing to focus on this Indie film is on the issue of poverty. It's time that Filipinos need to ask themselves why they're constantly bombarded with examples like Aries and Jane. It's too easy to say that the best solution is to be an OFW. How can Aries and Jane even afford to be OFWs when they don't even have money to go abroad? Observe how Aries and Jane can barely afford a home so can you expect either one of them to go abroad? They're even both teenagers so can they even board the plane without parental consent? Not to mention, where are the parents of Aries and Jane? It's revealed that Jane's mother is so addicted to vices that caused the latter to be wayward and enter into an early relationship. Yet, Jane wants to be a different mother to her child.

The fact that the poor are easily taken advantage of is something I frequently overlooked. I thought that everyone against the need for an open economy in the Philippines believes it. However, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that some of those who oppose economic liberalization are actually power-hungry people. For the oligarchs - it's so they can continue to have easy money at the cost of people. For the likes of Filipino communists - it's so that they could easily have more poor people to exploit. For arrogant white men - they want the Philippines to remain dirt poor so they can continue to exploit it. The more poor people have fewer opportunities to get out of poverty - the more chances of them getting exploited by those in power.

Right now, the best thing to do is to use the film Pamilya Ordinaryo to be a real eye-opener. It would be to provoke the viewers' thoughts on why do you think massive poverty happens. Why do you think that the oligarchs and communists of the Philippines oppose economic liberalization, promoting their lies? Why do you think a lot of Filipinos are really pasaway to the point of high stress? It would be an excellent opportunity to talk about the need for system change because it's the SYSTEM that's making Filipinos dysfunctional.