Exposure or Filipino Baiting: The paradox of media representation
The added forms of Filipino representation and inclusivity have become one of the most active changes in mainstream films. This seems to come from a more vocal mass audience. However, it could only mean that a lot more personalities advocate for the importance of representation. It’s basically the higher the pressure for content creators, the more representation.
However, a question rises whether or not this change is actually an exposure for representation or just mere Filipino baiting.
So, what is Filipino baiting?
Filipino baiting or Pinoy baiting refers to the mainstream media’s tendency to pander to their Filipino audience. Pandering isn’t a new trope in the media. As a matter of fact, pandering has become one of the most used marketing strategies to hood audiences to generic and placating works of art. This, on the other hand, has been most used for marketing in the film industry. This, then, usually covers the shroud of “reliability” with the characters.
Filipinos have the tendency to consume anything that shows Filipino pride. This isn’t a bad thing. In reality, it’s actually one of the most endearing qualities of the Filipino people. However, this crosses a line of celebrating any form or mention of our country in international mainstream works. The positive recognition is regardless of how the country is actually framed.
An example of Filipino baiting
A prominent internationally mainstream work that exemplifies Filipino baiting comes from a scene from the beloved crime comedy sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The cold-cut scene revolves around Captain Raymond Hold showing Detective Jake Peralta two photos. The openly-gay African-American captain asked which of the two pictures is his locker and a garbage dump in the Philippines. Unfortunately, this appeals to the stereotype that every developing country like the Philippines remains filthy or disgusting.
So, what is true representation?
In contrast, representation or exposure to a certain culture on international platforms aims to focus on humanizing its subject. This means that there is an actual need to depict a certain culture in such a way that deviates from common cinematic clichés. In light of this, on the other hand, active efforts to react against blatant acts of Filipino baiting should be apparent among Filipino viewers.
An example of true Filipino representation
A prominent internationally mainstream work that exemplifies true Filipino representation comes from Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest version of Spider-Man. Filipino-American actor Jacob Batalon portrays the Filipino-American character Ned Leeds. It has been years since it was revealed that the character was of Filipino heritage.
However, in the latest installment Spider-Man: No Way Home, the movie showed more of his culture. Aside from being smart and funny, Ned displays Filipino values including Filipino hospitality and close family ties. The movie even went as far as showing how a typical Filipino household would interact with one another and inserting a few Tagalog words in the dialogue through his Lola.
Ultimately, the difference between representation and Filipino baiting lies within its framing. This means that content creators should be more hyper-aware of whether or not their means of representation conforms to stereotypes. A more humane lens of depicting Filipinos on the global stage is all that we really ask.
