I Diaspora Media: a Rhizomatic Study of Identity, Resistance and Citizenship a Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Scri
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Diaspora Media: A Rhizomatic Study of Identity, Resistance and Citizenship A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Scripps College of Communication of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Luis S. Pascasio April 2021 © 2021 Luis S. Pascasio. All Rights Reserved. i This dissertation titled Diaspora Media: A Rhizomatic Study of Identity, Resistance and Citizenship by LUIS S. PASCASIO has been approved for the School of Media Arts and Studies and the Scripps College of Communication by Wolfgang Suetzl Assistant Professor of Media Arts & Studies Scott Titsworth Dean, Scripps College of Communication ii Abstract PASCASIO, LUIS S. , PhD, April 2021, Mass Communication Diaspora Media: A Rhizomatic Study of Identity, Resistance and Citizenship Director of Dissertation: Wolfgang Suetzl This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the communication and media practices of Filipino Americans in Chicago. It investigates how their everyday encounters with diaspora media produce patterns of consumption and interpretation that locates identity, resistance and citizenship as discourses performed with and in media. Through interviews, participant observation and storytelling, the study argues that Filipino Americans’ active engagement with karaoke, the Filipino Channel, a transnational media platform and community newspapers activates becoming more Filipino in the diaspora, long distance activism and a performance of diasporic citizenship informed by cosmopolitanism. These media performances are not mere happenstances but are conscious acts informed by a logic of diasporic performativity that locates active engagement with media as an expression of human agency. iii Dedication To my loving parents, Anselmo and Natividad, for all the sacrifice, wisdom and stories that nourished me as a child and as a student of life iv Acknowledgments I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Wolfgang Suetzl and Dr. Jenny Nelson for guiding me along the difficult task of organizing my thoughts and for providing support in the process of developing, writing and re-writing this dissertation. The same gratitude is extended to them for the many conversations from where new discoveries and inspirations arose. A warm thanks is also given to Dr. Devika Chawla. Dr. Andrew Ross and Dr. Yea-Wen Chen for their depth of knowledge and invaluable presence in the committee. To my cohorts, Steffi Shook, Brandon Sweitzer, Souzeina Mushtaq. Hailey Mills and Beth Mishler, thanks for the shared passions about learning, for the laughs and the anxieties that kept us alive and going. Special thanks to Paula Carpenter and Judy Wilson for always being available to help. To all my artist-activist friends in San Francisco, Pintig Cultural Group, the Center for Immigrant Resources and Community Arts and Alliance of Filipinos for Immigrant Rights and Empowerment, my deepest thanks for the spontaneous gossips and jokes during karaoke nights. It is through their warm presence animated by laughter, memories and familiar gestures that made America a home away from home. Lastly, to all my participants in this research project, I express by appreciation and sincere gratitude for their time, energy and generous disposition in sharing their stories and life experiences. v Table of Contents Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... v Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Becoming an Ethnographer: A Personal Journey ......................................................... 2 Filipino American Diaspora: History and Context ....................................................... 7 Communication Media in the Colonial Years .............................................................. 8 Diaspora Media in Chicago ........................................................................................ 12 Community Newspapers ....................................................................................... 13 International Cable TV ......................................................................................... 13 Smartphones .......................................................................................................... 14 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 16 Early Diaspora Studies: The Jewish Model ................................................................ 16 Modern Diaspora: The Assimilation Model ............................................................... 18 Filipino American Diaspora: The Postcolonial Diaspora Model ................................ 21 A Sociological Approach: Waves of Migration .................................................... 22 A Critical Approach: Reclaiming History and Identity ........................................ 25 A Postcolonial Approach: Critiquing Legacies of Colonial Past.......................... 28 Diaspora Media: The Double Consciousness Model .................................................. 33 Media as Environment .......................................................................................... 35 Mediatization ........................................................................................................ 36 Community Newspapers ....................................................................................... 37 Karaoke ................................................................................................................. 39 Transnational Media ............................................................................................. 41 Diaspora as Everyday Life .......................................................................................... 44 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 45 Chapter 3: Methodology ................................................................................................... 47 Research as a Way of Life .......................................................................................... 47 vi Diaspora as a Meaning-making Process ..................................................................... 48 A Rhizomatic Approach to Ethnography .................................................................... 48 Participant Observation ......................................................................................... 52 Interviewing .......................................................................................................... 75 Storytelling as Data Gathering .............................................................................. 80 Documentation and Transcription: Writing, Re-listening and Translating ................ 82 Structuring the Findings: A Polyphonic Strategy ....................................................... 85 Representing the Stories: Thematic Analysis ............................................................. 86 Chapter 4: Karaoke and the Poetics of Diaspora Life ....................................................... 89 The Evolution of Karaoke ........................................................................................... 90 Karaoke as a Spatializing Practice .............................................................................. 91 Lola: An Intergenerational Bonding ........................................................................... 94 Claire: A Signifier of Identity ..................................................................................... 95 Albert and Ysabel’s Grill: The Cultural Politics of Group Singing.......................... 106 Ronnie: Performing Cultural Hybridity .................................................................... 112 Mark: A Living Community Art Form ..................................................................... 117 Vanessa: Re-embracing the Vernacular .................................................................... 120 Janice: Karaoke is like Returning Home .................................................................. 122 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 123 Chapter 5: The Filipino Channel, A Home Away from Home ....................................... 125 The Filipino Channel: A Transnational Media Company......................................... 127 Manolo: Transporting Local TV into the Hostland .................................................. 133 Tita Salud: Watching Teleseryes while Babysitting ................................................. 134 Agnes: Acquiring New Cultural Knowledge through Soap Opera ........................... 137 David: The Complexity of Homesickness ................................................................ 140 Mary Jane and Her Sister: It’s Not the Images but the Sound .................................. 142 Larry: Size of the Screen Matters ............................................................................