DEKADA 70

QUESTIONS:

1.    Identify the main character of the story and describe each of the character?

Answer:

      Characters

•          Vilma Santos-Amanda - main character; wife of Julian and mother of 5 sons: Jules, Isagani, Jason,Emmanuel,Benjamin;the main female character, reaches her feminist and nationalist consciousness living through the personal hardships of Philippine martial law.  Instead of silently succumbing to the various oppression in her life, such as martial law and being a dependent housewife and mother, she takes control of her traditional identities and turns them into transgressive ones to help bring down the Marcos regime.  As a case study, Amanda Bartolome represents women and mothers who have openly questioned their nationalism to oppressive states, and have used their identities as mothers to fight for social justice and peace.  
• • Christopher De Leon-Julian - husband of Amanda and father of her 5 sons; had suspicions of their son's inclination to become an anti-Government winger but became convinced when they find copies of rebellious pamphlets lying around the house.They confronted their son about them, and he had to admit his decision. At first, conflict ensues in the family. Eventually, the parents learned to accept their son's decision, and eventually became proud of him. Since then, their home became a constant place of recreation for Jules who often brought a friend along with him.
  • Piolo Pascual-Jules - eldest son of Amanda and Julian;Being the eldest in the family, he was already old enough during the declaration of martial law President Marcos. He became exposed to rebellious reading material, and inevitably molded his mind into that of guerilla. Jules grew up to become a member of the communist New People's Army.
  • Carlos Agassi-Isagani - the second son;grew up to become a sailor, and became the family's cream of the crop. Gani, however, quickly became the goat of the family because he had made the simplest mistake of getting a girl, his girlfriend Evelyn, pregnant. Naturally, being a Catholic country, the parents insisted on marriage. Alas, their lives were nothing but hollow imitations of couples in love, without enough of the very essence that keeps two people together. Their separation was inevitable; Gani never lived the shame down.
  • Marvin Agustin-Emmanuel - the third son;offspring that provided himself with the most secure future. Emmanuel lived the same life as his elder brothers, but knew that the extreme left and the extreme right had no place in society. He called for peaceful evolution, change in the form of expression. He wanted to become a writer, a noble profession, one exceptionally crafted for someone of Emmanuel's ability. His problem was, his father violently objected to his son's decision, due to practical reasons. There is no good pay for a writer.
  • Danilo Barrios-Jason - the fourth son;Jason was Julian's favorite among his children. He was also the opposite of Emmanuel. While Emmanuel was studious and hardworking, Jason was a typical teenager. He joined rallies to make noise, not express a message. He was a constant failure in school, albeit his problems were self-inflicted. He stole from his parents. He lied to them. However, in the midst of the first three brothers' hardships, it was Jason's happy-go-lucky demeanor that provided Amanda and Julian with a well-needed dose of happiness. Unfortunately, in the end, it was Jason's felonious tendencies that caused hm his life; it wasn't his fault, but he was out with his usual round of pecadillos that the police accidentally killed Jason.
  • John Wayne Sace-Benjamin - the youngest son; After all had come to pass, he was in the middle of his teens.

• Minor Characters
  • Ana Capri-Mara - Jules' wife
  • Dimples Romana-Evelyn - Isagani's girlfriend and later wife
  • Jhong Hilario-Willy - Jules' bestfriend
  • Carlo MuñozRene - Jules' comrade. Informant of METROCOM
  • Tirso Cruz III-Evelyn's Father
  • Orestes Ojeda-Dr. Rodrigo
  • Marianne de la Riva-Evelyn's Mother

     2.    Identify the different conflicts that can be seen in the story tell what is the conflicts?

f  

   Answer:

          Amanda Bartolome and her husband, Julian Bartolome, had suspicions of their son's Jules Bartolome inclination to become an anti-Government winger but became convinced when they find copies of rebellious pamphlets and picture of Jules lying around the house. They confronted their son about them, and he had to admit his decision. At first, conflict ensues in the family.

