Despite the clamor of the memes and articles being posted in various social media websites, I never really planned on watching Heneral Luna with the reason of expensive cinema tickets. All of that changed when my Sociology professor required us to watch it and create a one-page essay regarding the said movie. I thank him for that as having watched Heneral Luna, my patriotism came to a point where my indifference to society turned to frustration and annoyance.

Frustration because, truth be told, the issues tackled in the film which was set during the Philippine-American revolution still exist today. The self-centeredness of the Filipinos were pretty evident as depicted in the film especially when Pedro Paterno and Felipe Buencamino expressed their support for the Philippines to be an autonomous region under the American regime. According to them, trade and economy will boom thus, paving the way for them to be richer and richer. This was even solidified when Luna screamed, "Negosyo o Kalayaan? Bayan o Sarili? Pumili ka!"


Self-centeredness of then Filipinos were also shown during the piyesta shown in the film wherein the rich and powerful gathered for an evening of food and festivities while the entire country is at war. One of the scenes that really struck me was when the ladies were talking about leaving the Philippines for Paris after being married. This scene may be small for some but this particular event shows how easy it is for Filipinos to turn their back on the land that fed and care for them for easy security and easy wealth.

Another issue shown in the film that exists today was how the government officials butt heads for power and prestige. It was as if that one meeting that Antonio Luna attends to will not be complete without shouting and arguing. Well, I guess it is okay to argue and share one's personal opinion on a matter but when the argument is so far-fetched to the real issue, it seems like we're only wasting time. The worst part is that it only seems like everyone is yelling and screaming for attention and not to truly come up for a solution for the problem at hand.

Lastly, I am totally annoyed because it is as if the Filipinos never learned from their mistakes. We never learned that assassinating the best was completely stupid. We never learned to work not for ourselves but for the Mother Country. Most of all, we never imbibed the fact that, as Antonio Luna said, "Walang naka-aangat sa batas. Kahit presidente." I guess it is definitely true that "May mas malaki tayong kalaban sa mga Amerikano-ang ating sarili."


Now that we've learned a lot from Heneral Luna, what are we going to do then? That is the challenge.