FINAL PAPER

1. Polytechnic University of the Philippines
College of Communication
Department of Communication Research
FINAL PAPER
IN
COMMUNICATION THEORIES AND MODELS
(Cinema One Originals Movie Festival)
Lavado, Karen B.
BACR 2-1

2. WOMAN OF THE RUINS
"Woman of the Ruins" is a story by Director Keith Sicat about a woman named Maria
(played by Alessandra de Rossi) washes ashore in an island ruined by wars and storms, Pasyon
(played by Art Acuna), one of the island’s survivors, immediately claims her as his long-lost
wife Maria. The movie challenges us to understand it from a deeper perspective wherein we can
relate the scenes to the reality of our country.
When Sol (Peque Gallaga) and Pasyon met one time, he asked Pasyon if things are going
right between him and Maria. Because in the movie, Maria has gone for seven years and when
she came back she didn’t remember anything even her own husband. Pasyon said that he and
Maria were in good terms. When in reality, Maria seemed not to notice him and she don’t mind
that Pasyon helps her to remember that he is her wife. This scene can be related to Interpersonal
Deception Theory. It explains that communication senders attempt to manipulate messages so as
to be untruthful. In this scene, Pasyon lied to Sol what was the real situation of him and Maria.
When Sabel (played by Channel Latorre) found out that Maria was being abused by his
own husband, Pasyon, she was determined to help her to escape but when she thought it was the
right time, she changed her mind and decided not to help Maria because of his secret admiration
for Pasyon. At the end of the day, she eventually regretted it and tries to think of ways on how
she can help Maria. This scene can be related to Cognitive Dissonance Theory. Cognitive
Dissonance is when you have choices and you make your decision then you find yourself unsure
or in doubt about the choice you made. Sabel got in doubt of her choice of not helping Maria
when she got home and remembered all the terrible things that Pasyon did to Maria.
After all the tragedies that happened, Maria and Sabel became best of friends. They
treated each other as sisters. This scene can be related to Social Penetration Theory. It explains
that the more time we spend with others; the more likely we are to self disclose more intimate
thought and details of our life. In the movie, when Maria and Pasyon had a child, because Maria
has well trusted Sabel, she is the one who always took care of the baby. Sabel had even
confessed to Maria her secret admiration for Pasyon before.

3. SHIFT
“Shift” is a movie by Director Siege Ledesma. It is about a carefree young lady who fell
in love with a gay. I liked how it gave me the option midway into the film to think whether or not
Estela and Trevor will end up together in the end. It was a toss between a fairy tale and realism.
Since Estela (played by Yeng Constantino) got the job from a call center company,
Trevor (played by Felix Roco), a senior agent became his mentor. From then on, she fell in love
with him. Because of the closeness they have, Estela thought that Trevor somehow loves her too.
When she’s about to confessed her feelings to him, he admitted that he met a guy named Drake
whom he loves. This scene can be related to Expectancy Violation Theory. This theory sees
communication as the exchange of information which is high in relational content and can be
used to violate the expectations of another which will be perceived by another positively or
negatively. In Estela, she perceived her expectation negatively because at first, she was really
determined that Trevor loves her but the truth is, Trevor loves another guy.
At first, Estela didn’t know anything about Trevor. Because he was her senior agent, they
used to see and talk to each other. Day after day, they used to disclose information about their
personal lives and found out that they have many things in common. There is even an instance
wherein Estela said that she was once fallen in love with a closeted gay back in her school days.
This scene can be account to Social Penetration Theory. Because of the socialization of Estela
and Trevor, they became close friends. It is also the reason why Estela thought she is already
falling in love with Trevor.
A romantic party scene in which, in a last attempt to get Trevor to give in return her
unspoken love, Estela dresses up like a lesbian. This scene can be related to Elaboration
Likelihood Model wherein it uses the peripheral route. This explains that peripheral route
provides a quick accept or reject decision without deep consideration. Because Estela had known
that Trevor was gay, she tried to reciprocate by acting and dressing like a lesbian. She somehow
tried to persuade Trevor that they can be together because she is a lesbian.

