Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Musngi 2/1/18
III – AB DS
The problems of modernity, as discussed by Berman, appears to be rooted in its cyclical and
contradictory nature going between lapses of enlightenment and disorder. He discusses that throughout
society’s struggles with dehumanization and suffering brought about by man’s pursuit in fulfilling their
own desires (be it malicious or noble in their intent) leads to a richer and more abstract structure of society
(with its own set of dilemmas and discoveries) -- but more importantly the foundation of better men.
This concept of the cyclical and contradictory nature of modernization is seen best in how the
people of the coalfields and the valley itself are affected by drastic changes in the manner of life that they
had grown accustomed to. However awful the plight of modernization might be to the Morgan family and
the rest of the people in the mining valley, it is shown to be all too familiar and as such, is faced by many
with disappointment and anguish but not surprise. This is not the first time that a people were driven to
despair by injustice toward the working class and it certainly was not the last. The issues that the valley
faced, be it institutional, religious, familial, and many others that are a consequence of man’s alienation
in their labor are still problems that the Philippines faces today.
However cruel this cycle may seem, there is hope yet. As Berman had explained, such statement
is contradictory in that it overturns Marx and Nietzsche’s pessimistic ideals of going through the motions
of a modern world rendered irreparable by man’s mistakes and finding hope in the products of such
disarray. The product being an individual tested and ready to right the shortcomings of the past and make
sense of the world through their own lens. That is to say, that man’s individual experience allows those
who are able to cope, overcome, and learn from it a chance to continue and better the lives of theirs (and
triumphs because of the availability of prior information based on past human experiences coupled with
this approach’s natural affinity toward seeking the truth through application. Societal issues, especially in
the working class are rich in context and motive, as seen in how the film depicts the different struggles of
the people in the valley. Perhaps this approach is able to make sense of what Nietzsche and Marx define
as their Man of Tomorrow, not just in how he is formed but also in what greater purpose he serves toward
a society that is both constantly changing while taking cues from what the past had had to offer.