Youtube, Pop Music, and Power in a Philippine Prison Video Thesis
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Dangerous Mediations: YouTube, Pop Music, and Power in a Philippine Prison Video Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor in Philosophy by Áine Mangaoang September 2014 ABSTRACT Dangerous Mediations: YouTube, Pop Music, and Power in a Philippine Prison Video Áine Mangaoang The cultural crossings between music, new digital media, prison and postcolonial Philippine culture form the basis of Dangerous Mediations, which provides a close, intertextual reading of a contemporary prison performance to question the assumptions behind seemingly familiar, entertaining audiovisual media content. Through the lens of critical cultural studies, and ethno/musicology, I examine the interplay between Michael Jackson’s renowned hit Thriller (1983) and a specific interpretation of this work by a group of 1500 Filipino inmates at the Cebu Provincial Rehabilitation and Detention Centre (2007). Rereading Jackson’s impact on popular music and culture in light of postcolonialism, penology, popular music studies, YouTube theory, and in relation to Philippine culture, I trace the evolution of this contemporary music and dance practice within Cebuano culture, as it is transformed and mediated online. I address the prevalent idea of music as an innately positive power, and through a close reading of this irresistible performance, I deconstruct prevailing (dangerous) stereotypes regarding the ‘inherently musical Filipino.’ Reflecting on how, why, and to what effect popular performance can pollinate across cultures and nations, I demonstrate how audiovisual digital platforms such as YouTube can play an important role in shaping our understanding and experiences of the world we live in. Focusing on the performances made by inmates, by Filipinos, by amateurs, I show that we are able not only to historicise the effects of the disenfranchised, but through a close reading of the intertextual, hybridised mediated performance, we may also gain access to and gradually understand that which might otherwise have remained invisible. i To the dancers – past and present – of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Centre. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Undertaking a PhD is as humbling an experience as it is an enriching educational opportunity, being supported by a great many people along the way. First and foremost, sincere thanks to my supervisors Anahid Kassabian and Rob Strachan for their continuous support of my project. Part of what made my time in Liverpool so unique was the School’s weekly PhD reading group, and so I thank my colleagues and fellow PhD cohort at the School of Music for many heated roundtable discussions that continued down to the Philharmonic public house. In addition, many of the department’s staff gave me constructive comments at early stages of the project, and patiently read much of this work in various drafts and conference paper formats; special thanks to the generosity and guidance of Sara Cohen, Freya Jarman, Holly Rogers and Kenneth Smith. My PhD was funded by the Institute of Popular Music 21st Anniversary Scholarship under the direction of Sara Cohen, for which I am tremendously grateful. I thank the Society of Musicology Ireland and Denise Neary for a grant to undertake research in the Philippines. I also thank the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen research group Music, State and Conflict (sadly now defunct) for introducing me to Suzanne Cusick, MJ Grant, and a network of superb music scholars at the International Music in Detention Conference (2012). Parts of Chapter Four are based on my contribution to that conference, which resulted in a special issue of Torture: Journal on music in detention, and I am grateful for feedback from Anna Papaeti and two anonymous reviewers who helped tease out many of my early ideas. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to discuss my research through participation in some brilliant writing workshops and thinkeries; I thank Patricia T. Clough, Anna Cristina Pertierra, Anne Phillips, Theresa Senft, and Diana Taylor for comments during this project’s foundation. Towards the end of my PhD I received a partial award from the Research Centre for Audio-Visual Media and the Film Music Society to participate in the brilliant Music and Screen Media Conference (2014), for which I am especially thankful. Feedback from my paper, as well as ample critical discussions proved particularly vital in helping me write this dissertation’s concluding pages. I first stumbled upon this video as a Masters student at University College Cork. I owe Áine Sheil my deepest thanks for going above and beyond any iii supervisor’s call of duty in encouraging me to explore this video at doctoral level. I am especially grateful to the many generous