12/04/2023

Philippine Cartoons: Political

Caricatures of the American Era

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Philippine Cartoons: Political

Caricatures of the American Era

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Philippine Cartoons: Political

Caricatures of the American Era
THE MAN BEHIND THE PHILIPPINE CARTOONS

• “Historian of the Southeast Asia”

• Born June 8, 1945 in Massachusetts, USA
• McCoy graduated from the Kent School in 1964.
• He earned his BA in European Studies
from Columbia College in 1968.
• He earned his M.A. Asian Studies in University of
California at Berkeley in 1969.
• He earned his PhD in Southeast Asian history
from Yale University in 1977.
• McCoy served on the faculty of the University of
New South Wales for eleven years.
• In 1989, he joined University of Wisconsin-
Madison. ALFRED McCOY

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Philippine Cartoons: Political

Caricatures of the American Era
THE MAN BEHIND THE PHILIPPINE CARTOONS

• Used the Philippine political caricatures to

understand the social and political context of
the Philippines during the American period.
• Worked with Alfredo Roces, his co-Author of
Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricatures of the
American Era
• In 2001, the Association for Asian Studies awarded
McCoy the Grant Goodman Prize for his career
contributions to the study of the Philippines.
• In October 2012, Yale University's Graduate School
Alumni Association awarded McCoy the Wilbur
Lucius Cross Medal.

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Philippine Cartoons: Political

Caricatures of the American Era
THE MAN BEHIND THE PHILIPPINE CARTOONS

• Alfredo Reyes Roces (29 Apr 1923)

• a painter, an essayist, and versatile
artist.
• holds a prominent place in the history
of Philippine art.
• He is a painter who started with a
figurative style but soon began to
amalgamate Expressionism, Fauvism
and Impressionism in his paintings.

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Philippine Cartoons: Political

Caricatures of the American Era

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Philippine Cartoons: Political

Caricatures of the American Era
THE NEWSPAPERS IN THE PHILIPPINE CARTOONS

• Founded in 1915 by • Discussed questions

the Father of Cebuano of tenancy, urban
letters Vicente Sotto, poverty, and poltical
one of the militant and issues.
aggressive advocates • Where Fernando
of immediate Amorsolo began
independence. his career as the
• A weekly newspaper “angriest of
and published in Manila’s political
English and Spanish. cartoonists”.
• A forum for its
publishers for political
crusades.

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Philippine Cartoons: Political

Caricatures of the American Era
THE NEWSPAPERS IN THE PHILIPPINE CARTOONS
THE PHILIPPINES
FREE PRESS
• Founded in 1906 by • Appeared more
Judge W.A. Kincaid personal than national
but was taken over by and not tied to a
McCullough Dick particular political
due to bankruptcy party.
• Published in both • Advocated integrity,
Spanish and English democracy and
• Featured Philippine national
investigative progress.
reporting about the
country’s development

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Philippine Cartoons: Political

Caricatures of the American Era
THE NEWSPAPERS IN THE PHILIPPINE CARTOONS
BAG-ONG KUSOG • (Literally "New • Depicted the
Force"), the most breaking down of
popular Cebuano hallowed customs
pre-war periodical. and social
• It draws a picture of practices due to
pre-war social life American
in Cebu. Influence.
• Featured the clash • Focused criticism
between the on co-education
traditional Spanish- introduced by the
influenced culture Americans which
and the new endangered the
American virtue of women.
orientation .

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HISTORICAL CONTEXT
THE PHILIPPINE CONDITION
• Transition from Spanish colonial rule to American
colonial period.
• Filipino resistance on the American Policy over the
Philippines

• American colonial rule:

• Filipino representation in the Assembly
• Filipinization in the government
• Campaign for Philippine Independence
• The Commonwealth period
AMERICAN
COLONIZATION • American initiatives on economic,
educational system, public health,
transportation and communication

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Historical CONTEXT
THE PHILIPPINE CONDITION
• The freedom was more recognized
such as speech and press exercised
unlike during the Spanish period
• The American colonial government
sued the press through libel
charges.
• The Chinese were still
discriminated
AMERICAN
• The friars were attacked in the
COLONIZATION
press
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Historical CONTEXT
THE PHILIPPINE CONDITION
• Filipino politicians were the
new illustrados
• Police were corrupt and the rise
of rural poverty
• Prostitutions and gambling
were rampant
• Sanitation were poor, less
AMERICAN hospitals for the population
COLONIZATION • Cartoons were used to seek
reforms
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Philippine Cartoons: Political

Caricatures of the American Era

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Philippine Cartoons:
Economic Caricatures

• The problem of homesteading

and US-style tenancy during the
American colonial government

• It presents the oppressed

condition of the farmers
during the American
colonial period.

