The particular place that I chose where cultural commodities are consumed is the beauty pageants in the Philippines. In the Philippines, Filipinos do enjoy sports events as such, but a great number of us look forward to one particular event, the yearly international beauty pageant competition, which is the Miss Universe, and the winning one remains a source of pride for many Filipino women and their supporters. While the Philippines are is a big fan of these international beauty pageants, this unique Filipino culture is also manifested through the local scene. Every time there is a fiesta in barangays all over the country, there is a beauty pageant held. Even more, a beauty pageant here in the Philippines does not only for women, but also to men, LGBT members, and the young and old. Time after time, these pageants evolve into something that is fit to the Filipino culture. I believe that beauty pageants in the Philippines is both empowering and objectifying, it empowering because it creates a platform where these people can gather and compete, beauty pageants is not just about gathering but it is also making an influence to the society. For example, the gay people are highly discriminated but with the gay beauty pageants being held in local barangays fiesta or some being broad cast in the television, it made the gay and other people realize that it is normal to be gay and there are a lot same people around the world, beauty pageants can also change the stereotypes of the society as well because we tend to discriminate the minority just because they are unusual to us but with the beauty pageants it made these people a place in the society. On the other hand it is objectifying, but I don’t see objectification as bad in the beauty pageants just because they are judge by their appearance and performance. Where the judges becomes the subject and the pageants becomes the object, they are supposed to be judge because they are in the competition because even in other sports competition they are being judge by their performance and there are certain criteria that are being followed. We should accept beauty pageants as same as some other sports competition because they are also hard working for their body and mentally and physically. Beauty pageants are not just about their appearance it is also about their intelligence and talent as well.

The cultural commodity that I chose is Domestic workers in the Philippines; they are one of the groups most vulnerable to exploitation, violence, harassment, and forced labor. With the influx domestic workers in the overseas mostly from the Philippines, it makes them more vulnerable to abuses and violence by their employers because they are seen as inferior due to their, class, gender, and ethnicity. These special agencies from overseas where they arrange the work place for the workers take advantage of them they deceive these workers telling them a different workplace in order for them to accept the offer knowing that they are poor and uneducated. The domestic workers are mostly poor and uneducated, which makes them more valuable to abuse and violence as well. Most cases the employer would look down on them and treat them as a slave because they are poor. It also makes a stereotype in genders as well where women are supposed to work in the house to clean, cook, laundry and other house work. The export-oriented economy send mixed message to women, it tells women to work outside the home but at the same time, it maintains the belief that women’s proper place is inside the home. These domestic workers are being prohibited to go out and every time the employer is going out they are being locked in the house. Ethnicity also makes them vulnerable to abuses and violence, as mention in the video the domestic workers are the weakest element in the society, they are foreign, women and from a poor countries. The employers take advantage of the domestic workers because they are from the other countries, they are being sent overseas not knowing anything about that specific country. The passports of the domestic workers are confiscated by their employers as soon as they arrive in the airport in order to restrict these workers to run away from their workplace. Most of the domestic workers are sexually harassed and rape as well, they being abuse and violated just because they are foreign, women and from poor countries. These domestic workers are abuse and violated physically, mentally and emotionally, they are forced to overwork with low wage. This issue can use the lens of Marxist theory and feminist theory; it is very unreasonable for these people because they don’t have choice other than to work in abroad, because they cannot get a work in their home country to support their family. This can relate to the higher class abusing their power over the working class and discriminating because of their class, gender, and ethnicity.

By kotaro Ryuto

Last July, 11-14 we had our field trip in the Cambodia in order to explore and analyze the culture and history in the Cambodia. In our first day we went to a Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh the capital of Cambodia.  Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is a former secondary school which was used as security prison by the Khmer rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. As I tour the prison, the tour guide explained how brutally the prisoners was tortured and in each prisoners room there was a steel bed where they are being tortured and there was also a picture of the prisoners after they are being tortured in their respective room. The building of Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is used to conserve, preserve, it is also use for educational purposes the historically unique and documentary collection from the former S-21 prison and interrogation center.  It is estimated that over 15,000 prisoners were detained during the regime and the collection illustrates the fate of the prisoners. The genocide tragedies that happed in the Cambodia are transformed in to empower their culture to educate and use as a historical museum and cultural production and consumption activities by the tourists.          

