Paprika: A Must-See Sci-Fi Film

(a submitted reaction paper for my ENG10 class)

photo from this link

Paprika is a typical science fiction film that overstates the world in about 90 minutes. But, what is unique about it is it is able to make such exaggeration substantial to treating reality.

The story is about a gadget called DC-mini, a groundbreaking device invented by scientists from Foundation for Psychiatric Research that enables one to enter, save, watch and manipulate his dreams. Using this device, doctors can study and cure the illnesses of the human mind. However, it is stolen by an unknown thief who enters the dreams of many people and takes them into these dreams even though they are awake. Hence, it is the duty of its inventors- Dr. Chiba, Dr. Shima and Dr. Tokita- to find the thief in the psycho world with the help of Detective Kogawa and Chiba’s dream ego, Paprika.

Near the end, reality and dreams are overstated as they merge and bring the world into its destruction. But, the ending shows thicker twists which open stories of jealousy, friendship, ambition and love. As usual, the good men triumph and the villains fall short.

The simplicity of this anime is seen in its uncomplicated 2D technical style and trite sound effects. But, being a Japanese anime, there is the brilliance of unpredictable twists and abstract ideas that are, sometimes, hard to comprehend. Thus, Paprika is not an audience-friendly movie, though it is worth watching for a man who opens his mind to unsettled issues that, sometimes, films fail to portray. It is an excellent science fiction film that truly paves way to the ethical understanding of science that matured individuals must know.

Paprika refocuses what most sci-fi movies tend to put an emphasis on. Films like The Core, 2012 and Tidal Wave show that people strive to make the world better, predict what is unpredictable about the nature. Mostly, the focus is the world at large and, in some instances, to threaten people that this can happen so they should be ready. But, what about the things that are existing but already imperil our lives such as the pollution caused by factory’s machines, cars and artificial fertilizers? These are technological advances that harm, not only our environment, but mostly us as vulnerable humans. Paprika with DC-mini illustrates that our ambition to do work easier by inventing gadgets is an ambition that, sometimes, leads to regulating things that are meant to be uncontrollable. In the case of DC-mini, its purpose to manipulate dreams violates the natural existence of things that are supposed to be beyond man’s control. Knowingly or unknowingly, as shown in the film, we are put at risk by these gadgets as these transform the naturally-made to technologically-modified. Hence, who gets the blame? Just as how the three scientists struggle to find the DC-mini and stop the troubles it causes, man must also be responsible of handling science and using it for better living.

Moreover, Paprika unveils what is behind the goals that man injects in science.  Some sci-fi movies go directly to the problem- scientists detect a tsunami, an earthquake, an alien spaceship or an impending volcanic eruption. There is a chaos that unexpectedly arises and so later on, scientists devise a way to hamper it or at least, save the people. But, in Paprika, the invention of DC-mini is not only caused by the desire to help those who are in need but, also, by the desire of Tokita to share a dream with his best friend. This shows that the objective of science is not necessarily rooted from big societal needs; rather, it can also be entrenched from individual self-interests. Consequently, since science can sometimes be subjective, people must really be responsible for handling it with respect to the society as a whole.

Indeed, Paprika demonstrates that movie as an art is not just a creation for entertainment but also something that has duty to inform and be helpful in making a better society. It certainly develops the objectives of science fiction films making it a must-see one.  

Teaching GK Kids

Originally, the teaching committee planned to tutor kids. The committee was supposed to be divided into two: for students and for the out-of-school toddlers. The intended age bracket was 3 to 12 years old. Those who were attending their classes would be helped on their assignments and lessons; while, those who were not going to school would be taught basic preparatory lessons incorporated with stories and creative activities. We were supposed to gather them at the Telus court, though we really had problems regarding this venue due to inconvenience and changing weather. 

However, on our first meeting, we found out that our schedule, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, was not amenable to the children. Many of the kids were at their schools at these hours and the others were sleeping as it was their siesta time. Ate Mila, our contact person in the GK Telus, also advised us to play games and teach stories instead as most of their kids were students and learning school matters again in the afternoon would burden them more. As a response to these concerns, we then decided to change our plan to conducting fun games and story-telling but integrated with moral values.

The stories we taught were The Monkey and The Crocodile (a fable of friendship and trust) and David and Goliath (a parable about faith and self-confidence). Some of the games we facilitated were Bahay, Bagyo, Bato (for agility and speed), Simon Says (for attentiveness), Crab game (for focus and cooperation), Charades (for creativity and intelligence) and the Boat is Sinking (for competitiveness).

We also decided to participate in every game in order to foster friendship with them and also in order not to make them feel apart from us. All in all, we were able to gather more or less 30 kids every Monday.

            Generally, there were no major problems encountered during our meetings. In our last few sessions, we saw good results such as cooperation among the children and an established friendship between them and us.

Among these, we can declare a success for the Teaching Committee.

