Philippine Popular Culture: Definition and Issues

• A stable definition of "popular culture" is needed within the Philippine context.
• It is important to define boundaries or overlaps with mass communications, drama, and literature.
• This affects theory, methods, and concerns.
• There is a need to critically review related literature to define problems and possibilities for future research.
• A broad discussion of popular culture should consider a number of issues, including its introduction from the United States and its relationship to a culture with an existing American orientation due to colonialism.

Issues in Philippine Popular Culture

• Commodified culture and consumerism generate false needs through advertisements.
• Exposure to an alien lifestyle occurs through popular culture.
• Westernized taste and consciousness, also known as cultural imperialism and cultural satellization is spread through imported films, television, publications, and popular songs.
• Philippine social realities are mystified and feelings against current reality are pacified.
• This occurs through the legitimization of economic and political structures through content in TV, radio, film, and comics, as well as slogans and government advertising.
• It is important to identify the audience that makes culture popular rather than elite in the Philippine context.
• It is important to consider what a popular writer's concept of their audience is.
• We should understand how the idea of what "sells" is formulated by the writer or the industry, and whether there is a feedback mechanism.
• The popular writer is a significant intellectual due to the size of their audience.
• It is importnat to consider if the Filipino writer, who generally writes for popular magazines, is also a "serious" writer.
• It is important to determine how the popular writer is linked to the literary tradition and the socioeconomic status of the writer versus their audience vs other writers.
• This has bearing on the "popularity" of their work.
• "Popular culture is power," and is not created by the people who "consume" it.
• We should ask who creates popular culture, and for what purpose, whether for profit, development, or manipulation.
• Much of the work done on popular culture to date has been survey work.
• The history of the field, its current state, and its significance in Philippine life have been evaluated.
• Narrow-field, in-depth studies are needed in film, radio, television, comics, and magazines.

An overview of defining popular culture within the Philippine context which examines its boundaries with mass communications, drama, and literature. It identifies issues such as commodified culture, consumerism and westernized taste due to American influence.