   We also visited the killing fields, where mass number of killings happened. In the killing fields, we saw where all the prisoners were killed, some of the clothes of the victims were also preserved and there were still some bones of the victim visible in the ground. I was shock when I saw the pile of skeleton heads arrange in the builds, it shown how brutal the mass killings happened in the killing field. It this trip it made me realize how lucky I am living in the peaceful world. In the Cambodia these kinds of torture and execution centers of cultural commodities are being consumed and produced in their country, mostly it is visited by foreign tourist for sightseeing or for educational purposes

By Kotaro Ryuto

In the indigenous Filipino theories, which are established by Filipino to further understand the Philippines independent and civilized nation and society. The western theories tend to distort the Philippine writings, narratives, and historical interpretations, it also implicit racist assumptions. Indigenous Filipino theories were established in order to show that Filipino are also capable of having their own identities, language and history. The first theory mention in the class was sikolohiyang Pilipino, it is define as the scientific study of psychology derived from the experience, ideas, and cultural orientation of the Filipinos. Virgilio G. Enriquez, considered the father of sikolohiyang Pilipino. Foreign construction of the Filipino identity, the value focused on preserving face and smooth interpersonal relationship. The concomitant trilogy of filipino’s values are utang ng loob (debt of gratitude), pakikisama (getting along) and hiya (shame), on the other hand the lose negative trait attribution are mamaya na (procrastination), ningas cagon (good starter, poor finisher), bahala na (fatalism) and talangka (carb mentality). The concept of utang ng loob (debt of gratitude) for Filipino is a lot more serious compared to foreign way of thinking, for Filipino utang ng loob is being passed down to the relatives, where if one of your close relatives has a debt of gratitude to someone then automatically you are also expected to have a gratitude and respect towards that person. The concept of bahala na (fatalism) is often use by the Filipino, when they take a risk on something and it also makes to have more courage whenever they encounter an obstacle. Another concept would be kapwa, which means togetherness Filipino tend to have strong sense of togetherness especially for same Filipino as well, kapwa has two categories, ibang tao and hindi ibang tao. The indigenous Filipino theories implies the deeper understanding of what Filipino’s are despite of colonialism, we should know our original culture, language and identity not just being influence by other countries culture, because in order to understand ourselves we need our own theories not the theories constructed in the other countries.

By Kotaro Ryuto

In the post-colonial theories, it talks about the social, political, economic, and cultural practices which arise in response and resistance to colonialism, and also how former self becomes your other, while other become your new self. In class it was mentioned how these colonialism damaged the own original identity of colonized country because of the influence brought by the colonizers. Colonialism is where one nation establishing their own government in other country, often uses a force to occupy certain country in order to take advantage of that country and influence their own culture as well.

According to Edward Said, orientalism refers to a general patronizing western attitude towards Asia, Middle Eastern and African societies. Western people tend to think that they are more superior than the other race, they believe that they have to colonize and teach the non-western people their culture and spread their hands to help the other race because they believe that these indigenous people are uneducated and uncivilized. Edward Said also mention that idea that orientalism is the idea where western society is more developed, rational, flexible and superior than the other society. In the colonization of U.S to the Philippines, it is clearly shown that these Americans are looking down on the Filipino during the colonization’s just because they are form the western countries. It shows the orientalism of the western people is deeply rooted to themselves believing that they are more superior from other race.

 I believe that due to the colonization of the western people we are forgetting our own identity and culture we have. Even now we can clearly see how prominent the culture of the westerns, even the language there are a lot of Filipino that can only speak English even though they grew up here in the Philippines. The colonization of the westers made the Philippines change the belief of Filipino like our religion, most of the Philippines are catholic or Christian which are originally from the other country. The influence of the culture of westers country are deeply rooted in our culture where we tend to forget who we really are, that’s why we should be more aware of where we originally came from because we are not from the westers country, we are Filipino.

by Kotaro Ryuto

Who is your “other?”

For me, my other is people who are stranger, I define other for people I am not familiar with. It is because I am also shy with other people who are not my friends or family, usually makes me in an awkward situation because I don’t know what to talk about. I also consider people who has different interest/hobbies my other as well, because having different interest/hobbies would harder for me to understand and relate to them. For me, people who are new to me is my other.

Have you ever been the object of domination and marginalization?

Yes I have been an object of domination and marginalization, specifically in a form of subordination. I have been subordinated before whenever with I’m with some of my friends, they used to invite me to hang out and usually I treat them a food or a drink every time we go out, these situation continued for some time to the point that every time we go out they expect me to pay for their drinks and food or they will invite me so that they can use me to pay for their food. after this incident I stop treating some of my friend because I know they are just using me to get their needs.

Have you ever dominated and marginalized others?

Yes I have dominated and marginalize others, on basis of exploitation. Usually in school, every time there are group works or activity I tend to choose group mate who are smart or hard working so that I have less workload to do in the group works or in the activity. yes there was a resistance, when they realize that I am not participating or working that much in group work, they didn’t want to be group with me anymore, which they realize that they were being used to advance in the latter interest.