1 | Philippine Popular Culture 1

UNIT 1: Introduction to Philippine Popular Culture

1.0 Intended Learning Outcomes

a. Create a timeline of the chronology of modernization of Philippine popular
culture;
b. Differentiate the concept and definition of popular culture, folk culture,
high culture, and low culture;
c. Design a program to showcase the role and importance of culture as a way
to promote harmony, unity and peace in the world.

1.1 Introduction

Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally

recognized by members of a society as a set of the practices, beliefs, and objects
that are dominant or prevalent in a society at a given point in time. Popular
culture also encompasses the activities and feelings produced as a result of
interaction with these dominant objects.

Historical Influences of Filipino Popular

Culture

Philippine culture at the current age is a

conglomeration of myriad of economic,
political, religious, and geographic factors
blended through history. These elements
evolved from its pre-colonial beginnings,
affected by Asian heritage, assumed Hispanic
influences then acculturated with American
way of life, and eventually emerged in its
present-day characteristics.

The culture of the Philippines is a

combination of cultures of the East and West
(Baringer, 2006). Filipino identity was created
primarily as a result of pre-colonial cultures,
colonial influences and foreign traders Figure 1. Figure 1. Source: by Gilda Cordero-Fernando, M. G.
Chaves . https://www.amazon.com/ Pinoy-Pop-Culture-
intermixing and gradually evolving together. Gilda-Cordero-Fernando/dp/B0006E8MFA

Thus, the culture and way of life of Filipinos

have evolved from that of the monarchical political structure with religious
influences in the pre-colonial and colonial times, to the democratic and secular kind
in the American, post-colonial and modern era.

In pre-colonial times, the Philippines was a divided set of peoples,

islands and tribes being ruled by their own kings, chieftains, lakans, rajahs,

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datus and sultans. Every nation has its own identity and some are even part of a
larger empire outside of what is now the Philippines. Manila, for example, was
once part of the Islamic Sultanate of Brunei, and the Sulu Archipelago was also
part of the Hindu Majapahit. The advent of colonial rule in the islands marked
the beginning of the Philippines as an entity, a collection of Southeast Asian
countries united under Spanish Empire.

Chinese influence has been felt throughout Southeast Asia through trade,
specifically by the Ming dynasty and other earlier dynasties from as early as the 9th
century. The blending of indigenous, colonial and external influence is very evident
in the historic arts and traditions of the country.

The Philippine archipelago was first settled by Negritos; today, although

few in numbers, they preserve a very traditional way of life and culture. After
them, the Austronesians arrived on the archipelago. The Austronesian culture is
strongly evident in the ethnicities, languages, cuisine, music, dance and almost
every aspect of the culture. These Austronesians engaged in trading with other
Austronesians, particularly in the neighbouring nations in Maritime Southeast Asia.
Theyalso traded with the Mainland Southeast Asia, as well as Japan, China, the
Indian subcontinent and Arabia. As a result, some of these cultures marked their
influences on Filipino culture. This gradually evolved with indigenous belief
systems and developed into Anitism, which became the dominant religion for more
than a millennium (The Philippine.ph.; Philippine Almanac, 2012).

The Spanish Empire, via the Viceroyalty of New Spain, conquered the
islands between the 16th and 19th centuries (Batanes being one of the last places to
be colonized in the mid-1800s), resulting in Christianity to spread and dominate
throughout the archipelago and influenced the religion and beliefs of the natives.
Then, the Philippines became a U.S. territory for almost 50 years. Influence from the
United States is manifested in the wide use of the English language, media and in
the modern culture and clothing of present-day Philippines (Balinski, 2020).

Activity 1.Create a timeline of the emergence of the Philippine popular culture. Write the
significant cultural characteristics.

• _____________________________________________________________________________________
• ____________________________________________
Pre-Colonial

• _____________________________________________________________________________________
• ____________________________________________
Hispanic

• _____________________________________________________________________________________
• ____________________________________________
American

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1.2 Definition of Popular Culture

According to Storey (2018), popular culture is something that can be

defined in a variety of conflicting ways by different people across different
contexts. But generally speaking, the primary driving force behind popular
culture is mass appeal. This element is produced by what cultural analyst
Theodor Adorno refers to as the "culture industry"(Crothers, 2021). Heavily
influenced in modern times by mass media, this collection of ideas permeates the
everyday lives of people in a given society. Therefore, popular culture has a way
of influencing an individual's attitude towards certain topics (McGaha, 2015).
However, there are various ways to define pop culture (Srinati, 2004). It is
generally viewed in contrast to other forms of culture such as folk cults, working-
class culture, or high culture, and also through different high praised perspectives
such as psychoanalysis, structuralism, postmodernism, and more. The most
common pop-culture categories are: entertainment (such as film, music, television
and video games), sports, news (as in people/places in the news), politics,
fashion, technology, and slang (West, 2016).

