• Philippine

popular

culture!•
module 1
 P

POP

CULTU R E
COURSE OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the discussion, you should be able

to:
a. Define and frame the concepts of “culture”
and the “popular
anh
b. Understand the concept of pop culture
c. Relationship between Media and Pop Culture

ph
 Popular Culture
(etymology)
The term "popular culture" was coined in the
mid-19th century, and it referred to the cultural
traditions of the people.
Popular culture (or "pop culture") refers in general
to the traditions and material culture of a
particular society.
In the modern West, pop culture refers to cultural
products such as music, art, literature, fashion,
dance, film, cyberculture, television, and radio that
are consumed by the majority of a society's
population.
POPULAR culture

According to Brummett (1991) explains that “pop

culture includes the characteristics of social life which
are actively practiced by the public.”

According to Bienvenido Lumbera, "popular literature

is considered a commodity and it is intended for a mass
market."
•
did you know that?
According to Lumbera, popular
culture in the Philippines was
created and used by the Spaniards
to the native Filipinos or Indios via
plays and literature to get the
heart of the natives and win it.
 e i s co
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op c
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The definition of popular culture in the Philippines is not just “of the people”

but “of the mass”, which is basically construed to be urban and industrialized
 Popular culture is in question because of
the following reasons:

1. The Philippines is a third world country.

2. The Philippines has many indigenous ethnic

groups that are still not urbanized.

3. The Philippines has a long history of two

major cultural influences: Spanish and

American.
4. The Philippines is still predominantly

agricultural in its present socio-economic

status.
5. The Philippines is still dependent on foreign

economies.
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The major
• areas •
of philipine
pop culture
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 1.
•komiks•

Kenkoy” was the first Filipino comic strip.

Its first appearance was in 1929.

Komiks is a “purveyor of entertainment and

moral lessons, disseminator of values and

attitudes, and a source of practical knowledge

on farming, government policies, medicine, and

science.”
Kulafu. He roamed the mountains of
Luzon similar with Tarzan who did Africa.
Huapelo. He is a Chinese store owner.
Saryong Albularyo. He is a barrio
doctor with a last name that actually
meant “quack”.
Goyo and Kikay. They are the local
counterparts of Jiggs and Maggie. Jiggs
and Maggie are the main characters in
an American comic strip named
Bringing Up Father.
Dyesebel. She is a mermaid created by
Mars Ravelo, the same legendary
cartoonist who created Darna.
Darna. She is a Filipino super heroine
created by the legendary cartoonist Mars
Ravelo.
Valentina. She is the arch enemy of
Darna, also created by Mars Ravelo.
Petra. He is a horse-bodied character.
Karina. A magical agent of good with a
flying kariton (pushcart).
Phantomanok. A character who is a
combination of a phantom and a rooster.
 2.
•FILM•

Cinematrografo are short-featured films

that were first shown in the Philippines

The first feature films that were produced

locally were in 1909, featuring the life of Jose

Rizal. Jose Nepomuceno’s “Dalagang Bukid”

was the first full-length feature film shown in

1919.
“Ang Aswang” was the first talking picture

made in 1932 by Musser.

There were a total of 214

movie houses in the

Philippines in 1924
In 1939, the Philippine movie industry
became fifth in world rank when it came to
the number of talkies produced.

The movie houses were filled especially with

stars like Dolphy, Nora Aunor, Vilma Santos
and Sharon Cuneta, Fernando Poe, Jr.,
Manunuri ng

Pelikulang

Pilipino
The members are film buffs and writers
who come from the academe and
journalism.
The word bakya is a derogatory term used
by Filipino directors in the late fifties to
characterize such films. Bakya is a
wooden shoe worn by the lower
classes in the Philippines that
symbolizes low taste or low quality.
 Bienvenido

Lumbera
He is a poet, librettist, and scholar.

As a poet, he introduced to Tagalog literature what is

now known as Bagay poetry, a landmark aesthetic
tendency that has helped to change the vernacular
poetic tradition.
Likhang Dila, Likhang Diwa (poems in Filipino and
English)
Tulang Lunot at Manibalang, 2002;
Sa Sariling Bayan, Apat na Dulang May Musika, 2004;
“Agunyas sa Hacienda Luisita,” Pakikiramay, 2004.
 Nicanor

Tiongson
He is professor emeritus of the U.P. Film
Institute and former dean of the College of
Mass Communication, University of the
Philippines Diliman.

