The document summarizes and analyzes scenes from four different Filipino films - Kabisera, Shift, Blue Bustamante, and Ganito Kami Noon, Paano Kayo Ngayon? - and identifies communication and social psychology theories that can help explain elements within each scene, such as social penetration theory, attribution theory, elaboration likelihood model, uncertainty reduction theory, interpersonal deception theory, and cognitive dissonance theory.

1. BONAGUA, JEREMY L. BaCR 2-1
KABISERA
The scene that I remembered in the movie Kabisera, by director Borgy Torre, is when Jose, portrayed by Arthur Acuna, asked Andres, portrayed by Joel Torre, if that’s all of the crystal meth (shabu) he saw in the container floating in the sea. Andres said that that’s all he got even though they bury some of the drugs in an outhouse. This theory that is applicable to this scene is Social Penetration Theory. Social Penetration Theory states that as relationships, communication moves relatively shallow, non-intimate levels to deeper, more personal ones. In this scene, even though Andres and Jose are friends, there is still this wall that limits the closeness of Andres and Jose. Andres has this fear that Jose will cheat him so he kept the truth and never told it to him. There is also this scene where Andres told his son AJ, portrayed by Jomari Umpa, to never use drugs. But sooner, Andres found out that his son was using drugs. Because of this, Andres went home and got angry to his son causing it to abandon him and her wife. The applicable theory in this scene is Attribution Theory. Attribution Theory attempts to explain the causes of people’s behaviors that are perceived resulting from a variety of causes. In this scene, the cause of anger of Andres is because his son disobeys him. And the cause of AJ leaving is because his father got mad at him. Also, Andres don’t want his son to study college in Manila even if his son wanted to. Because of this, AJ became a drug user. This is also an example of Attribution Theory. The last is that when this drug dealer named Kulot, portrayed by Ketchup Eusebio, got mad at Andres, Jose, and Pablo. Because of this incident, Kulot went to PDEA to have complaint charge against Andres, Jose and Pablo. They already know the complaint because of Andres. What they did is the kidnapped Kulot and killed him. At first, Andres didn’t agree to the idea but later on he agreed because Pablo said that this is the way it’s done. If they don’t kill Kulot, they will absolutely go to jail. This scene is applicable to Elaboration Likelihood model. Peripheral route to be specific, using one of the six cues that lead a person to peripheral route which is consistency.

2. SHIFT
Shift is a very good movie for me. It’s about an unrequited love. A rom-com movie about Estela, portrayed by Yeng Constantino, accidentally fell in love with his colleague who by the way is gay, Trevor, portrayed by Felix Roco. Estela works as a call center agent. She is unmotivated and always late for work and because of this, she was assigned to a mentor. And he is Trevor. At first, things are a little strange because they barely know each other. The two of them always spend time together and because of that they quickly develop a close relationship and the uncertainty vanished. They became best friends, a confessional relationship. This is one example of Uncertainty Reduction Theory. Because they’re always together, they always have time to talk and decrease uncertainty. Estela accidentally falls for Trevor. After Trevor broke up with his boyfriend, Monty, she hopes he may finally reciprocate her unspoken love for him. But she found out that Trevor has a new boyfriend named Drake. Because of the incident, Estela avoided him several times. She feels broken. This scene is an example of Attribution Theory. She feels that Trevor broke her heart and came to a decision of avoiding him. Knowing that Trevor has a boyfriend, that is the cause of her behavior. There is also this scene where the company where they work will have a party. In this party, men will dress as a girl and women will dress as a boy. Trevor didn’t like the idea because he doesn’t do cross-dresses. But his team leader forces him to do so. This scene is an example of Elaboration Likelihood Model. In this scene, it uses one of the six cues that will automatically lead a person to peripheral route which is the authority.

3. BLUE BUSTAMANTE
Blue Bustamante is a movie directed by Miko Livelo. This story is about George, portrayed by Joem Bascon, who has moved to Japan to take up an engineering job. But his engineering career didn’t last for long. After he’s been fired, he couldn’t find another job. But his friend Roger, portrayed by Jun Sabayton, recommends him as a stuntman and that is his new job. Days passed, he called his wife, June, portrayed by Dimple Romana, in the Philippines. He didn’t tell June that he’s now a stuntman and not an engineer. He was scared. This scene is an example of Interpersonal Deception Theory. It attempts to manipulate messages so as to be untruthful, which may cause them apprehension concerning their false communication being detected. One day, George called his wife and tried to make a conversation to his son, Kiko but he failed to talk to him because Kiko is sulking because of him. He doesn’t want his father to go to Japan. This scene is an example of Attribution Theory. The theory attempts to explain causes of behavior. It attempts to explain the causes of people’s behavior and attributing or explaining reasons as to why people behave the way they do. The cause of behavior of Kiko is because his father went to Japan even if he didn’t want to. There is this scene where George and Roger are having a misunderstanding because George doesn’t want to be a stuntman and he doesn’t know how to kick, punch or act. But Roger still pushes him to do the job and finally, George accepted the job. This scene is an example of Dissonance Theory. Because George accepted the job even though he knows that he doesn’t know how to act. This theory says that human beings often have conflicting beliefs with actions they take, or other beliefs they have. Cognitive Dissonance is when you have two good choices and you make your decision then you find yourself unsure or in doubt about the choice you made.

4. GANITO KAMI NOON, PAANO KAYO NGAYON?
Ganito kami noon, paano kayo ngayon is a film that nurtures our nationalism. I’ve been able to watch the restored version of this film at the showing of Cinema One originals at PUP. This film makes our love for our country stronger. It is also a film which is a true story of a true Filipino and his experiences in his own country. It discusses the situation of the Philippines and Filipinos under control of the Spaniards and afterwards, the Americans. The message trying to present of this movie is what a true Filipino is and who really is a Filipino. It’s a story of a man named Nicholas Ocampo or simply known as Kulas whose misadventures signifies the search for the elusive Filipino identity. Who/What is a Filipino? The film’s vastness lies in its exploration of the Filipino question. Kulas gets confused with the different definitions of ‘Filipino’ he got from different variety of responses. It originally referred to a person of pure Spanish ancestry born in the country. However, the term advanced. A travelling Chinese merchant born in the country is also called a Filipino. Being born in the country seems to be the main criteria. But the true Filipino is someone who loves or will love the newly created Filipino nation. It is not enough to be born in the country in order to be called a Filipino. You should also love your country through actions. In the movie, Kulas finds a worthy cause to live for. He was disgusted at so-called Filipinos collaborating with enemies, the Spaniards and Americans. He showed love to his country. I think, the theory portrayed in the movie is Cognitive Dissonance. Kulas wants us to convince that even though some Filipinos are not that good and some even help our enemies, not all of us are like that. There are still some Filipinos who protect and love our land like him. There are some Filipinos who fights for what is good for our country and preserve the dignity and freedom our ancestors have fought for.