AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
KARTIKA KUSUMANINGSIH
Student Number: 024214108
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
i
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
KARTIKA KUSUMANINGSIH
Student Number: 024214108
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
PHILIPPINES IN JESSICA HAGEDORN’S
DOGEATERS
By
KARTIKA KUSUMANINGSIH
Student Number: 024214108
Approved by
Modesta Luluk Artika Windrasti, S.S. September 14, 2009. Advisor
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PHILIPPINES IN JESSICA HAGEDORN’S
DOGEATERS
By
KARTIKA KUSUMANINGSIH
Student Number: 024214108
Defended before the Board of Examiners on September 25, 2009
and Declared Acceptable
BOARD OF EXAMINERS
Name Signature
Chairman : Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A.
Secretary : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. Member I : Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum. Member II : Modesta Luluk Artika Windrasti, S.S. Member III : Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum.
Yogyakarta, September 30, 2009 Faculty of Letters
Sanata Dharma University Dean
iv
My brain
and
my heart
are my temples;
v
My Beloved Parents and Siblings
My Kochanie, Seba
My P.R.U.E Family
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doubtful and dreadful moments. I would not have finished this thesis without Your blessing.
A wealth of gratitude is dedicated to my advisor Modesta Luluk Artika Windrasti, S.S. and Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum. as my co-Advisor who have spent time and thought on this thesis. Thank you for your valuable suggestions and correcting my thesis until it finished. My gratitude also goes to my lecturers for the knowledge and guidance during my years in college.
My greatest thanks go to my beloved dad Susmono and mom Sukatmi for endless love, backup, and for always trusting me in making my own decisions. For my siblings Agung, Susi, Koko, and of course Ratih, thank you so much for helping me with stuffs I could not manage.
For my lovely ‘shipmate’, Sebastian R. Grocz, I am so grateful for your never ending support in my bad times and for being such an amazing teammate. Let us bring our dreams into reality and create a legend we will be proud of.
My gratitude also goes to all my ‘good joe’ in Sanata Dharma University who have made my life more colorful. A special thank goes to my GIORDANO family and P.R.U.E (Alfa, Ardy, Debby, Dian, Faida, Ferdy, Fitra, Hendy, Jeff, Nico, Rudy, Shreek, and Suryo) for sharing life experience and fabulous friendship.
At last but most essential, my biggest appreciation goes to Vital van de Horst, Adrian, Debora, Patricia, Tika Kecil, Wahyu Ginting, Ana Preman, and Caesar for your great contribution and magical cards. Furthermore, I thank to my Vida’s boarding house and ex boarding house girls at Jl. Beo 45B for our joyful sisterhood.
May God always bless all these amazing people.
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A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... 5
C. Objectives of the Study ... 6
D. Definition of Terms ... 6
CHAPTER II: THEORITICAL REVIEW ... 8
A. Review of Related Studies ... 8
B. Review of Related Theories ... 12
1. Theory of Setting ... 12
2. Theory of Character and Characterization ... 13
3. Theory of Popular Culture ... 14
4. Theory of Westernization ... 17
5. Theory of Hegemony ... 19
C. Review on Philippines’ Cultural-Historical Background ... 20
1. Before the Arrival of American ... 20
2. The Philippines under the Stars and Stripes ... 23
D. Theoretical Framework ... 25
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ... 27
A. Object of the Study ... 27
B. Approach of the Study ... 28
C. Method of the Study ... 29
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ... 31
A. The Reflection of Popular Culture as the Impact of Westernization 31 1. The Setting in the Novel ... 32
2. The Characters in the Novel ... 42
B. The Influence of Popular Culture toward Filipinos’ Behavior Pattern ... 53
ix Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
Culture is understandings, patterns of behavior, practices, and values that are acquired, preserved, and transmitted by a group of people and that can be embodied in art works. Culture can be diffused from one to another and transmitted from one generation to generation. The diffusion and transmission of two cultures may form a new culture. In the Philippines, the invasion of Spaniards in 1521 and arrival of Americans in 1898 gave significant changes to the local culture and formed a new one. Afterwards, it grew into popular culture as the influence of Westernization. Popular culture will always be an interesting issue to discuss since it stimulates people to be part of it for the sake of existence. This circumstance encourages the writer to analyze the reflection and influence of popular culture as the result of Westernization in the Philippines in Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters. Here, obviously Jessica Hagedorn tries to show the Westernization which deeply influenced the way of the Filipinos in viewing life.
There are two problems related to the topic of this research to guide the analysis. They are: (1) In what way is popular culture as the impact of Westernization reflected on Jessica Hagedorn’sDogeaters? (2) How does popular culture as the impact of Westernization influence the behavior pattern of the Filipinos inDogeaters?
In order to answer the problems, this study is using sociocultural-historical approach which relates the work to the society and history where it was produced. In the process of collecting information, the writer used library research method. Therefore sources from books were taken as well as from the internet to support the analysis. The primary source of the study is Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters.
Some other books as well as several websites which contain the information about popular culture and the Philippines history are also discussed as the secondary sources.
x Letters, Sanata Dharma University.
Kebudayaan merupakan pemahaman bersama, pola hidup, tingkah laku, dan nilai-nilai yang diperoleh, dipelihara, dan disebarkan oleh sebuah kelompok orang dan dapat berbentuk dalam karya seni. Kebudayaan dapat berbaur dari satu budaya ke budaya lainnya dan diwariskan secara turun-temurun. Pembauran dan penyebaran antar dua budaya dapat membentuk suatu budaya baru. Di Filipina,
invasi bangsa Spanyol tahun 1521 dan kedatangan bangsa Amerika pada tahun 1898 memberikan perubahan yang besar terhadap budaya lokal dan membentuk sebuah budaya baru. Setelah itu, budaya baru tersebut berkembang menjadi budaya populer atas pengaruh Westernisasi. Budaya populer akan selalu menjadi persoalan yang menarik untuk dibahas karena dapat membangkitkan semangat untuk ikut mengambil bagian untuk kepentingan eksistensi. Keadaan seperti ini yang mendorong penulis untuk mendiskusikan pencerminan dan pengaruh budaya populer akibat dari Westernisasi di Filipina dalam novelDogeaters. Melalui karya sastra ini, Jessica Hagedorn dengan sangat jelas mencoba menunjukkan Westernisasi yang sangat mempengaruhi cara orang Filipina memandang hidup.
Sebagai pedoman analisa, terdapat dua pokok permasalahan yang terkait dengan topik skripsi ini. Antara lain: (1) Dengan cara apakah budaya populer sebagai akibat dari Westernisasi dicerminkan dalam novel Dogeaters karya Jessica Hagedorn? (2) Bagaimanakah pengaruh budaya populer akibat dari Weternisasi terhadap pola prilaku orang Filipina dalam novelDogeaters?
Untuk menjawab permasalahan tersebut, skripsi ini menggunakan pendekatan sosial budaya dan sejarah, yang mana menghubungkan novel ini dengan masyarakat and sejarah dimana karya sastra tersebut telah dibuat. Dalam proses pengumpulan data, penulis menggunakan metode studi pustaka. Oleh karena itu, sumber-sumber diambil dari buku dan internet untuk membantu analisa. Sumber utama studi ini adalah novel Dogeaers karangan Jessica Hagedorn. Buku-buku lain dan beberapa website yang di dalamnya terdapat informasi tentang budaya populer dan sejarah mengenai Filipina juga digunakan dalam studi ini sebagai sumber pendukung.
