Four Values in Filipino Drama and Film

Nicanor G. Tiongson

Our colonial aesthetics today may be partly rooted to various dramatic form, (during both
the Spanish and American colonial regimes),which populated and perpetuated the value
of "white is beautiful ".During Spanish times ,the komedya dramas from awit and koridos
revolving around the love of princes and princesses in the fight between Christians and
Moros during the middle ages in Europe)not only made the "indio"cheer and champion
the cause of the white Europeans who, favoured by God and miracles ,invariably defeated
the Moros but also demanded a standard of beauty that legitimized and made ideal the
bastard or the mestize.
Clearly then, the colonial aesthetics of contemporary Philippines movies are both a
derivation, an outgrowth and magnification of colonial aesthetics in our Spanish past and
American present,Today,all stars in the firmament of Filipino cinema with the sole and
singular exception of Nora Aunor(Who ascended to her throne as a singer) are either
mestizo,mestizas or mestisuhin, "Tipong artista".One had to have "matangos na
ilong ,magaling mata,maliit na bibig,"and most all,"maputing balat ".He or she also had
to have "magandang tindig"which is simple Language boiled down to "tall like a white
man".
American movies have likewise provided Filipino with new gods and goddesses . Elizabeth
Taylor,Audrey Hepburn,Rudolf Valentino,and Elvis Presley are only some of Hollywood
stars from whom our local planet derived their glow (Amalia Fuentes,Barbara
Perez,Leonard Salcedo,and Eddie Mesa,respectively).Likewise,in the passion play called
sinakulo , natives playing Christ and most especially the virgin, were chosen on the basic
of their resemblance to both istampita and images of Christ and the virgin in the
Churches,both of whom were always unmistakably and invariably caucasian.