One friend of Jules Bartolome is Domeng who stayed at the family for a little time while healing their injury in her knees. The Bartolome family became close with Domeng because, among other things, he reminds them of his son Jules his friend. Unfortunately, it was late when Jules realized that Domeng his friend was an operative of the government constitution of the Marcos Republic. Domeng exposed his friend name Jules participation and involvement in the New People’s Army (NPA) movement in Marcos ERA. At that time Jules Bartolome subsequently sent to the prisoners. And the second conflict it is all about for friendship like Jules and Domeng.

The progression of martial law brings along with it the development of Amanda 

Bartolome’s consciousness as a nationalist and, to some degree, a feminist.  Witnessing civil 

society go into an authoritarian lockdown, hearing about the violence inflicted on Filipino 

citizens by military personnel, and personally experiencing the tragedy of state sanctioned 

abuse on her children takes its toll on Amanda.  When she sees how easily the state can 

violate the rights of citizens under the guise of protection against domestic threats, she 

realizes that she can no longer give her full support to an authoritative government.  Her son, 

Jules, plays a role in awakening her nationalist consciousness because he brings an 

alternative viewpoint to the political discussions at home.  Because of him freely expressing 

his leftist politics, his mother hears a different political voice than the conservative, 

nationalistic views of her husband, Julian.   

         

          3.     Among the characters who can you most relate?

      Answer:

               The character that I most relate is Piolo Pascual(Jules); because he contributed a lot to the their government like  the changes that empowered Filipinos to rise against the Marcos government. This series of events happened after the bombing of Plaza Miranda, the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus, the proclamation ofMartial Law and the random arrests of political prisoners.The oppressiveness of the Marcos regime made people become more radical. This shaping of the decade are all witnessed by the female character, Amanda Bartolome, a mother of five boys. While Amanda's sons grow, form individual beliefs and lead different lives, Amanda awakens her identity to state her stand as a Filipino citizen, mother and woman. Dekada '70 introduces the new generations of Filipino readers to a story and a family of a particular time in Philippine history. Its appeal lies in the evolution of its characters that embody the new generation of Filipinos. 

      4.What is the lesson of the story you learn?

      Answer:

               The lesson that I learn in the story is all about a mother and her family, and the society around them that affects them. It is a tale of how a mother becomes torn between the letter of the law and her responsibilities as a mother.The movie dekada 70 was a greate movie to watch, because it tells a story about a middle class that experienced the marcos government and in the story shows how a mother cares for his family most especially to her eldest son. They experienced the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus, the proclamation of Martial Law and other worst things. And at the last scene Amanda Bartolome said "ang payapang pampang ay para lamang sa mga taong nangangahas sumagupa sa alon nito". 

My opinion in her sayings is..we need to be brave and have the courage to fight to achieve our goal in life and to have our own freedom, because if we do not start to make a move, nothing will happen to us.

                  

       5.   What should be your contribution to the country if you are living in the Martial Law Era?Why?

      Answer:

               I was a journalist-political activist involved with the Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties (MCCCL), organized and led by then Sen. Jose W. Diokno in response to the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus in August 1971. In fact I was involved in the larger progressive protest movement that began in the mid-1960s.We had generally anticipated that Marcos would declare martial law, as (follow up) to the writ suspension that spurred bigger protest actions.  The street slogan then was, “Sagot sa martial law, digmaang bayan (Response to martial law, people’s war)!”  Still, we didn’t expect he would do it that soon and in the manner he did—shutting down tri-media establishments and making arrests before formally proclaiming martial law.Marcos realized that he and his government were increasingly being isolated from the people, but he was determined to hold on to power at all cost.  Exploiting the presidency’s residual power under the Constitution to declare martial law, Marcos invoked as basis an alleged conspiracy to overthrow the government between the Left and those he tagged as “oligarchs.”  There was no such conspiracy, so martial law was not justified.