1
A. Background of the Study
“We live in transitional society, and the idea of culture, too often, has been identified with one or other of the forces which the transitions contains” (Esthope and McGowen, 1992: 224).
The opening quotation above is taken from Raymond Williams’ Culture and Society (1958) in Esthope and McGowen’s A Critical and Cultural Theory Readers. It affirms that everything is changing, including society and all the things contained in it. In a society where its members have the same history and collective action, people are communicating and interacting with each other. Time after time, they form a custom—by which a culture is being shaped and becoming an identity of a society. Culture is not fixed and finished, but it is rather living and changing. Different society forms different culture and it differs one another in variance which makes them more particular and unique. Raymond Williams defines ‘culture’ as “the product of the old leisured classes who seek now to defend it against new and destructive forces” (Esthope and McGowen, 1992: 224). Nevertheless, more specific definition of culture is found inVisual Arts: Glossary. It is described as“understandings, patterns of behavior, practices, and values that are acquired, preserved, and transmitted by a group of people and that can be embodied in art works” (http://arts.unitec.ac.nz/engageinarts/visarts/glossary.php). Meanwhile, Merriam-Webster dictionary classifies culture as:
existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time <popular culture> <southern culture> c: the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization <a corporate culture focused on the bottom line> d: the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic (http://www.merriam-webster.com /dictionary/ culture).
torture and slavery over the native Africans by the Europeans. One of the Europeans is Kurtz who rules the native Africans through violence and intimidation. His follower, a Russian guy, explains that Kurtz had used his guns and personal charisma to take over tribes of Africans and had used them to make war on other tribes for their ivory.
“The prehistoric man was cursing us, praying to us, welcoming us- who could tell?” (Conrad, 44), Marlow describes the Africans as prehistoric and has no ability to understand exactly what they were attempting to do when the boat was floating down the river. This separates the Africans from the Europeans, Marlow not having the ability to understand their activities, separates the Africans by describing them as prehistoric because he cannot comprehend their alien procedures (http://www.helium.com/ items/1330880-the-use-of-racism-in-heart-of-darkness).
An example of cultural attack or pressure can be seen in “The White Man’s Burden” by Rudyard Kipling. As stated in Eliza Fabillar’s poetry analysis, this poem was originally published in the popular magazineMcClure’s with subtitle “The White Man’s Burden: 1899, The United States and the Philippine Islands”(http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6609/). This was Kipling's response to the American takeover of the Philippines in 1899. In this poem, he tells about a command to the ‘White Man’ to colonizes and rules the natives of other nations for their own benefit which are the imperialism and cultural domination of the United States. By the cultural development of people from other ethnic and background, the ‘White Man’ can make the people adopting their Western culture, as seen in the first stanza:
On fluttered folk and wild--Your new-caught, sullen peoples, Half devil and half child.
(http://www.wsu.edu:8001/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2 /kipling.html).
Another poet, Luis Cabalquinto, writes “The Dog-Eater” which was first published in American Poetry Review. He was inspired by Jessica Hagedorn’s novel. This poem illustrates an American boy sees the dog-eater walking on a sidewalk of New York. The dog-eater is described as a village dark man who eats dog everyday. Although he is in New York, he is still being himself and aware of his identity (http://www.meritagepress.com/ bspeaks_feb.htm).
The Philippines is so steeped in love for pop culture, fantasy life. It’s probably one way to get through the day in a hard life. They work hard and they dream hard and they love hard and they die hard. There’s this fixation with movie stars, pop stars, worship, and a sense of melodrama. It’s very effusive. Other cultures may find it a bit much, but I just love it. I love the bigness, the flamboyance (http://www.donshewey.com/theater_ articles/jessica_hagedorn.htm).
In Don Shewey’s interview with Hagedorn for the New York Times as quoted above, Hagedorn tells how deep popular culture penetrates into the Filipinos life. Dogeaters portrays the characters’ fantasy or euphoric dream of living in glamorous life in America. She mentions the whole about Filipinos who are crazy to consume expensive American brands, like Jiffy Peanut Butter, Libby's, and Buick cars. They like to be updated with radio melodramas, news, Western culture movies, and its music. They are also proud of using American services, as US divorce, Green card, American doctor, and American hospital. All is about getting the Hollywood dreams. Here, obviously Jessica Hagedorn tries to show the bombardment of the media which deeply influences the way of the Filipinos viewing life.
“RIO-I wish you never left us but if God wills I will perhapps be joineing you soon over there, primma. I need a US divorse, sabes ya- its still not okay here it’s a mortal sin….” (Hagedorn, 1991: 7).
B. Problem Formulation
Through the writing of this research, the writer would like to answer the two questions listed as follows:
2. How does popular culture as the impact of Westernization influence the behavior pattern of the Filipinos inDogeaters?
C. Objectives of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to answer the problems that have been formulated above. The initial objective of this study is to find out the way
Dogeaters reflects popular culture as the impact of Westernization in the Philippines. This step is taken by analyzing the content of the novel which portrays popular culture. The final objective is to discover how popular culture as the impact of Westernization influences the behavior pattern of the Filipinos in
Dogeaters. This is done by relating what are found in the first problem with the Filipinos’ life pattern. Therefore, the reflection and influence of popular culture as the result of Westernization occurring in the novel could be revealed.
D. Definition of Terms 1. Popular Culture
(http://arts.unitec.ac.nz/engageinarts/visarts/glossary.php). Meanwhile, Merriam-Webster dictionary defines popular as:
2: suitable to the majority, as a: adapted to or indicative of the understanding and taste of the majority. 3: frequently encountered or widely accepted . 4: commonly liked or approved (http://www.merriam-webster.com /dictionary/ culture).
A simple definition of the term ‘popular culture’ may refer either to individual artifacts (often treated as texts) such as popular song or a television programme, or to a group’s lifestyle (Edgar and Sedgwick, 1999: 285). According to Raymond Williams (1976: 199), popular culture is inferior (less commendable quality or value) kinds of work that deliberately sets out to win favour upon people (Strinati, 1995:2).
2. Westernization
8
A. Review of Related Studies
Dogeatersis Jessicca Hagedorn’s best-selling novel which was nominated for a National Book Award and an American Book Award when it was first published in 1990. This novel is inspired by the colonization of Spain, Japan, and America in the Philippines, a state which makes this novel rich in contents and issues. Literary critics discuss Dogeaters in many aspects, such as: politics, power, romance, gender, religion, culture, ethnicity, and many more. Moreover in 1998, La Jolla Playhouse, a professional theater of University of California based in San Diego, produced a stage performance whose scenario is adapted from the novel (http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Jessica_Hagedorn).
In an essay entitled “Dictators, Movie Stars, and Martyrs”, Myra Mendible examines Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters as an ironic critique of spectacle that exposes and usurps its political usefulness. Here she states the impacts of colonial era toward dictator’s bureaucracy and in driving the characters to dream and worship the American cultures.
