Evolution of Philippine Popular Culture: Influences and Ethnocentrism

Introduction

Pop Culture slowly destroys culture. Many Filipinos' lives are influenced by Pop Culture, from the music they listen to. the shows they spend hours watching, to the icons they support. Pop culture undeniably has many positive effects to people, some even improve their lives, but there are still lots of adverse effects. Because of all the influences of Pop Cultures, many Filipinos are having a hard time of determining whether particular practices, beliefs, and culture is Filipino or not. They fail to show the values that Filipinos upheld. They start to neglect their own culture and practices and tries to imitate other practices instead. This issue, therefore, questions whether the Philippines should regulate the influx of Pop Culture or not. To discuss Philippine popular culture, this essay will examine the impact of popular culture on the erosion of traditional cultural practices and beliefs, as well as its influence on the development of ethnocentrism.

Pop Culture: Changing Filipinos

Pop Culture has greatly influenced the Filipino people. Indeed, it has been beneficial to many, but its adverse effects slowly deteriorate the Filipino Culture. It has caused many Filipinos to lean toward other cultures instead of their own.

There are two reasons why the Philippines should regulate the Influx of Pop Culture in the country. First is because Filipinos lack nationalism and patriotism. Most Filipinos think that people from foreign countries are better than them. Filipinos are also prone to colonial mentality. The second is that regulating the influx of Pop Culture will help in defining and developing the Philippines. Regulating pop culture maintains the Philippines’ national identity, preserves its culture, and protects cultural values. It will also contribute to the local economic development in the Philippines.

Filipinos lack nationalism and patriotism.

Filipinos nowadays tend to base their decisions on trends they see or hear in different types of media such as televisions, radios, and magazines. Although basing their decisions on trends is not entirely bad, it has caused Filipinos to grow a sense of dependence on Pop Culture. A news article reveals that in the Philippines last 2019, the most searched word was ‘Omegle’, a chat website online, the article says that Blackpink, a K-Pop group, appeared on the site which contributed to the popularity of Omegle. The article shows how Filipinos try to imitate what their idols do. Filipinos also become hesitant and are unable to decide without consulting or following trends because they fear that people will judge them based on their decisions. Filipinos tend to belittle and be ashamed of their own culture due to the differences between their culture and the culture of others. The influx of Pop Culture led Filipinos to Cultural assimilation, and although assimilating into a foreign country is not entirely bad, it made Filipinos be less nationalistic by failing to acknowledge and appreciate their own culture. They start to think that foreign people along with their products and services are far better than their own leading Filipinos to promote foreign products and services instead of products locally made.

Filipinos think that people from other countries are superior to them.

The spread of Pop Culture in the Philippines became easier through different types of media. Pop Culture helped in introducing different icons and personalities globally. There are people who try to change themselves just to be like their idols. Pop culture also affects how Filipino women perceive beauty, they become ashamed of their appearance and color and try to change it because of the high “standards” on beauty. Edgington in his article “Pop Culture: The destruction of a generation” he says that

Magazines such as People, Star, and In Touch Weekly all judge celebrities based upon their physical appearance. The magazines thrive because of the public interest on the lives of celebrities. People want to look like celebrities and want to be able to live the life that celebrities do. This fantasy has driven women to go to extreme measures in order to look like the women on the front cover of the weekly magazine….. Magazines have stressed the importance of having a stick-thin body in order to be successful in life.

Another article by Limos titled “A History of Why Filipinos are Obsessed with Skin Whitening” says that Filipinos were taught to love a fair complexion. When the Philippines was colonized by Spain, skin complexion shows the social status, Indios, those who have brown complexion were considered to be low class citizens while mestizos, those who are half-blood Spaniards, and peninsulares, those who have white or fair complexion were as higher class people. Furthermore, Limos in his article says that having a fair complexion gave Spaniards an advantage, they were free from fealty and labor; those who have fair complexion were automatically given titles of Don and Doña which they consider as an honorific. Filipinos nowadays neglect their health just to gain a sense of superiority among other people.

Filipinos are prone to a colonial mentality.

Compared to other countries, the Philippines which is a developing country is hardly at the same level than foreign countries. Services such as healthcare in other countries are better than those in the Philippines, this leads to people having a feeling of xenocentrism. This belief was further explained in the book, “Understanding Culture, Society and Politics”, which says that “By this belief xenocentrism, the products, styles, ideas, and values of one’s society are regarded as inferior to that of other societies. This is a common trait among Filipinos who are widely known for their colonial mentality.”. Filipinos tend to give preference to buying foreign products over local products because they think that goods that are of foreign origin are higher in quality than domestic goods. In the context of the Philippines today, an example that shows colonial mentality is having the concept of “original” and “local”. When people say that a product is “original”, it means that the product came from a well-known foreign brand such as shoes and bags, people tend to think that those who have “original” products are wealthy, whereas “local” means that the product came from the Philippines, that it is inferior, low quality, and that a person is poor when they buy “local” products.