4. BLUE BUSTAMANTE
Blue Bustamante is mainly a movie which has a genre of comedy. It is directed by
Director Mike Livelo. This movie enables us to look back in the year 1980’s to the late ‘90’s
were Filipino kids are exposed to Sentai series like “Voltes Five”.
George (played Joem Basco) is an Overseas Filipino Worker. When he got his job
abroad, he lost it short after. He doesn’t want for June, his wife (played by Dimples Romana), to
know his unexpected unemployment so he eventually find another job. Roger Grace, his best
friend, offered him a job which is to become a stuntman of the “Blue Five” in the hit Japanese
television show “Voltes Five”. At first, he doesn’t really want to accept the job but because of
Roger Grace (played by Jun Sayton) who kept pursuing and telling him that if he doesn’t accept
it, his wife and son will sooner know that he lost his job. Since he doesn’t want that to happen,
he forcefully took the job. This scene can be related to Reinforcement Theory. This theory
explains that attitude changes result from opinion change through reinforcement in areas such as
attention, comprehension and acceptance. George was obligated to accept the job so he can
continue to support his family.
Secondly, when George was on his way to home from his work, he bumped into a
Japanese girl named Yumi in front of the apartment where he lives. When the Japanese girl saw
him, she suddenly avoids him and run causing for the basket she carries to fell. George brings the
basket that contained a letter and breads to his best friend Roger. He asked him to read what the
letter says. They found out that Yumi was the one to bake the breads for the reason that she was
fond of Roger. This scene can account for Attribution Theory. It attempts to explain the causes of
people’s behavior and attributing or explaining reasons as to why people behave the way they do.
This explains on how Yumi reacts every time he sees George.
Lastly, there is an instance wherein George and Yumi got bumped each other again. He
invited her to eat in Filipino a restaurant. There he admits that they can’t be together because he
has already a family but then Yumi didn’t understand it because he was speaking in Tagalog,
Yumi also reveals that he keep on chasing George since the time he helped her but then again he
didn’t understand it because she was speaking in Japanese. Because they don’t understand each
other, George changed the subject. He asked her if she wants extra rice. When he was ordering
for it, Yumi saw his wedding ring and got angry. She said that why he didn’t tell her at the first
place and she walked out. This scene can be connected to Expectancy Violation Theory. Because

5. at first, Yumi anticipates that George is single and there is a chance that they can be friends or
even a couple but she found out that he is a married man which the reason for her expectations to
be violated.

6. GANITO KAMI NOON, PAANO KAYO NGAYON?
“Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon?” is a movie which implies that we, as
Filipinos, should love our own country not just by words but by through our actions. We should
not seek for our own good but for our fellow countrymen as well. I believe that this movie
enlightens us in a way that it helps us to realize the importance of acting and uniting as one that
eventually will lead the country to be a progressive one to the upcoming years. A scene in the
movie wherein Katipuneros fight for the freedom of our country is a great example of unity.
There are so many heroes who have fought for us to take all the pleasure of the freedom we’re
having right now. Many of them believed that Filipinos are worth dying for. So how can’t we do
the same? I believe that there are still Filipinos who can make us proudly say that “We are
Filipinos”, people who are worthy of being respected. Those people who does great works not
just for themselves but for the sake of their country. I believe that if every Filipino will have faith
in their fellow countrymen, the Philippines can undergo whatever circumstances that will come.
The movie also describes the difference of how Filipinos are, from the past and in the present
time. It brings us to come up with a conclusion in our minds on how the beliefs, way of life, and
the culture of Filipinos have changed over time.
In the movie, the main issue is that what it takes to be a Filipino and how can we tell that
we are a Filipino. There, Filipinos were being presented in several ways. Some believes that they
are Filipinos because they were born and raised in the Philippines. Some are saying that they are,
because they can serve and accept responsibilities that the country may give to them. Lastly,
those who are saying that they are Filipinos because they are willing to give up their own lives
just for the country. There have been many classifications on how can we call ourselves
“Filipino” but let us discover it in ourselves on what it really takes to be truly called a “Filipino”.
I can say that the theory that was evidently portrayed in the movie is Elaboration
Likelihood Model wherein it uses the central route. Going back to the main issue of the movie, it
is obvious that there are so many factors that have to consider for us to be called a “Filipino”. In
a scene wherein it depicts that for you to be a Filipino, you can able to fight for your country.
There, we can say that it uses the central route because it enables the audience to go into details
on how can we fight for our country. For example, we can go into a battle, join in the war with
the Katipuneros or to go by ourselves to attack the ruling government. Also to the other factors,
it also gives the full details on why they should be called a “Filipino”.