There are different genres of literature and entertainment, one of them is creating a

movie. It is a set of moving images and shown in theater or television. “Ded na si Lolo” is a

classic Filipino movie that was released on May 6, 2009. It is a comedy-drama directed by Soxy

Topacio and selected as the Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards. Cast is

full of well-known artist in the Philippines like Manilyn Reyes, Roderick Paulate, Gina Alajar,

Elizabeth Oropesa and many more. It was all about different family issue that is usually

happening when mourning over the death. “Ded na si lolo” showcase the Filipino culture,

customs, norms, and beliefs. You will know how diverse the culture is depending upon the place

where you reside in. Settings, characters, and every dialogue are well created to highlight the

theme of the movie. In this term paper, it will emphasize the connection of culture in different

scenario of the story. Creating this kind of movie will show us how culture affects the way of

living in a society. We can also compare some changes that happen in our culture as time passes

by because some of our known customs come to oblivion.

According to Tylor (1871), “culture is a complex whole which includes knowledge,

beliefs, art, law, customs, values and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a

member of society. In the beginning of the movie, you will see the usual set up of Filipino

families. Streets are narrow and full of houses that are stuck together. You will also know that

most of the Filipinos were used to drink alcohol until dawn. When Charing shout because it is

already morning, the neighborhood gets annoyed because it is too early. One of the general

Filipino values is “pagiging matiisin”, even though they are not privileged enough to have a

good and comfortable life, they manage to survive their everyday living.
 The highlight of the movie is the death of Lolo Juanito and there are a lot of funeral

practices and burial customs in the Philippines. When the news of the old man’s death came to

Charing, she bawls and faints. It seems like it is part of the norm of their family when they are

grieving. When one of the family members dies, some part of your life is missing and you cannot

force yourself to be happy. Filipinos were also known as “pagiging chismoso”, and the news

about the death of the old man spread in the whole barangay. On the other hand, they give

sympathy, love, and, support until the casket was put in the right place of the house.

Junee (Roderick Paulate) is the last one who heard the news about the death of his father.

He is asking why wearing red being prohibited when attending wakes, but the only answer they

can give him is "basta bawal". It is proof that culture can be learned and we can apply the

process of acculturation, which means learning and borrowing another people's culture. It can

also mean that culture can be shared to anyone. An example of non-social or self-concern values

was also shown in the movie, it is when Manilyn Reynes is borrowing her daughter's makeup to

fix dead father's makeup. Her daughter refused because it is not hygienic to let the dead use your

makeup and use it again for yourself. Self-concern values are about the things you do for the

good or benefit of yourself.

The very unique characteristic of every Filipino is how we value our family so much -

basically, this is what sets our culture apart from any other culture. Family is a construct of

meaningful relationships (Eitzen, 2003), thus, this only proves that strong attachment to the

members of the family is only natural because of the said relationship. This attachment results in

strong family ties and made us Filipinos heightened our value of helping our family members

through thick and thin. We can portray emotional closeness and security in a family since we can

see that the children of the dead really love and cherish their dead father. There might be times
that they have fight but still, they go to and support each other in different situations.

Furthermore, we can see particularism in the movie wherein the characters center or focuses their

concern to the family they belong to. There is this called "kamag-anak system", where when

someone from that family needs help, they will just refer to their kamag-anak or relatives for

help.

Having strong family ties isn't only about the bright side; it is indeed beneficiary because

every member helps each other but it also creates conflict. Strong family tie is included in the

Patterns of Cultural Conflict in Philippines by Justus M. Van der Kroef. According to a

researcher from the University of Michigan, per Wu, "the oldest son traditionally has greater

obligations in the family, but more firstborn females are taking on these roles—even when there

are young male siblings in the household". This explains why the firstborns feel more obligated

to support their family in all aspects even after they get married. In this movie, it shows how the

firstborn female, Dolores (Elizabeth Oropesa), gave support to her parents and siblings

financially in all aspect and even in the burial of her father. This way of thinking has been a part

of our General values which is the "Tungkulin ng panganay sa pamilya".

One of the Filipino Value Orientations includes being a non-rationalist. Non-rationalism

involves the belief in supernatural beings like gods, deities, ghosts, and spirits that results in

Filipinos to perceive other things, events, and persons as sacred. According to Felisa Daskeo,

"Many Filipinos still cling to the traditional practices, beliefs, and traditions. They are still

strongly rooted in the superstitious beliefs that they believe could help them deal with day to day

occurrences and events. This explains that even in certain events like the burial of a family, there

are some dos and don'ts that Filipinos strongly follow up until today. One of these is the family

or relative of the deceased is not allowed to take a bath within the vicinity of where the body lies
in state. Commonly, people will ask the reason behind this but still, the answer is not given

making this belief as an irrational one.

Filipinos have many good characteristics that the other country doesn't have. One of these

characteristics is being hospitable when it comes to the visitor. According to Kevin (2019),

“Filipino culture provides warm hospitality to all”. Just Like what Jimmy (Rainier Castillo) did

in the movie, he used to be hospitable and serve those friends of his uncle Junee (Roderick

Paulate). Filipino culture is to always treat family guests warmly, whether they are foreigners or

not, therefore if there is one thing that foreigners would usually comment about right after they

visit the Philippines, it would probably not be the food or the places they visited, but the

hospitality of the people.