While their dictators flourish on the world stage, Hagedorn’s characters dream themselves as actors in foreign movies, often confusing cinematic events with personal memories; they produce themselves in the image of another’s desire, reenact a familiar stock of clichéd roles and social rituals. For example, First Lady who is so extravagant that she would become an object of world parody. Yet throughout Ferdinand’s twenty-year dictatorship, Imelda played the starring role in a national spectacle that served as ‘guardian of sleep’ for the regime. While Ferdinand tightened his grip on power, the spectacle of Imelda captivated Filipino audiences, intrigued the international press, and enthralled U.S. leaders and dignitaries. Imelda’s spectacular image inspired by Hollywood movies and promoted by the press, seduced an impoverished majority—a populace enamored of American movie images depicting lavish prosperity and splendor (http://www.genders.org/g36/g36_mendible.html).
Meanwhile, in Julie Shackford-Bradley’s “Politics, Pleasure, and Intertextuality in Contemporary Southeast Asian Women’s Writing” which is published in Deborah L. Madsen’sBeyond the Borders: American Literature and Post-Colonial Theory, focuses on intertextuality in the three novels that refills the influence of postcolonial political structures in the Philippines, Burma, and Indonesia. The three novels are Jessica Hagedorn’s Dogeaters (1990), Wendy Law-Yone's Irrawaddy Tango (1993), and Ayu Utami’s Saman (1998). In
which gave less advantage to citizens of the Philippines. Nevertheless, it gave outstanding beneficiaries to the America and American businessmen whose investments in the Philippines in the form of factories, shops and buildings, mines and other industrial plants or commercial enterprises, were seriously damaged by the American war in Vietnam and the Maynilà ‘summit’ of 1966. For this matter, the Filipinos were asked to pay an exorbitant price” (Agoncillo, 1969:294-295). Shackford-Bradley studies the ways in which authors of those three novels weave together compelling tales out of fragments and disparate narratives. At the same time, she uses allusion to reveal the hidden structures of postcolonial histories. She also examines the authors’ response to these histories through the inclusion of a discourse of international human rights which is woven into their narratives for the purpose of exposing unseen injustices and their long-term effects on the individual and on the general populace. Besides, she also discusses about the female experience of sexual torture for the purposes of not only undermining the individual’s ability to express the most expansive potential of the human being, but also by associating pain with sexuality (Madsen, 2003: 222-237).
casuistry (http://philcsc.wordpress.com/2008/10/06/whos-afraid-of-jessica-hagedorn -notes-on-a-filipina-writer-in-america/).
Dogeaters depicts the multilayered contradictions of the Philippines’ society, an uneven terrain alluded to one of the characters as “a nation of cynics…betrayed and then united only by our hunger for glamour and our Hollywood dreams”, as stated bellow by San Juan, Jr.:
Hagedorn expresses the Gramscian version of nationalism as the national-popular: she articulates the sense of her own country as the sense of her own place, of herself as occupying a given position whose social meaning derives from belonging to a historically-defined tradition. She rejects the nationalism of the nation-state which is supported by the identification with a specific ideology…. Precisely because the Philippines [is] an American colony–and this is not an invention–Dogeaters is not only a realistic portrayal of the cultural, social, and moral fragmentation derived from centuries of dependence on first the Spanish and later the Americans, but also–in Gramscian terms–the expression of a sociality which is historical and ethic-political and which is the condition for the artistic rendering of a genuine and fundamental humanity (http://philcsc.wordpress.com/2008/10/06/whos-afraid-of-jessica-hagedorn -notes-on-a-filipina-writer-in-america/).
B. Review of Related Theories
To have the analysis meet the objectives of this study, the writer uses the theory of setting, character and characterization, westernization, popular culture, and the theory of hegemony.
1. Theory of Setting
Setting takes an important part in Dogeaters. The way Jessica Hagedorn uses particular terms to signify the meaning of the place and certain time to imply an important event. A Handbook of Literary Terms defines setting as “the elements that give the reader an abstract impression of the environment in which the characters move” (Yelland, et al., 1986: 184). According to A Handbook to Literature, setting is also said as “the physical, and sometimes spiritual, background against which the action of a narrative takes place” (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 465). For narrative or dramatic work, the setting usually is “the general locale, historical time, and social circumstances in which its action occurs” (Abrams, 1993: 192). In a broader meaning, quoted by Koesnosoebroto, Lostracco and Wilkerson stated that “setting refers to the conditions or total environment, physical, emotional, economic, political, social, and psychological in which the characters live” (Koesnosoebroto, 1981: 80).
There are four elements making up a setting according to Holman and Harmon’sA Handbook to Literature, namely:
a. The actual geographical location, its topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as the location of the windows and doors in a room.
c. The time or period in which the action takes place, for example, epoch in history or seasons of the year.
d. The general environment of the characters, for example, religious, mental, moral, social, and emotional conditions through which the people in the narrative move.
Based on this book, when setting dominates, or when a piece of fiction is written largely to present the manners and customs of a locality or certain place, the writing is often called as local color writing or regionalism (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 465).
2. Theory of Character and Characterization
In A Glossary of Literary Terms, characters is identified as “the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral, dispositional, and emotional qualities that are expressed in what they say—the dialogue—and by what they do—the action” (Abrams, 1993: 23).
Characters are imaginary persons because characters are presented in dramatic or narrative works. “The creation of these imaginary persons so that they exist for the reader as lifelike is called characterization” (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 81). There are three basic methods of characterization in fiction:
a. The explicit presentation by the author of the character through direct exposition.
b. The presentation of the character in action. c. The representation within a character (ibid).
In addition, “a character may be either static or dynamic. A static character is one who changes a little if at all. Things happen to such a character without things happening within” (ibid, 83). Therefore, a static character may face even small changes which in fact do not change the character’s quality. “A dynamic character, on the other hand, is one who is modified by actions and experiences” (ibid). Such character changes his or her traits during the development of the story.
3. Theory of Popular Culture
carries two older senses: inferior kinds of work and deliberately setting out to win favor as well as the more modern sense of well liked by many people” (William, 1976: 199 in Strinati, 1995, 2-3) . The social significance of popular culture in the modern era can be charted by the way it has been identified with mass culture. It is seen from the coming of the mass media and the increasing commercialization of culture and leisure rise the issue of popular culture. The growth of the idea of mass culture, very evident from 1920s and 1930s onwards, is one of the historical sources of the themes and perspectives on popular culture (Strinati, 1995: 2).
The threat posed to high culture by mass culture and take over it as follow: Plays are now produced mainly to sell the movie rights, with many being directly financed by the film companies. The merger has standardized the theatre expunging both the classical and the experimental…and…the movies…too have become standardized…they are better entertainment and worse art (MacDonald, 1957: 64-65).
This idea of the audience (public) is quite common to theories of popular culture. If “people are organized…as masses, they lose their human identity and quality…they are related to one another neither as individuals nor as members of communities”. Instead, every individual exists as “a solitary atom, uniform with and undifferentiated from thousands and millions of other atoms who go to make up ‘the lonely crowd' as David Reisman well calls American society.” By contrast, “folks is a community, i.e., a group of individuals linked to each other by common interests, work, traditions, values, and sentiments” (MacDonald, 1957: 69).
