Marie Angelu D.

Pagobo
2013-58720

Prof. Enrico Baula

Socio 101
SLEEPLESS

Featuring the beauty of Metro Manilas cityscapes, Prime Cruz depicted a simple yet
atypical love story personified into characters of Gem and Barry, which implies more interest
than what it appears to be. Sleepless is an independent film released last year (2015) starring
Glaiza De Castro as Gem and Dominic Roco as Barry, about two call center agents who happen
to have the same spectrum of ideas and interests, drawing them together, and eventually find
each other as remedy to their insomnia.
The film started by the minimal representation of the condition of the main character who
struggles with insomnia. Gem, a call center agent who oftentimes tops the agencys sales,
seemed static and neutral as she face another day barely having sleep. Her cyclical lifestyle--wake up, commute to work, work, go home, go to bed, sleep (or not)--- along with the
cosmopolitan shots of the urban setting taken into glimpse, set the mood from the perspective of
her everyday life. Everything was in a monotonous atmosphere until he met Barry. Barry, an
artistic sketcher and now a new call center employee, was introduced to her to practically help
him adapt and learn their works roundabouts. The two rub along forthwith, being on the same
wavelength. Their friendship started to flourish as they bumped into each other in a convenient
store and talked about cool random thoughts such as zombies and surviving zombie apocalypse.
After discovering that both of them live on the same building, together they spent their lonely,
sleepless nights through late night rooftop conversations where they were able know each other
more and deeply.
Gems views about love and relationships was deeply affected by her situation with her
mother, who now have a new family after her father died; and her boyfriend, who happened to
have a wife and a child already. Barry, on the other hand, struggles to be with his child whos in
the custody of the mother; which is the reason why he works as a call center agent in order to
save money to see his son in Canada, although not knowing exactly the address where his family
migrated. He store up his gifts for his kid in a big box for the big events that he missed. But then
his inconsistency and absences caused by despair resulted to his dismissal. Gem helped Barry by
lending him the money she got through collateralizing the necklace that was given to her by her
now ex-boyfriend.
At the end, it showed how having a companion as Gem met Barry, who appreciates your
being, could fill that emptiness in your heart and give remedy to those lonely, sleepless nights.
After all, Gem has been able to fall asleep.
At first, it can be thought that the story would only focus on the insomnia itself as the title
suggests, but the movie has shown more than that. Some of the common problems that most
people in our society experience were somehow laid out in the plot, and how your environment;
being alone or having someone with you, could affect you and your perspective in life. Both
Gem and Barry experience life problems and issues, and insomnia was just a part of a whole. The
story was made with the combination of rough reality and impressive positivity. In sociology,
circumstances and behaviours of the characters can be given an explanation.

Marie Angelu D. Pagobo

2013-58720

Prof. Enrico Baula

Socio 101

Firstly, coworkers-slash-neighbors Gem and Barry get along pretty well instantly
inasmuch as they have the same spectrum of ideas and interests that draw them more upon each
other. As Propinquity theory proposes, it is the people whom you encounter more often that have
the higher tendency for you to form social bond or relationship with. Gem and Barry spent most
of their times interacting with each other as they are working at the same place and living in the
same building. They also shared leisure time with each other, and the repetition of these
interactions makes them know each other more and deeper, and this increases their liking and
bonding towards one another.
In sociology, everything you do and say is based on your background. In one of the
conversations of Gem and Barry, Gem has stated that she believes that men are already inclined
to cheat since polygamous genes is already in the system of every man. Hence she concluded,
as they judge the couples around them, that all of the men in that place cheated with their wives
at least once. Looking on her background, it can be learned at the near end of the film that her
boyfriend, Vince, has already have a legal wife and a kid which means she is a mistress, and she
was aware of it. This might be the reason why it was inculcated in her mind that men are inclined
to cheat through basing on her experience.
But why does she let herself to be the other woman or to be just an option of a man
who barely has time for her? According to sociology, most people behave by how the society,
law, religion, or family taught them, and its not their choice. Gem did not felt loved and cared by
her mother. Her mother is the only family shes supposed to have, who now have new family
after her father died. There was a part where she went back to their home to attend her halfsisters birthday. She was asked by her mother about her work, yet it was just like a mere
obligatory regards that lacks sincerity. She was even mocked as being not promoted and having
only what the society considers a dead-end job. Our family makes the foundation of how we
will carry ourselves upon growing up, and this issue of Gem negatively affected her self worth.
She feared that nobody will love her as Vince do. Having no family to lean on, shes afraid of
growing old alone. Also, sociology believes that everything is conditional to which we could
apply in this situation. For instance, while Gems reason for having a relationship with Vince is
that to have an assurance of having a partner, Vince also benefitted to her sexually.
On the other hand, Goffmans dramaturgical analysis was applied upon the advice of
Gem to Barry on how to make sales--- in speaking with the clients, he has to have a smiling
voice, use silent Ts as to sound more American, and/or practice British accent like a native. But
unfortunately after sometime, he was dismissed on the job because of his inconsistencies and
absences; characteristics that are not qualified to survive the hunger games (Marxs conflict
perspective) in call centers which correspond to Herbert Spencers survival of the fittest.
By the end, it can be noticed that the people they consider special in their lives either left
them or dont fully appreciate their presence which negatively impacted their lives.
Nevertheless, finding each others company also served as finding someone you can consider a
family, and made them (especially Gem) find their inner selves. No man is an island, indeed. The
movie did not show a typical love story where two people live happily ever after, but it
ingeniously showcased a story of a better love you can acquire in friendship. It showed how
having someone to lean on could give remedy to those lonely, tedious, cyclical sleepless days.