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Updated November 5, 2017

Where The Wild Things Are

The movie is an adaptation from the children’s book written by Maurice Sendak in 1963. The original story in the book is only 338 words and focuses on young Max and his struggles with his mom that resulted in an amazing adventure in his imagination, together with the Wild Things.

Our group analyzed the movie based on three critical communication traditions: postmarxism, postcolonialism, and poststructuralism. Using these, we have now removed ourselves from the simple questions like “What are the themes explored?” and “What are the messages delivered to the audience?” All three traditions under their critical approach reaches to the social and psychological backgrounds of the meanings shown in the movie.

Postmarxism

One of the main goal of postmarxism is to focus not just on class struggle but on individual struggles as well. Postmarxism teaches us that struggles are not necessarily caused by our state. In the movie, Max’s mom was obviously struggling to have a proper relationship with Max because of the fact that Max ran away when his mom had a visitor (his mom’s boyfriend). The focus on the movie shifted from Max’s mom struggle to Max’s own struggle. Postmarxism is a great theory to review of the movie because of many different individual struggles present in the movie. Using postmarxism, we can identify that the individual struggle of Max’s mom was having a proper relationship with Max while Max have the same individual struggle because of lack of attention he was receiving. The individual struggle of Max’s mom led to Max leaving their house while the individual struggle of Max himself led to destroying things in the room and becoming rude to his mom and his mom’s visitor. When Max started imagining things, even the Wild Things were in a chaos. Through postmarxism, we can tell that the chaos happening among the Wild Things are not because of class struggle but because they are different animals. Their contradicting individual struggles caused the chaos among them.

Postcolonialism

Postcolonialism resides in the premises of colonization and decolonization process itself. Postcolonialism also claims that decolonization doesn't just means giving back the land and allowing the natives to take over the leadership, but it also focuses on the aftermath; which primarily means that taking a deep look into the culture is a must, especially since colonization altered the lives of native in many ways possible. Moreover, postcolonialism also holds that colonizers create language to limit people and to reaffirm their "higher" status of being. Finally, postcolonialism also talks about the binary between the Orient and the Occident; Orient (the site of unchanging civilization) takes the alter ego of Occident (the site of learning and progress). In the movie Where The Wild Things Are, if we are to use the lenses of postcolonialism, there really are convergence points that can be taken note.

First and foremost, Max, an ordinary kid with bad habits transformed into a highly esteemed king when he arrived in the island. Max has taken advantage the innocence of the people; just like what the Spaniards into the Philippines, the accidental stopover of the Spaniards turned into them taking over the islands. Max said to the savage* inhabitants that he is a king. Second, Max altered the inhabitants of the islands. Max instituted that giant buildings be constructed. He also created pseudo-rules* that the creatures must follow. Following the premises of postcolonialism, it can be seen that Max changed the habits of the people living there. Max may not change the physical appearance of the creatures, he successfully changed some aspects of them and these changes can be seen at the end of the film. Third, postcolonialism as a school of thought and by studying various texts, holds on to the belief that Occident associate* and disassociate* themselves on the Orient. In one scene in the movie movie are Max was assigning a role to the creatures (good vs. bad guys), Max insists that the king is never bad, that's why he chose to be on the 'good' side while all the others except his "friends" are on his team.

However, like the claim in postcolonialism, not all of the people are in favor of the "king," Judith and Alexander are doubtful. At the end of the movie, though the place was chaotic before Max came, everything became messier - relationships are tormented, and all that can be seen are ruins; colonization produces effects that can either harm or benefit a place.

Notes:
*Savage since the species there are wild-natured otherwordly beasts; they also attempt to scare Max by saying they will eat him.
*One of the rules are the game time which hurt one of the members.
*The existence of binary opposition between the East and the West is a way of association of Occident with the Orient.
*The creation of curated language to encapsulate the primitive ways of the Orient is a way of disassociation of Occident with the Orient.

