QUE, Francis Agustin P.

2TE-3

1. For those who have chosen the movie Anak, cautiously analyze the characters of Josie
(Vilma Santos) and Carla (Claudine Barreto).
2. Please answer the following questions in a concise yet comprehensive manner (10-20
sentences each).
a. When Josie finally went back to the Philippines to be reunited with her family, she did
not expect the reaction of her children, especially the reaction of her eldest daughter,
Carla, who significantly behaved in a negative manner. How do you think this experience
affected her mental state, emotional wellbeing, and her behavior?

When Josie went back to the Philippines, she expected that her kids would
welcome her with open arms, whom she haven’t seen for years. Upon arriving,
she was met with the opposite. What was supposed to be a happy recollection
didn’t happen between her and her kids, especially her eldest daughter. This could
bring about the feeling of being rejected by her loved ones. The fact that she did
everything she could to give her family the best life that she can give, and seeing
the disappointment of her kids on the life she gave them, would bring about the
feeling of dejection, and that all her efforts weren’t enough for them.

These feelings (especially the feeling of pagkukulang) would bring about

the behavior of trying to compensate for this pagkukulang she has for her family.
Yes, she wanted to establish a connection with her kids, but to do this, she
depended on the manner of being overly attentive or malambing, trying to win
them over by giving them the material things that they wanted or needed, and by
invading their space – trying to force herself into their life.

Additionally, she tried to understand how her kids were reacting by being
patient, but this resulted to her bottling up her frustrations on how they were
behaving. In trying to establish a meaningful relationship, she didn’t want to
 impose these negative feelings onto her children, causing her to hide these
feelings instead. The problem with burying one’s feelings though is that they
bounce back harder especially when triggered. Carla’s negative behavior was the
one to trigger this, and this resulted to Josie exploding with what she was feeling.
It came to a point where she was physically assaulting her daughter (slapping) and
trying to evict her from their household. Her mental and emotional wellbeing
wasn’t stable, and although she expressed her negative feelings towards her
children, she did it in an aggressive manner.

b. When Carla learned that her mother, Josie, have went home, what could be the possible
effects of this scenario to her mental state and emotional wellbeing? Moreover, how do
you think did Carla behave as a reaction towards her views, opinions, and feelings?

Carla was expressive when her mother came home. She did not hide the fact
that she was upset that her mom wasn’t there for her family throughout the years,
more so when her dad died. She did not bottle anything up, to the fact that she
was actually hurting her mother. The effects of her mother’s homecoming made
her angry and relentless all the time. She was hurt because her mother wasn’t
there growing up, and she manifested this hurt on to her mother by reacting
negatively.

Carla’s wellbeing wasn’t stable as well because of all of these unresolved

anger. This anger made her result to vices, trying to cope with all the hurt she was
feeling and the resentment. She even became cold towards her mother, pushing
away all the efforts her mom’s been trying to do for their relationship. Carla’s
mindset at the time her mother came home was to project this pain onto her
mother, to compensate for the hurt that she have felt. Her mother’s homecoming
have triggered these feelings to worsen as each day passes, and this, in effect,
isn’t healthy for her mental and emotional wellbeing. She wasn’t even stable
enough to hear her mom’s side of the story and make room for forgiveness.
Additionally, there was a scene were she left a boy because she didn’t want to be
 the one left behind and hurt in the end. This kind of attitude, being avoidant to
meaningful connections with other people, was a key effect of her mother’s
absence as a child.

Comparing how Josie and Carla reacted on their personal problems, what can you conclude
about the situation?

I can conclude that Josie and Carla handled things way differently. Josie’s manner was to
bottle-up her feelings, while Carla’s was to lash out. Carla was lashing in a way without respect,
not caring how much damage she’s leaving behind. As for Josie, she was patient, but too much
patience can give way to being stepped on or overlooked. When Josie finally expressed what she
was feeling, her daughter did not listen to her immediately. But when Josie did it in a manner
that was like Carla’s, it made her daughter listen. I can conclude that there are a lot of factors that
could affect to how one is behaving in their daily lives. These factors include personal problems
that could affect one’s mental and emotional wellbeing. If these problems weren’t handled in a
healthy manner, it’s toll on one’s mental and emotional health would be grave, and would
eventually manifest itself in their actions and beliefs. It’s hard to handle these personal problems
though, and this is why there are people who result to negative coping mechanisms. I believe
though that expressing one’s feelings would be beneficial to one’s wellbeing, but only in the way
that is healthy.