History and Evolution

of Philippine Pop
Culture
MODULE 2
 Course Objectives
At the end of the discussion, the student should be able to:
a.Trace the historical background of popular culture in the
Philippines
b.Articulate how society interacts with popular culture and
offer analysis on the core issues and debates based on
various theoretical approaches in Popular culture
 Folk culture
According to National Artist for
literature Bienvenido Lumbera in his
book Revaluation: Essays on
Philippine Literature, Theatre and
Popular Culture (1984), “is highly
different from the Folk culture and
Nationalist culture of the Filipinos.”
Folk Culture in
the Philippines
 Unlocking of difficulty

Folk • Way of living in a specific time

and portrays practices

Culture
• Survival

• Created through Colonial

Nationalist Resistance of a people on a given
place and time.
Culture • Period of Hispanization.
 Aetas pronounced as “eye-tas”
❖ Known as the earliest
migrants or inhabitants of the
Philippines.
❖ Majority of their population
managed to keep their
cultural practices and
traditions.
❖ face challenges such as
displacement,
marginalization, and poverty.
 Aetas are hunting and gathering
indigenous people.

The Aeta Chief

– Pamulaklakin Forest Trail Jungle Survival Skills at Pamulaklakin Forest Trail Subic
Subic
 HISTORICAL
BACKGROUND OF
POPULAR CULTURE IN
THE PHILIPPINES
There are three layers of cultural
influence in the country:
Spanish Period
American Period
Chinese Period
 Brief
History (1521-1896) 375 years
The year the Spanish colonizers
came with Ferdinand Magellan.

Miguel Lopez De Legazpi

The first Spanish governor
general.

1565
Spanish colonization in the
Philippines started.
 Brief
History ⮚ The Conquistadors rendered all system of writings inoperable.
⮚ The Spanish colonial strategy was to undermine the native oral tradition
⮚ Religion - The use of faith to substitute the existing tradition.

Doctrina Christiana Ladino

(1593) - bilingual natives
-first printed book - Published their own
-prayer book book with devotional
poetry
Poetic forms that emerged during the
Spanish colonial period include:

Pasyon-religious dramas performed during the Holy

Week.

Awit and Kurido-narrative poem that consists of 12

syllables per line and four lines per stanza.

Dalit -This is a religious poem in honor of the Blessed

Virgin Mary.
Notable Works during Spanish Period
May Bagyo Mat’ May Rilim (1605) 
•According to literary historian, Bienvenido Lumbera, is the first printed literary
work in Tagalog.

Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Christo (1704)

•eventually referred to as “Pasyon,” was written by Gaspar Aquino de Belen;

Florante at Laura
• Francisco “Balagtas” Baltazar; Florante at Laura written in sublime Tagalog, is
about tyranny in Albanya, but it is also perceived to be about tyranny in his
Filipino homeland.

Noli Me Tangere (1887) and El Filibusterismo (1891)

• Jose Rizal; works which created an impact on the national consciousness and love
for one’s country against the abusive government of the Spaniards;
Precreational Plays
Cenakulo – Dramatic perfomance of the Passion
and Death of Christ

Zarzuela- The father of drama, a musical comedy

or melodrama three acts which with men's
passion and emotions like love, hate, revenge,
cruelty, avarice or some political problem.

Salubong- The reunion of the risen Christ and

His mother.
FOLK SONGS
❖ Leron-leron Sinta (TAGALOG)
❖ Pamulinawen (ILOKO)
❖ Dandansoy(bisaya)
❖ Sarong Banggi (BICOL)
❖ Atin Cu Pung
Singsing(kapampangan)
 Why should we
study pop culture? 
Prominent Writers
of the Spanish Era
Jose Rizal
❖ Chose realistic Novel as his medium
❖ He used a two pseudonym: Laong Laan
( a person who is always ready) and
Dimasalang( Untouchable)
❖ famous for his works: El filibusterismo &
Noli me Tangere
MARCELO H. DEL PILAR

❖ Popularly known for his pen name of

Plaridel, Pupdoh, Piping Dilat and
Dolores Manapat
❖ He established the Diariong Tagalog in
1883.
❖ famous for his works: dasalan at tocsohan
and kaiingat kayo
ANTONIO LUNA
❖ He Joined the Propaganda
Movement and contributed His
Writings to LA SOLIDARIDAD.
❖ His pseudonym was Tagailog.
❖ Famous For His Works: Noche
Buena and Por Madrid.
EMILIO JACINTO
❖ He is called the Brains of the Katipunan.
❖ He used a pseudonym “Dimas Ilaw.”
❖ He edited Kalayaan (Freedom) a
Katipunan newspaper
❖ Famous For His Works: Kartilya Ng
Katipunan and Iwanag At Dilim.
 ANDRES BONIFACIO
• He is best known as the Father of the
Katipunan.
• He used a pseudonym “May Pag-
asa.”
• He led in establishing (KKK).
• Famous For His Works: Ang Dapat
Mabatid Ng Mga Tagalog And Pag-
ibig Sa Tinubuan Lupa
American
Period
 Brief
History The Filipino revolutionist won against the
Spaniards who colonized Philippines for
more than 300 years.