Poststructuralism

Poststructuralism represents the shift from consciousness to the “body" (Hoy 2004, 19-20). This change is due to Friedrich Nietzche’s notion that humans are complex. First, we are composed of varying multiple perspectives that we processed from where the “body” is situated (21). It could be ideas and values about friendship, family, love, and fame. Second, these concepts change meaning according to interpretation (a process which consists of the context and a person’s thought process). Following this line of argument, interpretation shapes people’s realities (34). Nietzche only used the body as metaphor for interpretation (51). Third, a a unified consciousness does not exist but people strive to achieve a more coherent totality of perspectives (21). However, this does not mean that the inconsistencies brought about by other conflicting perspectives are terminated. They are only minimized. Fourth, take for an example that for person A, love means selflessness and sacrifice, but for person B it means that it is give and take while maintaining his/her own identity. Jacques Derrida states that the network of two perspectives allow for a deeper understanding on the definitions of concepts (37). Fifth, this approach does not suggest a line of action because it will possibly limit the range of solutions one could think of in answering problems (89-90).

There are several theories under poststructuralism. We chose deconstruction as the appropriate method of analysis for the movie. Reading is an “an interplay between construction and deconstruction” (44). The same could be applied in viewing a movie. Deconstruction is a process where the text is disassembled into smaller units to arrive at the topics not regularly tackled in the society (Knighton 2016). It tries to uncover the inconsistencies that the text tries to hide in order to appear unified (Hoy 2004, 45). There are no concrete steps to execute deconstruction. However, the analyst is free to take on whatever kind of logical analysis to dig the inconsistencies. It could take the form of critical questions and answering it based on the text.

Note: A text can be anything that we can see, hear, and/or feel.

As a unified text, the movie presents a child’s immaturity and his understanding of his environment as he faced difficulties in a home where he is not paid attention to. In the middle of the scenes, he is sent to his own imaginary world or where the monsters or “the wild things” are located. In here, he was deemed as a king and was given the attention he desired. Nevertheless, he realized his own mistakes as he faced his own attitude and behavior through Carol’s character and Carol’s relationship with K.W. He also was exposed to K.W.’s side which explores the possible “oppositional side” which are his Mom and his sister. From there, he grasped that Carol was selfish and only saw his own struggle while K.W. had her own share of it too. After learning his lesson, he went back with a deeper understanding of how he had acted and what are the struggles his family facing together with him.

First, why was the movie was shown through Max’s perspective? His thoughts might have not been narrated but majority of the movie explored his reactions to his family situation and his mental landscape. In comparison with the original book of “Where the Wild Things Are,” it started off the scene where Max yelled at his mother, “I’ll eat you up.” There was no emphasis on the struggle of the child but only an anger outburst which could be passed off as “immaturity.” However, the movie showed Max’s mockery or imitation of the treatment his sister showed and his tantrum against his Mother for not paying him attention.

By seeing the story through Max’s eyes, he was playing alone. He craved attention from his family members as a sign of affection and acceptance. It is only when his needs are recognized that he will feel that he belongs. If a viewer dug deeper, the problem that the family is facing is attributable to every member. Max was not the problem. The problem Max was facing were loneliness and isolation. He didn’t have the opportunities to interact with his sister and his mother and express his need. But it could be seen that it was his family choosing to ignore him when his sister only talked to her friends and when her mother was talking over the phone and entertaining her visitor. On the other hand, his mother was shown struggling with work, building a new romantic relationship, and paying attention to her children’s needs. This explicates how little a child could understand when his family members are not able to communicate well why they are behaving that way.

Second, why did the production team alter the original story to how it was shown as I said in the previous paragraph? The movie tackles the side of a child neglected and how his circumstances affect his behaviors. This gives another perspective to the mainstream discourse on family issues. Children are expected to act obedient and to be understanding of their family in the society. They are expected not to oppose their family’s circumstances and decisions. They are at the lowest ladder of the hierarchy found inside the family, especially the youngest ones. The only thing they can do is to follow so they will be seen as good children. The movie brings the issue of allowing a child to express their feelings and opinions to their loved ones.

Presenting Max as a “wild thing” in the first scene where he was chasing the dog with a fork and when his mother shouted, “You’re out of control!” when he bit her shows an exaggeration of the universal conception that letting children show their negative emotions and disapproval to their family is a sign of disobedience and “being wild.” This shows our tendency to believe that there is something wrong with a child that a family cannot control. When in fact, it is normal for a child to show all of his emotions. Repressing them for too long will make him emotionally unstable and produce problematic behavior.

