March 15, 2006

  • I purchased a new painting yesterday. It's one of my goals to gather a collection of Filipino and Filipino American art and maybe one day display it for the world. I've only three paintings at the moment, but I'm working on it. Art can be very expensive and I'm not quite at a level to afford the more expensive pieces.


    This is really part of a larger goal - to get the reputation of people of Philippine descent out to the general public. I still feel that Filipinos, particularly in the media and entertainment sectors, are overshadowed by the label of Asian, and lumped into that group, without the recognition of our unique history and culture. Geographically we are from the continent of Asia, and we share some similar cultural traits as other Asians, but to ignore our history of colonization by Spain, Japan, and then the United States for so long is to ignore a significant part of our heritage.


    That being said, I am very aware that other European nations colonized other countries in Asia as well, such as the French in Vietnam and the British in India. Let's not forget that Asian countries have also colonized fellow Asian countries, like when China took control of Tibet. The result is an amalgamation of variety within the Asian continent. It makes me wonder how beneficial it is to use the word Asian. While it provides for one single voting bloc around which to rally people, and create political power, there certainly are negatives that result from it as well. It's a catch-22.


    If we look at the use of American, the same thing can be said. The nationalism that is generated by that term can be very powerful, yet most Americans can tell if a certain individual is from Alabama as opposed to California. Here's the difference. It is one country, not a whole continent. I don't believe that the term North American would generate the same feeling. So why do people use the terms Asians and Africans, as opposed to the more specific national labels, like they do here in North America? I wonder if it is just an action that we do here in North America. Even just saying North American, as opposed to American, may sound awkward, but it would be a good experiment to conduct.