Online Lesson 10

Filial Piety

In today's society, filial piety is something seldom seen. "What is filial piety?" Some people may ask. What is being filial? What is the line between a "mummy's boy and a "filial son"? Being filial can be as minor as listening to your parents' advice.

In The Merchant of Venice, Portia demonstrates filial piety by obeying her late father's will, which decides her husband. Her father wanted her to marry a man of virtue and one who loves Portia for who she is, and not for her wealth. Thus Portia's husband was decided through a "marriage lottery", or what others say as "caskets". There are 3 different caskets. And if the correct one is opened, her hand is marriage would be gained by the man. Perhaps there was once when Portia wanted to marry a man whom she admired and fancied. Perhaps there was a strong desire within her. But she still remained firm in obeying the will of her father. An unfilial character in The Merchant of Venice would be Launcelot, who greets his blind, long lost father by giving the old man confusing directions and telling the old man that his beloved son Launcelot is dead. Launcelot probably didn't want a father who would be a great burden to him, or probably, Launcelot hated his father.

In today's society, teenagers are often defiant, they don't listen to their parents. They just do what they feel like doing. "I Not Stupid Too" is a Singaporean film depicting the lives that some Singaporeans lead, and the difficulties often faced by teenagers and children here. In Singapore, education is so important, and parents wish the best for their children, they hope that the children will study hard. But in the film, the parents sometimes do not know how to express themselves, thus the children don't understand the good intentions. Sometimes, parents took the wrong path in life, and they wish that their children would not follow in their footsteps, but the children don't understand their parents. Nowadays, some teens think that fighting is cool, they buy Kung Fu CDs, but in the film, the father of a teen, Chengcai, actually broke his leg due to his fights during his youth.

In present-day, such conflicts, not just in Singapore, is common. Filial piety is something less seen in the modern age, with so many distractions, so many negative influences. Sometimes, the youths of today are simply just too engrossed in their own activities to understand their own parents, or care for them. Filial piety is important, because we need to take care of our parents when they grow old, just like how they took care of us when we were young. We must be filial to our parents, and take care of them, and listen to them. After all, they have greater wisdom than us, and they have our interests at heart.


A part of the film "I Not Stupid Too" where filial piety's importance is portrayed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuun_spIrEw&feature=related

The youths are getting more rebellious, they beat up their teacher, and possess pornographic material. To prevent severe, punishment, the parents are willing to sacrifice so much for their child's future, but they just don't listen, or understand.