Catalina Sa-Ngoun

Resisting Colonization in the Philippines - Week One

                                 

Seconds after stepping off of the airplane, the ideas presented in this week’s readings were demonstrated greatly. Matters of inferiority, as presented in Third’s piece, are demonstrated in billboards and advertisements. Corresponding issues regarding schooling and identity lay the foundation for why the American lifestyle is the desirable one. The readings are correlated, as was this week’s trip to Banaue and Baguio, and is a reinforcement that the past is never something that can be ignored. 

Unexpectedly I witnessed more English conversations and road signs than imagined within hours of being in the country. This was an introduction to the everyday struggle of being a Filipino in a country trying to attain the “American Dream.” This dream is created through stereotypes and global capitalism - two things that manipulate the differences among people by turning them into hierarchies that shouldn’t exist.  Americanness in the Philippines is an idea of insecurity, one of which assumes that the Filipino culture isn’t good enough. From passing through minor roads to driving through major cities, advertisements for white skin is dehumanizing the Filipino culture. Those with lighter skin are always superior and for those with darker skin, whitening products are available for assimilation. Third’s article states that, “Identity dictates how individuals view themselves in relation to ideas, nature, and others. It also refers to the capacity for self-reflection and awareness of self.” The Filipino identity is inferior to the American’s because the surrounding of the Philippines prevails that their indigenous values are not worth displaying. Instead, values of being a white American limit how Filipinos live and how they identify themselves. Many Filipinos would rather change to fit the American Dream than live for their own. In another article, Santiago Bose examined this issue by saying “No matter how many American appliances we own and how well we can mimic the songs broadcasted on American airwaves, and how closely we mimic the posture and phrases of the Americans, we would always be little brown interlopers, never anything more than the second class.” Bose’s argument prompts the people of the Philippines to reexamine their identity of assimilating - will Filipinos who act, look, and talk like an American ever truly be an American? Will they be treated like an American if ever in America or will they always, as Bose says, “be little brown interlopers, never anything more than the second class?”  

            According to Third, “Identity is tied to socialized agents such as media, literature, school, and society,” which becomes the leading factor in how Filipino’s reeducate themselves. In reference to being color blind, being “American” is a term that anyone can represent because there are no barriers that anyone can’t overcome. Ignoring issues through color blindness isn’t going to fix anything, it’ll only support their existence. To address these issues, one must be color conscious - able to accept that inequalities do exist - by being proactive enough to effectively challenge the issues of inequality. Similarly, as long as American values remain superior in the Philippines, barriers for succeeding as an indigenous Filipino will remain. 

Conclusively, Bose writes that one had to “Exaggerate the physical discomforts so that the psychological discomforts of colonialism seemed less intrusive.” It isn’t a fact that white skin color is more beautiful or that it brings one closer to success. It’s the abstract that the “Americans conquered yet another traditional society,” therefore life in the Philippines must continue that way, as it seems only appropriate. Unfortunately, colonization of the mind is what remains and affirmative action is the key to changing that. It takes affirmative action to show that there needs to be a change. It’s the willing to be strong enough to make a change as it is immediately needed, despite the consequences that may arise. My journey has just begun, as it has only been one week, but as I continue to be immersed in a such a culturally rich country, I know that my awareness of the Filipino culture will only rise.

                                       

Citations:

Alcantra, E.R (2002) Bagiuo between two wars: The creation and destruction of a summer 

Capital. In Shaw, A.V & Francia, L.H Vestiges of war. (pp. 207-223). New York: New York Press.

Andresen, T. (2012). Knowledge construction, transformative academic knowledge, and Filipino American identity and experience, In E. Bonus, E. & D. Marambda, (Eds.) The “other” students: Filipino Americans, education, and power. Charlotte, NC : IAP

Bose, S. (2002). Bagiuo Graffiti. In A.V Shaw & L.H Francia, Vestiges of war. (pp. 260-267). New York: New York Press.