Go and Reinvent the Government!

(my reaction paper for POLSC 150 class )

image from this link

Osborne and Gaebler’s Reinventing Government is one of the works in Political Science I find very useful especially in modern societies. It has been even more interesting to study with the introduction of the ten principles of reinvention which provide, for me, a very democratic and practical style of governing.

I always believe that government exists simply “to govern” and governing is far different from puppeteering. Many political systems, classical or modern, seem to be puppeteers of their society whether it is directly or indirectly done. Everything is mandated and manipulated by the government. What seems to be wrong is put right in the name of the government.

This problem is clearly answered by Reinventing Government. I like the way its principles go. I do agree that the government must steer rather than row. They are there to facilitate and like what a teacher does, teach and then later on allow students, the people, to strive for their own achievements. Government must learn to be a catalytic one.

To treat people as puppets can also be demonstrated by how “nanny” governments serve their people. Some democratic states “love” to provide everything to the people especially when they mourn. This is not wrong; in fact it is good that the government is responsive to the needs of the citizens. However, when situation goes like people are being fed by the government already, the government teaches its people to be indolent and irresponsible. Not every mourn is valid. People should strive for their own survival and parents should feed their own young. Government should just empower them (as a community-owned government), teach them to be self-reliant, lend them the goals of the state (be mission-driven) and provide rules as details to achieve these.  People are not puppets who have no bones to move their own body and who are meant to be lazy all through-out their lives.

Another way of reinvention that struck me was the “results-oriented government”. Sometimes, government lacks planning. They provide too many inputs while underestimating what these can do. For instance, government funds a mining project in a biodiversity-rich area. This could result to environmental problems like pollution and landslides. The government would then fund programs to respond to these. What could this cause the state as a whole? For me, it would just waste the capacity of the natural resources to do more than mining can. The thinking, therefore, must be “To what extent can this project render more success compared to the other?”

 Furthermore, when government wrongly thinks of a solution to the problem of the state, spending would just be equal to spending and spending more. People would then feel like their taxes go to nothing and protest afterwards. What is the solution of the Reinvention? Be an enterprising government. Plan carefully to earn more and spend less. Invest on what can be beneficial to everyone in a long term.

Additionally, being an “anticipatory government” is also a wise step to take especially for us, in the Philippines, where calamities always occur. Before Ondoy struck our country, our government used to respond to typhoons by providing rubber boats, distributing relief goods and teaching people how to prepare their emergency kits every now and then. It was always the routine whenever calamity aroused and as a result, government fell short of budget and failed to react to the demands of many people suffering. What did the government miss here? It was to fix the main root of the problem. Government should work on the drainage system, fix what causes flood. Even though typhoon is not there yet, at least, whenever it comes, we feel secured. It should not be solving when we are already at its midst.

There are lots more to say about Reinventing Government but it would indeed entail a whole book to express its usefulness.  For me, all the ten principles of reinvention point to one thing, “to delight the people”.  To provide good quality of services for the people in many ways, like those mentioned above, means that the government treats the public as customers. It is being a customer driven government that I think all governments must be. A good government provides what is good for its people.

I hope that our government would continue to reinvent its system. We are in the modern era; traditions that do not help us anymore must be changed. As this happens, we should change ourselves too. Reinvention must start in us and in our homes. Government needs its people to cooperate in its desire to reinvent itself.  

The Perfect Scheduler

“Everything that happens in this world happens at the time God chooses.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1)

When my family was financially unstable, I desired to help them by applying to any scholarship grants. I went to a certain office in our university wherein several scholarship opportunities were posted; but only few of those fit my course. There was a scholarship that was more lax and had more benefits, but, sadly, I could not beat its deadline anymore. I still submitted my requirements though I was losing my hope that my papers would still be reviewed. Several months had passed, but I received no notifications. The scholarship I tried to apply in closed and the beneficiaries were already announced.

During those times that I was agitated on what to do, I thought of finding a job- be a working a student. But, doing so would mean handling down my responsibilities in the church. Of course, much of my time would be occupied by school and work. So, I really kept on praying all night, asking God’s wisdom on how to handle my situation – I want to continue serving the Lord while helping my parents. By then, I learned to entrust everything to the Lord; letting His way be my own path. I knew God had wonderful plan for me.

Until one morning, a text message from the university office of the scholarship surprised me. Accordingly, I was granted a scholarship! I kept on recalling those scholarships I had applied into, but never remembered this one. I had never encountered the said grant but I was chosen to receive it! This was a new scholarship and was given to few students who passed their requirements- it was just a random selection; no application! I could not really imagine how great the Lord was. From that moment, I just kept on praising God for His miraculous help to me. My prayers were answered in his perfect time!

