PHILIPPINE LITERATURE DURING
THE AMERICAN PERIOD
(http://www.angelfire.com/la2/litera1/us.html)
U. S. Colonialism
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1898 - 1945
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Philippine
literature during the American rule was influenced by two factors, first of
which is, education. With the Americans providing free education, many were
given the chance to study and English was used as the language of
instruction. Unlike the Spanish, the foreigners were willing to teach their
language to the Filipinos. Free education served as the stepping stone for
others to improve their social status.
Early literary works in English showed styles of which is American. It can also be seen that writers who just started learning English cannot fully showcase their talent because of the lack of mastery of the language.
The
downfall of the Spanish colonialism freed the printing industry from
religious censorship. With the printing industry in the hands of patriotic
investors, the printing press was used to block the American culture from
entering the Philippine lifestyle. Newspapers in our different dialects
flourished all over the archipelago. With some newspapers having a space for
literary pieces, writers were given the chance to show and prove the true
talent of the Filipinos. Some of these newspapers were Muling Pagsilang
(1903, Tagalog), Ang Kaluwasan (1902, Cebuano), Makinaugalingon (1913,
Ilonggo), and Nueva Era (1908, Ilokano). The best known magazines that
capitalized on short stories and poems were Liwayway (1922, Tagalog), Bisaya
(1930, Cebuano), Hiligaynon (1934, Ilonggo), and Bannawag (1934, Ilokano).
Writers
during the American Period drew ideas from the Propaganda Movement and the
Revolutionary Movement to encourage the Filipinos to continue to fight
against the U.S. Colonialism. The demand for independence was supported by a
campaign to make the Americans aware of the Filipino culture. Some writers
who use the Spanish language began to shift to the American language for the
fact that a larger population can now comprehend the said language. It is a
fact that Filipinos during the Spanish period were not given the chance to
learn the language, resulting in a very small population of people capable of
understanding the literary works.
The
literary genres that flourished during the American Period were poetry,
sarswela, short story, and the novel. Poetry was written in the three
languages - Filipino, Spanish, English, and in the different dialects. Some
of the known poets during the American period were Maximo Kalaw, Carlos P.
Romulo, Maria Agoncillo, Paz Marquez Benitez, Salvador P. Lopez, Jose Garcia
Villa, Carlos Bulosan, and many others. There were three collection of poems
printed namely Filipino Poetry edited by Rodolfo Dato, The English German
Anthology of Poets edited by Pablo Laslo, and a pre-war collection by Carlos
Bulosan. The balagtasan, named after Francisco F. Balagtas, is a debate in
verse, a poetical joust done almost spontaneously between protagonists who debate
over the pros and the cons of a certain issue. The first ever balagtasan was
held in March 1924 at the Insituto de Mujeres, with Corazon de Jesus and
Florentino Collantes as rivals. Jose Corazon de Jesus, known also as Huseng
Batute, became the first ever king of the Balagtasan.
Short
stories in English of early Filipino fictionists are marked with American
style. This all changed with the founding of the U. P. Writers Club in 1926
whose aim was to enhance and propagate the "language of Shakespeare."
With the publication of Paz Marquez Benitez' "Dead Stars," it was
made the landmark of the maturity of the Filipino writer in English. Many
writers followed Benitez like Icasiano Calalang, Arturo Rotor, A. E.
Litiatco, Paz Latorena, and Manuel Arguilla started publishing stories
manifesting skills in the use of the foreign language and a keen Filipino
sensibility.
The
combination of the foreign language and the culture of a Filipino enabled
fictionists to produce great literary works. The public can now relate to the
story because the public also experiences what the story has to say and they
can now understand the language being used by the writer. Works like
"His Native Soil" by Juan C. Laya, "How My Brother Leon
Brought Home a Wife" by Manuel Arguilla, and many others depicted the
Filipino life in English. The other novelists of this period are Jose Garcia
Villa, Francisco Arellana, Fernando Maria Guerrero, Amador Daguio, and Sinai
Hamada.
With the
founding of the Philippine Writers League in 1936, Filipino writers began
discussing the value of literature in the society they live in. This move was
led by Salvador P. Lopez whose works centered on proletarian literature.
It was during the early American period that the sarswela gained popularity. Most of the sarwelas if not all are directed against the American imperialists. The works of Severino Reyes ("Walang Sugat") and Patricio Mariano ("Anak ng Dagat") are equally remarkable sarwelas during the period. Here are the other noted sarswelistas: Aurelio Tolentino, Juan Abad, Juan Matapang Cruz, and Juan Crisostomo Sotto.
