WEEK 4 - Discussion

Discussion

TRUST is a very important aspect in any relationship (whether social relationships, personal and intimate relationships, etc.). 
 QUESTIONS: (answers must be at least 5 sentences)
1. What triggered the behavior of Eric?

    Eric's violent behavior was triggered by his jealousy that came from insecurity and thoughts from being replaced by another partner. However, I also think that there are other factors that caused Eric to act hostile towards other people. Growing up in a patriarchal society, the norms of men always being the dominant ones in the relationship will always put guys like Eric into pressure where they are "supposedly" the ones who should be in control. Thus, these people grow up, thinking that it is normal to be hostile whenever we get jealous over people, which clearly is not. Therefore, such thinking can easily trigger violence, which can affect and ruin relationships as it is toxic and a sign of manipulation.

2. "Lumiit yung mundo ko... parang unti-unting sumikip... nakulong ako sa kaming 2 lang..." What does this mean? Why did the girl say this?

    In the given line, I think the Shirley was implicitly indicating that she is trapped in a toxic relationship, where there's this cycle of abuse of trust and forgiveness. She was stuck in a pattern of manipulation, where Eric was always forgiven, even though he was always wrong and wasn't true to his words. Because of this never-ending cycle, she slowly realized that the relationship is now only forced and unnatural. It is not a relationship anymore since it is one-sided, where the guy was the only one "taking" and not "giving and that there's even no more respect given to her. The only way for the suffering to end was to end the relationship with her partner, an act that she was hesitant to do.

3. Give your own reaction/reflection about the video. Include your learnings/realizations.

    There were a lot of lessons and subtle symbolisms that stuck to me after watching the video. At the scenes where Eric removes Shirley's glasses off after every argument is a symbolism of how Eric tries to blind her with his red flags and that how Eric always takes advantage of how Shirley is vulnerable at that time. I think that whenever he gives her flowers is a symbol of Eric trying to manipulate his way back into the relationship. Whenever Shirley accepts it, it shows that figuratively, she somehow accepts Eric into blinding her again, as she was also tricked into thinking that Eric would not be violent towards others again. Shirley's glasses breaking after their last fight, for me, was a sign that Shirley has seen through enough, and that it is time for her to end their relationship. Overall, I learned that in relationships we shouldn't tolerate such behaviors, like lashing out whenever we feel jealous. There's never an excuse to cause violence towards others just for the sake of relieving our insecurities. Although it may be hard for those who get stuck in relationships like this, we should always remind ourselves that despite feelings will always be valid, acting it out with violence will never solve our problems.