The countries commonly thought to have the most pop culture influence
are the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Other countries, such as
South Korea, China, Italy, and France, are also highly influential.

Popular culture in the West has been critiqued for its being a system of
commercialism that privileges products selected and mass-marketed by the
upper-class capitalist elite; such criticisms are most notable in many Marxist
theorists such as Herbert Marcuse, Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Antonio
Gramsci, Guy Debord, Fredric Jameson, Terry Eagleton, as well as certain
postmodern philosophers such as Jean-François Lyotard, who has written about
the commercialization of information under capitalism (Lyotard, 1979), and Jean
Baudrillard, as well as others (Jameson, 1991).

1.2 Purpose of the Study of Popular Culture

1.2.1 Through their study of society and culture, students develop the ability to
influence their own futures, by developing skills, values and understandings
that enable effective participation in contemporary society (sace.sa.edu.au).
We need to study culture because it helps to foster tolerance through a
recognition and acceptance of differences. People who are more culturally
aware are more likely to demand a more equitable society for everyone
(eNotes Editorial, 17 October 2020)
1.2.2 Studying culture is important because it fosters a better sense of tolerance and
appreciation of diversity. People who learn to value differences are people
who encourage efforts to establish a more equitable society. They are more
likely to recognize bias and to find the power of inclusion, understanding that

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different cultural groups ring diverse strengths to any community. Studying

cultures encourages learner to become more cognizant of the world that exists
beyond their own personal cultural experiences and to see the value that
exists within those differences. (Julianne Hansen?).
1.2.3 It helps us create harmonious relationships with other people and to achieve
goals towards unity and peace in the world.

1.3. High Culture, Low Culture, Folk Culture and Popular Culture

According to Debnath (2019), high culture is a collection of ideologies, beliefs,

thoughts, trends, practices and works—intellectual or creative—that is intended for
refined, cultured and educated elite people. On the other hand, low culture is the
culture of the common people and the mass. According to Raymond Williams (1989),
“culture is ordinary”. Popular culture is something that is always, most importantly,
related to everyday average people and their experiences of the world; it is urban,
changing and consumeristic in nature. Folk culture is the culture of preindustrial
(premarket, pre-commodity) community.
Difference between high culture and low culture
1. High culture is a collection of ideologies, beliefs, thoughts, trends, practices
and works, intellectual or creative—that is intended for refined, culture and
educated elite people. While low culture is the culture of the common people
and the masses.
2. High culture receivers are elite (or upper-class) educated and refined people.
For example, intellectuals, professors, film directors, etc. On the other hand,
low culture’s receivers are the masses, mostly non-elites. For example,
laborers, small-scale businessmen, barbers, truck drivers et cetera.
3. High culture is not accessible to everybody. It is intended for the select few.
For example, “Caviar of the East” bird’s next soup, Chateau Cheval Blac wine,
et cetera. But low culture is easily accessible, for example commercial
Hollywood or Bollywood films, pornography, pulp fiction, soap operas, et
cetera.
4. One needs significant amount of education or learning to understand or
appreciate high culture. For example, one cannot understand Michelangelo’s
paintings unless one has a decent knowledge of art. Likewise, it is impossible
to appreciate Bach’s symphonies without having any knowledge of music.
Also, it is possible to appreciate or understand Picasso’s “Guernica” without
having any knowledge of art. One does not need high quality of education or
immense learning to understand or appreciate low culture. Or example, we
do not have to study film theory in order to understand commercial
Hollywood or Bollywood films, et cetera.

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Difference between popular and folk culture.