Among
the Ilokano writers, noted novelists were Leon Pichay, Hermogenes Belen, and
Mena Pecson Crisologo whose Mining wenno Ayat ti Kararwa is considered to be
the Ilokano version of Noli Me Tangere. Magdalena Jalandoni and Ramon Muzones
are the most prominent writers in the Visayas region. Their works depicted
love, farm life, and the social life the region is having.
The latter stages of the American period continued to produce great poets like Julian Cruz Blamaceda, Florentino Collantes, Pedro Gatmaitan, Jose Corazon de Jesus, Lope K. Santos, Alejandro Abadilla, Teodoro Agoncillo, and Inigo Ed. Regalado. They used a modern style of poetry that is made up of free verse. Liwayway Arceo and Genoveva Edroza Matute are two fictionist writers that became popular during the American rule. Their works "Uhaw ang Tigang na Lupa" and "Ako'y Isang Tinig" respectively are used as models for fine writing. Both writers use a style of storytelling that uses language through poignant rendition. Teodoro Agoncillo's "25 Pinakamahusay na Maikling Kuwento" included the foremost writers of fiction before World War II.  |
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PHILIPPINE MUSIC DURING THE AMERICAN
COLONIZATION
Musical Characteristics:
When the Americans came,
they brought blues, folk, R&B, and rock and roll. They also made music a
part of the educational curriculum. This developed the skills of Filipinos in
music and so they used this skill to imitate Western music to create local
versions of Western music. Eventually, the Philippines catered its own talents
like Lea Salonga at a much later date. What was popular during this time though
were the juke boxes, AM radio, American dance hall, vaudeville, jazz, the
Broadway musical, and vinyl records where they listened to American rock bands.
Musical Forms:
Songs became a hybrid of
other forms of music that were popular then, such as kundiman.
Nevertheless, the influence of the Americans in Filipino music proved to be
evident during the 1960’s (during the popularity of the Beatles) and 1970’s
(“disco fever”).
The less “formalized and
institutionalized” forms of music were heard and made popular in concert halls
called kabaret, vaudeville shows showcasing comic, raucous, and even lewd
sketches accompanied by jazz music, and even sometimes, traditional grass-root
kundiman.
PHILIPPINE MEDIA DURING
THE AMERICAN COLONIZATION
Highs
of the media's history in the islands include the Philippines' Constitution
guaranteeing freedom of the press and the freedom of the press access to
official documents. In contrast to these lofty ideals, the Philippines press
from the time of its inception has faced American influence, confiscation of
assets for those papers not among the ownership of a former leader, and
mistrust of reporters due to shoddy reporting.
Newspapers
were being published on board American ships as they first entered Manila Bay
in 1898. The Bounding Billow was published on board Dewey's flag-ship,
and other on-ship U.S. papers included the American Soldier, Freedom and
the American, according to the Philippine Journalism Review. These
early papers followed U.S. attempts to "civilize" the Filipinos. American
journalists in the Philippines went so far as to characterize the natives as
"little brown soldiers who enjoyed parading before the patient
Americans," and as "a group of warlike tribes who will devour each
other when American troops leave."
The
Americans wasted no time in establishing a press system in the Philippines
modeled on that of the one in place in the United States. The Manila Times published
its first issue in October 1898, making it the first English-language newspaper
in the islands. Newspapers published in the Philippines were under strong
American influence and went so far as to champion the annexation of the islands
by the United States. Among the newspapers taking this stance were La
Democracia and Consolidacion Nacional. Among the papers holding out
for independence were El Renacimiento, Muling Pagsilang, El Debate, La
Opinion and Los Obreros.
Another
influential newspaper was the Bulletin, which originally was established
by H.G. Harris and Carson Taylor in 1900 as a shipping journal and to encourage
shipping and commerce in the islands. The Bulletin used as its primary
sources the news agencies Associated Press, United Press International and the
Chicago Tribune Service. For its first three years the Bulletin was
published free of charge; it became a full-fledged paper in 1912.
In
1917, Manuel Quezon purchased the Manila Times and held it for four
years. Ownership changed hands a few times after that until the Times joined
the press holdings of Alejandro Roces Sr. Among Roces' other newspapers at the
time were Taliba, the Tribune and La Vanguardia.
Cable News, founded
by Israel Putnam, was another renowned daily during the early part of the
twentieth century. Later the paper joined with the American, and in 1920
the combined newspaper was purchased by Quezon.