Third, what do the monsters in his mental landscape represent? These monsters are the voices or the multiples perspectives inside him. Alexander, Carol, Bernard, and Ira are the perspectives which validate his feelings during his struggles. Alexander represents how he is usually ignored and not listened to by his family. Carol represents his feeling of being the only one making an effort for their family to stay together but he is not given attention by K.W. Bernard represents Max’s desire for his family to say good things about him even at least in front of other people. It is his subconscious desire to be complimented and be treated as a “good child.” This is based on Bernard’s request to Max to say good things about them despite what happened to him. Ira represents Max’s dad who gave comfort when Max looked at the globe. This is proved by Ira’s gentleness and sweet words towards Max.

Then, there are the contradicting perspectives. Judith, Douglas, and K.W. are the voices he refused to listen to. Judith and K.W. represent the perceived interpretation of Max’s mom and sister. They are the possibilities that say his family is making an effort as well for them to continue being a family and the social and romantic needs his family has to address while taking care of him. Judith agreed when Max said that Carol wasn’t the only one who built the fort and the home. K.W. said that she could still stay friends with Carol even if she had other people she wanted to pay attention to. Finally, Douglas is the perspective that proved that Max could not gain happiness by relying on other people to do it for him. During Carol’s outburst, Douglas finally confronted him and said that Max was not a king and he only played along for his happiness. He is the what-if scenario in Max’s interpretation that tries to defend the idea that his happiness depends on his family’s situation but ends up being a conflict in the end. From this, I can assume that Max knew inside him that needed to do something as well for his family situation to change so he could be happy and not feel lonely anymore.

Overall, the movie offered a brand new perspective about children and family. The problems faced by the protagonists are not only experienced by children but also by adults. There are family issues that continue growing until they are left unaddressed in the present. These adults could also relate to the issue of not being able to express their negative emotions as a child, thus, turning themselves into outbursts or tantrums. These issues could also resonate in any kind of relationship. It could also be seen in the workplace. This is because the movie also entails communication problems in general.

Written by Serezo, Escosio, & Jimenez.

References:

Knighton, Andrew. 2016. "Using the Deconstruction Theory to Analyze the Film 'Remember the Titans.'" Accessed November 4, 2017. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/using-deconstruction-theory-analyze-film-remember-titans-knighton.

Hoy, David. 2004. Critical Resistance: From Poststructuralism to Post-Critique. USA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press.

Uni Assignment Centre. "The Key Conceptions Of Post Marxism Philosophy Essay." Accessed November 04, 2017. https://www.uniassignment.com/essay-samples/philosophy/the-key-conceptions-of-post-marxism-philosophy-essay.php.

Where The Wild Things Are Book Script. Accessed November 4, 2017. http://www.sfasu.edu/echl/documents/Where_The_Wild_Things_Are.pdf.

Updated October 8, 2017
Written by Rose Celine Jimenez, Ren Azrack Escosio, & Company.

It is no surprise that everyone of us has experienced “unfair” treatment throughout the stages of our lives. Maybe it was when our parents told us to not talk back when we just wanted to explain. We might also have felt a slight irritation towards our teachers and employers for not considering the state of our oh-so-loaded week of requirements by giving another task to finish. Whatever they were, during those moments, we felt that they were unfair because our voices were not being heard.

Those experiences are important and true for you, for us. They leave this heavy feeling in our chest that we are reminded of when the same experiences come across us again. Remember that feeling as you read through this article. Because that is the kind of feeling some groups in our society constantly experience wherever they go and wherever they are every single day. We are not here to tell you that your/our struggles are not real. They are real and have affected the way we perceive the world. But we are here to tell you that there are also people out there who we may not know but are deprived of the basic rights and privileges that we already possess and constantly enjoy.

One of the observable groups who are not given the microphone to speak for their needs are the disabled. Just this Friday, our group interviewed blind massage therapists in Baguio City, Philippines. We wanted to know and understand in-depth how and where they are placed in the social structure. In respect to these people, we prioritized their perspective to define their identities, capabilities, and struggles as based on the Standpoint theory’s assumption that one’s location in the society (economic class, gender, race, work) affects his/her perception of the world and how s/he understands and interprets it.

