Reflection Paper on 'A Rustling of Leaves'

The sounds of the scythe hitting against leaves and canes, the rustle of leaves as people walk through
fields comfort the soul and mind. And ever-so juxtaposed is the harsh reality that belies the Philippines as
the EDSA People Revolution dethrones Marcos. Another replaced him but with a newer, liberal mask,
Cory Aquino. There have been talks about how Aquino's presidency did nothing new, and under the eyes
of the peoples' experiences, it is indeed a fact. She came from the Cojuangcos, hacienderos. She of course
stood by this and is now a political representative of the new elite. And to cement them further, they had
to be at America's side. She did this by continuing the anti-communist pursuit of the US with her eventual
support of the Alsa Masa, a right-wing vigilante group moving as a paramilitary force to eradicate the left.
And through Wild's film, this situation is more and more unfolded from three different perspectives: those
of the armed left, the left, and the right wing.

There is a pseudo-unity on the right that ultimately wants to get rid of one thing, communism. We see two
different strategies here, through the spreading of right-wing propaganda and deliberate use of hard power
to eradicate communists. I believe that the use of propaganda to further instill anti-communist sentiment
throughout the country catalyzed the demonizing of the ideology. DJ Jun Pala's countless tirades inside
their radio station have echoed throughout Davao's homes, from using poems and songs to encourage
people to 'change' to outright redtagging individuals suspected of subservience. All of these were not
possible without the help of the central government (controlled by elites) and the US.

We can see from the documentary the piling problems of the country. This is the catalyst of the left, of the
armed struggle. These problems have been persistent among different administrations that proved to us
that no matter who is up there, there will be no change as long as there is a hierarchy that only
incentivizes the upper one percent and leaves scraps for the others. It is this that echoes through the
electoral campaign of former guerilla leader Kumander Dante. He wants to penetrate the central
government in an effort to make changes in how we look at things. Although not triumphant, Dante still is
in the hopes of organizing more people, especially farmers and the urban poor. The armed struggle, on the
other hand, makes swift moves throughout the highlands of the country, carefully avoiding the militaries
and paramilitaries. The armed struggle is at the heart of the quest to liberate people towards a revolution
to have true equality amongst everyone. The film humanizes the faces of the struggle against the
government and the US' imperialist forces. It shows us how we are part of a longstanding fight against
capitalism's eventual grasp on the globe, and how we ourselves are the change that we want to see. It is
however a shame that this is inaccessible to most.