José Rizal: A Third-World Hero
Note: This post is based on my take-home examination in PI100: The Life and Works of Jose Rizal, a legislated course in UP. The class I was in was under Mr. Jessie G. Varquez Jr. Jose Rizal is regarded as the liberator of the Philippines, regarded as the proprietor of the Philippine Revolution, and revered as the Philippine's National Hero. However, as the world views the country as part of the “Third World” - countries that do not move at all with either capitalism or communism, countries that are regarded as “developing” due to social, economic and political problems - how could one Malayan man such as Rizal remove the bondage that the Spanish had took hold of them for three centuries? Did he truly heed to set the archipelago free? Could the Filipinos of today be discarding Rizal, revering another personality, serving him as their “hero”? Is he worthy to be a “National Hero”? The discussion in this writing takes insights mainly from two sources: the independent film, Bayaning ...