"I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited."-Sylvia Plath
Recently, I met up with 2 bloggers and I was asked about "Bebot." The only thing I can remember from that conversation was being asked what the word "bebot" means. Since I was caught unprepared (and as usual, I did not want to start a conversation which interests only me), I did translate the word but I did not go into what I as a Woman, Filipino, Asian thought of the video (read this as the Generation 2 since it's the one I saw) per se. I am posting this in the hope that the blogger who asked me about "Bebot" will read this and understand. But if you do get bored, I advise you to go to another blog. No cheeky post today! This open letter from some folks (I got it from another Filipino blogger) is representative of my sentiments.
Open Letter re: “Bebot” Music Videos
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
2:09 PM
To Apl.de.Ap, Patricio Ginelsa/KidHeroes, and Xylophone Films:
We, the undersigned, would like to register our deep disappointment at the portrayal of Filipinas and other women in the new music videos for the Black Eyed Peas’ song, “Bebot.” We want to make it clear that we appreciate your efforts to bring Filipina/o Americans into the mainstream and applaud your support of the Little Manila of Stockton. However, as Filipina/o and Filipina/o American artists, academics, and community activists, we are utterly dismayed by the portrayal of hypersexualized Filipina “hoochie-mama” dancers, specifically in the Generation 2 version, the type of representation of women so unfortunately prevalent in today’s hip-hop and rap music videos. The depiction of the 1930s “dime dancers” was also cast in an unproblematized light, as these women seem to exist solely for the sexual pleasure of the manongs.
In general, we value Apl.de.Ap’s willingness to be so openly and richly Filipino, especially when there are other Filipina/o Americans in positions of visibility who do not do the same, and we appreciate the work that he has done with the folks at Xylophone Films; we like their previous video for “The Apl Song,” and we even like the fact that the Generation 1 version of “Bebot” attempts to provide a “history lesson” about some Filipino men in the 1930s. However, the Generation 2 version truly misses the mark on accurate Filipina/o representation, for the following reasons:
1) The video uses three very limited stereotypes of Filipina women: the virgin, the whore, and the shrill mother. We find a double standard in the depiction of the virgin and whore figures, both of which are highly sexualized. Amidst the crowd of midriff-baring, skinny, light-skinned, peroxided Pinays some practically falling out of their halter tops - there
is the little sister played by Jasmine Trias, from whom big brother Apl is constantly fending off Pinoy “playas.” The overprotectiveness is strange considering his idealization of the bebot or “hot chick.” The mother character was also particularly troublesome, but for very different reasons.
She seems to play a dehumanized figure, the perpetual foreigner with her exaggerated accent, but on top of that, she is robbed of her femininity in her embarrassingly indelicate treatment of her son and his friends. She is not like a tough or strong mother, but almost like a coarse asexual mother,
and it is telling that she is the only female character in the video with a full figure.
2) We feel that these problematic female representations might have to do with the use of the word “Bebot.” We are of course not advocating that Apl change the title of his song, yet we are confused about why a song that has to do with pride in his ethnic/national identity would be titled “Bebot,” a word that suggests male ownership of the sexualized woman the “hot chick.” What does Filipino pride have to do with bebots? The song seems to be about immigrant experience yet the chorus says “ikaw ang aking bebot” (you are my hot chick). It is actually very disturbing that one’s ethnic/national identity is determined by one’s ownership of women. This system not only turns women into mere symbols but it also excludes women from feeling the same kind of ethnic/national identity. It does not bring down just Filipinas; it brings down all women.
3) Given the unfortunate connection made in this video between Filipino pride and the sexualized female body both lyrically and visually, we can’t help but conclude that the video was created strictly for a heterosexual man’s pleasure. This straight, masculinist perspective is the link that we find between the Generation 1 and Generation 2 videos. The fact that the Pinoy men are surrounded by “hot chicks” both then and now makes this link plain. Yet such a portrayal not only obscures the “real” message about the Little Manila Foundation; it also reduces Pinoy men’s hopes, dreams, and
motivations to a single-minded pursuit of sex.
We do understand that Filipino America faces a persistent problem of invisibility in this country. Moreover, as the song is all in Tagalog (a fact that we love, by the way), you face an uphill battle in getting the song and music video(s) into mainstream circulation. However, remedying the invisibility of Filipina/os in the United States should not come at the cost of the dignity and self-respect of at least half the population of Filipino America. Before deciding to write this letter, we felt an incredible amount of ambivalence about speaking out on this issue because, on the one hand, we
recognized that this song and video are a milestone for Filipina/os in mainstream media and American pop culture, but on the other hand, we were deeply disturbed by the images of women the video propagates.
In the end we decided that we could not remain silent while seeing image after image of Pinays portrayed as hypersexual beings or as shrill, dehumanized, asexual mother-figures who embarrass their children with their overblown accents and coarseness. The Filipino American community is made up
of women with Filipino pride as well, yet there is little room in these videos for us to share this voice and this commitment; instead, the message we get is that we are expected to stand aside and allow ourselves to be exploited for our sexuality while the men go about making their nationalist statements.
