I first learned about Development Communication as a subject in Mass Communication in 2007 when I was director of the Central Visayas Studies Center (CVSC) of UP Cebu. This was also the year when CVSC launched its initiatives for cultural mapping of southern Cebu towns by holding a Barangay History Conference for the SK youth councils of Argao, Dalaguete, Alcoy, Boljoon and Oslob in February 2007 at the Argao Conference Hall. Two weeks after the conference, my four classes in Science, Technology, and Society (popularly known as STS) did a cultural mapping of the barangays of the five towns simultaneously. In my STS classes, I integrated cultural mapping of barangays as a culminating activity of my classes. A colleague teaching Mass Comm in UP Cebu requested that six of his students take part in the center for a practicum in Development Communication. It was perfect timing. CVSC had just conducted a Community Newspaper Writing Workshop for local officials of these southern towns. The Mass Comm students conducted the workshops first in Argao town for Argao, Dalaguete and Alcoy participants; another group of six conducted the second workshop the following semester in Boljoon for Boljoon and Oslob participants. Argao was the most productive. In two years, it was able to release six issues of their community newspaper called “Tagik” (meaning to weave or to write) while Boljoon could only come up with a single issue. The other towns had difficulty realizing the workshop objectives for political reasons. Since then DevCom remained just a subject in the Mass Comm curriculum.
On Feb. 14, 2015, I had an extensive encounter with development communication when a former student of mine in UP Cebu High School, Ruth G. Mercado, invited me to be a judge in the Documentary Film Awards “Lihok Juan.” She is presently the dean of the Department of Development Communication of Cebu Eastern College. As a final output of their course, students had to produce documentary films about Cebu’s cultural and communication landscape.
With the invitation, Dean Mercado gave us a folio describing the activity, notes for judging and film summaries. In the program, students are trained, honed and perform five skills – writing (journalism and all forms of scientific and technical writing), speaking (broadcasting), multi-media and production, social media communication and total communication that includes sign language and sketching. This program adheres strongly with Nora Quebral’s theory that Development Communication is “the science of human communication linked to the transitioning of communities from poverty in all its forms to a dynamic, overall growth that fosters equity and the unfolding of individual potential.” Producing documentary films was a way of paying tribute to this theory.
The genre used in the films was direct cinema, also called observational cinema. It stalks human truth and human conditions with the naive and candid eye of the camera. While there is a shooting script, human conditions are filmed as these take place – spontaneously, unobtrusively and even unpredictably. The documentary captures events and images just as people live them. “ It shows events honestly and has something worthwhile to say because the purpose of stories in a documentary is to help people understand certain phenomenon, warn of danger, teach about treacheries of human nature, urge people to have values and live and do something about the ideals in exploring actual people in authentic situations.”
Lihok Juan with its 11 entries was intended to deliver and detonate issues: “Selfie” tackles the issue – is taking a photo of oneself or “Selfie” a psychological and mental disorder, a cultural phenomenon or a communication phenomenon?; “Bati Ko’ Nawong” tackles the question of how children learn to relish hurting and hitting others. The film confronts the ugly side of child’s play. Time and again, research has shown that violence in television is moving children to become violent. But how about children in adult roles? The film “Google Box” showed how parents could be throwing children to the devices of demons.
Is becoming a homosexual a natural phenomenon or a phenomenon of nurture? The film “True Colors” shows the true colors of homosexuality. The use of the Internet has often been blamed for culture changes especially among the young.
Some say it provides space for learning. The film “Dot.Com” shows how CEC students used online platforms.
Whether the formalities and good music of FM stations are losing out to slang and vulgarity, the film “Istoryahe” tells the story. The film “Legality of Illegality” brings out the polarities of legal gambling and legal sin – Is there really such a thing as legal gambling? If gambling is a sin, is there legal sin? How is it that penalties of No-Stopping Anytime violations have increased over the years? Is disobedience a natural cultural trait among Cebuanos? The film “Masupilon” makes it easy to understand this.
Instead of having quality time with parents, children are turning to their gadgets. Instead of finding quality time to chat with God, people are spending more time in social networks. Are these symptoms of a “Cancer of Communication?”
The 11th entry “Secure the Release” is a film about tabloid headlines and billboard messages. It shows how the cancer of communication may have metastasized.
All entries ran for seven minutes each. Criteria for judging included cinematography, creative video editing, direction, screenplay, musical scoring and sound. The film that got the highest nominations would won the award for Best Film. But then as the folio indicated “the best film of all is the transitioning of lives and communities long after the films are shown – what Juan has to do – lihok.”
Thank you very much, Ruth, for this bold initiative, for elevating the students’ final output into works of art.
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