{"id":84,"date":"2007-09-21T12:17:51","date_gmt":"2007-09-21T19:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/specfic.philsites.net\/2007\/09\/21\/filipino-speculative-fiction-read-the-rambling-of-the-overly-simplistic\/"},"modified":"2007-09-24T01:31:22","modified_gmt":"2007-09-24T08:31:22","slug":"filipino-speculative-fiction-read-the-rambling-of-the-overly-simplistic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/philsites.net\/specfic\/2007\/09\/21\/filipino-speculative-fiction-read-the-rambling-of-the-overly-simplistic\/","title":{"rendered":"“Filipino” Speculative Fiction, Read: the Rambling of the Overly Simplistic"},"content":{"rendered":"

[edit:<\/strong> I’ll be compiling other discussions on the nature of Philippine speculative fiction here. If I’ve missed a post, do drop me a line so I can include it.<\/p>\n

Please read and join in!<\/p>\n

Dean Alfar:<\/strong> Thinking Towards Philippine Speculative Fiction 1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, and 3<\/a>
\nKenneth Yu:<\/strong> The Continuing Conundrum<\/a>
\nCharles Tan:<\/strong> Does One Need to Use Filipino to Write Filipino Fiction?<\/a>
\nBanzai Cat:<\/strong> Of Conceits and Agendas<\/a> | The Plot Thickens… Like Dinuguan<\/a>
\nTin Mandigma:<\/strong> Speculating about Filipino speculative fiction<\/a>]<\/p>\n

PS: WordPress is giving me a headache whenever I edit, so I won’t be updating this post with new links anymore. Kenneth has a great post compiling all the links on this subject<\/a>, though. Head on over!<\/p>\n

\n

I do wonder why certain people are so eager to tell the world that their work is “Filipino” in nature, just because they’re Filipino. I don’t think it’s all that fair to say you’re making a Filipino speculative story even if you’re Filipino, if your story isn’t about the Philippines or about Filipinos.I guess that not being of mixed blood or an international heritage, I’m in a position to see this as very black-and-white. But just this once, just for this particular issue, I don’t see how that could be disadvantageous.<\/a> <\/a><\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/a>Language<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a> <\/a><\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/a>I’m sorry. I know I suck in both English and Filipino, but I have to say this: I believe a lot of things that are important to being Filipino are lost when you try to talk about them in English. We all know that it’s possible to write a “Filipino speculative story” in English, but you know what? I believe a “Filipino speculative story” that’s written in a Filipino language trumps that.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a> <\/a><\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/a>Gabriel Garcia Marquez made One Hundred Years of Solitude<\/em> originally in Spanish. Stanislaw Lem wrote a lot of his sci-fi in Polish, with Polish characters. Italo Calvino wrote primarily in Italian. I believe we can and should<\/em> write more speculative fiction in our local languages, simply because it would be more in line with our traditions, the nuances of our many cultures, our regional identity – in short, our untranslatables.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a> <\/a><\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/a>It’s not a crime to stick with English if that’s the language you’re more comfortable with – it won’t make you less patriotic. As we all know, great “Filipino” speculative works in English have been written by native Filipino authors. On the other hand, great non-“Filipino” speculative works have also been written by native Filipino authors.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a> <\/a><\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/a>It’s just difficult for me to hear a story classified as “Filipino speculative fiction” if there’s nothing Filipino about it. If, say, Jules Verne wrote a science fiction story in English, which didn’t have a single French character (who was representative of French culture and beliefs) in it, I don’t believe it could still be classified as a French science fiction story – it would only be a science fiction story made by someone French.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a> <\/a><\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/a>(Incidentally, this<\/a> is an interesting piece about how Verne’s prose was butchered in the European English translation. Thanks to Charles<\/a> for the link.)<\/p>\n

That said, please pardon me while I go off on a tangent: I do have trouble sympathizing with writers who call themselves Filipino, and yet are unwilling to (not can’t, but won’t<\/em>) speak or write in Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilonggo, or any other native language, in addition to English. You can say your first language is English and it’s not your fault that’s all you know, and it doesn’t make you less Filipino, but you know what? Let’s get some perspective here. Not even trying<\/em> to adopt any of the languages makes you less Filipino. That doesn’t make you not!Filipino, but certainly identifies you as not!the man-off-the-street Filipino (at least not the streets that most Filipinos commonly walk) who just happens to have a way with words.<\/p>\n

It instantly gives you minus points as a cultural representative, because it makes you less able to communicate and interact with the people you’re supposed to represent. You miss a lot of the nuances off the bat, so you are unable to convert them into notions that are easily expressed and understood in other languages.<\/p>\n

Nationality<\/strong><\/p>\n

Incidentally, I feel it is only too easy to use the term “Filipino” as a meal ticket. I feel that sometimes, artists use their ethnicity to establish themselves as representatives of a voiceless minority… when in truth, the “voiceless minority” does not acknowledge them and cannot identify with their work.<\/p>\n

Artists with Filipino blood who’ve spent more time in high society and other countries, even if the regions they stayed in technically qualify as “slum areas,” have been notorious for misrepresenting the Filipino people. For example – and this is technically not speculative fiction, but I still love using it as an example – I have major issues with Jessica Hagedorn’s work. I groaned all throughout Dogeaters<\/em>, and I couldn’t sit through and can’t even remember The Gangster of Love<\/em>. The characters and scenarios Miss Hagedorn used simply don’t feel<\/em> Filipino, even if some of the situations described were vaguely familiar. Nearly every character spoke in a way that sounded – well, American. Even with the smattering of Spanish and Tagalog in the dialogue, there was something essential lacking. The Philippines that Miss Hagedorn was painting came across to me as distant and fantastic.<\/p>\n