“Marginalization has been defined as a complex process of relegating specific groups of people to the lower or outer edge of society” (Sociology Guide). “It effectively pushes these groups of people to the margin of society economically, politically, culturally and socially following the policy of exclusion” (ibid). What is common to the five individuals we interviewed is that they all feel discriminated by the people around them. They felt that people do not trust their skills and capabilities of doing jobs done by sighted people. Society limits them to stay as massage therapists only. In fact, we found out that they were required to have trainings on physical therapy when they were in high school. This can be an implication that at a young age, they were already trained to be a massage therapist because this job is usually done by blind people. Hence, they would think that their future is leaned towards the sphere of physical therapy only. Interviewees also said that they were not able to enter the jobs they wanted because employers think that they are incapable of doing the job.

Photos of our first interview in the massage center located inside Victory Liner in Engineer’s Hill.

Photos of our second interview in a massage center near Igorot Park.

Our group asked them about their experiences in finding jobs other than being a massage therapist. One said, “Actually may times na mahirap talaga. Na-experience ko mag apply sa call center tapos nadiscriminate ka ganun. Yun yung point na imaginin mo 10 telemarketings yung inapplayan tapos madidiscriminate ka because of your disability. Mahirap kasi malaman nila na blind ka, parang pano yung facilities kahit na alam nilang kaya mo naman meron kang gagamitin, ayaw pumayag ng company. May discrimination.” (There are actually times when it gets tough. I experienced applying for jobs at call centers only to be discriminated because of my disability. When they realize that you are blind, they immediately ask you how you will use the facilities, which they will consider a factor for not hiring you even if they know you will do just fine using them. There is discrimination.) She also said that even though she passed all requirements, interviews, or exams, the company she is applying to will still not allow her because of her incapacity to see things. She felt that she cannot do any jobs other than being a massage therapist because people would not allow her to do it even though she strongly believes that she can do the job. The other interviewee said that he did not try to find any other jobs because being a massage therapist is the only job suitable for them, “Hindi kasi.. wala namang inooffer sa amin na ibang trabaho.. kasi hindi naman tumatanggap ang mga [kompanya] ng… ng mga visually-impaired.. kadalasan hindi tumatanggap.. hindi kadalasan eh.. karamihan hindi nag tatanggaap ng mga ganon..” (I didn’t [apply for any other job] because they don’t offer us other kinds of jobs. Companies do not accept the visually-impaired. Sometimes, they do, but more often than not, they don’t.)

Based from the statement of our interviewee, it can be implied that he already accepted the fact that he is stuck of being a massage therapist. We asked him how he felt about it and he said, “Ahh nakakadismaya kasi, kasi sa mga kasama namin na graduate naman ng kurso. Ahh may mga board passers pa. Mostly nakakaexperience ng mga board passers ng education naman ng mga visually-impaired.. hindi sila makapag-apply ng kahit sa.. minsan kahit sa private na eh.. kahit sa SPED man lang sana.. kahit sa gobyerno.. diba may SPED naman ang gobyerno.. hindi nakakapasok ‘yung mga kasama naming mga legible naman na magtrabaho.. kasi parang kumbaga sa discrimination sa trabaho... ang tinitingnang basehan lang ‘yung disability.. kaya parang ang isip nila..inefficient ‘yung pagtatrabaho nila.” (It’s dismaying because we actually have co-workers who graduated. There are also board passers. Most board passers in education who are visually-impaired cannot apply even in a single school or even a private one, even in the SPED section or in government-funded institutions. Doesn’t the government have SPED? My co-workers who are legible can’t get in. There’s discrimination in work. They only look at disabilities as the basis for thinking that we are inefficient.) We can see how these individuals are struggling to meet the requirements of the jobs they wanted but their efforts are still not enough because of the social construct that they cannot do it. Another interviewee said that they were not only discriminated in jobs but also in schools when they were still studying. They have felt discrimination almost everywhere they go.

This marginalized group of people people have aspirations about what they want their future to be, but due to our society’s notion that these people cannot function in “the normal way,” these people have been unable to reach their full potential. Their condition has affected their lives more than necessary. Their disability is only their sight but this has resulted in them being ostracized in a way that limits the way they can move around in our society, both literally and metaphorically. They are being treated as fragile or as incapable of contributing to our industries and this has led to them living a far more limited life in our world. These people are not that different from us as we might think. They want the same things as us. They want to be educated, apply for jobs and succeed in their careers of choice and some lucky few do get educated but findings jobs that will take them is hard because employers do not see them as capable of meeting their demands.

