Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Essay PPC
Essay PPC
Essay PPC
movie. It is a set of moving images and shown in theater or television. “Ded na si Lolo” is a
classic Filipino movie that was released on May 6, 2009. It is a comedy-drama directed by Soxy
Topacio and selected as the Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards. Cast is
full of well-known artist in the Philippines like Manilyn Reyes, Roderick Paulate, Gina Alajar,
Elizabeth Oropesa and many more. It was all about different family issue that is usually
happening when mourning over the death. “Ded na si lolo” showcase the Filipino culture,
customs, norms, and beliefs. You will know how diverse the culture is depending upon the place
where you reside in. Settings, characters, and every dialogue are well created to highlight the
theme of the movie. In this term paper, it will emphasize the connection of culture in different
scenario of the story. Creating this kind of movie will show us how culture affects the way of
living in a society. We can also compare some changes that happen in our culture as time passes
beliefs, art, law, customs, values and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a
member of society. In the beginning of the movie, you will see the usual set up of Filipino
families. Streets are narrow and full of houses that are stuck together. You will also know that
most of the Filipinos were used to drink alcohol until dawn. When Charing shout because it is
already morning, the neighborhood gets annoyed because it is too early. One of the general
Filipino values is “pagiging matiisin”, even though they are not privileged enough to have a
good and comfortable life, they manage to survive their everyday living.
The highlight of the movie is the death of Lolo Juanito and there are a lot of funeral
practices and burial customs in the Philippines. When the news of the old man’s death came to
Charing, she bawls and faints. It seems like it is part of the norm of their family when they are
grieving. When one of the family members dies, some part of your life is missing and you cannot
force yourself to be happy. Filipinos were also known as “pagiging chismoso”, and the news
about the death of the old man spread in the whole barangay. On the other hand, they give
sympathy, love, and, support until the casket was put in the right place of the house.
Junee (Roderick Paulate) is the last one who heard the news about the death of his father.
He is asking why wearing red being prohibited when attending wakes, but the only answer they
can give him is "basta bawal". It is proof that culture can be learned and we can apply the
process of acculturation, which means learning and borrowing another people's culture. It can
also mean that culture can be shared to anyone. An example of non-social or self-concern values
was also shown in the movie, it is when Manilyn Reynes is borrowing her daughter's makeup to
fix dead father's makeup. Her daughter refused because it is not hygienic to let the dead use your
makeup and use it again for yourself. Self-concern values are about the things you do for the
The very unique characteristic of every Filipino is how we value our family so much -
basically, this is what sets our culture apart from any other culture. Family is a construct of
meaningful relationships (Eitzen, 2003), thus, this only proves that strong attachment to the
members of the family is only natural because of the said relationship. This attachment results in
strong family ties and made us Filipinos heightened our value of helping our family members
through thick and thin. We can portray emotional closeness and security in a family since we can
see that the children of the dead really love and cherish their dead father. There might be times
that they have fight but still, they go to and support each other in different situations.
Furthermore, we can see particularism in the movie wherein the characters center or focuses their
concern to the family they belong to. There is this called "kamag-anak system", where when
someone from that family needs help, they will just refer to their kamag-anak or relatives for
help.
Having strong family ties isn't only about the bright side; it is indeed beneficiary because
every member helps each other but it also creates conflict. Strong family tie is included in the
researcher from the University of Michigan, per Wu, "the oldest son traditionally has greater
obligations in the family, but more firstborn females are taking on these roles—even when there
are young male siblings in the household". This explains why the firstborns feel more obligated
to support their family in all aspects even after they get married. In this movie, it shows how the
firstborn female, Dolores (Elizabeth Oropesa), gave support to her parents and siblings
financially in all aspect and even in the burial of her father. This way of thinking has been a part
involves the belief in supernatural beings like gods, deities, ghosts, and spirits that results in
Filipinos to perceive other things, events, and persons as sacred. According to Felisa Daskeo,
"Many Filipinos still cling to the traditional practices, beliefs, and traditions. They are still
strongly rooted in the superstitious beliefs that they believe could help them deal with day to day
occurrences and events. This explains that even in certain events like the burial of a family, there
are some dos and don'ts that Filipinos strongly follow up until today. One of these is the family
or relative of the deceased is not allowed to take a bath within the vicinity of where the body lies
in state. Commonly, people will ask the reason behind this but still, the answer is not given
Filipinos have many good characteristics that the other country doesn't have. One of these
characteristics is being hospitable when it comes to the visitor. According to Kevin (2019),
“Filipino culture provides warm hospitality to all”. Just Like what Jimmy (Rainier Castillo) did
in the movie, he used to be hospitable and serve those friends of his uncle Junee (Roderick
Paulate). Filipino culture is to always treat family guests warmly, whether they are foreigners or
not, therefore if there is one thing that foreigners would usually comment about right after they
visit the Philippines, it would probably not be the food or the places they visited, but the
Like in many other Asian countries, people in the Philippines show their respect to the
elder population with certain gestures and honorifics they use before the person's name. Syano
(Dick Israel) did “pagmamano” to Aling Pilar, the original wife of their father as a sign of being
polite and respectful. “Pagmamano” or a kiss of respect is a conventional way of extending one’s
strong feelings of affection towards their loved one. This is the act of regard by requesting a
senior’s hand and touch one’s brow while bowing. Based on PinoyTimate (2017), it is a Filipino
Family and relatives do as much as they can to support each other even financially.