I’m sure some Filipinos (also Filipinos of privilege, I presume) will disagree with me on this. Filipinos who grew up overseas and have no clue what life is actually like in the Philippines may also disagree with me, because Miss Hagedorn’s writing is lyrical and quite easy for non-Filipinos to appreciate.<\/p>\n

But you know what? If the only Filipino writers who can get recognized internationally are English-speakers who have actually not spent most of their lives mingling with born-and-bred Filipinos, a lot of things will always fail to come across. Something as basic as the spelling of “Filipino” is one thing. Personally, it grates whenever I see people calling themselves “Philippino” online – I think this indicates just how badly our local literati need to establish a global presence. But since I also think that spelling isn’t as important as sentiment, YMMV.<\/p>\n

It’s only annoying on a primal level. I’ll admit: even Filipinos who grew up in the Philippines may not be able to properly write “Filipino stories,” speculative or not. I personally can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to write good Pinoy fiction, speculative or not. Like everybody else, I only write what I know, and suffer the risk of being called “not Filipino enough” in the process.<\/p>\n

Since I’m pointing out theme and language as the most important factors, we may wonder: What about foreign nationals who write fiction with Filipinos in them? It’s simple, really: Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon<\/em> – not Filipino fiction, and not just because Neal Stephenson is not Filipino. Filipinos are incidental, not central, to the story. I’m still looking for exceptions to the rule here, but I’m loath to attach the label “Filipino fiction” to any story that doesn’t<\/em> have the Philippines as a central figure, and which doesn’t present the Philippines from the viewpoint of someone who knows this country and its people intimately.<\/p>\n

It’s not a matter of cultural purity. I’m not trying to launch a crusade against English-speakers or Filipino-Chinese citizens who are more fluent in Chinese, etc – but since there’s clearly a need to define what “Filipino fiction” is, I’m putting this notion out there: If you want to write a Filipino speculative story, you’ll write it as a tribute to the culture and to the people. You’ll have Filipino characters, you’ll mention the Filipino setting, and you’ll do it in a way that reflects how you, as the writer, perceive the term “Filipino.”<\/p>\n

Of course, I acknowledge that you’re free to define “Philippine speculative fiction” as you will. I doubt that anyone can tell you that your work is “not Filipino enough” if you strongly think otherwise.<\/p>\n

Theme<\/strong><\/p>\n

For me, even if a story is not palatable to the rest of the world, even if it comes across as “weak,” as long as it’s something that attempts to accurately represent Filipino tastes, customs, damnations and desires, it’s Filipino.<\/p>\n

There is no shame in saying you’re writing a story that is “not Filipino in nature.” You may still be a Filipino writer catering to international sensibilities. But saying that you’re writing a “Filipino story” means a whole lot more. It means taking on the responsibility of being a spokesman.<\/p>\n

And I think that for most of us in the blogging generation, that takes a lot more than just writing what we know.<\/p>\n

It’s no secret that upper-class and middle-class artists have an advantage, promotion and creation-wise, over lower-class artists. Promising artists from the lower classes struggle to keep up, and we struggle to give them a voice. But people DO have different codes of etiquette and grace, especially in art. The more eloquent stand apart from the rest, and they may be envied for so many valid reasons – they have more time to write, they have more access to information, they’ve read more books, they have different tastes, they have “global” standards, etc.<\/p>\n

But if they don’t represent the people with their stories, they are not writing “Filipino speculative fiction.” Nothing, short of everyone in the country being equal in information access and language use, will change that.<\/p>\n

\n

PS: I realize that this post may lead people to ask exactly what kinds of fiction I plan to feature in a blog called “Philippine Speculative Fiction.” I wrote this on the About page<\/a> when I was still making this blog, and it still holds true:<\/p>\n

The Philippine Speculative Fiction <\/strong>weblog is a repository of thoughts re: speculative fiction (fantasy, horror, science fiction and everything beyond and in between) productions made within the Republic of the Philippines, or by Filipino writers based elsewhere.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So regardless of whether or not you wrote what I personally consider to be “Filipino speculative fiction,” as long as you’re a Pinoy based in the Philippines or elsewhere, I’d like to tell other people about your work.<\/p>\n

If you’d like to get to know other Pinoy speculative fiction writers, I hope you’ll join us at the Philippine SF and F Writers Guild<\/a> and say hi!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[edit: I’ll be compiling other discussions on the nature of Philippine speculative fiction here. If I’ve missed a post, do drop me a line so I can include it. Please read and join in! Dean Alfar: Thinking Towards Philippine Speculative Fiction 1, 2, and 3 Kenneth Yu: The Continuing Conundrum Charles Tan: Does One Need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-transparent-header":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/philsites.net\/specfic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/philsites.net\/specfic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/philsites.net\/specfic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philsites.net\/specfic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philsites.net\/specfic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=84"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/philsites.net\/specfic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/philsites.net\/specfic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=84"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philsites.net\/specfic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=84"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/philsites.net\/specfic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=84"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}