The Story(ies) So Far
So my journey into film begins during my undergraduate years at UCLA. During my time there, I was heavily involved with the Pilipino community, spending my most cherished time with the student organization Samahang Pilipino. Now, if you are Pilipino and go to college on the West Coast, chances are you were involved at one time or another with your universities' Pilipino Culture Night or PCN, a variety show featuring cultural dance, music, and theatre. It's usually the biggest event of the year for each universities Pilipino community, with each university competing for bragging rights over who will have the "best" PCN that year.
Now I had the fortune (or misfortune, depending on how you interpret this next paragraph) of being exposed to PCN while my sister went to Cal, so the experience wasn't exactly life-altering or revolutionary for me. I also came in with a relatively deep resume of theatrical and musical experience from high school, so I knew what good performance and good theatre is supposed to sound and feel like. So while the majority of Pilipinos gushed over PCN and how great the show was, I, being the perfectionist, critic, and overall egotistic windbag I am, was a detractor. Although PCNs typically have a high production quality, it was the story quality where my qualms lay.
DISCLAIMER: Now if you have never gone to a PCN and would still like to be surprised, then don't read further. However, if you have seen a PCN and/or don't care for surprises, the PCN formula guarantees that the story will be one of the following:
1. The Generation Gap. Joe Pinoy is in college, and while studying engineering/pre-med/pre-law, he realizes that he does not want to follow the path his parents have laid out. After discovering his heritage through cultural dance and song, he realizes he wants to be an Asian Am major and wants to "work for the community". His parents, complete with immigrant accent, display their ignorance with full force, attempting to instill fear (but to no avail) by asking him how he will support his family, and ultimately lose their son to the liberal American ideals of social justice. OPTIONAL: Main character can be female, providing easy access to Pinay issues.
2. The Native Historical/Cultural Folk Tale. Natives wearing brown, skimpy clothing, fight against evil warlord/pissed-off-deity/colonizer. Insert random Modern Suite dance.
3. The Heinous Crime. Innocent Pinay/Pinoy is attacked as the result of a hate/sex/war crime. Community attempts to cope, as we, the audience, have to be conscious of hate/sex/war crimes, and if we were bolder and more aware, hate/sex/war crimes would never happen.
4. The Buddy Comedy. Stick college students with every Filipino stereotype imaginable, including the strict parents, the senile lolo/lola, the perverted tito, the gossiping tita, the activist gone overboard, the immature sibling, the jock, the bitch, and of course, the love interest.
Every culture night I know has followed one of these formulas, or was some weird mix of these forumulas. Now it's not the subject matter that are necessarily bad; it's the incredibly dull and shallow characters that populate these stories. Somehow in the writing process, any sense of individuality, uniqueness, and detailed nuance is washed away in order for the audience to "understand" the story. There's no room for paradox or inconsistency. Every single detail must be articulated. You would think every PCN was performing for middle schools.
Sadly, Filipino American cinema hasn't moved to far from these formulas, neither. While I respect and admire the breakthroughs in production that films like "The Debut" and "Lumpia" have made, the stories are incredibly shallow. No story on film or on stage has yet to capture me as a Filipino American.
This is where my story begins. If I were to spit harsh indictments to the mediocrity of Filipino American storytelling, then I had better put my money where my mouth is. You can't expect anyone else to do something unless you do it yourself. If no one else was going to write THE Filipino American story, than that person was going to be ME.
Now I had the fortune (or misfortune, depending on how you interpret this next paragraph) of being exposed to PCN while my sister went to Cal, so the experience wasn't exactly life-altering or revolutionary for me. I also came in with a relatively deep resume of theatrical and musical experience from high school, so I knew what good performance and good theatre is supposed to sound and feel like. So while the majority of Pilipinos gushed over PCN and how great the show was, I, being the perfectionist, critic, and overall egotistic windbag I am, was a detractor. Although PCNs typically have a high production quality, it was the story quality where my qualms lay.
DISCLAIMER: Now if you have never gone to a PCN and would still like to be surprised, then don't read further. However, if you have seen a PCN and/or don't care for surprises, the PCN formula guarantees that the story will be one of the following:
1. The Generation Gap. Joe Pinoy is in college, and while studying engineering/pre-med/pre-law, he realizes that he does not want to follow the path his parents have laid out. After discovering his heritage through cultural dance and song, he realizes he wants to be an Asian Am major and wants to "work for the community". His parents, complete with immigrant accent, display their ignorance with full force, attempting to instill fear (but to no avail) by asking him how he will support his family, and ultimately lose their son to the liberal American ideals of social justice. OPTIONAL: Main character can be female, providing easy access to Pinay issues.
2. The Native Historical/Cultural Folk Tale. Natives wearing brown, skimpy clothing, fight against evil warlord/pissed-off-deity/colonizer. Insert random Modern Suite dance.
3. The Heinous Crime. Innocent Pinay/Pinoy is attacked as the result of a hate/sex/war crime. Community attempts to cope, as we, the audience, have to be conscious of hate/sex/war crimes, and if we were bolder and more aware, hate/sex/war crimes would never happen.
4. The Buddy Comedy. Stick college students with every Filipino stereotype imaginable, including the strict parents, the senile lolo/lola, the perverted tito, the gossiping tita, the activist gone overboard, the immature sibling, the jock, the bitch, and of course, the love interest.
Every culture night I know has followed one of these formulas, or was some weird mix of these forumulas. Now it's not the subject matter that are necessarily bad; it's the incredibly dull and shallow characters that populate these stories. Somehow in the writing process, any sense of individuality, uniqueness, and detailed nuance is washed away in order for the audience to "understand" the story. There's no room for paradox or inconsistency. Every single detail must be articulated. You would think every PCN was performing for middle schools.
Sadly, Filipino American cinema hasn't moved to far from these formulas, neither. While I respect and admire the breakthroughs in production that films like "The Debut" and "Lumpia" have made, the stories are incredibly shallow. No story on film or on stage has yet to capture me as a Filipino American.
This is where my story begins. If I were to spit harsh indictments to the mediocrity of Filipino American storytelling, then I had better put my money where my mouth is. You can't expect anyone else to do something unless you do it yourself. If no one else was going to write THE Filipino American story, than that person was going to be ME.
posted by Randy at 3:42 PM
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