Blog Week 1: CHID Philippines
I have only spent
a few days in the Philippines, yet the affects of colonization were immediately
evident from the moment I arrived here. Naturally I have been comparing my
experience in the Philippines with my travels to other countries. Throughout
the little time I have spent here so far, I notice myself constantly comparing
it to Brasil, a country also founded on the history of colonization. There are
many similarities such as the late night culture, the shanty towns/neighborhoods,
and the style of the shops and restaurants that line the streets. Along with
these similarities, there is an overwhelmingly dominant presence of colonial
culture in their respective societies. In the context and nature of our course,
I am driven to ask why these presences still remain and how the Philippines would
look now if the country had remained a colonized territory. Although the
Philippines are now independent, there is still an evident and heart breaking
struggle to regain aspects of a tradition and an organic Filipino society.
English is not the
native language of the Philippine Islands. A similarity I observed in the
Philippines is the large presence of English as a fluent language for the
majority of people I have encountered. Brasil was colonized by Portugal and
Portuguese is the dominant language spoken and used in society. In the
Philippines, almost all signs, restaurant menus, and advertisements are in
English yet, I have observed the conversations between locals and it is never
in English. This leads me to question why there is this disconnect between
verbal communication and the English dominated socializing agents such as:
media, literature, school, and society (Andresen, 2012). The Philippines is no
longer under United States colonial power but the affects of it are rooted so
deeply that it seems unlikely they will ever be changed. The United States only had had jurisdiction
over the Philippines for 100 years; their presence here cannot go unnoticed. On
the other hand, the Spanish influence is not comparably noticeable even though
the Spanish were in power, in the Philippines, for nearly 300 years. The way in
which the United States colonized the Philippines seems unique in this way
although I am not sure exactly how at this moment in time.
Still, the affects
of colonization are abundant and obvious in many ways. In her article about the
colonial affects in Baguio City, Alcantara says, “Sadly, the continuous decline
in the area’s distinctive indigenous cultural expression has become irreversible”
(Alcantara ND.) As a person who identifies with being indigenous to North
America, I was excited to come to the Philippines and experience a culture that
was able to keep intact, parts of its indigenous traditions. So far, I have not
been able to see very many examples of this that is not present for the means on
tourism. While we were in Banaue we saw Natives sitting on the side of the
road, dressed in traditional regalia. Their purpose for being there was for
tourists to take pictures of them in exchange for money. It was heart breaking
to me that their circumstances have led them into the exploitation of their
culture. Their presence had been reduced to entertainment for tourists, instead
of living traditionally. Perhaps their people are somewhere living
traditionally and I have not been exposed to it. Perhaps my anger is naïve. It
is too soon in the trip to tell and my little knowledge about the Philippines
and indigenous people leads me to emotion evoking assumptions. Either way,
there is clearly a struggle between maintaining a traditional Filipino way of
life and assimilating in the colonial Americanized culture.
Despite the dominant affects of colonization, there are resisting variables that allow hopefulness that the battle is not completely lost. The film we watched by Kidlat Tahimik in class was a perfect example. In the film we followed a Filipino man’s journey through the reclaiming of his identity and realization of what it meant to be Filipino. By the end of the movie he realized that the “American” dream was not something he needed to keep chasing after but what he needed and finally wanted was to embrace the culture and heritage that he came from. In the discussion following the film, Kidlat urged us to “tell the story that deserves to be told.” In Bose description of his art, he says, “My art is a means whereby I can gradually work toward reinstating the importance of indigenous traditions in developing a contemporary world view, cosmology, and in developing contemporary cultural symbols.” Both Kidlat and Bose demonstrate forms of colonial resistance.
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. Maramba, (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. 260-67).
New York: New York Press.
Tahimik,
Kidlat. (2006). Perfumed Nightmares.
El Cerrito, CA
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