The Philippine flag was hoisted on June 12,

1898 as a symbol of independence. Gen.
Emilio Aguinaldo was elected the first
president of the Philippine Republic, which
was short – lived.

(1898-1946) 48 years
Americans colonized the country. And in
1901, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo surrendered to
the Americans.
During the American Period in the Philippines was spurred
by two significant developments in education and culture.

1. Introduction of free public

instruction for all children of
school age.
2. Use of English as medium of
instruction in all levels of
education in public schools.
Philippine Literature in English is divided
into three time frames:
THE PERIOD OF RE-
ORIENTATION
(1898-1910)

THE PERIOD OF IMITATION

(1910-1925)

THE PERIOD OF SELF-

DISCOVERY
(1925-1941)
The major novels of the period

How My Brother Leon Dead Stars By His Native Soil 

Brought Home a Wife Paz Marquez Benitez by Juan C. Laya
by Manuel Arguilla
Prominent
Writers of the
American Regime
LOPE K. SANTOS
• He is is called the Father of the
National Language Grammar.
• He was also called the “Apo” of the
Tagalog writers.
• Famous For His Works: Banaag At
Sikat
AMADO V. HERNANDEZ

❖ He is dubbed Makata ng mga

Manggagawa (Poet of the
Laborers)
❖ Famous For His Works: Isang
Dipang Langit At Ang Panday
Severino Reyes

❖ He is a Father of the Tagalog drama

and author of the immortal WALANG
SUGAT.
❖ He used the pen name ”Lola
Basyang.”
Paz Márquez-Benítez

❖ She was a Filipina short-story

writer, educator and editor.
❖ She wrote short stories critical
of American Imperialism.
❖ Famous For her Works: Dead
Stars (1925) and A Night in the
Hills (1925).
Hollywood films had a near-monopoly in
the Philippine market especially in the
absence of European movies due to
World War I.
The local intelligentsia noticed
that…
"Popular literature as a commodity
intended for a mass market was
seen to pose a threat to serious
artistic work, because the writers
accommodated his art to the
demands of the publishers and
editors who were more interested in
sales rather than aesthetics.”
Popular Culture
at Present
PHILIPPINE
MODERNITY AND
HEGEMONY
Cultural hegemony refers to
domination or rule maintained
through ideological or cultural
means. It is usually achieved
through social institutions, which
allow those in power to strongly
influence the values, norms, ideas,
expectations, worldview, and
behavior of the rest of society
(COLE, 2020)
Modernity
▪ It is the term we use to refer to a
mode of experiencing the world
as an environment of ceaseless
change.
▪ The complex process that brings
this change about is called
modernization.
Modernist impulses have flourished in our
society mainly via four important
channels:
Modernity has been impeded by three basic forces:
 “To be modern is to open ourselves to the possibilities
brought about by the unending flux of innovation and
obsolescence. It is to welcome change, and to be at home
in it, rather than to sneer at the new from the vantage point
of a romanticized past, but to be modern is also to grow in
freedom with time, to strive to reduce our vulnerability to
unsettling events and phenomena, and to discipline and
form ourselves into a confident, stable, and peaceful
nation.”
– Marshall Berman
ACTIVITY
TIME!
 Instruction: Read the article “Pinoy Pop Culture’s Big Influence” on https://
www.pressreader.com/philippines/manila-bulletin/20180610/282119227241506
 Instructions: Choose your own partner and summarize the article
by creating an INFOGRAPHIC (table with bullet points) on the
history of Philippine popular culture after the war (1950–2000).
Include graphics along with your textual answers. Cite your
references properly.

1950s 1970s 1990s

1 2 3 4 5 6

1960s 1980s 2000s

 Rubric:
Accuracy of content 15

Craftmanship 15

Originality 15

Citation 5

Total of 50 50
THANKS
!
Do you have any
questions?

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