Although
founded on the principle of freedom of expression, newspapers in the
Philippines were subjected to strict censorship by American military
authorities, and later by American civilian administrators, according to the
Philippine Journalism Review. Under Gen. Arthur McArthur, the military worked
to keep propaganda against American forces out of the news as well as prevent
communication between those opposing America's presence in the islands. Stories
detailing resistance by Filipinos to American rule were suppressed, as well as
stories that would help Filipinos learn what was happening beyond the
Philippines' borders. Journalists were deported or imprisoned for exercising
freedom of the press, and papers such as La Justicia, and the Cebuano
newspaper El Nueva Dia, were suspended many times for championing
nationalistic views.
Historians
say El Renacimiento was the only true independent newspaper during these
dark days, and its light was later extinguished by a libel case brought against
the paper by an American official.
English-language
newspapers dominated the press in the early part of the century until then
Senate President Manuel Quezon established the Philippines Herald to
represent the Filipino viewpoint in the fight for independence. In August 1920,
disgruntled former Manila Times journalists left their jobs and formed
the backbone of the Herald. Early staff members included Narciso Ramos,
Antonio Escoda, Bernardo Garcia and Jose P. Bautista— names that would become
among the most revered in the history of the Philippines' press.
The
1920s also saw the birth of English-language women's magazines, which were
primarily the products of women's clubs. Women's Outlook was published
10 times a year and was the official publication of the Women's Club of Manila,
according to the Philippine Journalism Review. Another prominent
publication was Woman's World, the publication of the Philippine
Association of University Women. In 1935 Woman's World joined Woman's
Home Journal to become Woman's Home Journal World, and the combined
magazine featured sections on food, fashion, beauty and gossip.
In
April 1925, Alejandro Roces, who would also own the Manila Times and
other papers, established the Tribune. Under the editorial leadership of
Mauro Mendez, the Tribune tackled topics such as the alleged misuse of
government funds; a plan to potentially cut the jobs of about 2,000 low-income
government employees in order to save money; the merits of English being the
language of instruction in schools; and a proposal to hand members of the House
of Parliament a large lump sum for travel allowances, postage, stationery and
clerical help with no accounting for how the money was spent. Mendez later
transferred to the Herald and his journalistic attacks continued, this
time venturing into topics such as peasant unrest in the 1930s, women's
suffrage and the threat of Communism.
After
the Philippines were granted independence, newspapers threw off their shackles
and proceeded to write about wrongdoing in high places. Their motives may have
been pure, but they tended to use unsubstantiated or one-source stories. As
time went on, elite families took over newspaper ownership in Manila.
In
1972 then-President Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law. He confiscated the
assets of those newspapers not in his own coalition. Between 1972 and 1986,
newspapers were under the rule of Marcos' friends, family members or others
close to him. The press remained under these unfriendly conditions for 14
years.
The
assassination of presidential hopeful Benigno ("Ninoy") Aquino Jr. in
August 1983 united Filipinos, and eventually helped spur a return to a freer,
more independent press. His growing unpopularity led Marcos to flee the country
in 1986. After his departure the Commission on Good Government confiscated
newspapers and their assets from Marcos' allies. The press rejoiced as it
regained control; some newspapers were even returned to the families that had
owned and operated them prior to Marcos' takeover.
By
the early 1990s, there were about 30 daily papers of all sizes, types and
political perspectives. News was offered by about a dozen English-language
broadsheets, while around 14 tabloids—primarily in Tagalog and Cebuano—featured
sensationalism as a staple. Papers were diverse, and four were published in
Chinese.
At
the turn of the twenty-first century, national newspapers numbered eight from a
high of 22 in 1986, according to the World Press Review. Slightly more
than 400 community newspapers, most weeklies or monthlies in English are found
amid the nation's 7,100 islands. National dailies have circulations of between
10,000 and 400,000 while their provincial cousins have circulations between 500
and 45,000.
Grouped
by circulation, there are about a dozen newspapers with a circulation between
100,000 and 300,000; about a dozen with a circulation between 50,000 and
100,000; three with circulation of between 25,000 and 50,000; one with
circulation of between 10,000 and 25,000, and two with circulations below
10,000.
Publications
are printed in a variety of languages. In English the three top are the Manila
Bulletin (circulation of around 320,000), Philippines Star (222,900)
and Philippines Inquirer (148,800). In Filipino they are People's
Tonight (320,900), Pilipino Ngayaon (272,000) and Taliba (226,800).
