The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Filipino Teleserye’s and Movies
Ever since I could remember, teleserye’s have always been a big part of my life. I can still remember the weekly Friday night session that was the only time my dad allowed me to stay past 10 o’clock and indulge in all kinds of sickly sweet treats and goodies as we binged the newest episode of ‘On the wings of love’ with my lola, which in a 9 year old’s mind was beyond the definition of Heaven. However, it wasn’t the sickly sweet treats or the lack of bed time that bewitched me. It was the sight of people who looked like me in leading roles that weren’t a generalized black and white stereotype of an Asian, like those in Western media. Yet, like most, it wasn't easy to turn a blind eye to the glamorized stories and people that paraded the silver screen and quickly twist them into comparable pedestals that made one feel proud, seen and ugly.
It is no denying that, like many other Asian beauty standards, the Philippines have been obsessed with Euro-centric features ever since the Spanish colonised and projected their own idea of beauty towards us, in an effort to segregate the lighter Spaniards from the native Filipinos that lived there. By doing so, they created a hierarchy of the darker skinned residents being treated as nothing more than second class citizens. Skin colour became a representation of economic, social and political value. As the stigma goes: if someone were darker skinned, they would have been working in the fields all day to provide, whilst the lighter skinned residents could afford to stay indoors and afford to do nothing. The result of this form of generational trauma quickly adapted to the preservation of the glorification of the term ‘the lighter the better’ and in what better way is to project these insecurities, but towards the media!
Although the growth of the media during the years has paved and developed from giving light towards the LGBTQ+ community with shows like ‘Gameboys’ to the struggles of OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) attempting to find a living in a unfamiliar country, much of what we see on the screen is only a fraction of what people can consider “representation”, so what do these directors keep doing wrong?
Speaking from experience, as well as speaking to fellow family members, what the industry is lacking can be from the actors themselves. Most actors we see on screen are biracial, which isn’t a bad thing as much of the growing population include being from a mixed heritage, yet keeping the spotlight on actors that portray a lighter skin tone, narrow nose, thin figure or even visibly white passing can cause more harm than good as from a Western point of view. This is how we are represented. Now, I am not belittling the experiences or problems of biracial Filipinos, as women like Catriona Gray and Pia Wurtzbach have shown even though one is only half Filipino, it doesn’t make them any less connected to their heritage. They can represent our entire nation and even win Miss Universe! But there is no denying the favouritism towards them, as one comment from the public, featured in the video by ‘Asian Boss’ following the win of Catriona Gray:
“There’s a bit of special treatment for half-Filipinos as they’re constantly advertised as the standard of beauty in ads, in show business”
The image of half-Filipinos that plague the silver screen are people that are fair skinned, with features that aren’t too Caucasian (that would mistake them for being white), but how about those who are more darker skinned? Before the Spaniards colonised the Philippines, indigenous Filipinos were shown to have naturally dark skin tones causing them to be dubbed ‘Negritos’. During this time period, they were also victims of a vicious hierarchy that caused them to be treated as below average normal citizens, causing a generational long anti-Blackness sentiment that has yet to be dismantled not only through our screen, but also by our general society.
Up to now, the question that you, dear reader, as well as most, are withholding is: what does this have to do with us? Well…with the expansion of K-pop came the West being more infatuated with Asian culture. Whilst Filipino culture may not be the focus, there is no denying that many more audiences are being introduced to artists and actors framing thin frames, flawless pale skin while being ultra-sexualised, which (speaking from experience) can become extremely harmful to both mentality and wellbeing, strengthening the lack of what many would consider to be real “representation.”
