Tribu: Survival of the Fittest

Brutal and violent gang rampage in a densely populated city of Tondo Manila is caused by the influence of how people struggle to live and survive every day in the most cruel way possible – engaging themselves on what seemed justice for safety and security; finding a safeguarded place they call family.

Youth are the common victims of harsh reality in our society especially in the Philippines. Poverty shaped the less fortunate on how the way they respond with the different setbacks of life they face everyday. With lacking necessities for enduring eternal life, survival is more essential than living for them. It is as if living is only for the fortunate ones where everything is laid in their hands. The absence of safety and security in a poor environment made these people combat for their own lives and families. In order to fit, these youth blend with the environment to find a place of belonging. They almost have the freedom to decide what they wanted to do and what they wanted to be in life. At a very young age, the norms of being young and fragile are bent.

Gangster is a word that I usually hear to describe people with a certain type of clothing. It became an adjective to label those who dress and act like a thug. Most of the time, they are over stereotyped by the society. These are people who put themselves into trouble and make crimes. Most of them usually stop attending schools because of the various factors: poverty, peer influence and self-made choice. These deficiencies are the opposite of society’s’ standard of prosperity making them the underground in social order. This concept became relevant on how the film Tribu could change your perspective about Gangsters.

People become who and what they are under certain circumstances. A person became a gangster because he simply needs to survive. They are as tough and dangerous as Tondo. They risk their lives for justice for the loss of a gang member. They need to fight because it’s their way of surviving life. After all, they are still humans who find peace by combat. They may not be the one who chose life by nature but they are the ones who fight for their lives. And that gangster should not be used for labeling people because it is certainly a disposition.

Aside from having a very strong character, gangsters are softies too. The film showed the love for family when Ghe-ghe bought pagpag or tir tir (a leftover chicken from fast food restaurants, dusted and fried) for his younger siblings to eat for lunch. His thoughtfulness and generosity for his family is something that audience should catch on – that there is value for nothing from a person who has a heart.

The highlight of the film is the rapping part while hanging out and drinking in the streets with gang members. The film effectively delivered the message by emphasizing the poetry/rap. Rapping is a very common medium to these people because it is their anthem where it is presented in the film how the characters express their deepest protests about certain events happened. They know what harms them because they are aware about their personal grievances towards ruthless reality. With that being said, the gang ramble is the most intense part of the film. Given the feeling of being there in that bloody scene, I cannot withstand of how brutal it is. It didn’t showed too much blood but it is so real that it happens in real life. After watching this film, I am now scared to even go out at night to buy something to eat when I get hungry at overnights at a friend’s house. (Advertising students know this lol) It will leave you haunted.

I’m drawn by the story that I almost forgot to notice how the film looked. It doesn’t matter whether the cinematography was not spot on because the narration will do all the talking. I am also impressed by how the characters deliver their lines. Based on my research, the characters played in the film are real gang members which makes it more catchy and appealing to the audience. This film is certainly not commercial acting.

Tribu by Jim Libiran is definitely and brutally honest film by simply portraying it with realism and ‘show it like it is’ candor. See for yourself for a spine-chilling ending.