In Taglish, the top three are People's Journal (372,500), Headline
Manila (105,100) and News Today (75,000). The top three Chinese
papers are the World News (36,000), United Daily News (32,000)
and China Times (30,000).
Highs
of the media's history in the islands include the Philippines' Constitution
guaranteeing freedom of the press and the freedom of the press access to
official documents. In contrast to these lofty ideals, the Philippines press
from the time of its inception has faced American influence, confiscation of
assets for those papers not among the ownership of a former leader, and
mistrust of reporters due to shoddy reporting.
Newspapers
were being published on board American ships as they first entered Manila Bay
in 1898. The Bounding Billow was published on board Dewey's flag-ship,
and other on-ship U.S. papers included the American Soldier, Freedom and
the American, according to the Philippine Journalism Review. These
early papers followed U.S. attempts to "civilize" the Filipinos.
American journalists in the Philippines went so far as to characterize the
natives as "little brown soldiers who enjoyed parading before the patient
Americans," and as "a group of warlike tribes who will devour each
other when American troops leave."
The
Americans wasted no time in establishing a press system in the Philippines
modeled on that of the one in place in the United States. The Manila Times published
its first issue in October 1898, making it the first English-language newspaper
in the islands. Newspapers published in the Philippines were under strong
American influence and went so far as to champion the annexation of the islands
by the United States. Among the newspapers taking this stance were La
Democracia and Consolidacion Nacional. Among the papers holding out
for independence were El Renacimiento, Muling Pagsilang, El Debate, La
Opinion and Los Obreros.
Another
influential newspaper was the Bulletin, which originally was established
by H.G. Harris and Carson Taylor in 1900 as a shipping journal and to encourage
shipping and commerce in the islands. The Bulletin used as its primary
sources the news agencies Associated Press, United Press International and the
Chicago Tribune Service. For its first three years the Bulletin was
published free of charge; it became a full-fledged paper in 1912.
In
1917, Manuel Quezon purchased the Manila Times and held it for four
years. Ownership changed hands a few times after that until the Times joined
the press holdings of Alejandro Roces Sr. Among Roces' other newspapers at the
time were Taliba, the Tribune and La Vanguardia.
Cable News, founded
by Israel Putnam, was another renowned daily during the early part of the
twentieth century. Later the paper joined with the American, and in 1920
the combined newspaper was purchased by Quezon.
Although
founded on the principle of freedom of expression, newspapers in the
Philippines were subjected to strict censorship by American military authorities,
and later by American civilian administrators, according to the Philippine
Journalism Review. Under Gen. Arthur McArthur, the military worked to keep
propaganda against American forces out of the news as well as prevent
communication between those opposing America's presence in the islands. Stories
detailing resistance by Filipinos to American rule were suppressed, as well as
stories that would help Filipinos learn what was happening beyond the
Philippines' borders. Journalists were deported or imprisoned for exercising
freedom of the press, and papers such as La Justicia, and the Cebuano
newspaper El Nueva Dia, were suspended many times for championing
nationalistic views.
Historians
say El Renacimiento was the only true independent newspaper during these
dark days, and its light was later extinguished by a libel case brought against
the paper by an American official.
English-language
newspapers dominated the press in the early part of the century until then
Senate President Manuel Quezon established the Philippines Herald to
represent the Filipino viewpoint in the fight for independence. In August 1920,
disgruntled former Manila Times journalists left their jobs and formed
the backbone of the Herald. Early staff members included Narciso Ramos,
Antonio Escoda, Bernardo Garcia and Jose P. Bautista— names that would become
among the most revered in the history of the Philippines' press.
The
1920s also saw the birth of English-language women's magazines, which were
primarily the products of women's clubs. Women's Outlook was published
10 times a year and was the official publication of the Women's Club of Manila,
according to the Philippine Journalism Review. Another prominent
publication was Woman's World, the publication of the Philippine
Association of University Women. In 1935 Woman's World joined Woman's
Home Journal to become Woman's Home Journal World, and the combined
magazine featured sections on food, fashion, beauty and gossip.
In
April 1925, Alejandro Roces, who would also own the Manila Times and
other papers, established the Tribune. Under the editorial leadership of
Mauro Mendez, the Tribune tackled topics such as the alleged misuse of
government funds; a plan to potentially cut the jobs of about 2,000 low-income
government employees in order to save money; the merits of English being the
language of instruction in schools; and a proposal to hand members of the House
of Parliament a large lump sum for travel allowances, postage, stationery and clerical
help with no accounting for how the money was spent. Mendez later transferred
to the Herald and his journalistic attacks continued, this time
venturing into topics such as peasant unrest in the 1930s, women's suffrage and
the threat of Communism.