Because Filipinos think that foreign products and services are better than their own, they try to imitate the culture and practices of foreign countries. They think that their lives will be improved and developed if they copy what other countries do, which is in fact wrong. The development of a country does not merely rely on the practices and lifestyle of the people but also how the country utilizes their resources.

Regulating the influx of Pop Culture will help in defining and developing the Philippines.

The Philippines has been greatly influenced by Pop Culture throughout the years. New types of music, entertainment, and lifestyle were introduced to Filipinos. The effects of colonization have also contributed to the change in beliefs and practices in the country such as religion and clothing. Although Filipinos have adapted to the changes, the influences and changes made it really hard for people to see what makes the Philippines different from other countries. The Philippines and its people have adapted to the changes too much that they start to fail in making something that is unique to them, what they can call their own. The Filipinos have become too welcoming of Pop Culture that they fail to notice how it is slowly destroying their culture and economy. A magazine article by the Chu titled “Loren’s Cultural Crusade: How Loren Legarda is singlehandedly steering the direction of Philippine Arts and culture” says that Loren Legarda wants to find solutions to problems that the country faces instead of just announcing and discussing them on television. She established projects which were guided by the longing of protecting and remaking the sad condition of the Filipino Culture, she established projects which aimed to preserve old artifacts, protect indigenous tribes, and promote modern artists who were not given the support they needed. Loren’s projects all share the same goal, to help in defining the elusive “Filipino Identity”.

Regulating pop culture maintains the Philippines’ national identity, preserves its culture, and protects cultural values.

There are different things that make the Filipino Culture different from others. These cultures can be considered as the things that make Filipinos, Filipinos. Some of these cultures and practices are body art, accessories, and fiestas. The most common body art that is evident in the Philippines are tattoos, these tattoos are not only for decorative purposes but is also highly symbolic; it shows their social status and the honor they have brought their tribes. These were accompanied by different accessories which helped in showing beauty. Fiestas were also part of the Philippine culture although it was from the influence of Spaniards; people served different Filipino cuisine and celebrated the feast day of the patron saints in their barangay or town.

In the contemporary, Filipinos are commonly distinguished by their language. Most Filipino, if not all, knows how to speak Filipino. It is one of the things in the Philippine culture which have survived starting from the Spanish Colonization Period. Bernad in “Philippine Culture and the Filipino identity” he points out that the Spaniards respected the language and culture of every linguistic group to guarantee that their cultural identity will not be threatened. This language has been used in different types of literature and has even contributed in changing the Filipinos’ perspectives such as the two notable works of Dr. Jose Rizal, Noli me Tangere, and El Filibusterismo. Filipinos can also be distinguished by the values that they upheld such as Bayanihan which showed that Filipinos help each other. Filipinos are characterized as hospitable and respectful people, they are very welcoming of other people may they be locals or foreign, Filipinos make use of “po” and opo” when talking to elders and use gestures such as putting their elder's hand on their forehead.

Pop culture stands as a threat in maintaining and preserving these cultures and practices. Because media became widespread Filipinos were influenced by the content of different media types. Filipinos became vulnerable to fake news, easily believing what they read from newspapers and online posts. They start to stereotype groups of people based on what the media tells them about the groups. People’s minds and perspectives especially the youth have changed because of Pop Culture. An article says that the popularity of television over the past decade has increased. Having many different channels and shows to choose form, people become committed in keeping up with the content of certain shows. Kids were being exposed to content that are too mature for them; they became exposed to violence, drugs, and sexual references. Regulating the influx of Pop Culture will help in maintaining in preserving the culture and identity of Filipinos, especially the youth. The Filipino youth will give more appreciation of their culture and while still be able to know more about other cultures.

Regulating pop culture contributes to the local economic development in the Philippines.

