Abapo, Liezel S.

Lit102 Reflective Essay

BS Bio/College of Science

What is Filipinos concept of beauty? Is it possible to arrive at a distinct Filipino aesthetic when the Filipino is an amalgam of contradictions? When I thought about it, I recognized that there seems to be no specific standard as to what the Filipinos consider beautiful, but apparently, to most Filipinos, there is. Colonization, probably has been instrumental in shaping this kind of consciousness where diverse influences have been adopted in our art forms such as drama and film. In a sense, most Filipinos concept of beauty, which is often discriminatory to their fellowmen, is a product of a historical contingency. The western aesthetic is very much a part of Philippine cinema. The truth that it is easier for mestizos and mestizos or at least for fair-skinned hopefuls to become popular movie stars than native-looking actors cannot be denied. The value of white is beautiful has been and is one of the most ridiculous and destructive expressions of our colonial mentality.- a line from the essay that first caught my attention. We have become racists in our own brown islands. This idea brought inferiority complexes to Filipinas thinking that they are not as beautiful and talented compared to that of the Western women. This belief made most Filipinos look and somehow judge others based on their physical appearance. This connotation conceals the true characteristics of a Filipino, his goodness and dignity as a person. Filipinos love to watch movies. We can easily be happy if a movie, contains action scenes, drama, and of course comedy and dance. These elements can be attributed during the Christianized region during the Spanish colonization. Anyhow, the reason we enjoy these kinds of films is for us to kind of escape and forget reality around us even just for a while. However, with this kind of thinking, we disregard the deeper substance and worth of the film and this in turn restricts us to face and conquer the endeavors of reality. On to the third value, Mabuti ang Inaapi, Filipinos have and probably will always side the underdog. This value cannot be missed since we always feel pity for whose characters suffer and are mistreated. What is wrong with this value then? Well, this value expresses itself in a psychotic drive towards self-flagellation in a doubtful obsession to let another humiliate and

deprecate ones self. We believe that the Kingdom of Heaven is most especially for those people who are oppressed. We Filipinos are familiar with the term, martyr which means, a person who accepts and displays sufferings and miseries even these are already unfair. We tend to sacrifice our own happiness just to make our loved ones happy. Furthermore, we just accept and assume these problems without even tracing or simply understanding what might have been the emergence of such problems. Colonial dramas always end with affirmation. All evil is punished, and all good is rewarded. Filipino movies in general have adopted the view of the world being beautiful, just and livable. Hence, Filipino movies are always overwhelmed with happy endings no matter how unrealistic it may be. That after all our sufferings, at the end of the day, we can still say that the world is still a better place. However, in real life, it is not always a happy ending for some of us. Such false hope perpetuated by our movies convinces those who suffer because of injustice that they need not to worry because the world is still beautiful that they tend not to do anything to somehow make their situation a little better. Given the chance to give a fifth value based on todays films, I believe that the emergence of so-called fantaseryes is valid. The fictional characters represent the isolation of Filipinos from reality. It is known fact that we Filipinos are poor that we slip off to considering certain elements such as fairies and aliens and such to aid our needs. Melodramatic and action films are now too mainstream that at least we take a leap in creating fantaseryes despite economic struggles. We strive to improve and give room for growth given that we are considered underdogs globally. We start to somehow not only think out of the box but actually move. Also, fantaseryes cater to all so it promotes equality amongst us that binds different generations together.