After
the Philippines were granted independence, newspapers threw off their shackles
and proceeded to write about wrongdoing in high places. Their motives may have
been pure, but they tended to use unsubstantiated or one-source stories. As
time went on, elite families took over newspaper ownership in Manila.
In
1972 then-President Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law. He confiscated the
assets of those newspapers not in his own coalition. Between 1972 and 1986,
newspapers were under the rule of Marcos' friends, family members or others
close to him. The press remained under these unfriendly conditions for 14
years.
The
assassination of presidential hopeful Benigno ("Ninoy") Aquino Jr. in
August 1983 united Filipinos, and eventually helped spur a return to a freer,
more independent press. His growing unpopularity led Marcos to flee the country
in 1986. After his departure the Commission on Good Government confiscated
newspapers and their assets from Marcos' allies. The press rejoiced as it
regained control; some newspapers were even returned to the families that had
owned and operated them prior to Marcos' takeover.
By
the early 1990s, there were about 30 daily papers of all sizes, types and
political perspectives. News was offered by about a dozen English-language
broadsheets, while around 14 tabloids—primarily in Tagalog and Cebuano—featured
sensationalism as a staple. Papers were diverse, and four were published in
Chinese.
At
the turn of the twenty-first century, national newspapers numbered eight from a
high of 22 in 1986, according to the World Press Review. Slightly more
than 400 community newspapers, most weeklies or monthlies in English are found
amid the nation's 7,100 islands. National dailies have circulations of between
10,000 and 400,000 while their provincial cousins have circulations between 500
and 45,000.
Grouped
by circulation, there are about a dozen newspapers with a circulation between
100,000 and 300,000; about a dozen with a circulation between 50,000 and
100,000; three with circulation of between 25,000 and 50,000; one with
circulation of between 10,000 and 25,000, and two with circulations below
10,000.
Publications
are printed in a variety of languages. In English the three top are the Manila
Bulletin (circulation of around 320,000), Philippines Star (222,900)
and Philippines Inquirer (148,800). In Filipino they are People's
Tonight (320,900), Pilipino Ngayaon (272,000) and Taliba (226,800).
In Taglish, the top three are People's Journal (372,500), Headline
Manila (105,100) and News Today (75,000). The top three Chinese
papers are the World News (36,000), United Daily News (32,000)
and China Times (30,000).
Consequences of the American colonial rule
During the Spanish
period the Spaniards had given enormous land properties to the Catholic
church. One of the first things the Americans did was to take care for the
redistribution of these land properties. To do so they first had to pay
an amount of US $7.2 million to the Vatican in 1904. The small farmers or
tenants didn't get any land however. The land became property of some large landowners.
Most of the small farmers couldn't pay the asked
price or couldn't prove that they were the former owners of the land.
The economic development
during the 'American period' was rather typical colonial. The Philippine
economy was strongly related to and depending on the United States. The
Philippine economy was focused on mining and exporting crops. Industrial
growth didn't take place.
Quezon, the first Philippine president
The Philippines was
controlled by the Americans from
1900-1942. In 1934 an
act was established, which made
it possible that the
Philippines could have a
"Commonwealth of
the Philippines".
The first president of
this Commonwealth was Manuel Quezon. The first president was
given certain power
for some internal
affairs.
|
Consequences of the American colonial rule
During the Spanish
period the Spaniards had given enormous land properties to the Catholic
church. One of the first things the Americans did was to take care for the
redistribution of these land properties. To do so they first had to pay
an amount of US $7.2 million to the Vatican in 1904. The small farmers or
tenants didn't get any land however. The land became property of some large landowners.
Most of the small farmers couldn't pay the asked
price or couldn't prove that they were the former owners of the land.
The economic development
during the 'American period' was rather typical colonial. The Philippine
economy was strongly related to and depending on the United States. The
Philippine economy was focused on mining and exporting crops. Industrial
growth didn't take place.
Quezon, the first Philippine president
The Philippines was
controlled by the Americans from
1900-1942. In 1934 an
act was established, which made
it possible that the
Philippines could have a
"Commonwealth of
the Philippines".
The first president of
this Commonwealth was Manuel Quezon. The first president was
given certain power
for some internal
affairs.
|
