Representing Pinoys

 

Representation matters. There is validation when one sees a person of the same ethnicity on the movie and tv screen or in a position of power. It is good to be visible.

It is a travesty that Filipino nurses are not even featured in medical shows set in urban medical centers. In 2018, the Emmy award show hosts called out that glaring oversight. Michael Che said, “TV has always had a diversity problem. I mean, can you believe they did 15 seasons of ER without one Filipino nurse? Have you been to a hospital?”

Token representation to check the diversity box is just a hand-out, an insincere attempt to reflect the real world out there. It should not be a half-hearted attempt at political correctness. The idea of a world not governed by the color of your skin but by your talent and hard work; now that’s almost an impossible dream. 

Somehow, things are showing a step in the right direction. Finally, in the Season 17 finale of “Grey’s Anatomy”, a Filipino nurse was featured suffering from the aftermath of Covid-19. Hurray for the non-traditional casting of “Bridgerton”. Cheers to Lin-Manuel Miranda for hiring minorities as historical figures in the musical Hamilton. Thankfully, shows such as “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”, “Superstore”, and the SBS comedy-drama “Unusual Suspects” have starred Filipino actors and content.

It is nice to see some Pinoys rising against all odds, breaking the cultural barriers. Here are a few of those who broke through the mainstream global consciousness, not yet global superstars but they definitely made me proud. Here’s to Pinoy Power.

1. Lea Salonga- multi-awarded Broadway legend and Disney princess
2. Charice- before his transition to Jake Cyrus was Oprah’s favorite
3. Arnel Pineda- now the lead singer of Journey
4. Marcelito Pomoy- this dual-voiced singer was a finalist in America’s Got Talent
5. Morisette Amon- by the sheer number of multimillion avid reactions should be the next superstar

 

JO KOY

Jo Koy is a Filipino-American stand-up comic and author of "Mixed Plate". With successful and highly-rated specials from Comedy Central and Netflix, Jo Koy had come a long way from performing in coffee houses and Knights of Columbus halls to selling out arenas and stadiums. His spiels about his Filipino mother’s fondness for Vicks Vaporub, rice, karaoke, and her brand of discipline draw laughs from his audience of many colors. Jo Koy even said that he loves when non-Filipinos call him “Josep” just like his mom in her thick accent.

In August, Jo Koy starred in his Steven Spielberg-backed major movie called "Easter Sunday”. It is his love letter to his mom, giving a voice to Filipino culture on the big screen. This semi-autobiographical film is about the reunion and exploits of a Filipino American family in Daly City.

As expected, there was a delicious smorgasbord of Filipino food (lumpia, pancit, empanada, halo-halo, turon), and an exuberant karaoke session. The Balikbayan box scene tugs at the heartstrings; it has been an annual tradition for homesick overseas Pinoys to share their blessings with their families back home.

For Pinoys, this movie is a visualization of the Filipino diaspora or their immigrant experience. For the world at large, this is a peek into the Pinoy culture, and hopefully, an understanding that there are many similarities between all of us. After all, a mom is a mom, and family is family.

Jo Koy is a trailblazer; his comedy routines introduce Filipino cultures to mainstream awareness. A cultural storyteller. He wears his heart on his sleeve, his intent to share his experiences as a platform for interracial harmony. And yes, he talks about Pinoy nurses too.

 

EZ MIL

In 2020, Filipino-American rapper Ez Mil (real name Ezekiel Miller Sapiera) released the song “Panalo” incorporating the trap song Cariñosa (a traditional Filipino folk dance) and rapped in English, Tagalog, and Ilocano. To date, the Wish-Bus 107.5 recording went viral and garnered 74 million views, and attracted thousands of followers and reactors the world over. He is a multi-instrumentalist, his own video editor. A poet in his own right. 

This Pinoy pride anthem is a passionate call to Filipinos to eschew crab mentality and bullying, which he personally experienced due to him being half-Caucasian. As he growled, “I am Pinoy!”. He is fired up. 

JR DE GUZMAN

This 30-year-old comic and musician immigrated from the Philippines at a young age and settled in California. The family’s initial dwelling in a storage container became part of his comedy routine. He started as a music teacher serenading his audience as he cracked jokes about his family and his travels and somehow took digs at racism. Armed with his guitar and a boyish smile, he banters wittily with his audience. He played off a deceptive persona as a quiet Asian dude, shattering the stereotype with his jokes as in “Asian guys can smash” and interracial babies.

He won the 13th Annual Standup NBC showcase, and made Kevin Hart laugh boisterously on Comedy Central’s “Hart of the City”.  His Netflix Comedy Line special grew his fanbase, not just of Pinoys. JR has performed around the US, Europe, Asia, and the Philippines.

TINIKLING

The Tinikling is a traditional folk dance from the Philippines that requires courage and dexterity, lest you end up with smashed feet. Dancers skillfully dance between bamboo poles.

The members of the Georgia Tech Filipino Student Association honored their Pinoy heritage by performing the Gen Z-er’s creative version of the Tinikling to the tune of "Dolla Sign Slime” by American rap singer Lil Nas X. The dance performance was live-streamed on April 16, 2022, as part of the student organization’s “Halo Halo Mixer” cultural event.

UNUSUAL SUSPECTS

In June 2021, SBS Australia released a four-part mini-series starring a mismatched group of female crooks in the midst of a heist involving a 16-million-dollar heirloom necklace. Set in Sydney, Australia, the show brings together women from different socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds bound by their financial difficulties.

The four Filipina actresses led by the superb Aina Dumlao are impressive. The two nannies demonstrated the poignant experiences of domestic workers and their sacrifices to send money to their families back in the Philippines.

You can binge-watch this on Hulu.

 

CARTOONS

Filipino artists have long been represented in the world of animation. Several Pinoy illustrators have broken through the glass ceiling of the global industry with the Philippines being billed as the world's “cartoon capital”.

https://www.ciit.edu.ph/successful-filipino-animators/

Filipino cultural references were present in Lilo & Stitch (parols or Christmas lanterns) and in Raya and the Last Dragon (arnis and salakot). Netflix released a popular adaptation of Trese and PBS Kids animated shorts series featuring Jelly, Ben & Pogo making halo-halo.

“Craig of the Creek”

“Craig of the Creek” is an Emmy-nominated television series created by Americans Matt Burnett and Ben Levin for Cartoon Network. This animated show is critically-acclaimed for its diversity, breaking cultural barriers and gender restrictions.

One of the characters is Craig’s Filipina friend Eileen who invites Craig to meet his grandmother or “Lola”. Thanks to its Fil-Am writer, the episode showed Lola speaking the Visayan dialect, offering her hand to Craig for "mano" and some local dishes like tortang talong (eggplant omelet) and sinigang na isda (fish stew).

 

Last week, I watched "Easter Sunday". I saw brown-skinned people who looks like me, putting gifts in the Balikbayan box, and eating the same food. Wow, it feels good to be seen.