The scholarship that was granted to me has a lot of benefits- more than any other I knew before. When I was already fixing my requirements for submission, my contact staff called me to say that the scholarship had to be given to three students from different campuses. To their mistake, they only looked at the ranking of the students and it had been that those who ranked best came from only one campus- from ours. So, I got panicked again. That would mean, removing some grantees. I was disappointed and just wanted to cry. I hurriedly texted all my church mates to pray for me. Then, I received replies from them saying that the scholarship was for me, I should not worry because the Lord had already given it to me. My hope was revived by those comforts; I stood up and praised God for His greatness. And after few minutes, my contact person called again saying that it would not be revoked from me.

See? It was mine! It’s God’s gift to me!

When we receive a blessing, sometimes, we get confronted by trials that make us disappointed. But, we just have to remember what Jesus has taught us:

                “.. Have faith in God. I assure you that whoever tells this hill to get up and throw itself in the sea and does not doubt his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. For this reason I tell you: When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it, and you will be given whatever you ask for.” (Mark. 11:22-24).

If you pray for something, believe that God will give you your heart’s desire because it will be yours as He promised. If  what you are specifically praying for does not come, hold on because God has a better answer to you- BETTER THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE! The Lord’s will is the one that is best for us. Just believe and claim it! Let God be the manager of your life. Let Him be your Father to whom you consult your plans, desires, problems and everything in your life; He will help you whatever circumstances you are in.

Just wait upon the Lord… The Lord is the SCHEDULER of everything so believe in His perfect time and do not work on your own way.. you cannot live and succeed alone.

The Battle Continues…

David's victory (image from PRLOG.com)

Years ago, I wrote a blog about war. I was so angry with US because of the horror it continually brought to some parts of West Asia. And, I presumed that few years after that, our country, the Philippines, would be their next target. Until now, I have never seen any advantage war can give in a nation but, my approach to it has changed.  

There is no need to be afraid for those who wait upon the Lord.

The Word of God tells us a lot of stories about war. Perhaps, we can quote David, Goliath, King Saul, King Solomon, the Israelites, the Egyptians, the thirteen tribes and many more Bible names that came across victorious and failed wars. Of course, God has given us several lessons from all of these stories. And, among all these teachings lies the most fundamental message about going through a battle- “If God is with us, who can be against us?”. 

We know the amazing story of David, a small young boy who got the courage to fight and defeat the giant man Goliath by believing that God was with him (I Samuel 17). David’s faith had been built through small and big happenings in his life that, in this situation where his life was truly in a brink, remained strong.  It is amazing how a stick, five stones and a sling he only had made the giant and armored Goliath fell like a mango slung from a tree.  With just this testimony, we can already see that God was at work in David’s victory.

 But, what was then the reason behind this war? Remember that the Philistines were trying to overthrow the Israelites, the God’s people. As David spoke to Goliath who was then belittling him, “..The whole world will know that Israel has a God, and everyone here will see that the Lord does not need swords or spears to save his people…” (I Samuel 17:46-47). Explicitly, the reason behind David’s response was for God’s glory.

Today, what is the reason behind wars?

Actually, God does not want wars. “He stops wars all over the world; he breaks bows, destroys spears, and sets shields on fire. ‘Stop fighting’ he says, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10a). But, people are greedy; they want more when they have too much. They become sinful that they are destined to die forever.  So, God sent Jesus to save us (Romans 6:23; John 3:16). He suffered and died on the cross; but resurrected and promised to come back for the fulfillment of what has been written. Then, in the last days, God has to test the people to know who will hold on to Him until the very end (Mat. 24:13; Rev. 3:10). And, one of the horrible things that will happen is WAR- “You are going to hear the noise of battles far away… countries will fight each other…” (Matthew 24:6-7).

Hence, the battles that are going on today are written. These are part of the troubles that will test people.  We cannot skip this prophecy; ‘such things must happen’ (Mat 24:6) for the final judgment to come when people will be divided into two final destinations: eternal life for the righteous and eternal death for the sinful (Mat. 25:31-46). But,  like the message of Jesus to the church in Philadelphia, “Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you safe from the time of trouble which is coming upon the world to test all the people on earth (Rev. 3:10)”, we should keep our faith in Him and continue to obey His commandments. If there are people who are oppressing us, God will punish them.  Bear in mind that the battle is not ours, it is God’s (2 Chronicles 20:15); thus, we have already won it. We just have to continue to ‘press towards the goal in order to win the prize’ (Phil 3:14) that Jesus has already won for us.

Whatever battle or war you are facing right now, always remember what God has promised- VICTORY. War happens because it is an evidence that there people who are greedy of worldly treasures and of self-glory. Therefore, if you are caught in a battle, fight for the GLORY OF GOD; I am so sure you will win against those who fight for themselves. Be faithful to Him and acknowledge Him whatever happens. He sees you and will ‘never leave you nor forsake you’ (Heb. 13:5).

Mark and keep in mind and heart this verse from Psalms 23:4:

“Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd’s rod and staff protect me.”