scholars who assisted me, both on and offline, and have influenced numerous aspects of this dissertation at various, crucial stages: Kathrine Barnecutt, Hannah Bulloch, Christi-Anne Castro, Sara Cohen, þorbjörg Daphne Hall, Carljoe Javier, Gurdeep Khabra, Rachel Kahn, Tony Langlois, Raul Pertierra, Mary Racelis, John Richardson, Griff Rollefson, Fritz Schenker, Vincenz Serrano, Karen Tongson, Thea Quiray Tagle, and Carol Vernallis. At the very wise suggestion of Ricky Abad, research in the Philippines was made possible through a Visiting Research position at the Institute of Philippine Culture, Ateneo de Manila University. I thank Czarina Saloma-Akpedonu, Shyl Sales, and all at the IPC for making my inaugural Pasko in Manila so memorable, as well as the staff at Ateneo’s Rizal Library and the University of the Philippines College of Music Library for their assistance. Thanks to Alex Badayos for kindly permitting me to reproduce his photographs of the old CPDRC facility. Marikina/Quezon City life was vastly improved through the kindness of the Estepa family, and in Baguio, Mauwen Mangaoang and Corazon Apalla. My maiden voyage to Cebu was enhanced by a most lively welcome from Mo. Mary Aimee Ataviado, and all the Carmelite Sisters; Daghang salamat po for showing me such warm hospitality during my visits to CPDRC amidst the hectic fiesta season, for plying me with sikwate and showing me how to truly dance the Sinulog. Thanks to Genes Tapales for his translating – and beatboxing – skills, and my gratitude to Cebu Vice Governor Agnes Magpale, Acting Warden Algier C. Comendador, the CPDRC prison guards, and choreographer Vince Rosales for granting me permission to visit CPDRC and to sit in on rehearsals. I may never be able to sufficiently thank my family: my parents Marian and Antonio, for bringing me to choral festivals and Filipino-Irish karaoke parties from the very beginning. Marian was, and is, a sounding board on so many occasions, and Antonio greeted every translation query with enthusiasm. My sisters Maeve, Deirdre and Marian have encouraged my academic adventures, especially by drumming up a healthy dose of distraction. As I near the final stages of formal education, I remember with deepest gratitude the late James (Uncle Jim) Tobin. Richard and Sarah deserve very special mention, along with all the Foott family for supporting my dreams through copious amounts of coffee cake. Enormous thanks to JB Fletcher, pup extraordinaire. This project has invariably consumed my life since 2009, so most iv special thanks to Derek Foott – technical wizard, composer, and companion for life – I am so grateful for the life we share. There is a saying in Tagalog, ‘Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makarating sa paroroonan’ (he who does not know how to look back at where he came from will not reach his destination). I look back at my PhD journey with deep appreciation for all those who have helped me each step of the journey. However I owe the most gratitude to the dancers, past and present, of CPDRC, without whom none of this would be possible. Unbeknownst to them, their lives have enriched mine beyond measure and they occupy most of the pages of this dissertation, and so it is to the CPDRC inmates that this work is dedicated. Áine Mangaoang Cork, Ireland September 18, 2014 v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ……… vii LIST OF FIGURES ……… viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND GLOSSARY ……… x NOTES ON COMPANION WEBSITE ……… xii INTRODUCTION: READING CPDRC’S THRILLER ……… 1 INTERLUDE I: ENTRANCE ……… 21 CHAPTER ONE: SEEING SOUND ……… 25 INTERLUDE II: TRANSITION ……… 56 CHAPTER TWO: PERFORMING POSTCOLONIALISM ……… 62 INTERLUDE III: FINALE ……… 119 CHAPTER THREE: BEHIND BARS ……… 124 INTERLUDE IV: ‘IT’S MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES’ ……… 162 CHAPTER FOUR: THRILLING ……… 165 INTERLUDE V: THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC ……… 203 CHAPTER FIVE: TOWARDS AN AUDIOVISUAL FUTURE ……… 207 CODA: DANGEROUS MEDIATIONS ……… 241 APPENDIX I: LIST OF THE ‘MOST VIEWED’ YOUTUBE VIDEOS ……… 251 APPENDIX II: LIST OF ALL CPDRC VIDEOS BY BYRON GARCIA ……… 252 APPENDIX III: CPDRC’S THRILLER METADATA ……… 253 APPENDIX IV: CPDRC’S THRILLER YOUTUBE COMMENTS ……… 255 APPENDIX V: THRILLER LYRICS AND MUSICAL TRANSCRIPTS ……… 257 APPENDIX VI: DANCING FOR DISCIPLINE TRANSCRIPT ……… 260 REFERENCES ……… 265 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Key Features of New Media (Sinnreich) ……….. 29 Table 2. Categories of Participatory Culture (Jenkins) ……….. 36 Table 3. YouTube Myths (Jarboe) ……….. 50 Table 4. Most Viewed Video Channels on YouTube ……….. 51 Table 5. Calendar of Annual Cebuano Fiestas ……….. 85 Table 6. Thriller details: singles and release dates ……….. 177 Table 7. ‘Thriller’ song structure ……….. 183 Table 8. Thriller music video structure ……….. 184 Table 9. CPDRC’s Thriller (select)