The millennials were treated to an alternative way of understanding the issue of extrajudicial killing (EJK) in a medium that they like most, namely film.
In a short forum held at the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJR) Audio Visual Room, students were treated to a free showing of the short film
“No Seguir” that won in the Cinema 1 Originals One Minute Film competition held at the Dolphy Theater in ABS-CBN in Quezon City last November 27.
The short film “No Seguir” written and directed by BA Communication student filmmaker Justine Nino Tecson and his classmates opened up with the scene of national hero Jose Rizal writing his last farewell when suddenly there was a hard and fast knock on the door.
Even before Rizal could react to the thumping sound, the door opened and a man in a police uniform emerges and shot the national hero point blank from behind.
The policeman then approached the dead person and hung a cardboard with the inscription “Indio Ako Huwag Tularan.” The short film “No Seguir” was chosen as winner from more than 200 entries nationwide.
According to Al Rater Presbitero, the actor who portrayed Rizal, the short film tries to depict how serious the problem of EJK is in the country.
Presbitero explained during the forum that the short film posited that Rizal was better off than the more than 5,000 victims of EJK because he was at least allowed to stand trial and write his “Mi Ultimo Adios” while the EJK victims didn’t have a chance to bid farewell to their family nor the time to change their lives.
In a private conversation, Tecson said his short film wanted to tell the story about a relevant issue to the younger generation by reviving a “cliché” and merging it with a current issue. He said many youths are either complacent or being misinformed about the pressing issues hounding the country, especially EJK.
He admits that like anyone at his age, he was also chasing fame but got disappointed after several attempts at the yearly Sinulog Film Festival yielded unfavorable results. It was then that he realized his new purpose, which is to tell stories regardless whether he gets an award.
This time, he wants to devote his talent into storytelling about important issues in order to help his generation understand the pressing issues of their time and come up with informed decisions that were not easily influenced by the unverified messages in social media.
In the midst of the rising number of EJKs, the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte is making moves to reinstate capital punishment or death penalty.
Undoubtedly, despite the opposition of the church and other civic groups, the move is receiving more cheers than jeers from the public.
With the unbridled summary executions happening across the country, there is technically no need to pass a law formally reinstating death penalty because of the culture of impunity already etched in the minds of the public. Who needs a law when suspected criminals are instantly liquidated anyway?
In a society that considers violence as part of their entertainment menu, it is expected that majority of the people will support instant justice until a member of their family or anyone close to them would fall as victim.
We could not change this culture unless we will watch over what kind of games our children and youth are subscribing in their gadgets and until this generation will do something about widespread misinformation happening in the medium that they like most, the social media.