Can Filipinos make it in Hollywood?
WRITTEN BY ELLE LAVIN & FRANCESA JANA SANTIAGO
Hollywood has finally gotten out of its phase of representing Asian culture as just plot points or settings for action films because now, there’s a rise in more authentic Asian stories portrayed by actual Asian casts. When Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite'' had an Oscar sweep and Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” won 4 of its 11 nominations, they were big accomplishments for the Asian community- we were finally being paid attention to. With all these going on, one might seem to think that Hollywood, with all its racist past, is finally being inclusive- but is this actually true if us Filipinos aren't’ experiencing the same visibility? Or does Hollywood not think we’re asians too?
Filipinos have always played prominent roles both on camera like Ella Jay Basco in “Birds of Prey” and Brandon Perea in “Nope”, as well as behind the camera like director Matthew Libatique or producer Jeremiah Abraham. However, film and TV screens still rarely show any Filipino-centric stories in comparison to other Asian ethnicities. For the longest time, Filipino actors, especially mixed, were only ever casted as side characters or non-Filipino characters like Vanessa Hudgens in “High School Musical'' (More about this here!). Our community is also seen as a “niche group” that can only be marketed to an audience of the same people. By interchanging cultures and limiting a project’s potential, progress for authentic representation continues to fall back and in a predominantly white industry, people of color already have to work through a lot just to be seen or listened to.
Asian representation won’t be better until Hollywood prioritizes true authenticity. On the other hand, the recognition our people earn from playing other ethnicities or working as writers and crew is still an impressive and fully-deserved achievement for the entire community. Whether it’s award nominations or production work, whether they’re full or mixed Filipinos, these are things to be proud of. But our stories, whether fictionalized or not, are always worth telling which is why it’s equally important that we demand for it more and support what we’re already being given like independent FilAm movies such as Lingua Franca or Yellow Rose. At the end of the day, blockbusters are only possible because of the audiences. Filipinos have a diverse culture in history- the fact we have similarities to different cultures as well as differences unique to us, allow our stories to be familiar to other communities yet new at the same time.