A Film Analysis Of “ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros” 73475l

A film analysis of “Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros” The story starts out with where the main character lives, Maximo or better yet, what the boy prefers to be called or what everyone calls him - "Maxi", grew up in a squatter’s area. He goes about its narrow streets with his father selling a stolen cellphone, his brother selling drugs – showing us the harsh everyday reality of Maxi’s life. But incredibly the film shows how accepting his family, friends and neighbors are of his homosexuality. Unlike most gay kids who gets bullied and beaten up by their fathers or older siblings, Maxi's situation isn't as awful, he openly does things he likes – cooking, taking care of his dad and older brothers, and even a kid that’s younger than him. His homosexuality isn’t actually questioned, instead his dad and older brothers accepts and loves him for who he is. Their neighborhood is also an opposite of what the usual idea of a squatter’s area would be, that even with living in the slums, people there are lively and comfortable in their homes. Though well-loved growing up, Maxi was exposed to what his family did for a living and being with a pack of thieves gave him front row seats to their bad deeds. And even with this kind of set up, Maxi fared quite well with his life. The main character is a good mix of wit, cheerfulness and innocence as the film goes on. He’s also shown as a good friend to everyone, who goes hang out, treats them when he has the cash and plays dress up or pretend they’re in a beauty pageant. He’s also a very loving son and sibling. In the film, Maxi being at the stage of puberty is actually also shown as a caring irer – as he has fallen in love with a cop named Victor. It’s quite amusing that he has found love and would do whatever it takes, which is something I could relate to. He has tried his charm with cooking Victor food, asking him what he likes in a woman and changing for him, protecting him from his family when he eventually found out about their thievery – what people usually do when they love someone. There was this scene where regardless of their bad deeds, they still managed to show their affection to one another, give their respects and prayed for their food. They have this closely-knit family, where in they care for each other. Maxi’s siblings are also very protective of him, especially when they knew who messed with Maxi the night Victor saved him. He’s also very comionate to Victor, especially when he ended up getting beaten up by his family – he tended for his wounds and disobeyed his father. And towards his family too, even more when they got into trouble for his brother’s mistake. I liked the ending because not only did Maxi sur all those hardships, he also became a better person – it gave us a better scope of who Maxie really is. After his father’s death, we’re shown how he got over his puppy crush on the cop and gave into thought what mattered the most. So in the middle of poverty, family, love and the such – it all comes together for Maximo’s painful search for redemption.

The way I see it, society plays an important role in one’s behavior, personality and principles – how it affects an individual. If I connect it with the theoretical perspectives on socialization, there’s this one

where it say “nurture is our nature” since sociologists believe that nurture matters more in shaping human behavior, Nature versus Nurture – I can relate that to how Maxi was raised accepted and loved for who he is, his father and two older brothers (his mother died a long time ago as showed in the film) never made his sexual orientation a big deal. Maxi being already gay or he already had that in him, he was never beaten, forced or asked to change himself. He’s even allowed to play with his other gay friends, wear what he likes, and really act like a lady. That scene where his brother comforted him when Victor broke his heart also shows how ive his family is of who Maxi is. Next would be The Looking Glass Self Theory (of Charles Horton Cooley), it’s our perception of how other people think of us. This would be like how Maxi changed his style to a simpler look after Victor told him what he likes in women – he ends up skipping the makeup, bracelets and headband. To Maxi, he might’ve assumed he wasn’t simple enough, that he was starting to get conscious of how Victor thought of him, and that lead him to change. With Role-Taking Theory (of George Herbert Mead), it shows how children develop their self-conception. In the film, Maxi is taking the role of a mother since he always feeds, cooks, cleans, does laundry and takes care of his family like a mom would. He does things like a women would do, he observed that from his environment and with the movies he watches. His family would be his number one agent of socialization, wherein he is taught how to be loving and accepting but at the same time, it gave him the wrong idea of criminal cases (thievery) being okay. Then there’s his friends, who did nothing but accept him and hang around him for their game of make-believe beauty pageants. Maxi’s socialization through the life course has affected his behavior towards people and situations. And also his orientation to who he is. In the ending, he has not thought the same way after his father’s death, like the way he has not thought the same way about Victor. The scene where he reluctantly ed by the cop showed how he has now moved on. I believe that homosexuals should be treated as an equal, even though they’re labeled by the majority that doesn’t mean we should treat them with less respect or care – they should be treated with equality, like how we treat other straight individuals.