Shoes: Need VS. Desire           

Strangely, the movie effectively had my mind occupied with thoughts of shoes, as it had its young protagonist, Ag-ap.  Shoes have a purpose – our lifestyle and means of survival created a need for its predecessor, the sandals.  The world’s terrain is not all harsh on the soles, but sands of the hot desert or the cold and dewy blades of grass didn’t make it easy for our ancestors to hunt or work for food.  Sandals were a practical invention.  But nowadays, you have shoes of all kinds – closed, open, high-cut, low cut; made from various materials, both synthetic and natural.  We have shoes for formal occasions and ones for working out.  The media has helped in perpetuating the idea that shoes ‘are a girl’s best friend’ by having beloved characters like Carrie of the very popular HBO production, “Sex in the City”, raving about her new Manolo Blahnik’s almost in every episode. Men can’t escape the shoe bombardment in media wither, with popular magazines advising women to check out what’s on a man’s feet if they want to find out the kind of man that he is. For every male or female character we see in the movies or on TV, we unconsciously pick up on the dos and don’ts of donning an outfit; silently teaching us what to wear and when -- and with what accessories to boot.   Shoes have come to symbolize status, for truly there are some that are astoundingly expensive. The person who could afford to don prestigious footwear that could help feed a small country could easily feel powerful. It could easily set him apart from the rest of the lowly shod folks.  Does it signify income?  Not necessarily.  Thanks to the things we put on our bodies, human beings can put up a façade using clothes and shoes as tools.  If a person wore expensive shoes, people could immediately assume he or she is wealthy; but we all know that this is not always so because some people view this as capital or investment for further wealth.  For some, shoes have some to symbolize what and where we want to be in the future – the better things in life.  Shoes may have been created by human beings out of need -- to aid them in their everyday activities; however, the “civilized” society has created the desire for it – to want more of it, in different brands, colors and styles.  I doubt if there’s an urban man or woman alive with only one pair of shoes to slip into everyday.  I, myself, have collected around 30 pairs – and most of them are barely worn, I’m quite ashamed to say.   

Shoes: Ag-ap’s Needs and Desires

Which gets me back to Ag-ap: he only wanted one pair – any pair.  He did not specify its brand, color or style -- he just wanted one.  As a person brought up in a culture of consumerism, this struck me and had me thinking throughout the movie.  His desire’s most obvious reason was revealed in one scene where his rival, shod in sneakers, was shown trying to court the lovely Lab-an who seemed impressed.  Ag-ap stared at his own shoe-less feet and tried to curl in his toes to hide them.  Maybe it was feelings of shame and inadequacy born of unrequited love, but would he have felt the same if his rival was barefoot like him?   Possibly not.  Earning good money as a tour guide on top of what his mother working abroad send him, his rival -- and his shoes -- symbolized the wealth that his Ag-ap’s family did not have.  There was no use for shoes in the mountains of Batad, his friends and family told him.  The rice paddies are best walked on barefoot.  He didn’t need shoes to walk on the rocky paths because his feet is padded from callouses made by years of walking with unprotected soles.  But for Ag-ap, it was never a question of need.  It was one of desire.  Shoes symbolized a better life, status and returned affection by the girl of his heart.  As the film unfolded, it was clear that Ag-ap would do almost anything to have his own pair of shoes; but like many things, this didn’t come easy.  When at last, after many days of labor and creative thinking, he was given a pair by tourists who pitied him for guiding them barefoot; things did not become any easier.  Now shod in hiking boots, Ag-ap discovers that getting what you want is not what it cracks up to be. 

Shoes and Change           

After reveling on his new shoes, Ag-ap realizes that his shoes brought with it problems.  First, he showed off how his feet were kept clean by his shoes; later it bothered him that his shoes were getting dirtied by the muddy soil of the paddies.  His idea of what was and wasn’t clean has changed for mud never used to bother him when he didn’t have shoes.  This prevented him from socializing with his friends, for he stayed home when they went playing under the rain or walking along the fields.  It kept the once-industrious Ag-ap from working and helping out financially – now that he had his shoes, which was the main reason he worked so hard, he didn’t seem to want to work anymore.  This made him lazy and, ultimately, disrespectful to his parents, causing conflict in their family.  It drew issues about their way of life, a life handed down from generations, and change.  The shoes even failed Ag-ap in impressing Lab-an, one of his main reasons for desiring them, when he couldn’t accompany her quickly enough across the river so as not to get his shoes wet.  Ag-ap finally gained some clarity when his sister needed saving from a ravine.  Trying to tie his shoe laces, he couldn’t get to her as quickly as he wanted.  Eventually leaving his shoes somewhere in the path, he was able to save her and he realizes what was the most essential in his life.  On the way back, Ag-ap realizes that his shoes are gone.  I heard someone beside me say, “Good riddance”, which struck me because it was what I was thinking, too.  Reflecting more on that scene, however, made me realize something: the shoes weren’t the villain.  No object in this world can really be called evil.  It is OUR perceptions of them that make them what they are.  We are the ones that give meaning to what is around us.  Ag-ap’s shoes symbolized the possibility of a different way of life – one that he feels would be better than keeping his father’s land and working on it just as his ancestors did.  The disappearance of the shoes brought along with it Ag-ap’s desire for radical and intentional change.  It may seem like a happy ending but with more tourists coming to Batad bringing with them new things to desire, one could say that change is inevitable.