The Filipino Channel and the Filipino Diaspora by Ethel Marie P
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Mediating Global Filipinos: The Filipino Channel and the Filipino Diaspora By Ethel Marie P. Regis A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnic Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Catherine Ceniza Choy, Chair Professor Elaine H. Kim Professor Khatharya Um Professor Irene Bloemraad Fall 2013 Abstract Mediating Global Filipinos: The Filipino Channel and the Filipino Diaspora by Ethel Marie P. Regis Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnic Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Catherine Ceniza Choy, Chair Mediating Global Filipinos: The Filipino Channel and the Filipino Diaspora examines the notion of the “global Filipino” as imagined and constructed vis-à-vis television programs on The Filipino Channel (TFC). This study contends that transnational Philippine media broadly construct the notion of “global Filipinos” as diverse, productive, multicultural citizens, which in effect establishes a unified overseas Filipino citizenry for Philippine economic Welfare and global cultural capital. Despite the netWork’s attempts at representing difference and inclusion, what the notion of “global Filipinos” does not address are the structural and social inequities that affect the everyday lives Filipino diasporans and the Ways in Which immigrants and second generation Filipino Americans alike carefully negotiate family ties and the politics of their changing identities and commitments. Taking into account TFC’s impact on audiences, interviews with first- and second-generation Filipino Americans in San Diego revealed that While they Were aWare of the global span of Filipino communities, even touting Filipino success, diligence, and adaptability that is often featured in ethnic television media, Filipino American immigrants continued to identify With their regional affiliations even as they gravitated to Philippine-based television media. Furthermore, although there are efforts to expand U.S.-based production to address local issues and broaden its reach across different segments of Filipino American audiences, second generation Filipino Americans sought to understand and express their ethnic identities outside of Philippine-based mediums. 1 Para sa akoang pamilya. For my family. i Table of Contents List of Figures . iii AcknoWledgements . iv Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 Chapter 2: Changing Media for Filipinos in America and the Diaspora: Early Filipino American Media and the Development of The Filipino Channel . 22 Chapter 3: Watching The Filipino Channel: Intergenerational Perspectives on Filipino American Media . 51 Chapter 4: Crafting the Global Filipino: The Bagong Bayani on The Filipino Channel Station IDs . 85 Chapter 5: Re-presenting the Global Filipino: Apl de Ap, Philippine Tourism, and Social Advocacy on The Filipino Channel . .108 Epilogue . 138 Bibliography . 142 Appendix . 151 ii List of Figures Figure 4.1 – Figure 4.2: Scene of Airline Departures and Family FareWells in Lipad Ng Pangarap Figure 4.3: Scene of Filipinos Applying for Visas from Lipad Ng Pangarap Figure 4.4 – Figure 4.9: Scenes of Filipino Workers in Lipad Ng Pangarap Figure 4.10: Scene of Migrants Returning in Lipad Ng Pangarap Figure 4.11 – Figure 4.14: Scenes of Filipinos Working Abroad in Isang Dugo, Isang Lahi, Isang Musika Figure 4.15 – Figure 4.18: Scenes of Filipino Lives Abroad in Isang Dugo, Isang Lahi, Isang Musika Figure 5.1: Scene from Take U to the Philippines displaying landscape Figure 5.2: Scene from Take U to the Philippines listing destinations Figure 5.3: Scene from Take U to the Philippines depicting female dancer Figure 5.4: Scene from Take U to the Philippines of Apl on a tricycle Figure 5.5: Scene from We Can Be Anything of Apl on the streets Figure 5.6: Scene from We Can Be Anything of the boy taking photographs of other kids on the cart Figure 5.7: Scene from We Can Be Anything of one of the kids on the pushcart iii Acknowledgements The love, kindness, and generosity of many people made this dissertation possible. My sincere gratitude goes to the focus group and interview participants who shared their time and perspectives and Without Whom I could not have done this project. Many thanks to the librarians at the Lopez Museum and Library, the University of the Philippines, and the University of California, Berkeley who provided valuable guidance in finding materials relevant to my dissertation. Thank you to the ABS-CBN staff for accommodating me With a comprehensive tour of the production studios and an impromptu seat as an audience member during my visit. I Would also like to thank my extended family in the Philippines, especially in Quezon City, Who Welcomed me in their homes so that I could pursue my research. Compassionate and supportive mentors Who guided my academic and professional path have inspired and sustained me through the years. Yen Le Espiritu’s undergraduate course on Race, Gender, Class, and Ethnicity at UC San