The development of the idea of popular culture is linked to the argument about meaning and interpretation which predate but become strikingly evident in the debates over mass culture. In particular, three related themes can be found in the work referred to above which, while not being exhaustive, have been central to theories of popular culture ever since.
a. The first theme concerns on what or who determines popular culture
Where does popular culture come from? Does it emerge from the people themselves as an autonomous expression of their interests and modes of experience or is it imposed from above by those in positions of power as a type of social control? Does popular culture rise up from the people ‘below’ or does it sink down from elites ‘on high’ or is it rather a question of an interaction between the two?
b. The second theme concerns on the influence of commercialization and industrialization upon popular culture
people actually want? What wins out when popular culture is manufactured industrially and sold according to the criteria of marketability and profitability – commerce or quality?
c. The third theme concerns on the ideological role of popular culture
Is popular culture there to indoctrinate the people, to get them to accept and adhere to ideas and values which ensure the continued dominance of those in more privileged positions who thus exercise power over them? Or is it about rebellion and opposition to the prevailing social order? Does it express, in however an imperceptible, subtle and rudimentary manner, resistance to those in power, and the subversion of dominant ways of thinking and acting? (Strinati, 2004: 3).
4. Theory of Westernization
on native societies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westernization). For example, natives who have adopted European or American languages and characteristic of Western customs are called the acculturated or westernized. Westernization may be forced or voluntary, depending on the situation of the contact. It is often regarded as a part of the ongoing process of globalization. This theory proposes that Western thought has led to globalization, and that globalization propagates western culture, leading to a cycle of Westernization.
Different degrees of domination, destruction, resistance, survival, adaptation, and modification of the native culture may follow interethnic contact. In a situation where the native culture experiences destruction as a result of a more powerful outsider, a ‘shock phase’ often occurs as a result of the encounter. This shock phase is especially the characteristic during interactions involving expansionist or colonialist eras. During the shock phase, civil repression using military force may lead to a cultural collapse, or ethnocide, which is a culture’s physical extinction. According to Conrad Phillip Kottak, the Westerners “will attempt to remake the native culture within their own image, ignoring the fact that the models of culture that they have created are inappropriate for settings outside of western civilization” (Kottak, 2005).
“was (and is) about both America and France”, because it intensified French fears of losing their cultural identity. Kuisel concedes that the French underwent a process of Americanization. But at the same time, they succeeded in defending their ‘Frenchness’. French consumers found some American products appealing but they also continued to cherish and idealize French national identity, notably the idea of a superior French high culture (http://www.americanforeignrelations. com/A-D/Cultural-Imperialism-Critics-of-cultural-imperialism-theory.html).
5. Theory of Hegemony
The term ‘hegemony’ is derived from Greek hegemon, meaning leader, guide or ruler. In general usage it refers to the rule or influence of one country over others, and to a principle, about which a group of elements are organized. Hegemony has been developed by the Italian theorist Antonio Gramsci, explaining the control of the dominant class in contemporary capitalism. He argues that the dominant class cannot maintain control simply through the use of violence or force (Edgar and Sedgwick, 1999: 164). Gramsci’s analysis of the mass media and popular culture focuses upon his understanding of hegemony. He defines hegemony as a cultural and ideological means whereby the dominant groups in society, including fundamentally but not exclusively the ruling class, maintain their dominance by securing the ‘spontaneous consent’ of subordinate groups, including the working class. In Dominic Strinati’s An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture,an early exposition of Gramsci’s ideas says that:
moral, political and cultural values. If the ruling class is successful, then this will be involved the minimum use of force, as was the case with the successful liberal regimes of nineteenth century (Joll, 1977: 99).
A more recent interpretation, which usefully outlines variations in the meaning of the concept, says:
Gramsci uses the concept of hegemony to describe the various modes of social control available to the dominant social group. He distinguishes between coercive control which is manifest through direct force or the threat of force, and consensual control which arises when individuals ‘willingly’ or ‘voluntarily’ assimilate the world-view or hegemony of the dominant group; an assimilation which allows that group to be hegemonic (Ransome, 1992: 150).
C. Review on the Philippines’ Cultural-Historical Background 1. Before the Arrival of America
The Republic of the Philippines is an archipelago with more than 7.000 islands, whose total land area is about 120.000 square kilometers: smaller than Japan, but bigger than the British Isles. Of these, about eight hundred are large and fertile enough to be inhabited. The two large islands are Luzon and Mindanao (Arcilla S. J. 1973: 8).
migration of people to the Islands occurred 300 to 200 B.C. with the influx of the Malays who brought their Iron Age tools pottery making and weaving. Even, the Filipinos became most intimately part of the Malay world that centers around its own tropical Mediterranean following the rise of the Sri Vijayan empire in Sumatra in the eighth century. When the center of power was transferred to Java in 1292 with the supremacy of Majapahit rule, this emphasis upon an empire bound together around the seas continued. The Philippines were not formally conquered by these empires, although individual princes made forays into the Islands and some settled there with their followers. The pattern of settlement encouraged the great linguistic fragmentation that continues to this day. The fifty-five separate ethnic groups now identifiably speak some seventy mother tongues. In the sixteenth century or in 1521 the Spanish arrived at the Islands and later in 1561 the actual Spanish conquest of the Islands was started by long penetration of Christianity. They were introducing Catholic Church and semiprivate school, Spanish dress, language, while Spanish family surnames were assumed later. Then occurred intermarried couples between Filipinos of mixed Malay and other blood, themestizos(Ravenholt, 1962: 28-35).
they helped leading a generation impatient for changes and propagandizing their fellow Filipinos with concepts of individual freedom and democratic rights (ibid,
47-48).
The Philippines is largely a traditional society where the authority of the paternal generation is strong, as is true throughout the Malayan world. The young regularly are reminded that the parents are responsible for their existence. Grandparents also are respectfully consulted, as are uncles and aunts. Meanwhile, the Philippine culture is reflected in its art, such as:
a. Music
The music is stemming from a very old South-East Asian tradition. It’s without any distinction of classes; men, women, rich and poor, all participate in feasts and rituals, and everyone is familiar with the sound of the gongs, bamboo zithers and two-stringed lutes. The music is not cerebral and highbrow. Instruments made from plants and the products of tropical environment produce sounds that are reminiscent of this environment and are used to accompany rural activities, harvest thanksgivings, communication with spirits, wine-drinking, and the laying out of new rice fields. Latin music that first reached the Islands as a part of religious ceremonies was introduced by Christian missionaries blended with the origin instruments (UNESCO, 1973: 25).
b. Manuscript
c. Theatre and Literature
In theatre, there are two types of folk opera, the Moro-moro plays and
Zarzuelas. Now they still attract capacity audiences in the rural communities, however, these folk operas have suffered through the growth of the movie industry. The Philippines offers the third largest foreign market for American films. In literature it was in the great epic poems that were memorized by elders of the community and passed along verbally in Tagalog from one generation to the next (Ravenholt, 1962: 153-154).