While this may sound quite harsh, we believe it is necessary to point out
“,1] ); //–>that such depictions make it seem as if you are selling out Filipina women for the sake of gaining mainstream popularity within the United States. Given the already horrific representations of Filipinas all over the world
as willing prostitutes, exotic dancers, or domestic servants who are available for sex with their employers, the representation of Pinays in these particular videos can only feed into such stereotypes. We also find it puzzling, given your apparent commitment to preserving the history and
dignity of Filipina/os in the United States, because we assume that you also consider such stereotypes offensive to Filipino men as well as women.
Again, we want to reiterate our appreciation for the positive aspects of these videos the history lesson of the 1936 version, the commitment to community, and the effort to foster a larger awareness of Filipino America in the mainstream but we ask for your honest attempt to offer more full-spectrum representations of both Filipino men and Filipina women, now and in the future. We would not be writing this letter to you if we did not believe you could make it happen.
Respectfully,
Lucy Burns
Assistant Professor
Asian American Studies / World Arts and Cultures, UCLA
Fritzie De Mata
Independent scholar
Diana Halog
Undergraduate
UC Berkeley
Veronica Montes
Writer
Gladys Nubla
Doctoral student
English, UC Berkeley
Barbara Jane Reyes
Poet and author
Joanne L. Rondilla
Doctoral candidate
Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley
Rolando B. Tolentino
Visiting Fellow, National University of Singapore
Associate Professor, University of the Philippines Film Institute
Benito Vergara
Asian American Studies / Anthropology, San Francisco State University
Addenda: To check out the Bebot Generation 1 and 2 videos, go to www.blackeyedpeas.com and log in using this account, username and password amadbrownwoman. To have an idea what the song's lyrics mean, go to carpediem23.multiply.com for a rough translation.
During my first few months in Vietnam, I had this unchecked idea that "Hai Ba Trung" means... (okay here it is) twenty three eggs. (To Vietnamese speakers, stop laughing now, will you?) It's what happens when your main interaction with locals is buying. Mot nghin dong, one thousand dong... hai nghin dong , two thousand dong ...ba nghin three thousand... ca, fish... ca trung, fish eggs...Get how brilliant me is? (To my former professors in the university, it was not all in vain. There are moments when I redeem myself. I do. I do.) To my defense, at least I knew my numbers.
It was named after the Trung sisters who are women-warriors in Vietnam history. (Yeah, move over Mulan!) "Hai" means two, "ba" madam or a married woman and Trung is the family name. (Thanks to the boyfriend of the friend of my sister for pointing this out. Heller!) Here's the Trung sisters' story.
What's this black bird called anyway?
It's from this small eatery in (82, 84, not sure) Dinh Tien Hoang Street. (Despite black bird above), it's a crabby place (fried rice with crab meat, fried soft shelled crab, crab anything, crab everything).
We went here last Saturday, my sister, her husband and I. We stayed in the second floor and the stairs are very steep. There were also groups of rowdy drinking Vietnamese men.
I therefore conclude that you people shall come here after gym/when you're sure there's no possibility of a heart attack/ when no one cares if you have a bulging stomach after all those crabs, that you women shall not wear high heels when you come here unless you're used to climbing Mt. Everst in five-inch heels, that you women shall not come here alone because it'a beer venue for Vietnamese men, not that they're dangerous,mind, just to be safe, that you shall stay away from black birds if you have a queasy stomach and that you shall come here hungry,very hungry.
Addendum:
But please ring the bell, don't steal.
Just surfing...
Been browsing the internet and I saw an article on film festival in Hanoi which starts this Sunday.
Day dreaming...
Reminds me of my Cinemanila,French Film Fest, UP Film Fest, etc. days in Manila.
Reality...
Only thing that's close to film fest in Saigon (that I've been party to) is going to Saigon Square, buying a ton of pirated DVD's and some marathon DVD watching at home.
Sunday, in Saigon Square, Ho Chi Minh City
“Do you have a size L?” I ask the saleswoman as I show her the white blouse which caught my eye.
“No, no size L. Size M only. This very beautiful for you.” She answers cheerfully in her awkward English.
“Me, size L. No size M.” I reply.
Yes, I wear large clothes here. After living in Vietnam for a while now, I am getting used to it. However, I don’t feel enthused every time this fact is being confirmed and reconfirmed. Like this instance.
I just came from a stall that sells jeans. I wanted to buy jeans that would go with the blue bag I just bought. So I went inside the stall. The saleswoman smiled at me. Maybe she remembered me because I usually buy jeans here. I chose one that I thought would look great on me. I tried it on. And…the jeans were smaller than I thought. I asked the saleswoman to give me one that’s a size bigger. She giggled and said, “ Troi oi (tr. Good God)! Madam, you’re so fat!”
Such audacity!
I immediately left afterward. I draw the line at saleswomen telling me I’m fat when I’m buying clothes. I guess I never thought that I would ever be in this situation, be described as fat...to my face...at American size six!