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Philippine Cartoons:
Economic Caricatures

• The vulnerability of our

economy to foreign economic
policy
• Bankruptcy of the PNB

• Tentativeness of the
government to implement
policy that will help the
farmers
• Exploitation of small farmers

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Philippine Cartoons:
Economic Caricatures

• Dramatic increase in Manila’s

population resulted to rising of
rent and high food prices.

• Harrison’s solution to the

problem was band aid solution
rather than implementing
fundamental reform like public
housing construction.
• The Filipino elite were favoured
for their loyalty to the
government.

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Philippine Cartoons:
Economic Caricatures
• The cartoons presented
the Filipino nationalists
becoming economic
aliens to their own land
because Americans
dominated already the
economic activities in the
country.

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Philippine Cartoons:
political Caricatures

• The political practice in the

country especially during
election.

• It features the political irony of

the election process in the
Philippines wherein initially the
candidates bow and beg favor
from the Filipino masses but at
the end the Filipinos masses
begging.
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Philippine Cartoons:
political Caricatures

1. Police Corruption – to protect

gambling clubs
2. Passage of law authorizing all
legislators to bear firearms

1. The Manila Police here is shown taking

bribes from the Chinese, while
protecting the gambling clubs
patronized by Filipinos.
2. The editorial depicts the superiority of
the legislators.
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Philippine Cartoons:
political Caricatures

1. Landlord vs.
• Filipinos have
Tenants
always been
2. Christians vs. Non-
historically Christians
divided. 3. Pro H-H-C-L vs. the
Antis
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Philippine Cartoons:
Socio-cultural Caricatures

1. Ecclesiastical Encomienda
• Frailocracy
2. Bureau of Public Health - Filipinos

1. Poor people are homeless while the

Roman Catholic Church owns big lands.
2. Filipinization of Bureau of Public
resulted to ineffective and inefficient
service.

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Philippine Cartoons:
Socio-cultural Caricatures

• The Americans introduced a free

and a more democratic educational
system in the Philippines.

• Both editorials depict the results of the

introduction of American Education in the
Philippine system.
1. Gender equality in education
2. Accessibilty of education

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Philippine Cartoons:
Socio-cultural Caricatures

• The Americans used the educational

system to control/manipulate the
Filipinos.

1. The introduction of the English

language.
2. As a result of American education,
they were able to develop an image
worthy of Filipino love and respect.

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Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricatures of the

American Era

CONTRIBUTION
AND
RELEVANCE

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CONTRIBUTION AND RELEVANCE OF THE DOCUMENT TO THE GRAND

NARRATIVE OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY

• These historical caricatures are relevant

visual and contextual realities that can
fill in the gap in understanding the grand
narrative of Philippine history.

• Using historical caricature is a dynamic

avenue of deciphering Philippine history
providing relevant visual
representations of the past and a
contextual approach of understanding
historical meanings and implications.

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CONTRIBUTION AND RELEVANCE OF THE DOCUMENT TO THE GRAND

NARRATIVE OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY

• The featured caricatures were

powerful tools in the political,
economic, and social advocacies
which can inspire and remind us
also of our advocacies at present
time.

• The caricatures depict the realities

happening during the American
period which expresses the
sentiments of the Filipinos.

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CONTRIBUTION AND RELEVANCE OF THE DOCUMENT TO THE GRAND

NARRATIVE OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY

• We may not be in a specific period of the past but we

are not devoid in understanding history because
historical caricatures bring us to the past and provide us
a rich, dynamic and contextual source of depicting
events and realities.

• In contemporary times, the use of editorial caricatures

are still powerful tools that depict the temper of the
present time and express the problems and sentiments
of the present context.

• It is likewise a means of the present time to trigger the

awareness of the people concerning different issues

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Editorial makes us realize

who we are before and yet
it depicts what is our
TRUTH. We must always choose what
is right, we must believe who
is correct because there is
someone who will STAND BY
and will fight for in us every
step of the way.
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