RUBRICS

Awareness of Issue: _____

FAMIPOP Reflection Paper
Communication of Information and Ideas: _____
Name:_________________
Critical and Creative Thinking Skills: _____
Personal Judgment: _____ Section:_________________
Integration to Course Content: _____ Date:____________
Reflection Paper Number:________
SCORE _____

1. What family issues were explored in the film?

In my opinion, there were two family issues being tackled in the movie. The first one is the “reversal” of roles for
the family’s breadwinner. Claire Raphael, the wife, is the primary breadwinner of the family. Her income alone from her
booming furniture business is the family’s source of income. It is what feeds the children, pays the bill, and all the other
things necessary for a comfortable life. This makes her husband very uncomfortable because he was the one in charge
of doing the domestic work while his wife earns a living for them. He had lost his job, and income stopped coming from
him. The second issue is the premise of separation and divorce. Because of how unhappy Dennis was in his marriage,
he was suing his wife for divorce on the grounds of her being an unfit parent. His anger was mostly stemming from his
insecurities and incapacity to be the breadwinner because of his views that the family was supposed to be patriarchal-
based.

2. How is the family different from our traditional idea of what a family is?
In our traditional definition of a family, the mother stays at home to do all the houseworks. Her main duty would
be to stay at home most of the time, tend to the children, give comfort to her husband when he comes home tired from
work, and only be a pillar of support who never takes the lead in any important family decision. However, in the movie,
the mother was the one taking charge. This was similar to what we discussed in class the view on family theories on
conflict, and this is exactly what happened in the movie. The mother and father were fighting over who would be the one
to provide for the family. Also, the movie ended with both parents separating. If this happened in a Filipino setting, the
mother would be the one to give way for her children and become a martyr.

3. What three important lessons you gained from the film in terms of maintaining family relationships?
The first lesson that I learned from the movie is the importance of communication. I saw nothing wrong with
Claire acting as the breadwinner. However, Claire erred because she failed to communicate and listen to her the needs
of her husband. Marriage is a two-way street, and one person’s decision should not always prevail over the other. Claire
was so used to taking charge of decisions that even though they have an agreement, she breaks it anyway. However,
Dennis was also at fault because he was keeping his anger without telling Claire.

The second lesson is about involvement. Claire did not involve her husband in her affairs. She made him feel like
an outsider who did not matter. It was like they were strangers in their own home. Also, admittedly, Claire was gone from
her children’s life on some days when Dennis mentioned her being away 30 plus days out of 90 days. That’s ⅓ of her
children’s life that she missed.

The third lesson is about how the survival of the marriage depends on sacrifice. The wife and the husband were
so absorbed in their own problems that they forgot to make sacrifices for their children. Dennis could have placed his
children’s needs before his own at the start and could have avoided the whole conflict, but he chose to be selfish and
kept the children all for himself at the start. It was only when Johnny called the Child Abuse Services that Dennis’ cold
persona changed.

4. Using feminist perspective as a frame, how would you critique the ways in which women were portrayed in the film?
First, I would critique how the movie placed expectations for women to stay at home. The Judge was so unfair
with his conservative views. Claire was expected to balance out everything: her business, her family affairs, and she was
even expected to do the household work. Second, the movie portrayed Claire who did not know what to do when served
with the divorce letter. She had to depend on Brady, a man, to get her life in order. Third, Claire chose the lighthouse to
live in which was far from the city. It was in isolation, and she should not be living in despite what had happened in her
marriage. Other than that, I think the movie was able to empower women in its portrayal. Claire was even awarded
Woman of the Year for her contributions and success in the business landscape. The movie showed that it was possible
for a woman to be the breadwinner of the family while being able to take care of her children. Additionally, the movie
portrayed the children as not being starved of affections. Claire was a good mom.

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