The Philippines is a naturally rich Archipelago. Economically, the Filipinos remained primarily subsistence farmers and fishermen. In Agriculture, however, the priest has also made significant contributions. Coconut plantations were established as commercial enterprises with the priest sometimes serving as a technical specialist in agriculture. The U.S. is the major market where coconut oil long has been important for soap and other industries (ibid, 41-42).
2. The Philippines under the Stars and Stripes
them in ousting the Spain, and later left them to establish an independent government. The U.S. fought a campaign that was encouraged to a degree by Filipinos who felt that they were not ready to stand on their own. The administration of President William McKinley responded with a compromised solution; they would keep the Philippines under the American flag but with the purpose of protecting them and preparing the people for democratic self-government. Later, introduction of a public school system employing English for instruction proved the most consequential of all American innovations. Prior to this time, education during the Spanish ruler had been the privilege of the few who could afford to send their children to schools managed by the religion orders. The Filipinos were pleased when they saw graduates given opportunity under the new administration. Since then, schooling for children became the foremost ambition of most Filipino families. The raising of the Philippines’ flag to replace the Stars and Stripes was held on July 4, 1946. However, the Philippines suffered bad economic problems afterward which eventually brought back U.S. in the Islands for economic and social development mission (ibid,51-94).
In 1950s, the economic policies started focusing on agricultural commercialization and industrialization in Manila where elites could more easily secure access to credit and other important commercial tools. This policy made Manila grew and changed very fast in economic, social, and cultural field (Kessler: 1989: 17-18).
Americans in the Philippines. The Filipinos protested to some Americans whom the nationalists described variously as ‘carpetbagger,’ ‘imperialist dogs,’ and such (Agoncillo, 1969: 292).
On August 21, 1983, when the Philippines opposition leader Sen. Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. steeped out of the China Airlines plane on the way back from exile, he was shot in the head by his military escort. The assassination marked as a turning point in the dictatorship of Ferdinand E. Marcos, which ended in his fleeing the country and entering exile in Hawaii (Kessler: 1989: 1).
D. Theoretical Framework
The first problem in this paper is to find out in what way popular culture as the impact of Westernization is reflected on Jessica Hagedorn’sDogeaters. It will be analyzed by the help of the theories of setting, character and characterization, Westernization, and popular culture. Theory of setting will help to discover the novel’s background, as the place, time, and social circumstances. The theory of character and characterization helps to explore the personalities, positions and the role of the characters in the novel. Meanwhile, the theory of Westernization is helping to find the forms of Westernization in the characters which occur in the novel.
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A. Object of the Study
This literary study discusses Dogeaters, a best-selling novel written by Jessica Tarahata Hagedorn. This English-written novel consists of 251 pages which was first published by Pantheon Books in March 1990, however this analysis uses the second publication by Penguin Books in 1991. By naming her novel Dogeaters, Jessica shows how Americans used to make fun of the native Filipinos who often ate dogs the same way they consume other kinds of meat, and the novel also describes many issues which appeared in the Philippines during the 1950s (Hagedorn, 1991: i).
Jessica Hagedorn was born in 1949 and raised in Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, with her background a Scots-Irish-French-Filipino mother and a Filipino-Spanish father with one Chinese ancestor. Haedorn moved to San Francisco in 1963 and received her education at the American Conservatory Theater training program. To further pursue playwriting and music, she moved to New York in 1978. Her origin and educational backgrounds are the factors which make her own a distinct and unique style in writing novel, song, and poetry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Hagedorn).
different aspects of the Filipinos experience, focusing on the influence of America through radio, television, and movies. After its publication in 1990, her novel earned a 1990 National Book Award nomination and an American Book Award. In 1998, La Jolla Playhouse produced a stage adaptation (http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Jessica_Hagedorn). In 2004 Dogeaters was presented on a stage at Los Angeles’ Playwrights’ Arena (http://www.playbill. com/news/article/104479.html).
This novel is rich with many kinds of issues and perspectives. However, this thesis will analyze only on the reflection and influence of popular culture in the novel as the result of the invasion of Western countries. It could be seen from the people in privileged power and the Filipinos’ attitudes toward popular culture by observing the setting and characters in the novel.
B. Approach of the Study
vacuum, and, second, literature embodies ideas significant to the culture that produced it. It is impossible to understand fully the popular culture inDogeaters
without referring to the history of Spain and America’s invasion in the Philippines (Rohrberger and Woods, Jr., 1971: 9).
A fair-minded critic must admit that there is often much value to be gained from some attention to sociocultural-historical factors, but again, the student must be cautioned to avoid certain dangers. Too rigorous an application of a narrow ethical system might lead the student to judge as good only literature that expresses ideas he believes to be true. Further, the student should avoid judging a piece of literature as though it were merely a historical document, illuminating the past only, without relevance to contemporary life (ibid, 10-11).
The quotation above shows us the significant of examining both historical fact and social environment in which a work was created. As in this work, the writer cannot fully understand the issues in Dogeaters without knowing its relevancy to the society in particular time and place. Two factors are presented in
Reading and Writing about Literature (1971). First, accuracy in the presentation of historical facts is of value to the historian, but not necessarily to the author. Second, a work of literature might have historical significance, but not necessarily literary significance (Ibid, 11).
C. Method of the Study
books. The writer also browsed from internet sites that provide abundant information related to the theme.
In finding the answers to the problems, there were several steps taken. The first one was reading the novel extensively for deeper understanding. Afterward, the writer collected additional data from other books or materials and internet sites to supports the analysis. The data includes theories, approaches, criticism and information about the novel needed and about the Philippines’ society. After all of the data had been collected, the next step was to examine and divide problems formulated in problem formulation. The data to answer problem number one were separated from the data to answer problem number two.
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Dogeatersis a novel which is divided into two parts. The story is generally depicting characters with their new similar collective behaviors which appear after the Western expansion and colonialism happen in the Philippines. They come under or adopt the Western culture in many aspects, such as industry, economy, lifestyle, diet, language, or values. These new collective behaviors soon become part of the inhabitant culture and become popular among them. The first part of the novel is entitled Coconut Palace which contains twenty four chapters. The second part is entitled The Song of Bullets which is divided into 19 chapters. In the first part, most of the characters are being introduced with their own diversity. Additionally, the stories are being narrated by two people, Rio Gonzaga and Joey Sands in substitution. The second part is dominated with struggle and desperate feelings. Since the forms of popular culture as the result or Westernization in the Philippines appear almost in all chapters, therefore, this thesis is not focused mainly on certain chapters.
A. The Reflection of Popular Culture as the Impact of Westernization
occupations and daily manners of living of the characters. The writer will combine the point number four and characters element to view the popular culture that is reflected in each individual.
1. The Setting in the Novel a. Setting of Time
In Dogeaters, the story jumps from one narrator, place, and situation to another. Since there are two narrators in this novel, an upper class young girl Rio Gonzaga and a poor half-black male prostitute Joey Sands, create two different settings of time in each narration. In Rio’s story occurs two different ideas in viewing what time the story may happen. The first view is based on Rio’s narration which tells that the story begins in 1956 when Pucha and Rio watch All Heaven Allowsin the Avenue Theatre.