Like in many other Asian countries, people in the Philippines show their respect to the

elder population with certain gestures and honorifics they use before the person's name. Syano

(Dick Israel) did “pagmamano” to Aling Pilar, the original wife of their father as a sign of being

polite and respectful. “Pagmamano” or a kiss of respect is a conventional way of extending one’s

strong feelings of affection towards their loved one. This is the act of regard by requesting a

senior’s hand and touch one’s brow while bowing. Based on PinoyTimate (2017), it is a Filipino

custom that has survived numerous circumstances and outside impacts.

Family and relatives do as much as they can to support each other even financially.

Parents treasure their children so much that they support them even during adulthood. Yes,

family is probably the most important part of our lives, and we can’t just exist without them.

From our grandparents to parents, siblings and close relatives, we extend our generosity and

love. Blood is thicker than water as saying goes (Annie, 2019). The film proves what it really is
to have a family. In good or bad times, you can count on them. Even if there is a

misunderstanding and issues with each family member, at the end of the day they will solve the

problem together as a family. When Charing (Manilyn Reynes) computing their income and

expenses during the burial, we can merely see how they exert effort to give money coming from

their own pocket to help to pay their debt. Giving contribution to the vigil of every dead people

is one of our folkways.

According to the social anthropologist, per Binde, “gambling is a social, cultural and

economic phenomenon, a remarkably flexible way of redistributing wealth, which is embedded

in the socio‐cultural systems of societies”. It explains the reason why even in funerals, it is

normal to have a “saklaan” and bingo. They treat it as a way to spend their time while being in

the wake. And also, whenever there is a fight between the game, they are not bothered by it

anymore and treat it as a norm.

Another set of superstitions that are still practiced until now is the avoidance of any tears

falling on the casket. They say that the spirit of the dead will have a difficult time transitioning to

the afterlife if tears fall on the casket. It was re-enacted on one of the scenes while they are

begging for forgiveness from their dead father. Then, you must enclose cash on the hands of the

dead during the wake, then take back the money before the funeral. The money serves as the

dead’s “pamasahe” on his way to the afterlife. It’s also said that anyone who uses the money or

includes it in the capital to start a business will find success. Not spending the money can also

bring luck to those who keep it. In the province, they throw a “palayok” on a pile of sand or soft

soil. If it doesn’t break, it means another one will die soon. This belief is also practiced in Manila

but instead of “palayok” they use water glasses. Those who pass by a funeral procession must

throw coins. It will also serve as the dead’s “pamasahe” on their way to the afterlife just like the
superstition of placing money in the hands of the dead. Lastly, kids are passed from overhead the

casket before the grave’s permanently covered. This is done so the ghost of the dead won’t visit

the little kids. The reason is it symbolizes of burying the sickness and other health issues of the

child along with the dead.

Conclusion:

Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language,

marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet

visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other things (Zimmermann,2017). Some

theories and studies that are connected to it proves that culture is diverse. The general Filipino

values, which are being patient, endurance from suffering, "pagiging chismoso", and believing

hearsays especially about superstitions like "sabi nila bawal daw", they believed but wasn't able

to justify who said it.

But most of all, the highlight of the movie and one of the good value of Filipinos is having

a strong family tie. Misunderstandings are common in a family, and it is not a reason not to help

each other. Blood will always be thicker than water. It also shows that even for our loved one's

death, we do anything just to make sure that his/her spirit will leave in peace by following all the

superstitions. These are only a few evidences that culture is broad, there are still concepts and

ideas which are not studied and spread out.

References:

Annie. (2019, January 15). Filipino’s strong family ties. Retrieved from

https://aimtalkblog.com/2019/01/15/annies-note/filipinos-strong-family-ties/

Binde, P. (2005). Gambling across cultures: Mapping worldwide occurrence and learning from

ethnographic comparison. International Gambling Studies, 5 (1). Retrieved from

https://gup.ub.gu.se/v1/asset_data/69614.pdf

Daskeo, F. (2012). Superstitions in the Philippines. Retrieved from

http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Philippines/sub5_6c/entry-3863.html

Eitzen. (2003). Diversity in families. Retrieved from

https://www.slideshare.net/zaighamiqbal1/psychology-16199425

Galvez, J. (2014, October 23). 30 Superstitions Filipinos practice during funerals. Retrieved from

https://www.manillenials.com/filipino-superstitions-funerals-pamahiin-sa-patay/

Perez, S. (2011). Filipino funeral practices and superstitions. Retrieved from

https://shemarj.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/funeral-practices-in-the-philippines/

Sieck, W. (N.d.). Cultural norms: Do they matter? Retrieved from

https://www.globalcognition.org/cultural-norms/

Tylor, Edward. 1871. Primitive culture: Research into the development of mythology,

philosophy, religion, art, and custum. London: John Murray, 1. Retrieved from

https://archive.org/details/primitiveculture01tylouoft/page/n7
Wu, K. (2018). Firstborn Asians feel added pressure with family responsibilities. Retrieved from

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-08-firstborn-asians-added-pressure-family.html

Zimmerann, K. A. (2017, July13). What is culture? Retrieved from

https://www.livescience.com/21478-what-is-culture-definition-of-culture.html