As a group, we’ve realized that helping the marginalized will be a hard thing to do because of the cruel society that we have today. We are so self-centered that we tend to forget that other people also need our help, especially the marginalized. Some of us may think that we can use social media to help the marginalized but spreading awareness through social media is not always effective nor is a miraculous cure-all. The best way to know their condition is to immerse with them. The best way for us to help them is to be open minded to their situation and empathize with them in order for us to determine how we can help.

We don’t need to be disabled to sympathize with those who are. Then again, sympathy is only the first step in bringing those who are marginalized to the fore. What we need to do is to put ourselves into their shoes and start building from that. Only when we realize how oppressed they are and only when we see and challenge our privileges will we fully help raise them up. One of the easiest things we can do to help these people is by raising awareness that contrary to what most people may believe, these people’s blindness do not make them incompetent. There is a stigma that works against these people and what we need to do is to change it. We need to help them break this preconceived notions that blind people are incapable of getting jobs and succeeding in it. Second thing we can do is to demand our own government to raise the quality of special education in our country to widen the job choices that our blind countrymen can pick. To sum it all up, what we need to do to help is to challenge and question the things that we are getting and to extend a hand and take action to bring marginalized individuals out of their shadows and to fully achieve equality amongst men.

References:

“Marginalization and role of civil society,” Sociology Guide, last modified October 8, 2017. http://www.sociologyguide.com/civil-society/marginalization.php.

West, Richard and Lynn Turner. 2010. Introducing Communication Theory: Analysis and Application. n.p.: McGraw-Hill.

*definition of Standpoint theory

Updated October 8, 2017

Written by: Chelsea Joy B. Serezo & Company

RATIONALE

Standpoint theory refers to how our social strata influences the way we perceive the world. Our experiences, race, class, geographical location, kind of job and sexual orientation affect our standpoint and actions. Our social relations shape how we communicate and treat other people. It also claims that the oppressed have a wider perspective of the world because they are more exposed to the reality than the privileged. It gives voice to the marginalized by allowing them to challenge the status quo.

Bringing marginalized to the fore, we chose to forward the struggles of single mothers to address the issue they are facing and place it into a higher discourse.

“Nay-Tay”: On the lives and struggles of Single Moms,” focuses on the narratives of single moms and the challenges that they are continuously experiencing. It also tackles the way society treats them and their children. Furthermore, despite the backlash – the stereotypes, discrimination, judgments and repressions – that they are receiving, they still remain hopeful and resilient.

Rhym Lucanti, 21

Having a child and being impregnated at the age of 17 are Rhym’s main struggles. She was left with the responsibility of raising the kid when her partner chose to run away. However, she continued to pursue her studies and had no choice but to let her parents take good care of the kid even if it means being separated from him. At present, she’s taking her licensure exam review and has no plans to engage in a relationship. She’s focused on building a bright future for her and for her child.

“Bilang single mom actually, uh, medyo nahirapan ako to raise up ang isang bata lalo na na yung sa age ko pa, age ko nung nanganak ako ay 17. So doble issue siya na teenage mom na nga single parent pa. Dun ako nagstruggle sa pagraraise up at a young age ng isa pang bata tapos nag-aaral ka pa so… Pero buti na lang may help yung mga parents ko so parang hindi na talaga ko totally hands-on sa bata, focus na lang ako sa studies.”

“Siguro, girl power, kasi kapag nanay ka gagampanan mo lahat diba as role ng mother, ng father, at the same time kailangan mo rin magprovide sa bata. Girl power talaga siya hindi, hindi ko alam pero, though kaya din ng mga kalalakihan pero may… sa mga kababaihan may something better na nabibigay nila sa bata.”

“Fulfillment and satisfaction siguro, kasi pag sa ngayon, hindi ko siya kasama pero pag kasama ko siya sa bahay… Pag-uwi ko ganun, nakaka ano siya, nakakawala ng pagod, nakakawala ng stress at the same time, sa panahon ngayon yung mga kababaihan ngayon career oriented, so kapag may anak ka as a single mom, wala ka nang pakialam kung magkaroon ka ng relationships, though may mga ibang ganun. Pero kapag career oriented ka and at the same time may anak ka na parang kumpleto ka na.”

