Filian Mae D. Arevalo BSN-1E.

INSTRUCTION: Watch the movie Heneral Luna and answer the following questions.

1. Who was General Antonio Luna?

Before being assassinated in 1899, Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio
Ancheta served as a general in the Philippine-American War. During the First Philippine
Republic, he founded the country's first military academy. During the conflict, he was thought to
be the most intelligent military officer from the Philippines. He organized trained guerilla
warriors who would later become renowned as the Luna sharpshooters after succeeding
Artemio Ricarte as leader of the Philippine Revolutionary Army. His three-tiered defensive, now
referred to as the Luna Defense Line, made life difficult for the American troops in the provinces
to the north of Manila.
2. Compared to other films of the same genre or theme, Heneral Luna presents a very
human Antonio Luna. In what ways did this presentation of heroism affect or change the
way you look at our nation’s heroes?
The movie “Heneral Luna” awakened my nationalistic spirit. The portrayal of the
character of Luna made me brought to the encounter of the past just like being driven by
a time capsule. The acting skills, artistry and expression that the actor poured on the
movie was accurately justified and so realistic. It made me appreciate and love the
country where I was born. It made me enthusiastically felt the pride of being a Filipino.
The bravery and patriotism of Luna made me realized that there was really a huge gap
between the other national heroes I have known. As I have watched the movie, I saw the
Philippines in the persona of Luna. A Philippines who fought for its independence and
sovereignty against the colonization and the rusty mind-set of its constituents. The spirit
of Luna is like a blazing fire, he was always ready to forge ahead with his contenders
without any cowardice and egocentrism. The revolutionary in his heart is really alive. It
invokes courage and never revocation.
3. General Luna’s impetuousness and violent temper won him enemies and admirers.
These faults notwithstanding, what sterling qualities of Luna are much needed in our
country’s leadership?

As I compare the leadership between Antonio Luna and the current leader,
the sterling qualities that a leader must have are courage, bravery, conviction, loyalty,
rationalism, intelligence, disciplined, patriotism, nationalism, a mind that cannot be easily
swayed by lies and a man who always stands for his principle.
4. What is the significance of having an official military uniform? What did Antonio Luna
want to achieve in prescribing a uniform for the Filipino freedom fighters?
Having been said on the first part of the movie, Luna greatly emphasized how
essential it is to have an official military uniform because it signifies that a nation has one
heart, one mind, one vision and one mission for one another and for the country. The
military uniform signifies dignity to your country, therefore uniformity of military attire must
be mandatory because it is a sign of unity.
5. What was the La Independencia? What was Antonio Luna’s involvement in it? What
was its significance to the Filipino freedom struggle?
One of the revolutionary periodicals that was circulated to incite Filipinos to rebel
against the Spanish was La Independencia. Beginning on September 3rd, 1898, it was
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printed and disseminated, and it persisted until November 11th, 1900. It rose to become
the revolution's most well-known and significant publication. The majority of the text
expresses feelings of patriotism and nationalism. As soon as General Antonio Luna was
made aware of this, he applied for a permit to start his own newspaper. Together with his
brother Joaquin and a few friends, they made the decision to launch a newspaper that
supported the nationalism that was then prevalent in the Philippines. The newspaper's
original name was La Patria, but La Independencia was adopted to reduce hostility
between Filjpinos and Spaniards. Thus, this newspaper is the only medium of the
Filipinos then to promote patriotism and express the love for the country. It is with this
newspaper that the Filipinos can only capture the voice of a free and independent
Philippine Republic.
6. What social problem was identified in the first dialogue between Joven Hernando and
Antonio Luna?
Luna: “Malaking trabaho ang ipagkaisa ang bansang watak-watak, Joven”. Luna: “Mas
madali pang pagkasunduin ang langit at lupa kaysa dalawang Pilipino tungkol sa kahit na
anong bagay.”

There was a line of Luna that he stated which will forever be remarkable for me.
On this remarkable statement he said that Americans were not our primary enemy but it
is ourselves. This clearly means that we Filipinos should never be against each other but
rather must unite as one to a one common goal. The fellow Filipinos were the only ones
who initially dragged each other down because we Filjpinos do not take time to
understand each other and cooperate as one. Hence, the reason why foreigners can
easily play us with their own game without us knowing that we are being controlled by
their puppetry. We were divided with different ideologies. It is perplexing how Filipinos
were aspiring for one dream which is to obtain freedom, yet a unity is still difficult to
attain. Even by now, the neocolonialism mindset is still with us. There were still Filipinos
were hard to be united. Some were still encaged by the past. We were divided by various
principle to fight for, thus there were many citizens that participates on commotion when
it comes to politics since everyone has different political identity. This kind of political
affairs were unhealthy and toxic, wherefore the identity of being a nationalistic was
shattered. Filipinos were still battling with themselves.
7. Why were the Filipino revolutionaries prevented by the Americans in entering the
walled city of Intramuros?
The Americans prevented the Filipino revolutionaries from entering the walled city
of Intramuros because they had a wicked scheme for the Philippines which is to colonize
it and to officially authorized the power.

8. According to Pong Ignacio, the film’s director of photography, the colors of Heneral
Luna
drew inspiration from paintings. How did this approach or technique affect our viewing
experience? Indubitably, the Spoliarium scene where the dead bodies of Luna and
Roman were being dragged by the Kawit soldiers is one of the most powerful images in
the film. Why? Aside from the fact that the masterpiece was a work of Antonio’s older
brother, why was the Spoliarium a most appropriate image for that scene? What was
the Spoliarium about?
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Juan Luna's "Spoliarium," one of the most well-known paintings in the nation,
brought historical glory not only to Luna but also to the Philippines in 1884 when it
defeated Spanish painters and earned a first-class medal at the Madrid Exposition of
Fine Arts. The life-sized artwork depicts the Roman Colosseum basement, known as the
"Spoliarium," where defeated gladiators were dumped after battle. In the middle, it
depicts two dead gladiators being pulled by Romans. The Roman next to them raises a
fist in outrage as scavengers on the left look at the dead men's stuff. On the right, a
woman laments the loss of a loved one as an elderly guy looks through the smoke for a
body. The painting's representation of Roman cruelty has been read as an analogy for
the Philippines' condition under the Spanish colonial period. The movie which was
inspired by the painting “Spolarium“ strongly influenced my mind and emotions upon
watching it. The brutality and at the same time tear-jerking ending really led me to
despise the offer of injustice that his fellow Filipino soldiers gave to him. It made me
awakened from the untold history between Luna and Aguinaldo, and as well as the
identity of mostly Filipinos. The painting *Spolarium”, is really appropriate basis for the
movie because it really exhibits the situation of the Filipinos under the regime of the
Spaniards.