Is the Mano Po Series Unrealistic? I Don't Think So!

Some people, probably not Chinese think that the situations in Mano Po are being unrealistic but the truth is far from fiction. Whether it was the trilogy (1-3), the dual comedy (5-6) and back to serious again (6) where each film was not connected to the other but operated within their own continuity, there is much truth in those films if one has lived with traditional Chinese parents. And how true indeed. Here are the following truths derived from each and every entry:

Mano Po 1- My Family
  • There's a high tendency to discriminate a Filipino to the point to call him/her a criminal when they aren't
  • A true Filipino doesn't have to be Pinoy by blood to be a true Filipino
  • In the older Chinese family setting, it's all about extreme obedience
Mano Po 2- My Home
  • Overextended Chinese families are usually a burden
  • A Chinese mistress can be worse than a Filipino one
  • Being too traditional damages people like how Antonio Chan should have just turned down his mother's command because he already had a family in the Philippines
  • Men can be good in fooling around and then they doubt it whether or not their partners are doing the same
Mano Po 3
  • There wasn't much of the Filipino-Chinese stereotypes here but deception has a price to pay
  • The past is hard to let go but let go of it anyway
Mano Po 4
  • The lesson of having many mistresses is a burden still applies here
  • You reap what you sow- Elton Chong gets a burden of having a gay son and an irresponsible son for his philandering ways, etc.
Mano Po 5
  • The typical Chinese family can be very discriminating against Filipinos
  • A generational curse follows- how true. Apparently, Nathan the leading guy who is Filipino by blood (who actually had Chinese ancestry) had a line of philandering Chinese ancestors which his father, may have been a bastard of a Chinese man and a Filipino woman making him 25% Chinese.
Mano Po 6
  • Same lessons from Mano Po 1 apply.
  • No matter what you do, your parents are still your parents.
  • People can overcome hardships if they try hard.

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