Ally Cruz, 36

Ally is a single mother of 2 girls— one is 7 years old and the other is 5 years old. She filed for child support but it didn’t progress because the father of the kids didn’t want to take full responsibility. She wants to protect her kids from judgements of the society. She mentioned that being a single mom is really difficult but it was all worth it since she’s still able to finance the kids, send them to school, and raise them as well.

“Pero syempre you make decsions for yourself but the only person you owe an explanation is yung anak mo. Hindi yung kapitbahay niyo, yung kaklase mo, yung teacher. Not anybody else but your child.”

“Usually kasi kung nalaman nila na ay single mom siya bakit? So parang feeling ko, at fault ako kasi ako yong babae.”

“Nakakaasar kasi why would you feel awa to that person eh dapat nga you should be proud eh kasi you’re raising two kids instead of you aborting the baby, di ba?”

Marrey Anne Garcia Arcillas, 37

Maan became a single mom after her husband told her he wanted a different life. Her husband came out gay and deciding it was the best for their only child, thus, they kept it a secret. Since being solo, she has been doing everything times two--job, time, sacrifices. She works abroad and while supporting her only child, Maan also helps her siblings and parents. She says it’s difficult providing for her family alone while struggling to keep a close relationship with her only daughter. For her, being an OFW and a mom proves to be a difficult situation.

“Mahirap magprovide sa pamilya kasi kahit dalawa lang kami ng anak ko, tumutulong din ako sa parents at mga kapatid ko. Ayun nga, mahirap kasi pag broken family. Tapos hindi mo pa nasusubaybayan yung anak mo. Nagkikita kami usually pag graduation niya lang tapos isang buwan lang bakasyon ko nun. Kailangan kasi magwork work work para mabigyan ng magandang buhay ang anak ko.”

“Ayun nga, mahirap kasi pag broken family. Tapos hindi mo pa nasusubaybayan yung anak mo. Nagkikita kami usually pag graduation niya lang tapos isang buwan lang bakasyon ko nun. Kailangan kasi magwork work work para mabigyan ng magandang buhay ang anak ko. Kaya as much as possible pinaparamdam ko na pwede niya sa’kin sabihin lahat. Tipong pwede niya akong maging bestfriend.”

“Actually nung una I feel na sobrang weak ko talaga na pakiramdam ko hindi ko makakayanan or paano ko ba malalampasan. But after three years na naghiwalay kami, dumating yung time na nakakilala ako kay God. Siya yung nagbigay ng strength sa akin mula nung nakakilala ako sa kanya. Nothing is impossible kaya glory to God. Yun ding naitaguyod ko yung anak ko ngayong college, lalo na malapit na siya gumraduate. Nandito na kami ng anak ko. Lahat ng problema nalalampasa namin, ayun.”

Edith Armada Mendoza, 49

Edith became a single mom after her husband left her. She takes care of her three children while the others are in the care of her husband’s grandparents. For her, the most difficult part is trying to make ends meet with such a limited budget.

Edith, her husband, and their six children were happily together for 28 years until her husband decided to up and leave their family for another. Three of their children are staying with Edith while the others are in the care of her husband's grandparents. For her, the most difficult part is trying to make ends meet with a tight budget. To make do, she sometimes finds a "raket" to rake up some money for her family. She says it's also hard being the only one listening and trying to resolve her kids' problems.

“Ang hirap kasi college na yung iba syempre gastos sa school tapos sa bahay. Kapag kulang yung binigay niya hindi mo alam kung ano sa budget niyo yung babawasan mo para mapagkasya lang.”

“Kami kasi ng daddy ng mga anak ko, hindi kami kasal. Kaya okay siguro kung pwedeng may batas na dapat nagsusustento ang mga tatay depende rin sa laki ng pamilya ganon. Kasi kung ako lang okay lang na iwanan niya ako, pero meron kaming mga anak eh. Kaya ayun.”

“May ibang pamilya na kasi yung daddy nila pero ayun. Siguro may tampo sila pero nandito naman ako. Isa rin yun sa mahirap kasi kapag sabay sabay ang dating ng problema, sayo at sayo lang pupunta ang mga anak mo. Pero okay na rin kasi alam mong pinagkakatiwalaan ka ng mga anak mo.”