Diego introduced me to Ethnic Studies and my World has not been the same since. Yen, thank you for taking me under your Wing. As a graduate student, I Was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from brilliant teachers and scholars at UC Berkeley. My faculty committee members and mentors: Elaine Kim, Khatharya Um, Irene Bloemraad, and especially my dissertation chair, Catherine Ceniza Choy – thank you for your patience and careful guidance. Heartfelt thanks also go to the faculty and staff of the UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies department for shepherding me through my early years in the program and through the process of finalizing the dissertation. Geline Avila, Ligaya Domingo, Gladys Nubla, and Joanne Rondilla were a source of reassurance and strength, especially in my early years of graduate school. To my Writing partner (and occasional fashion adviser), Annie Fukushima, I would not have finished this dissertation without our regular check-ins and your words of encouragement. Thank you for reminding me to never give up. I am also thankful for the collegiality of the staff and Teaching Assistants at the Culture, Art, and Technology Writing program at UC San Diego Sixth College, especially to Liz Losh for introducing me to the field of composition and rhetoric, and to Alexandra Sartor and Diane Forbes for their astute and insightful feedback on drafts of my dissertation chapters. Family and friends including PJ Cole-Regis, Jennifer Cole-Regis, David Chon, Agnes Fermin, Lizelle Festejo, Sonnier Francisco, Jane Rudolph, Reggie Saldivar, Suzanne Tuason, and Angeline Villanueva Yang provided motivation, courage, and laughter that helped me through the tough moments of graduate school and the Writing process. I could not have completed this dissertation Without the generous love of my husband, Jerry Lu, Who inspires me to be a better person and reminds me that kindness prevails. Thank you for the many times that you took care of day-to- day chores so that I Would have time to read and write. Most of all, to my parents, Philip Regis and Juliet Panganiban Regis, thank you for your unyielding faith and your unconditional love. I dedicate this dissertation to you. iv Chapter 1 Introduction “[I]n a global system of production, the material imagination constituting the Philippine nation can be seen as a form of labour… [I]ts material dreams are the consequences of – as well as bear consequences for – that international order of political and economic dreamwork, Which I call fantasy-production.” - Neferti X. M. Tadiar “Kapamilya, Kahit Saan Sa Mundo / Family, Wherever You Are in the World” “One country, One station, One people” “Tayo ang TFC / We are TFC” - TFC Station ID Slogans Each weeknight, after arriving home from his sWing-shift job at a printing company, my father tuned in to the latest “Filipino neWs” from TV Patrol, an hour- long television neWs program from the Philippines aired on one of the international channels in Northern California. While groWing up, one of my daily chores Was to record my dad’s favorite Philippine neWs program, Which he later Watched from a VHS tape to see and hear about What Was happening in the Philippines – political goings-on, the state of the economy, aftermaths of natural calamities, and other breaking news and events. Though I was responsible for the tape recording of the program, I did not care much for the serious news. Instead, as a young teenager, I found the entertainment segment most interesting and kept an eye and an ear on the TV set if only to see the latest trends hitting the country and hear the juiciest gossip on poplar Filipino celebrities. As my dad sat doWn to eat his late-night dinner and watch the taped news program, he might have as Well been in the Philippines, even as he Was in an apartment in Mountain View, California. Like many immigrants, the ties to “home” that ethnic media made possible shaped and sustained him in the United States. Since then, new technology has enabled him to access neWs and an array of programs any time of the day, including satellite TV, cable channels, and the Internet that deliver ethnic media content. Yet, the seemingly mundane task of recording my father’s favorite ethnic television program has profoundly connected me to my dad, to Philippine popular culture, and to audiences of Filipino American media. Aired in countries across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Australia, and North America, The Filipino Channel (TFC), an international subsidiary channel of the Philippine-based ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, provides programs that promote the Philippines as “home” for Filipinos, and TFC as the television network that brings Filipinos across the world, together. Touted as “a source of homegroWn 1 information” and a “unifying factor,”1 TFC programs remain a popular medium through which Filipinos outside the Philippines maintain transnational ties and for Filipino diasporans to feel connected With family and friends despite being geographically apart.