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Reflection Paper in Paano Kami Noon Ganito Kami Ngayon

Kulas is a kind-hearted farmer in the Philippines who was orphaned at a young age. Through interactions with a priest, he learns about the history of the Philippine revolution and the struggle to develop a national identity after Spanish colonization. While the movie begins as a love story, it addresses how Filipinos originally identified by region rather than as a single nation, due to fragmentation during colonial rule. Kulas gradually comes to understand the problems facing society and ultimately defines himself as Filipino, recognizing the need to protect both the land and fellow citizens.

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Abegail Reyes
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2K views1 page

Reflection Paper in Paano Kami Noon Ganito Kami Ngayon

Kulas is a kind-hearted farmer in the Philippines who was orphaned at a young age. Through interactions with a priest, he learns about the history of the Philippine revolution and the struggle to develop a national identity after Spanish colonization. While the movie begins as a love story, it addresses how Filipinos originally identified by region rather than as a single nation, due to fragmentation during colonial rule. Kulas gradually comes to understand the problems facing society and ultimately defines himself as Filipino, recognizing the need to protect both the land and fellow citizens.

Uploaded by

Abegail Reyes
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ABEGAIL D.

REYES
MAED SOCSTUD

The story is about a simple but kind-hearted farmer named Kulas who was orphaned
early in the beginning of the film by the death of his mother, his only known relative. Because of
a priest, Kulas is swept on the history of Philippine revolution as well as the struggle of the
society to define itself after being freed from the colonizer.

The film seemed to be a simple love story between a simple young man and his beautiful
yet ambitious love interest, but the movie subtly picks up important lessons along the way. What
struck me in particular is how Kulas, at the beginning, has no idea of what a Filipino is, nor he
doesn’t know any reason why he’s called as one. You see, in the old days, natives are called by
the regions they live, or the islands they are from, and since the Philippines is an archipelago, a
fragmented kind of nation surfaces, with each minority defining themselves through their
narrowed viewpoint and not calling themselves Filipinos as a whole.

The Filipinos then have no sense of nationality, as a result of a long colonization of


Spain. The film perfectly depicts that the Spaniards are not the only ones who abused the
Filipinos, but fellow Filipinos as well, which makes it a lot sadder. Kulas had seen it all, the
violence of the history, the cruelty and unequal treatment, as if his heartbreaks over Diding isn’t
enough already. In the beginning, he was called Tagalog, and he used to call himself that way
until the middle where he slowly grasped the problem with his society.

I guess what’s heartwarming with the story is in the end, Kulas was able to define and
call himself as a Filipino. This is born out of a painful choice, but one he decided for himself and
stood by until the end. The viewers will reach the same conclusion as Kulas did at the end of the
film: Being Filipinos doesn’t only mean the physical ties we have with the land, or with tradition,
or even with our family.

It means recognizing ourselves as the protector of this land, and protector of our fellow
men. It is being able to fight a grander cause, fight for what is good for our country, and preserve
the dignity and freedom our ancestors have fought for.

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