Many Filipinos prefer foreign products than local products because they believe that anything foreign is better. This leads to Filipinos buying more foreign goods than domestic goods. The number of local businesses declined contributing also to the decline of the local economic development in the Philippines. Regulating the influx of Pop Culture will greatly help the economic development of the country. There will be an increase in the number of local businesses which will also help in reducing the unemployment rate in the country. An article titled “Patronizing local products may create jobs” says that “’In patronizing our own products, you are creating jobs. Our problem with unemployment will diminish,’ Ramos secretary of BPMFI said. She claimed that Filipino manufacturers are already producing “world-class” native products and offering competitive prices to entice buyers to patronize Filipino products, both locally and internationally”. Filipinos promoting local products and businesses will contribute in their nationalism and patriotism. They will be able to show their loyalty, love, devotion, and support for their country.

Pop Culture brings unity among countries.

Some might disagree about regulating the influx of Pop Culture in the country. People may still dwell on the fact that Pop culture also has positive effects. Pop culture gives people an opportunity to learn about other people. They are able to create friendships and peace. People are able to explore different types of media and are able to explore different types of entertainment such as music. Pop culture brings people who have the same interests and hobbies regardless of their nationality.

Pop Culture enables people to learn more about other countries' cultures.

Pop culture enables people to learn about the different practices and beliefs from other countries. People are able to see the similarities of their culture and the culture of another country. Different types of media such as television are able to show the lifestyle of people in a particular country. Filipinos have become more open to cultures from other countries such as American Music, Korean pop, Indian yoga, Chinese feng shui, and Japanese anime.

Pop Culture prevents Ethnocentrism.

Ethnocentrism is defined as when a person treats other cultures as inferior to one’s culture. People who have ethnocentrism believe that their culture is superior while other cultures are considered as aliens or morally and mentally inferior, they become oblivious to foreign cultural influences. Having Pop Culture will prevent having ethnocentrism because it gives people ideas about foreign teaches them to be more open and accepting of them.

However, regulating the influx of Pop Culture is necessary. The positive effects of Pop Culture still come with flaws and adverse effects. Television for example, people who watch a television show that show the practices and cultures of a foreign country will likely stereotype this group of people. They will think that what the characters depicted in the show is true for every individual in that country. When people also learn something about a foreign country and see that the beliefs and practices of that particular country are “better” they start to think that they are inferior to foreign people. When people are exposed too much n Pop Culture, they start to neglect their own culture. They disregard their cultural values in order to be able to imitate other practices and follow trends. People start to think that there is a hierarchy among countries and that their country is at the bottom.

Conclusion

This paper presents the positive and negative effects of Pop Culture. Being able to unify countries through preventing ethnocentrism and enabling people to learn about foreign countries is one positive effect of Pop Culture; whereas, Cultural Abandonment, Colonial Mentality, and distortion of Cultural values are the negative effects of Pop Culture. There is a need to regulate the influx of Pop Culture in the country in order to avoid its negative effects of Pop Culture. By regulating the influx of Pop Culture Filipinos are able to maintain their national identity, preserve cultural heritage, and protect cultural values. Regulating Pop Culture will also help in making better Filipinos who have a sense of nationalism and patriotism and help in developing the economy of the country. Regulating Pop Culture will not only save Filipinos but also the Philippines.

References

1. Bernad,M. A. (1971). Philippine culture and the Filipino identity. Philippine Studies, 19(4). Retrieved from http://www.philippinestudies.net
2. Bernardo, J. P. V., Jr. (2016).Understanding culture, society, and politics.JFS PublishingServices.
3. Chu, K. (2018, February 4). Loren’s cultural crusade: How Loren Legarda is singlehandedly steering the direction of the Philippine arts and culture. Philippine Panorama, 46(5), 6-8.
4. Edgington, C. (2014, March 11). Pop culture: The destruction of a generation. Teen Ink. Retrieved from https://www.teenink.com/opinion/pop_culture_trends/article/634785/Pop-Culture-The-Destruction-of-a-Generation/
5. Go, C. E,. & Go, J. (2017, September 1). Cultural trends changing how Filipinos behave . Inquirer.net. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/amp/s/business.inquirer.net/236089/cultural-trends-changing-filipinos-behave/amp
6. Lazo, K. M. N. (2013). Patronizing local products may create jobs. The Manila Times. Retrieved from https://www.manilatimes.net/2013//08/15/business/patronizing-local-products-may-create-jobs/29940/29940
7. Limos, M.(2019, April 26). A history of why Filipinos are obsessed with skin whitening. Esquire. Retrieved from https://www.esquiremag.ph/life/health-and-fitness/why-filipinos-obsess-over-skin-whitening -a00293-20190426
8. Mateo, J. (2019, December 14). ‘Omegle’ most searched word in the Phl in 2019 –Google. The Philippine Star, p. 2.