CONCLUSION

Single moms are being taken for granted – their struggles remain unacknowledged, thus their problems continue to be in the periphery. Though being a single mother is widespread, people tend to neglect the fact that these individuals and their hardships exist, resulting to the callousness of the society; the existence of laws (i.e. RA 8972) which address the welfare of single mothers is a milestone. However, this action is still insufficient to support the rights of these women.

Knowing these information, we must not stay as consumers of information, rather, we must take the first step to challenge the status quo. Finally, as a communication student, we must care for the voiceless by setting aside our prejudices and by getting exposed to the reality of these marginalized individuals.

Updated September 26, 2017

1. What are the main principles/points of Narrative Paradigm?

The main principles of Narrative Paradigm are coherence and fidelity. Coherence is all about how ideas are glued together, either to engage interaction or to persuade others. While fidelity focuses on the credibility of these ideas. Since Narrative Paradigm holds that people are not just after the emotional appeal of a sentence's context, but we are also after the truthfulness of ideas.

2. How is the Narrative Paradigm different from the Constructivism Paradigm?

Narrative paradigm explains that we communicate in the form of storytelling. The whole communication process consists of a story teller and a listener. The listener chooses the stories to believe in and those stories shape the reality they believe in. On the other hand, Constructivism paradigm holds that our way of communicating with others is affected by our culture; our culture is formed through interaction and engagement with our family, school, church, law or basically society. Culture shapes how we perceive the world.

3. Using Narrative Paradigm, explain "The Philippines At Present."

On social media, especially on Facebook, anyone is free to share their thoughts, opinions, and stories. Our group has observed that Filipinos are one of the most active Facebook users throughout the world. Due to this, there is now a great amount of stories coming from all members of society. There are those from the side of the government,. private companies, protesters, victims, etc. When a Facebook user encounters different sides to a specific story, he or she becomes confused of what to believe in because of the flow of too much information and contradicting details. Not knowing what or who to believe in, because of multiplicity of narratives, this situation creates passive individuals.

While there are those who chose to ignore all these stories, there are people who select the stories to believe in by following certain pages and people. By exposing the self to selected narratives that coincide with their beliefs, these people become blind of other perspectives. They do this because those stories are those that make sense and sound true to them based on how they view the world.

Written by Ren Escosio, Celine Jimenez, Chelsea Serezo

Updated September 24, 2017.

Hey, we’re back! Balancing studies with our blog has been a constant challenge. But fear not, we are doing our best to share these communication theories that will be able to help you maneuver your interactions with other people to achieve an effective conversation. We can still push for our advocacy. We also hope that you are still hanging on despite your struggles.

Translation: Bro, I can still do it.

Speaking of communication where we learn from each other, recently, it has been difficult for us to share our views because we sometimes receive uninformed responses. These responses do not necessarily determine the complexity of their thinking processes. They are “uninformed” because others may not have fully understood or misunderstood what was said.

Their interpretation of the message could have been affected by their personal views of what communication is for. We sometimes forget to clarify the intended meaning of the sender and we assume that what we understood is what the speaker meant to say. And honestly, this is normal because we are all different from each other. But this does not mean that we should not strive for clarification of meanings.

Communication is not a competition, it is all about engaging an interaction with each other. In the comics above, the little boy insists that communication revolves around winning against the tiger, but the tiger thought otherwise. Effective communication, hence, involves tailor fitting a message and empathizing others for fruitful interaction to occur.

To explain the differences in understanding messages, we are going to dig deeper with Message Design Logic (MDL) Theory.

According to O’Keefe, MDL holds that people have different views about what are the goals for communicating. What a person believes to be the aim of communication shapes how he/she interacts with others and how he/she interprets other messages. This theory divides people into three categorizations: Expressive MDL, Conventional MDL, and Rhetorical MDL.

3 TYPES OF MESSAGE DESIGN LOGIC

Expressive Message Design Logic: “I don’t want you to break up with me.” “It’s not fair,” “What would I do without you?” Expressive messages usually are based on actual thoughts and emotions, so there is no really filter. Basically, they are whatever thought that come to people’s mind immediately in a certain situation. People with this type of message design logic don’t care what other people would think of their messages. Below is an example of an expressive MDL.

