Module 4
Module 4
In this module, you should be able to trace the history of Mexicanovelas, Japanese
Animation, Hallyu Culture, and Thai Advertisements in the Philippines. Moreover, you will trace
how these popular cultures affect the Filipino popular culture.
Motivation Questions
Do you see the influence of Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand in our country in terms of
popular trends? What are they? Do you consume them?
Lesson Summary
Based on our lesson in Module 1, popular culture came about because of urbanization
and industrialization. One of the things that resulted because of industrialization is the media.
Because of media, it is possible for the popular culture of other countries to reach other places.
This happened in the Philippines. One of the countries that has greatly influenced the popular
culture of the Philippines is Mexico.
Learning Outcomes
In this lesson, you are expected to:
1. Trace the history of Mexicanovelas in the Philippines;
2. Trace the influence of Mexicanovelas to Filipinos;
Motivation Questions
Are you familiar with Marimar? Have you watched this telenovela? How did you find this
telenovela?
Discussion
Please read the article entitled “Marimar” and other Mexican Telenovelas in the Philippines.
It will discuss the reasons why Mexicanovelas were popular in the 90s and also the similarities of
Pinoy TV dramas to Mexicanovelas. Hopefully, the article will shed a light on the popular
consumable themes in Philippine television.
This is often traced to the two countries’ shared history and culture. Both were colonized by Spain,
and both are affected today by the neo-colonial1 regime of the United States. This makes for a lot
of cultural similarities: widespread Roman Catholicism, Spanish names, dishes like adobo and
lechon. But the effects of colonialism go deeper. One of these deeper effects is economic status.
Spanish colonizers extracted resources from both countries, and the United States has continued
that legacy by exploiting Mexican and Pilipino workers for cheap labor. Poverty in both countries
is widespread, but until recently, depictions of poverty were not common on Pilipino television.
Meanwhile, Marimar was unafraid to show it. ”It’s different from our soap operas… She has the
same problems we do. It shows the discrimination against poor people,” one interviewee for the
New York Times said in 1996.2 Because of this, Marimar was able to gain a wide audience among
the lower and middle class of the Philippines.
Another deeper and more insidious effect of colonialism is the colonial mentality adapted by
colonized people, in which they feel inferior to the people who colonized them. One way this
manifests is through colorism and the sentiment that whiter means better. There is a large market
in the Philippines for skin lightening creams and soaps, for example. Marimar, with her light skin,
sandy brown hair, and hazel eyes “capture[d] the imagination of a typical colonial-minded
Filipino.”3
Marimar fulfilled a variety of colonial standards of beauty, but this alone doesn’t make sense—
why not just import an American show with an all-white cast? Wouldn’t the unrealistic standard
of beauty make Marimar less relatable? The answer may lie in the language. Spanish, once widely
spoken, has now been replaced by English. This means that American shows don’t need to be
dubbed, but Spanish shows do. Marimar was dubbed in the native national language of the
Philippines, Tagalog. So, unlike in American soaps where everyone spoke English, or local
teleseryes where often the poor who spoke Tagalog while the rich spoke the more “intellectual”
English, in Marimar, everyone spoke Tagalog. To hear the native language spoken by these
supposedly “superior” people—white people and rich people— had a profoundly positive effect on
the audience.
In the end, Marimar‘s success goes deeper than a superficial similarity of culture or language.
These things made the show accessible, but the less visible results of Spanish and US (neo)-
colonialism, like the economic realities and shared colonial mentality, made it relatable on a
deeper level. This isn’t to say that Spain and the US hold all the power in binding these two
countries together, though. If anything, the shared history has opened the doors for cultural
exchange and allowed for the creation of solidarity in new, non-traditional ways—like
how Marimar was able to create national pride through the positive portrayal of Tagalog.
Source: Transpacific Popular Culture Blog Space (2017). “Marimar” and Other Mexican
Telenovelas in the Philippines. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/ybdqnmje.
In the simplest explanation, Mexicanovela is a combination of the words Mexican and
telenovela. Obviously, these telenovelas are imported from Mexico. This craze was started by
RPN, a Philippine channel that was run by the government during the Martial Law Era, in 1996.
Since then, Mexicanovelas have become a dinner companion of Filipino families. One of the most
popular ones and the very first that was aired was Marimar. It starred Thalia. The actress visited
the Philippines and was welcomed by the whole country. After Marimar, many others came and
were almost all a hit.
Mexicanovelas were a hit in the Philippines in the late 1990s and early 2000s because of
many reasons. First, Mexico and the Philippines were both colonized by Spain. Both countries
share similar values and culture. In the article, it is mentioned that both countries have similar
economic status. Filipinos watching Mexicanovelas could relate to the poor characters, the
disheveled setting, and the longing of the maidens to be out of poverty. The show is unafraid to
show bits and pieces of how poor people lived. But then, the show still has the air of fantasy in it.
The whole plot revolves around exaggeration: using of violence against characters excessively
and cartoonishly, the poor character is actually a daughter of a rich person, and things exploded.
Another one is the colonialism mentality. Marimar is a poor girl, but she is beautiful and is
a mestiza. To the Filipino audience, everything that is of western quality is of high quality. So, they
consumed Mexicanovelas like there was no tomorrow. You can see that the influence of
Mexicanovelas then was not because of the telenovelas solely, but because of how Filipinos look
at themselves, too.
One element that really proved to be effective in Philippine TV is the language used in the
shows. Marimar was dubbed in Filipino, the common language of the masses. Because of that, it
gained a larger audience than other dramas of that time.
Mexicanovelas surely have a soft spot in Filipinos’ hearts. Only time will tell if the
telenovelas with Spanish looking characters will have a comeback in Philippine TV.
Learning Tasks/Activities
Answer the questions below.
1. What is the last reason mentioned in the article why Mexicanovelas were popular in the
Philippines? Explain in three or more sentences.
2. What is the influence of language in Philippine TV drama? Explain in three or more sentences.
3. Watch some clips of a Mexicanovela. What is your take on them? Do you think Mexicanovelas
can thrive in your generation? Why or why not? Explain in three or more sentences.