He is a founding member and former chair of the

Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino.

The Cinema of Manuel Conde
The Urian Anthology
The Women of Malolos
Pilipinas Circa 1907
Basiila ng Malolos
Noli at Fili Dekada 2000, and Mabining Mandirigma.
 3.
•Radio•

Radio stations in the 20s were owned and

operated by an electrical supply company
and organized by an American named Henry
Hermann.

In the Second World War, during the Japanese

occupation, all radio stations were closed except for

KZRH, which was then renamed to PIAM.

“The Voice of Juan de la Cruz” and the “Voice of

Freedom” from Corregidor and the Voice of America.

 Alto Broadcasting System

"Alto" was a contraction of Quirino's and his

wife's first names, Tony and Aleli. Though they
had little money and resources, ABS was able
to put up its TV tower by July 1953 and import
some 300 television sets.
The Bolinao Electronics Corporation was
formed in 1961. It was the largest broadcasting
chain in the Philippines which then became the
Alto Broadcasting System
 Kanlaon Broadcasting System
it is a Filipino-based television and radio company
based in Quezon City. It is the flagship media
property of Nine Media Corporation of the ALC
Group of Companies; along with the Office of the
Press Secretary (OPS), and Far East Managers and
Investors Inc., owned by the family of company
founder Roberto Benedicto, among others, as major
shareholders.
Other Marcos-controlled media included Radio
Philippines Network, the Voice of the Philippines,
Philippines Broadcasting System, and the Daily
Express.
 DRZH
It is a radio station owned and operated by
Manila Broadcasting Company.
The station's studio is located at the MBC
Building, Star City, Vicente Sotto St., CCP
Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay; while its
transmitter is located along I. Marcelo St.,
Brgy. Malanday, Valenzuela. The station
has nationwide coverage through its relay
stations located across the Philippines.
 4.
•Popular

Magazine•

The Philippine Magazine was the first

magazine circulated in the Philippines in 1905.

The Philippines Free Press is the oldest news weekly

in the Philippines, established in 1907. It also has a
magazine in its line-up, as well as articles from its
archives. It is the Philippines' oldest existing English
weekly news-magazine.
 Liwayway
The weekly LIWAYWAY was placed under
strict surveillance until it was managed by
Japanese named Ishiwara.
It is a leading Tagalog weekly magazine
published in the Philippines since 1922.
It contains Tagalog serialized novels, short
stories, poetry, serialized comics, essays,
news features, entertainment news and
articles, and many others. In fact, it is the
oldest Tagalog magazine in the Philippines.
Its sister publications are Bannawag,
Bisaya Magasin, and Hiligaynon.
 5.
•Popular
Music•

At the beginning of the 70s, Philippine pop

music was certainly American.

Philippine popular music was also present in the form

of kundimans, love songs, zarzuelas, street songs,
and children’s nonsense songs but these were not
sung on stages or even played in the airwaves
 5.
•Popular Music•

Philippine pop culture was basically American,

from pop, to rock, and even Broadway, to
variety shows in television. Pinoy rock
emerged in 1973 through Joey Smith.

The Pinoy trend emerged when Rolando Tinio, a poet,

translated an album of American songs into Pilipino
for Celeste Legaspi.
Metro Manila Pop

Song Festival
It also known as Metropop Song Festival, is
one of the songwriting competitions in the
Philippines that cater to the promotion of
Filipino music. It has launched the careers of
singers and songwriters in the country.
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Literature

of Popular

Culture
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Popular culture literature consists
primarily of the following:
1. Reportage and feature stories in daily
newspapers and weekly magazines
2. Reviews of films, TV shows, pop concerts or
performances, radio programs
3. Studies done by mass communication
undergraduates, thesis writers, and scholars
4. Studies done by literature students and
scholars
5. Studies done by scholars who are interested
in popular culture as a field of research.
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Formation

of Popular

Culture
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 Urb
Urbani
anizat
zation
ion Industrialization
brought with its mass production; developments

key ingredient in the formation of

in transportation and technology, increased

popular culture
literacy, the emergence of efficient forms of

the diverse people would come to see

commercial printing
themselves as a 'collectively' as a result

all of these contributed to the rise of popular

of common, or popular, forms of

culture
expression
ex: speaking in English is not that impactful

unless you speak fluently and with content

In the 20th century, the print industry mass-

produced illustrated newspapers and periodicals

 ACTIVITY
Check our gclass for the instructions.