Conventional Message Design Logic: By abiding social rules, one gains social approval. An example of this MDL in the daily life is when you are walking down the hall and bump in to someone and you both say sorry. People with conventional design logic consider both their knowledge and emotion when they give messages. They do not let their emotions overpower them when giving messages but the messages they give do not necessarily mean that it creates a new reality. Below is an example of a conventional MDL.

Rhetorical (Strategic/Person-Centered) Message Design Logic: This MDL structures reality with others and meet multiple goals. It’s thought out, logical, and tailored to that person specifically. People with this MDL try to argue things so that it would result into something positive. They try to negotiate in order to achieve a common good. Below is an example of a rhetorical MDL.

Note: The comments used as examples are retrieved from the comment section of a political news article. Link to news article and comment section: https://www.facebook.com/inquirerdotnet/posts/10156194807594453?pnref=story

REAL WORLD APPLICATION

For today’s sharing time, our team analyzed the types of MDL that arose and the themes of the messages of the 40 comments from an online news article with politics as the topic. Below is a screenshot of the specific news article in Facebook:

Link to news article:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/932816/palace-welcomes-publics-unwavering-support-for-drug-war?utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#link_time=1506147506

According to our analysis of the MDLs, there are 30 expressive MDLs and 10 conventional MDLs. Based on these responses, we can conclude that most Filipinos use expressive MDL. Some use conventional MDL to be polite and to be able to deliver their message without being judged immediately.

Link to comment section:

https://www.facebook.com/inquirerdotnet/posts/10156203899184453?pnref=story

The news article is all about an American survey regarding the drug war which is happening throughout our country right now. Based on our thematic analysis, it shows that majority of our countrymen support this drug war despite of the killings that happened. However, majority of them plead that the government should change the way it carries out capturing drug personalities.

Interpretation

Based on the analysis, majority of the people from the sample of comments support the ongoing war on illegal drugs but they condemn the rising number of extrajudicial killings. Most of them are not satisfied with the results of the war on illegal drugs and are pushing for due process. These people exhibited Conventional Message Design Logic. They try to send out a message that they are an ally but there are current events that they disapprove of. Even if the others did not directly express their disapproval of the current state of the war on illegal drugs, mocking the government and insulting both Spokesperson Abella and Duterte supporters show their dissatisfaction with the procedures of the war. On the other side of the issue, the ones who support the war on illegal drugs with no complaints also included people who labelled those who are against the procedures of the government as criminals and “dilawan.” These supporters as a whole exhibited Expressive Message Design Logic. Lastly, there are a few who are questioning the credibility of the survey and the war on illegal drugs itself. These people are expressing doubts abou the nature of the investigation on the 6.4 B worth of shabu seized in the Bureau of Customs-led operations and the involvement of Paulo Duterte in the operations. Despite their critical questions which could have started a discussion, they did not exhibit the initiative to have a consensus with others. They fell into the category of Expressive Message Design Logic.

TAKING ACTION

We posted a comment with rhetorical MDL to see if a discussion will start and how it will turn out. Based on their replies to our comment, there was no ill intent and hatred. While expressing our point of view, we tried to negotiate with others and constructed a more balanced view on the issue to engage with both sides – those who are against the killings and those who have no objections. They were encouraged to share their perspectives. It pays to consider the language used in conveying a message, clarifying perspectives, and trying to reach out to people in constructing the image of the situation. In this way, we learn from each other without receiving hate or pain of having a different opinion.

Link to news article and comment section:

https://www.facebook.com/inquirerdotnet/posts/10156203899184453?pnref=story

In our view, all MDLs are equally important. We hope that you learned from today's post and become more conscious of what you communicate and what others want to communicate to you. It depends on the situation and the goals of the person. Nevertheless, we encourage using rhetorical MDL in national matters and social issues.

References:

Edwards, Autumn, Lindsey Rose, Chad Edwards, and Linsay Singer. "An Investigation of the Relationships among Implicit Personal Theories of Communication, Social Support and Loneliness." Human Communication. A Publication of the Pacific and Asian Communication Association. 11 (4): 437–54. Accessed on September 24, 2017. http://www.uab.edu/Communicationstudies/humancommunication/11.4.4.pdf.

Written & Modified by: Ren Escosio, Celine Jimenez, Chelsea Serezo

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