Mendoza, Joanne Carla D.
Nievera, Kate Micah V.
Ramos, Jenalyn R.
ENGLCOM A52B
DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS
The documentary we watched is titled
“Toughest Place to be a Bus Driver”. This documentary was primarily shot in San
Andres located in the city of Manila, the most densely populated city in the
world. It features a bus driver from London named Josh West who eventually met
Rogelio Castro, a jeepney driver from Manila. The documentary “Toughest Place
to be a driver, medic, fireman, etc.” is a BBC Two television documentary which
features different professionals in the UK, who are either working or retired,
to a completely different working environment in the same profession as they
are. These people travel to a foreign country to work for ten days. This was
produced by BBC, also known as British Broadcasting Corporation, which is a
popular broadcasting statutory corporation in the UK. The BBC is known as the
oldest national broadcasting organization and the largest broadcaster by
employees in the world having 23,000 staff. It operates under a Royal Charter
and a License and Agreement from the Home Secretary. It’s owned by the
Government of United Kingdom.
The target
audience of this documentary includes drivers all over the world as well as
Filipino citizens. This concerns drivers all over the world since it is
something that they can relate to because their fellow drivers were featured. Particularly,
it shows the lives of two different drivers coming from different backgrounds. Filipino
citizens are also affected by this documentary since it serves as a way for
people to know how difficult it is to be living in a poor community.
The
purpose of this documentary is to show the reality of life of the people in slums,
and to show how different the situation is in the Philippines and London.
Through this video, and through the experience of Josh, we get to see that Manila
is certainly the toughest place to be a bus driver.
We
saw Josh West, a bus driver from London, who was sent to the Philippines in
order to experience how difficult it is to be a driver in Manila. He was
constantly guided by a jeepney driver from the Philippines named Rogelio Castro.
We saw how Josh took up a driving lesson in order to get the hang of driving a
Filipino jeepney but experienced difficulties because of how different the
vehicle is compared to what he usually drives which is an automated bus. Not
only did he experienced driving a jeepney; he also saw how people in a poor
community lives and how much they suffer. He left his comfort zone and immersed
himself with others so that he can try and experience a life opposite to his
even if it’s just for 10 days. He became truly attached to the family he was
with and we saw how this experience affected him as a human being.
There is a huge
difference between the vehicles, particularly buses, in London and vehicles in
the Philippines. It is quite obvious that buses in London are highly
technological and far more advanced than those found in the Philippines. It
also shows how different the earnings are of Josh and Mang Rogelio. Josh gets
paid more for an hour’s work than what Mang Rogelio gets for a whole day’s
work. Mang Rogelio’s self built home measure 10 x 10ft and is home to people
from three generations. With this, it seems like a driver in London lives a
better life compare to that of a driver in the Philippines. One thing that Josh
pointed out in the documentary is that – “If I was born here I’d be in the same
situation as you. It’s just by chance that I was born in London”.
The
producer of this documentary used music that can touch the heart and clips such
as the woman making “pagpag”, how there are many people living under one roof,
and how one woman is unable to support her family because she has many
children. Using these sort of clips makes it an appeal to pity as they make the
viewers sympathize and empathize with the people shown in the videos. The life
between a driver from London and a driver from Manila was compared and shown
how different and opposite the lifestyle of these people are. The producer of
this documentary was subjective and serious. It has shown the reality of life people
in slums experienced even if it may be criticized by viewers because it only
shows the bad side of Manila. The type of evidence the documentary uses is pathos mainly because it tackles many
emotional issues. Despite the comfortable life experienced by many people
living in the Philippines, it is still undeniable that the number of poor
people is greater. A particular issue tackled in the documentary is the story
of a woman selling “pagpag”, a type of food made from leftovers. It is
saddening seeing the plight of these people who are working so hard but still
stays in the same situation.
The
documentary serves as an eye-opener to the Filipinos and foreigners. Going out
in one’s comfort zone may sometimes be a good thing since it makes us realize
that there is a bigger picture outside our life. It is a heartwarming
documentary which shows how tough it is to live in a poor community and makes a
person think about how lucky they are to be able to live a life that is
comfortable. Although we tend to help people in need, watching this makes us think
that it is actually possible to do more and become better people so that the
society can improve more. It had a great impact on our lives, that we have
changed our views and perspectives regarding jeepney drivers. Before, it is
unavoidable to get irritated to the drivers since they always try to carry more
passengers when the jeepney is already full; but now, we understand that it is
necessary for them to do this so they can earn money for their family and so
that they can sustain their daily needs. Watching this video puts an imprint on
our minds and hearts to always remember that we, us human beings, can be of a
better help to others. We think that what we have isn’t enough, but seeing this
video, it made us realize how we actually have a lot compared to those who are less
fortunate. This documentary is certainly informative, letting the Filipinos
know that difficulties are part of the reality of living.
