Reyes, Rochelle Ann P.

ABE 4-2

Critique Paper
In Notes on Bakya, Jose Maria Flores Lacaba Jr. states that bakya is something
inexpensive or masscult as what Dwight Macdonald labeled it. He elaborates the difference of
the bakya things and the things that are considered class and also gives us different examples
of the distinctions of both classifications.
These notes made me realize several things. One of them is that I am now confused if I
should consider myself as one of the people who likes bakya because I do watch Filipino movies
and I also watch Hollywood movies and my judgments would be based on the story or content,
quality is a plus but not with where and who produced the movie. Same goes to my choice of
food, my mood decides if I would eat in an expensive restaurant or cheap street food stalls.
My argument in this blog post is that having less financial stability and educational
privileges would not make a person acquire such a bad taste towards artists and things because as
a student of a state university, I do not pay much for my tuition fee but still I do idolize people
Mr. Lacaba consider as class. Also, I do know some students like me who idolizes foreign artists
but I agree that cultural deprivation is one of the reasons for a persons bakya-ness, but, I also
consider that the western colonization had a major role for these classifications. Many upperclass families tend to be more appreciative to western culture because it symbolizes their social
status and it leaves the less fortunate people the local and cheap things and artists to idolize.
In the end I am still amazed about everything I have read but for some reason I felt a bit
disturb about classifying our countrymen based on their cultural preferences.