Monday, June 30, 2014

Tylor Fulkerson's Post

The readings, lectures, and cultural excursions this week have lead me to reflect on the major role the study of History plays in the formation of self identity and perception of self. Andresen’s article discusses the cultural psychological captivity and colonial mentality that occurs due to diffuse identity among Filipinos. Cultural psychological captivity is defined by Banks as being “a person’s negative ideologies and beliefs about his or her ethnic group that are institutional within society” (Andresen 66). Diffuse identity is when “people of color are formally educated to embrace Eurocentric cultural and historical perspectives (Andresen 66). Intellectuals and artists like Kidlat Tahimik and Bose are valuable to Filipino society because they deconstruct and challenge the mainstream understanding of the history of the Philippines through their art. An increased awareness of indigenous perspectives within the study of History is crucial for developing a better perception of Filipino culture and a healthy view of self among Filipinos.

In my studies of Southeast Asian History, we have discussed the issue of “the view from nowhere,” which is the trend in mainstream academia to strive for objectivity and removing oneself from one’s writing. However, what is called “objective” in reality is the Eurocentric White male perspective. This leads to a silencing and invisibility of indigenous voices. Andresen’s article reflects this idea in relation to the education of Filipinos on their own History: “[As] Whites ‘we usually don’t think of ourselves as having a culture: we’re simply right… dominant groups don’t hold perspectives they hold truths” (Andresen 71). Through calling this perspective “objective,” the indigenous perspective is then considered to be subjective and therefore inferior. Being white and American becomes desirable.


I would have never realized how deeply embedded into the Filipino identity this desire to emulate Americans is without travelling to the Philippines. This issue becomes clear through the large billboards lining the freeways of Manila, all of them featuring pictures of Whites or pale Asians. And the difficulty of finding soap without whitening to use in the shower. Or the thousands of McDonald’s, Coke ads, Hollywood style movies, and radio stations playing American music. It all works towards perpetuating a colonial mentality among Filipinos.





Kidlat Tahimik’s installation at his lecture and film Perfumed Nightmare reflects this theme. The Mickey Mouse Pope woodcarving symbolizes what Kidlat Tahimik refers to as “500 years in the convent and 100 years in Hollywood.” This is the years of Spanish and American colonization but also the fact that America never really left the Philippines because it created an education system in the Philippines which perpetuates this colonial mentality. Perfumed Nightmare shows this through the character Kidlat’s obsession with America, Capitalism, Modernity, Science, and beauty pageants. The beauty pageants are based on this sense of beauty which glorifies more European features and skin tones. Science, Capitalism and Modernity are associated with progress in the film. Kidlat meets the American who hires him to work for his gum business which he hopes to sell in order to buy a jean company: “First gum, then jeans, and then the army jeeps and jets. That’s progress, my boy” (Tahimik). In the end of the film, Kidlat travels to Europe, where becomes disenchanted with modernity and decides to return home. Rather than taking a plane, he “makes his own way” because he is the “master of his of own vehicle” by using his breath to blow a chimney top up into the air (Tahimik). Kidlat Tahimik focused a lot on this idea of being true to your duende, one’s individual spirit.






Rather than create cheap Hollywood movies that continue this colonial mentality Kidlat wishes to point tell the story of indigenous perspective. This is symbolized in the installation with the bamboo camera focused at the indigenous goddess of the wind rather than the Hollywood goddess of the wind, Marilyn Monroe. Through his playing with words such as “indi-genius” for indigenous and “benevolent assassination” for benevolent assimilation Kidlat Tahimik showed the way that two ideas can be viewed from different perspectives. To Americans, the indigenous people of the Philippines were uncivilized “little brown brother” who America was burdened with bringing democracy and modernity to (Bose 260). To Kidlat, indigenous people are intelligent and were assassinated culturally and physically by the Americans. This differing understanding of history can be seen in comparing Bose’s understanding of Baguio and the American view in Alcantara’s article.


To the Americans, Baguio was a place of potential wealth for the American in gold, a retreat for soldiers from the heat of Manila, and a place to retreat to incase of an insurrection (Alcantara 207). More importantly Baguio was a symbol of American civilization, what America wanted to force onto the Philippines. It was a place where affluent Filipinos would go to play bingo and to go to Camp John Hay was a status symbol (Bose 262). In America’s perspective, Baguio is a place that embodies the success of its civilizing mission. However, Bose sees it as a place of resistance: “As with under the Spanish the cultural beliefs of the indigenous tribes have been impervious to outside influences” (Bose 263). He sees the continued superstitions, cults, folk heroes and traditional arts of Baguio to be signs that there is still an invisible indigenous culture that resisted colonialism: “My art is a means whereby I can gradually work towards reinstating the importance of indigenous traditions in establishing a contemporary worldview, cosmology, and in developing contemporary cultural symbols” (Bose 267). Bose like Kidlat sees value in the indigenous viewpoint and desires to challenge the mainstream understanding of History and culture in the Philippines. Through showing that Filipino culture has something of value these artists helps to decolonize the minds of Filipinos and give others a sense of self worth.


Bibliography



Andresen, T. The "Other" Students.


Alcantara, Baguio Between Wars


Bose, Baguio Graffiti


Tahimik, K. (Director). Perfumed Nightmare [Motion Picture].

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