1. The word “popular” comes from the Latin word “populous” which simply
means “people”. Popular culture is something that is always, most
importantly, related to everyday average people and their experiences of the
world. It is the culture that is meant for the general population and that is
intended for their tastes and understanding rather than just a select few.
While folk culture is “the culture of pre-industrial (premarket, precommodity)
communities” (Payne and Rae Barbera. 2013).
2. Popular culture is frequently changing. For example, hairstyles. But folk
culture is the timeless essence of a community. It does not change frequently.
For example, traditional marriage ceremonies. Popular culture is urbane. For
example, punk culture, bike race, late-night parties, et cetera. While, folk
culture is rural. For example such songs as Dandansoy of the Visayas or
Sarong Banggi of the Bicolanos, et cetera.
3. Popular culture is international. For example, wearing Levi’s jeans is popular
culture. Eating Chow Mein is also popular culture as it is an international
food. Playing guitar is also popular culture as it is widely played throughout
the world.
4. Popular culture is not organic to a community. For example, drinking Coca-
Cola is popular culture and is not part of Filipino traditional culture.
Similarly, online relationships like online chatting, social media (Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, et cetera) are popular, but they are never organic
to our traditional Filipino authentic culture.
5. Popular culture is consumeristic in nature. It is associated with consumer
culture. For example, the Disney brand is a groundbreaking phenomenon in
popular culture. But Disney is not a brand only; it is also an empire. Disney
uses “tie-in” strategies to excecute its consumerist agenda. Likewise, popular
TV ads always promotes us to adopt consumer culture. TV ads also urge us
to buy, buy, and buy. In this context, we refer to them as “Culture Industry”.
The term “culture industry” is coined by Adorno and Horkheimer of the
Frankfurt School. This perspective describes the oprations of mass media,
which they aregued instilled into (largely working-class) audiences the values
and beliefs of the dominant capitalist order. The word “industry” was used
to characterize the generation of mass culture as a uniform product, in
contradistinction to the form of authentic culture arising from the working
classes themselves (Cuddon, 2014). Folk culture is not consumeristic in
nature for it is not associated with consumer culture. For example, folk songs
(e.g., Mutya ng Pasig, Dandansoy, or Matud Nila) expresses longings, pangs,
and delights of their community; they do not find any order or longing to
adopt consumerism.

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1.3 References

Baringer, Sally E. (c. 2006). The Philippines. In Countries and Their Cultures.
Advameg Inc. Retrieved December 20, 2009 from www.everyculture.com.
Baudrillard. J. (1998). The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures.
Crothers, Lane (2021). Globalization and American Popular Culture. Rowman &
Littlefield. p. 48. ISBN 9781538142691.
Cuddon JA. 2014. The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary
Theory. Penguin Books.
Debnath, Kunal (2019 August). Differences between high culture and low
culture, popular culture and folk culture. SMART MOVES JOURNAL
IJELLH 7(8):12. DOI: 10.24113/ijellh.v7i8.9572.
De Guzman Centeno, D. (2016). Parasociality and Habitus in Celebrity
Consumption and Political Culture: A Philippine Case Study. Asian
Journal of Social Science, 44(4/5), 441–484.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/43954178.
Durham Peters, John (2003). The Subtlety of Horkheimer and Adorno.
Cambridge: Polity Press. ISBN 978-0-7456-2934-6.
Galloway, Lindsey (2 July 2018). "The five countries that set world culture". BBC
Travel. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
https://m.facebook.com/107906457498592/photos/
Jameson, Frederic (1991). Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late
Capitalism. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 1991.
Horkheimer, Max and Adorno, Theodor W. (2002). Noerr, Gunzelin Schmid
(ed.). Dialectic of enlightenment philosophical fragments (PDF).
Translated by Edmund Jephcott. Stanford, California: Stanford University
Press. ISBN 978-0804736336. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June
2017. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
Horton, D., and R. Richard Wohl. 1956. Mass communication and para-social
interaction: Observations on intimacy at a distance. Psychiatry 19.3: 215–
229. DOI: 10.1080/00332747.1956.11023049
Lyotard, Jean-François (1979). La condition postmoderne: rapport sur le savoir.
Paris: Minuit.
McGaha, Julie. (2015) "Popular Culture & Globalization". Multicultural
Education 23.1 (2015): 32–37. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 5 Aug. 2016.
Payne M & Rae Barber Jessica. A Dictionary of Cultural and Critical Theory.
John Wiley & Sons, 2013, page 278.
Swingewood, Alan. (1977). The Myth of Mass Culture, London: Macmillan.
Strinati, D. (2004). An introduction to theories of popular culture. Routledge.

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Storey, J. (2018). Cultural theory and popular culture: An introduction. Routledge.

U.S. News.( 2020). "Cultural Influence". Retrieved 25 June 2021.
West, Gary. (2016). What Is Pop Culture? By Gary West". Archived from the
original on 2016-08-29. Retrieved 2015-03-17.
William, Raymond (1989). Culture is ordinary. Resources of Hope, Culture,
Democracy and Socialism. London: Verso, pp 3-14.