1956. The air-conditioned darkness of the Avenue Theatre smells of flowery pomade, sugary chocolates, cigarette smoke, and sweat. All Heaven Allows is playing in Cinemascope and Technicolor (Hagedorn, 1991: 3)
The second view which is contradicting with Rio’s view appears later almost in the end of the novel. This view is based on Pucha’s letter to Rio when Rio is living in America. It states that Rio mixes up the story on purpose. According to her the story starts on 1959 not 1956.
could more easily secure access to credit and other important commercial tools. This policy made Manila grew and changed very fast in economic, social, and cultural field. Precisely, it was the time when the Filipinos struggled for their emancipation from American colonial period. In Dogeaters, this condition brought huge competition in showing off their existence in their society.
In Joey’s narration there is no explicit time stated in the novel. But, based on Hagedorn’s description in this novel, we can find that some of the characters show the allusion to the reality in the Philippines. There are the President and the First Lady characters that their names are never explicitly mentioned and they refer to the era of President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda Marcos. In the novel, these characters have Senator Domingo Avila as their political opponent. Meanwhile, historically, he refers to Senator Benigno Aquino. Joey becomes the witness of Senator Domingo Avila’s assassination when he was having a breakfast in the Intercontinental Hotel with his German gay lover. When he is about to escape and steals drug and money from the German guy, he rushes away to the outside of the quiet lobby. Just a second after that, he instantly recognizes Senator Domingo Avila jumps out of an important-looking car and runs to the lobby. It follows by noise and quick spurts of explosion and Joey becomes the witness of Avila’s assassination (ibid, 147-151). In reality, the popular assassination of Benigno Aquino happened in 1983.
and the characters in the novel experience the legacies of the Cold War, living under harsh military rule of Marcos, and during People’s Revolution in 1986. In that moment, the Filipinos undergo the decades of governmental chaos and corruption; dictatorship and the First Lady or Imelda Marcos’ extravagance.
b. Setting of Place
The story takes place in Manila which is geographically located in the Philippines. In Coconut Palace chapter (ibid, 1), the name of Coconut Palace
c. The General Environment or Social Circumstances
In 1903, an elderly supporter named James F. Rusling recalled that in 1899, McKinley had said to a religious delegation:
"(The truth is I didn't want the Philippines, and when they came to us as a gift from the gods, I did not know what to do with them... I sought counsel from all sides - Democrats as well as Republicans - but got little help). I thought first we would take only Manila; then Luzon; then other islands, perhaps, also. I walked the floor of the White House night after night until midnight; and I am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and prayed Almighty God for light and guidance more than one night... And one night it came to me this way—I don't know how it was, but it came: one, that we could not give them back to Spain—that would be cowardly and dishonorable; two, that we could not turn them over to France or Germany –our commercial rivals in the Orient—that would be bad business and discreditable; three, that we could not leave them to themselves—they were unfit for self-government –and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than Spain's was; and four, that there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God's grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also died. And then I went to bed and went to sleep and slept soundly” (Hagedorn, 1991: 71).
inappropriate for settings outside Western civilization (Conrad, 2005). For example, in 1940s the Western culture was introduced through Forbes Park, a private subdivision and gated community in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a well-known for housing some of the country’s wealthiest families and prominent expatriates, including the ambassador of the United States. Along with other honored guests of the government, the German director is flown in, first class, on Philippine Air Lines. He is housed in some big shot’s three-story mansion in Forbes Park, right next door to the Alacran estate (Hagedorn, 1991: 131).
America takes responsibility for the coming out of popular culture in the Philippines. They introduce their culture to the people which they continuously carry out and become popular among the Filipinos. They introduce their fondness of luxurious products and consumptive moral into society, for example: green Buick, a luxurious General Motor’s brand from North America in the color of money; Mercedes-Benzes where rich people and foreigners sitting with their doors locked and trying hard to ignore the outstretched hand at their windows; and Ferrari a fancy Italian sport car.
The cashmere scarf is gracefully draped around Jane Wyman’s head to keep her warm. In her full-length, mahogany sable coat, she drives her dependable dark green Buick, the color of money (ibid, 6).
And,
The other evidence that Westerners successfully implement their fondness to luxurious products and Western convenience is stated in the following quotation. It exposes that Cora Comacho is not only dream to drive a fancy Western brand car, but also she thinks that it would be perfect if she drives it like in an American commercial where a young man speeds in his fancy car on the road which is endless and smooth. It is much better than driving in the Philippines’ roads where people can find jeepneys, pedicabs, barefoot boys riding slow, and ploddingcarabaoin almost everywhere.
When Cora Comacho interviews Severo, she hopes he will linger after the taping ends, maybe offer her a ride home in his limousine. She hopes her ‘Tigress’ perfume isn’t too overpowering. Maybe he drove himself to the studio today, in one of those fancy sports cars. A Maserati of Ferrari, something Italian and phallic. A young man’s car. They could be alone, speeding on the highway, like in those American commercials where the road is endless and smooth, empty of other cars, trucks, buses, jeepneys, pedicabs, barefoot boys riding slow, ploddingcarabao(ibid, 22).
Except by products bombarding, Americans also introduce their own ideas and values to the Philippines. The term ‘This is a Free Country’ is being used in
The fact that Daisy’s father is still alive is exploited by our wily President. “You see? This is a free country—just ask Domingo Avila,” the President reminds his critics (ibid, 102).
.
The idea of slender figure was definitely born in America, a place where top models and artists come from. Of course, most women all around the world dream to have a slim body shape and they have to work hard for it. They do diet program, exercises, eat only diet foods and drinks, and even smoking like Nena does. She smokes too many cigarettes in order to loss her weight. Another thing with Isabel Alacran, she drinks only sugar-free TruCola Diets and ice-cream for her diet menu. That is what they and several women learn from American culture. Nena smokes too many cigarettes, is painfully thin, and is considered one of the best-dressed women in Manila, second to Isabel Alacran. She survives on a diet of ice-cream and TruColas, which she has for breakfast, lunch, and dinner (ibid, 89).
Apart from the diet culture, the phenomenon of role model is being created by the Western culture. The idea of being popular is a big deal, especially for an artist. They will do many things to keep them under the spotlight as long as they can, including being different, brave, and eye catching. The sensational Anita Ekberg is one of the examples; she is a Swedish model, actress, and cult sex symbol. InDogeaters, a beautiful actress Lolita Luna does exactly the same way. She becomes brave rolling in a sex drama A Candle Is Burning (ibid, 169) to maintain her popularity and gain more income.
Americans influence the Philippines in many parts, they make habits of using abbreviation become so popular. The term VIP which stands for Very Important Person becomes popular in general using. In this novel, Jessica uses it several times in humorous ways like VIP for Very Important Prisoners and NPA—Nice People Around.
He takes her on a brief tour as he leads her down the maze of corridors towards the General’s special interrogation room, what some survivors jokingly refer to as General Ledesma’s ‘VIP Lounge’—for very important prisoners (ibid, 211).
wheeler-dealer, ruthless, ambitious, and royal to people. He has business with everyone including with the President, Japanese, and American trough his Intercoco— coconut shell charcoal export company.
