famous filipinos — Read Editorials

Should Filipinos Win More American Awards?

And the award goes to… Not a Filipino! It is truly baffling to know that Filipinos often snag accomplishments at international film festivals yet movies, directors, writers and actors from our community rarely win at major award shows in the west. It’s been recorded that since 1953, the Philippines have submitted 32 films for consideration to the Academy Awards under the “Foreign Film” category. And while the entertainment industry is slowly shifting from it’s racist past and attempting to be more inclusive for minority groups, Filipinos for some reason are still undermined or given little to no recognition at all.

Is Mixed Filipino Better for TV?

Do Mixed-Filipinos have a better chance in Hollywood than pure-blooded Filipinos? The entertainment industry in America has a long racist past and honestly they still struggle to shake this off. This is proven by the fact that today’s executives often cast a Filipino only if they can pass as something else (more about this here!). From our crowned Miss Universes to the Filipino-American celebrities we know, a majority of them are actually either multiracial or ethnically ambiguous. Just take Bruno Mars, Hailee Steinfeld, Oliva Rodrigo and Jo Koy as testimonies. Mixed-Filipinos are most often given the chance to represent us before any others. And while we are proud of them, is this the kind of representation we are asking for? Or can we evolve more from here?

Can Filipinos make it in Hollywood?

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 it’s racist past, is finally being inclusive- but that’s not entirely true. Because what about us, Filipinos?

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