1.4 Acknowledgement
The authors would like to extend their heartiest thanks and respect to all those who
provided help in the preparation of this module. The information contained in
this module were taken from the references cited above

Unit 1 Assessment. Introduction to Philippine Culture

Part I. Multiple Choice. Select the letter of the best answer and write in a
separate answer sheet.

1. Which of the following foreign influences did not affect the character of
popular culture of the Filipinos?
A. Chinese
B. American
C. Spanish
D. Russian

2. In the Pre-colonial times, these significant persons of the community became

its leaders, except one.
A. Kapitan
B. Lakan
C. Rajah
D. datu

3. What was the main reason why early inhabitants settled in the Philippine
islands?
A. Religious reasons
B. Political reasons
C. Trading and commerce
D. Adventurism

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4. What was the major influence of Spain in the culture of the Filipinos?
A. Religious reasons
B. Political reasons
C. Trading and commerce
D. Adventurism

5. What is the major element that contributed to the diffusion and formation of
the modern culture of the Filipinos?
A. Media
B. Language
C. Economy
D. Religion

6. This city was once part of the Islamic Sultanate of Brunei.

A. Manila
B. Cebu
C. Iloilo
D. Legazpi

7. This empire was Hindu in character.

A. Maharajah
B. Majapahit
C. Maharlika
D. Marawi

8. In what century did the Chinese started trading with inhabitants of the
Philippines?
A. 7th century
B. 8th century
C. 9th century
D. 10th century

9. What was the early indigenous belief system that developed among Filipinos
which was dominant for more than a millenium?
A. Animism
B. Anitism
C. Animalism

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D. Ancient Belief
10. Which empire Christianized the Phlippines?
A. United States
B. Japan
C. Spain
D. Portugal

11. What is the primary driving force behind popular culture?

A. Mass media
B. Mass appeal
C. Social media
D. Entertainment

12. Which of the following countries does not have significant influence on pop
culture worldwide?
A. China
B. India
C. United States
D. South Korea

13. What phenomenon in society caused the weakening of traditional centers of

authority such as family and religion
A. Overpopulation
B. Mass society
C. Culture
D. Economy

14. What is the theory which views the consumption of popular culture through
mass media as enabling the people to become docile and contented?
A. Theory of culture industry
B. Theory of mass culture
C. Theory of consumerism
D. Theory of progressive evaluation

15. What theory states that popular culture is akin to a factory producing
standardized cultural goods which manipulate masses of people to become
passive?

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A. Theory of culture industry

B. Theory of mass culture
C. Theory of consumerism
D. Theory of progressive evaluation

16. Which theory sees popular culture as a process of democratization through

mass education, expansion of leisure time and cheap products?
A. Theory of culture industry
B. Theory of mass culture
C. Theory of consumerism
D. Theory of progressive evaluation

17. Which theory says that popular culture aims maximize enjoyment and fun
rather responding to a human necessity.
A. Theory of culture industry
B. Theory of mass culture
C. Theory of consumerism
D. Theory of progressive evaluation

18. What term was coined by Adorno and Horkheimer?

A. Culture industry
B. Mass culture
C. Consumerism
D. Progressive evaluation

19. What term was developed by Jean Baudrillard?

A. Culture industry
B. Mass culture
C. Consumerism
D. Progressive evaluation

20. Which of the following is not considered a category in pop culture?

A. Entertainment
B. Sports
C. Family values
D. Fashion

21. What is a form of advertising which is characterized by false information

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designed to damage the reputation of a person or entity, or making money

through advertising revenue?
A. Fake news
B. Information disorder syndrome
C. Historical revisionism
D. Disinformation

22. According to Vera Files research, which of the following persons has been
mostly benefited by fake news?
A. Ferdinand E. Marcos
B. Ferdinand R. Marcos
C. Imelda R. Marcos
D. Sara Duterte

23. What is the most important thing in order to spot a fake news?
A. Consider the source
B. Check the author
C. Check the date
D. Check your biases

24. How are you going to determine if the source is credible and real?
A. Consider the source
B. Check the author
C. Check the date
D. Check your biases

25. What country is considered by Facebook official Harbath as the "patient

zero" in the global misinformation epidemic?
A. Russian Federation
B. US
C. Great Britain
D. Philippines

Part II.
What is the most important benefit that can be derived from studying popular
culture? (10 points)
Part III.
Design a program that showcases aspects of culture as a way to preserve groups
identity, tolerance and respect of others, and promote harmony, unity and
peace in the world.

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