Parents treasure their children so much that they support them even during adulthood. Yes,
family is probably the most important part of our lives, and we can’t just exist without them.
From our grandparents to parents, siblings and close relatives, we extend our generosity and
love. Blood is thicker than water as saying goes (Annie, 2019). The film proves what it really is
to have a family. In good or bad times, you can count on them. Even if there is a
misunderstanding and issues with each family member, at the end of the day they will solve the
problem together as a family. When Charing (Manilyn Reynes) computing their income and
expenses during the burial, we can merely see how they exert effort to give money coming from
their own pocket to help to pay their debt. Giving contribution to the vigil of every dead people
According to the social anthropologist, per Binde, “gambling is a social, cultural and
in the socio‐cultural systems of societies”. It explains the reason why even in funerals, it is
normal to have a “saklaan” and bingo. They treat it as a way to spend their time while being in
the wake. And also, whenever there is a fight between the game, they are not bothered by it
Another set of superstitions that are still practiced until now is the avoidance of any tears
falling on the casket. They say that the spirit of the dead will have a difficult time transitioning to
the afterlife if tears fall on the casket. It was re-enacted on one of the scenes while they are
begging for forgiveness from their dead father. Then, you must enclose cash on the hands of the
dead during the wake, then take back the money before the funeral. The money serves as the
dead’s “pamasahe” on his way to the afterlife. It’s also said that anyone who uses the money or
includes it in the capital to start a business will find success. Not spending the money can also
bring luck to those who keep it. In the province, they throw a “palayok” on a pile of sand or soft
soil. If it doesn’t break, it means another one will die soon. This belief is also practiced in Manila
but instead of “palayok” they use water glasses. Those who pass by a funeral procession must
throw coins. It will also serve as the dead’s “pamasahe” on their way to the afterlife just like the
superstition of placing money in the hands of the dead. Lastly, kids are passed from overhead the
casket before the grave’s permanently covered. This is done so the ghost of the dead won’t visit
the little kids. The reason is it symbolizes of burying the sickness and other health issues of the
Conclusion:
Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language,
marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet
visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things (Zimmermann,2017). Some
theories and studies that are connected to it proves that culture is diverse. The general Filipino
values, which are being patient, endurance from suffering, "pagiging chismoso", and believing
hearsays especially about superstitions like "sabi nila bawal daw", they believed but wasn't able
But most of all, the highlight of the movie and one of the good value of Filipinos is having
a strong family tie. Misunderstandings are common in a family, and it is not a reason not to help
each other. Blood will always be thicker than water. It also shows that even for our loved one's
death, we do anything just to make sure that his/her spirit will leave in peace by following all the
superstitions. These are only a few evidences that culture is broad, there are still concepts and
Annie. (2019, January 15). Filipino’s strong family ties. Retrieved from
https://aimtalkblog.com/2019/01/15/annies-note/filipinos-strong-family-ties/
Binde, P. (2005). Gambling across cultures: Mapping worldwide occurrence and learning from
https://gup.ub.gu.se/v1/asset_data/69614.pdf
http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Philippines/sub5_6c/entry-3863.html
https://www.slideshare.net/zaighamiqbal1/psychology-16199425
Galvez, J. (2014, October 23). 30 Superstitions Filipinos practice during funerals. Retrieved from
https://www.manillenials.com/filipino-superstitions-funerals-pamahiin-sa-patay/
https://shemarj.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/funeral-practices-in-the-philippines/
https://www.globalcognition.org/cultural-norms/
Tylor, Edward. 1871. Primitive culture: Research into the development of mythology,
philosophy, religion, art, and custum. London: John Murray, 1. Retrieved from
https://archive.org/details/primitiveculture01tylouoft/page/n7
Wu, K. (2018). Firstborn Asians feel added pressure with family responsibilities. Retrieved from
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-08-firstborn-asians-added-pressure-family.html
https://www.livescience.com/21478-what-is-culture-definition-of-culture.html