Because he tells the President what to do… Because he owns a 10.000 acre hacienda named Las Palmas. Because he employs a private army of mercenaries… Because his house is not a home but a museum… Because he owns The Metro Manila Daily, Celebrity Pinoy Weekly, Radiomanila, TruCola Soft Drinks, plus controlling interests in Mabuhay Movie Studios, Apollo Records, and the Monte Vista Golf and Country Club. Because he conceived and constructed SPORTEX, a futuristic department store in the suburb of Makati… (Hagedorn, 1991: 18).
The power class of the country makes people get familiar with the exclusivity of things that are connected with Western culture. For example they build Avenue Theater which performs English movies only. By this they get along with exclusive place with air-conditioner which they find guaranteeing convenience and status, special balcony, and nice pictures of theater showing only English movies with English titles as:All That Heaven Allows, A Place in the Sun,
and Bundle of Joy. No Filipinos movies with Tagalog dialog and title in it. This condition makes the Philippines’ producers in this novel produces English-titled movies massively. For examples are Lolita Luna’s movie A Candle is Burning
(ibid, 48), The Agony of Love (ibid, 49), dance drama Loverboy (ibid, 106), and the sex dramaA Candle Is Burning(ibid, 169).
Hunddled with our chaperone Lorenza, my cousin Pucha Gonzaga and I sit enthralled in the upper section of the balcony in Manila’s “Foremost! First-run! English Movie Only!” theater (ibid, 3).
and a venue for office spaces. In 2006, it was demolished to make way for a parking lot, as realty costs were too expensive for it to be maintained. It has the same name with the Avenue Theater which is located at 417 E 17th Avenue in Downtown Denver, Colorado, USA. The theater has been a local favorite, producing fine Comedies, Musicals & plays as well as Improvisational comedy for 24 years. It is home to the World Humor Organization (WHO) and Chicken Lips Entertainment. Robert Wells originally founded the Avenue Theater in 1985 (www.avenuetheater.com).
The story in Dogeaters portrays the cultural legacies of American among the Filipinos society. The result is the portrayal of the Filipinos in embracing a variety of popular culture, like: movies, music, commercials, and Western products. Popular culture becomes the Filipinos’ fantasy of life which is for removing themselves from poverty and gaining a glamorous life in the America. Their attitudes toward the Filipinos culture and society reflect their attempt moving to more Westernized society.
2. The Characters in the Novel a. Pucha Gonzaga
Pucha is 14 years old, daughter of Agustin and Florence Gonzaga, also the cousin of Rio. She is stingy, arrogant, willing to do anything for social status, high demanding, and proud of herself for being pretty and classy. Her casual arrogance seems inherently American, modern, and enviable (Hagedorn, 1991: 4). Pucha likes fancy and glamorous life. It can be seen from her way of choosing guys, actors, and from her behavior. She is a blond, fair-skinned, and cruel girl. Her hair and skin complexion is inherited from her mix ancestor between Filipino and Western blood that makes her called asmestiza.
hungry for living in a high standard, forgetting that Rio’s family is the one who pays for the small thing like going to a weekly manicure, pedicure and foot massage at Jojo’s New Yorker salon. Pucha thinks that marrying creepy Bombom Alacran will insure her social standing (ibid, 55-64). In addition, she and her parents are frequently invited to have diner at Rio’s house. She enjoys the moment very much when she eats expensive and imported food they serve.
They ask Pacita to open and heat up a can of Heinz Pork’n’Beans instead. Pucha loves her canned beans because they’re expensive and imported (ibid, 62).
Pucha’s fondness of Western culture also can be seen in her letter to Rio when her cousin moves to America. In her error-spelling letter, she plans to have an US divorce in America since divorce still considered as a sin in the Philippines. From her letter, we can sense that she tries hard enough to write it in English to show more prestige.
“RIO-I wish you never left us if God wills I will perhapps be joineing you soon over there, primma.I need an US divorce ,sabes ya-its still not okay here it’s a mortal sin. Well maybe I could do it in Honkong and go shopping too but I rather the US we could go shopping together! Or maybe Reno ITS MORE FUN plus with you there primma it wont be so lonely! Your papi is not so good he just came out of hospital again why dont you see him? Hes always joking you know how he is, life of the party, pobre tambien! Raul was with him everyday; thanks be to God your brother is here. Write to me why don’t you I always do the writeing its not fair. I miss you LOVE always, PUCHA” (ibid, 7).
Sun, Bundle of Joy (ibid, 3). She even watches them in a special theater called Avenue Theater which plays English movies only.
Hunddled with our chaperone Lorenza, my cousin Pucha Gonzaga and I sit enthralled in the upper section of the balcony in Manila’s “Foremost! First-run! English Movie Only!” theater (ibid).
After watching those movies, Pucha often brings the part of what she finds interesting into her life or conversation. For example, when she finds Rio made her hair cut, she comments that her hair makes her look terrible—like Joan of Arc, the French heroine (ibid, 236).
b. Dolores Logan Gonzaga
Dolores is Rio’s mother. She is cynical, stubborn, but loyal to friends. She is aware that her beauty can be achieved by efforts. In her diary, Rio describes her mother is like an American actress Rita Hayworth, a modern woman who always cares about how she looks.
My mother uses cold creams, moisturizers, takes daily naps with masks of mashed avocado, mashed sinkamas, and red clay from France smeared on her face. She is a beautiful woman who works hard at it. Every couple of months she has Chiquiting Moreno tint her black hair with auburn highlights, just like Rita Hayworth. She yells at me and cousin Pucha not to play in the sun, she warns us about cancer, old age, and the perils of ugliness (ibid, 82).
Similar with Pucha, Dolores adores Western or “Made in USA” products since she affords to buy them as we can see from following quotation.
Crackers, and several boxes of Jell-O gelatin in lime and cherry flavors for my brother Raul. At the last minute, my mother throws in one canister of Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Powder (ibid, 234).
c. Isabel Alacran
Isabel is Severo’s beautiful wife. Before, she worked as a hostess at a nightclub and won Miss Congeniality in Miss Postwar Manila. In contrast to her beauty pageant achievement, she actually is a stiff, hysterical, rude, and egoistic person. She is very addicted to Western lifestyle and intimidated by her role model body-shaped. After several trips to America, she brings back American culture that she learns, like perfecting her English accent and consuming Western fashion brands.
She is a hostess at a nightclub. Her father dies, in a barroom brawl. She wins a beauty contest. Miss Postwar Manila. Miss Congeniality... She takes a lot of airplane, perfects her English. She is terrified by New York, intimidated by Paris, at home in Rome and Madrid. She developes a Spanish accent, and learns to roll her r’s. She concentrates on being thin, sophisticated, icy. Her role models include Dietrich, Vicomtesse Jacqueline de Ribes, Nefertiti, and Grace Kelly… (ibid, 20).
d. Joey Sands
steals from his client a Rolex, a luxurious American watch brand. Rolex is a very popular watch brand and considered as a status symbol.
Sometimes I’ll steal from them, just to make a point. A bottle of cologne, a Rolex left carelessly next to the bathroom sink. I never keep what’s given to me as a gift; I like to let them know how little their trinkets are really worth, what kind of dope I bought with their money (ibid, 37).
