Term Paper on "Philippines I Was Born in an American"

Term Paper 4 pages (1215 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Philippines

I was born in an American military base on the Philippines in 1959.

In many ways, Philippine culture in 1959 was a synthesis of American and Philippine influences.

Interestingly, my being an American born in the Philippines reflects cultural synthesis.

Sub-point One: Philippine culture was largely influenced by the United States, since it was occupied by the Americans for several decades before independence.

In 1959, the President of the Philippines was Carlos P. Garcia, who was elected two years earlier.

Many of the popular songs, television shows, and films that came out in 1959 in the Philippines were influenced by American popular culture or came directly from the United States.

Sub-point Two: However, the indigenous Philippine people strongly struggled to retain and assert their national, ethnic and cultural identities in 1959.

Philippine literature and film became an expression of nationalism and cultural pride.

In 1959, the national language of the Philippines was renamed Pilipine by the Department of Education, in accordance with growing nationalistic and anti-American sentiment.

3. Many American military bases, like the one on which I was born, became dismantled in 1959.

C. Sub-point Three: Tension between the two cultures was alleviated through a synthesis of many political, cultural, religious, and linguistic elements.

1. Much Philippine literature, film, and music during 1959 demonstrated a synthesis of indigenous and American or European cultural elements.

2. In June of 1959, the Liberal and Progressive political parties merged, leading to the eventual election of a president who was more sympathetic to American interests than Garcia.

III. Conclusion

Because the Philippines had been occupied by the Spanish and subsequently the United States, Philippine culture is remarkably synergistic, blending elements of indigenous culture with American influences.

Central Idea: I am in a unique position to appreciate the mixing of these two cultures, since I am a Caucasian-American who was born in the Philippines.

I was one of many children born to an American father who was stationed abroad in the American military. My earliest memories are of the tropical heat of the Philippines, an archipelago nation in Southeast Asia. A culturally and ethnically diverse country, the Philippines had a wealth of different languages and ethnicities before any European powers invaded and occupied it. After the Spanish-American War at the turn of the century, the United States helped the Philippines eventually obtain independence, but not before becoming another occupying power. As a result of cultural contact with the United States, the politics and culture of the Philippines after World War Two became even more diverse than it was before. American popular culture seeped into Philippine culture, and many American television shows and pop songs made their way onto Philippine airwaves. Philippine films became so influenced by American cinema that in 1959, the American movie industry began to make their own films in the Philippines. Not all of the contact between the United States and the Philippines was peaceful, however. Increasingly discontented with the presence of American military bases in their country, the Philippine government changed their military assistance pact with the United States and dismantled several American bases. Moreover, much Philippine arts and literature began to protest imperialism. In spite of these tensions, however, Philippine culture in 1959 demonstrated a constructive synthesis of indigenous and American elements and I was lucky enough to be born on the cusp of these two cultures.

Philippine culture was largely influenced by the United States, since it was occupied by the Americans for several decades before independence. One of the main ways that the United States influenced the political development of the Philippines was through the creation of the Republic of the Philippines. The… READ MORE

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