Back in his private life, he lives with a man he called ‘Uncle’, his childhood friend Boyboy, and Uncle’s ugly dog Taruk. Together, they live in Uncle’s narrow and dingy shack, an orphanage for wayward boys where they grew up. There Joey was saved and raised by Uncle like his own son. Similar with Pucha, Isabel Alacran, and some of theDogeaters’ characters, he always believes that he will live in a better life, gets a sponsor or green card, and lives in the United States (ibid, 31-40).
immediately recognize and tell at a glance of this bottle by its shape even if they felt it in the dark or broken. That is the reason why Joey describes Lolita Luna as having Coca-cola figure; she is easy to be recognized in the crowd.
I slide onto a stool next to Prince Charming. Andres gives me one of his looks. “Your usual?” he asks me casually, pulling out the Remy Martin (ibid, 132).
And,
Lolita Luna makes her noisy entrance, her Coca-Cola figure poured into a short, tight dress (ibid, 136).
Even though Joey lives in a slum, he has such a fancy taste. He worships Western products, as we can see from the first quotation above. He drinks Western alcoholic drinks only, like Remy Martin, a French made cognac. He also smokes his high-class English cigarettes (ibid, 144).
e. Andres Alacran
Joey’s thinking about Andres: What a weirdo—a man of contradictions! He makes novenas to Tina Turner and Donna Summer: “Divineputaswith juicy lips,” he calls them. “Immortal women, the way I like them.” (ibid, 34).
In Dogeaters, Jessica Hagedorn describes that most of the characters are filled with Western values and use American jokes. She makes the characters express their feeling or comment on something in a Western way or using Western parable. The following quotation, Andres describes Rainer the German director resembles to Grace Kelly’s husband. Grace Kelly was an Academy Award-winning American film, a stage actress, and a fashion icon as well. She married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in 1956.
I turn my face to the German, real cool, taking my time. He shakes my hand, introduces himself asRainer. “Like Grace Kelly’s husband,” Andres gushes (ibid, 132).
f. Uncle
Uncle is a harsh and tough old man. He does various transactions, including the dirty ones, is a pusher and common pimp. He is a money-oriented, drunker, and manipulative old man. Through the Uncle character, Jessica Hagedorn once again exposes popular Western expressions which are taken from movies. It shows us that Western culture is becoming popular among rich and poor, or we can say all classes of the Filipinos. The quotation below shows its evidence and that they love Western movies.
g. Romeo Rosales or Orlando
Romeo is a young waiter in Monte Vista Club with Elvis Presley hair style. He is always broke since he spents almost all of his small wages to watch movie, thus he relies his life on her girlfriend Trinidad. Romeo is a dreamer, opportunistic, and bombastic person. Here again, we can see that Romeo uses an American actor, film director/producer/composer, Clint Eastwood to express his anger towards a guard at Mabuhay Studio.
And that damn guard yesterday at Mabuhay Studios! I mustn’t think about him, the shit. “DO YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT?” he grins at me. I don’t like it. I can’t see his eyes behind those corny sunglasses. Who does he think he is, Clint Eastwood? (ibid, 126).
SPORTEX is an apparel brand and shop owns by Severo Alacran which is very booming among the Filipinos in the novel. Since her girlfriend works there, Romeo always makes his daily visit for having lunch together. Actually, he likes to be in that shop where it promises air-conditioner and escalators, but poverty makes him feels invisible there.
Romeo hurries to keep up with the brisk pace of the crowd. He sees impressive façade of SPORTEX looming from a distance, promising air-conditioning, escalators, seductive displays of imported merchandise, and innocuous, piped-in Muzak… The store never failed to make him feel poorer and shabbier than he actually was, especially when the salesclerks seemed to make a point of ignoring him the few times he ventured into the men’s department (ibid, 159-160).
.
Romeo slows down to give himself to think. Sweat mixed with his perfumed hair grease drips down into his ears and drenches his collar. He adjusts his imitation RayBans, another recent gift from Trinidad (ibid, 166).
h. Trinidad Gamboa
She is an aggressive woman, a hard worker, loyal, royal, supportive and kind-hearted girlfriend. Trinidad is a cashier at Odeon Theater who falls madly in love with Romeo. She describes Romeo like actors Sal Mineo, Elvis Presley, or Nestor Noralez.
Romeo ‘s hair was carefully combed and arranged so that his natural curls tumbled carelessly down his forehead. Like Sal Mineo in Rebel Without a Cause. Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock. Or that daredevil Nestor Noralez inTormented(ibid, 51).
Since her parents cut her allowance, she has to find another job. Therefore, she works in SPORTEX shop as a customer service. She enjoys and is proud of working there because it is a famous brand in the Philippines. Besides she can use special discount to buy clothes for her boyfriend, and she is very proud of having a glamorous boss with spectacular Western designer’s outfit.
“Mrs. Alacran was in the store yesterday, making one of her surprise inspections. Imagine, she called by my first name!” Trinidad imitates her boss’s famous wife by lowering her voice. “Trini, how are you?” “Naku!
She was wearing a genuine Oscar de la Renta, I almost fainted it was so beautiful! It’s good thing I just got a perm and manicure and my counter was spic and span.Alam mo na, I’m always wiping away with my rags and my Windex!” (ibid, 160).
i. The First Lady
Has Dream (ibid, 121-124) describes what The First Lady dreams of. In this chapter, Jessica Hagedorn illustrates The First Lady’s dreams in full colors and shows how addicted she is to Western culture. In her dream, she is in the lobby of Waldrof-Astoria, a famously luxurious hotel in New York City. She wears a scarlet beaded silk terno, an opulent black tulle bustle accentuates her plump buttocks as she struts confidently toward the elevators (ibid, 122). She equips herself with hundreds of luxurious French brand Louis Vuitton suitcases, three pearl-handled English umbrellas, and sets of brand-new American golf clubs.
They drag her luggage hundreds of Vuitton suitcases in all shapes and sizes black steamer trunks pale pink hatboxes assorted plastic shopping bags one empty birdcage three pearl-handled English umbrellas and several sets of brand-new American golf clubs the women chatter among themselves their bursts of laughter annoy her she can’t understand a thing they’re saying suspects they’re talking about her (ibid, 122).
Still in her dream, she meets Western figures like Cristina Ford who smokes and says by smoking she can keep her slander shape, she meets an American film and television actor and occasional film director George Hamilton. The First Lady even sees Pope John XXIII coming in her room (ibid, 122-123).
Cristina Ford comes out of the first elevator. She wears a nun’s habit and veil. “Ciao, bella—” Cristina greets her warmly pulls a cigarette from the deep fold of her pocket and lights it she inhales greedily exhales the smoke with a sigh of contentment “look, darling—I managed to keep it,” she says, pulling off her veil shaking out her leonine mane of peroxided hair she takes another puff on her cigarette before disappearing into second elevator (ibid, 122).
The First Lady is well-known as her ‘edifice complex’ or an exaggerated aggressiveness to build a large or massive structure. Regarding ‘The Manila International Film Festival’, her latest whim, the First Lady builds so-called a
