The Debut

Have you ever been embarrassed about your culture? In the movie The Debut, Ben, the main character, struggles to accept his Filipino culture. Since most of Ben's friends are white, he doesn't want them around his family because he is afraid of being made fun of if they knew how Filipino's behaved. Ben also experienced another conflict when his father was not accepting of his passion for art because he wanted Ben to become a doctor. His father forces Ben into a career path that he wants nothing to do with. During the middle of the film Ben's parents throw his sister a party at a hall with friends and family. The party reminded me of a “Quinceanera,” a Mexican traditional party when a young lady turns 15 years old. Ben's friends arrive to the party to pick him up but end up staying for a while. Ben and his friends watch the sister's dance and seem amazed by the performance and traditions that they have during the party. While the dance is taking place the audience can see that Ben is also amazed by the dance and had no idea it was a traditional dance. Later, Ben and his friends end up leaving the birthday party to go to another party. While at the party Ben and his friends are playing a game with two girls and one girl offends him by asking if he eats dogs.  Ben remains quiet with a frustrated look on his face. I think Ben had gotten mad because he didn't want anything to do with his culture due to some negative remarks that people say. He had believed he was like his friends and not seen as a Filipino.  After being hurt by the remarks, Ben and his friends leave to go back to his sister's party. After returning, Ben's whole perspective on his culture and father changes. Ben ends up fighting with his cousin he was to be close to. During the fight his cousin confronts him about been afraid of his race and hanging out with white people only. After the fight Ben overhears an argument going on between his dad and grandfather. His grandfather is telling his father that singing wasn't a career and it doesn't put food on the table. That's why Ben's father doesn't believe drawing is a career choice and is pushing him to be a doctor.  Towards the end of the film Ben's friends tell him his culture is cool and want to hang out with his cousins more often.  Ben stands up to his father and tells him about going to a school where he will be studying art and not becoming a doctor. He shows his father his portfolio on his drawings of his family. Ben's father accepts his decision and tells him he will talk to his mother about art school. The Debut is about Ben accepting his culture and not been embarrassed of the traditions that Filipino’s have or a certain way that they act.  Also, it is about Ben perusing a passion that he loved and not allowing his father to take that away from him.

Don't Just Pick One Side

Racial identity is a serious matter because a lot of people have trouble identifying with their own race. It’s difficult for people to racially identify due to the confusion stereotypes have caused within themselves. Racial Identity means a person who is having difficulties identifying their race when they are from two different races, someone might lead to one race then to both races. Others are embarrassed of their race because of the culture and/or beliefs. There are also biracial individuals who have a hard time expressing their race because they are not sure with which to identify without being criticized on their decision. For instance, coming from two races you might end up saying your white because been Mexican might be embarrassing because you don’t want to be called an illegal or a beaner. The video I chose to support this claim is a short film on racial identity. The main character is a biracial male who is White/Mexican and is having trouble identifying with either of his races. During the film, a Mexican guy tells him to eat American food because Mexican food isn’t a good fit for a white guy. The stereotypical jokes about both of his races have made it a struggle for him to choose which race he is most comfortable identifying with. Through the film, it is evident that stereotypes offend and judge people based on the color of their skin. Some stereotypes include the belief that Mexicans are all Illegal, blacks are criminals, and Asians are smart. I believe that people shouldn’t let what other people say worry them. You are your own person and should let everyone around you know what races you come from and express them equally and not just one race. For instance, Phillip should still let people know his Mexican and learn more about the culture or learn the language.  People should not act upon those stereotypes and treat people differently because their actions can be offensive. Also, someone can be proud of his or her race but someone might bring them down, causing them to be hesitant about expressing their race. In my opinion, biracial individuals should express both races and should not be ashamed of who you are. People might be interested in your culture and want to learn more about the beliefs or traditions you may have. 

Lay Back Friday's

       Friday class days have been the most impacting to my education so far. During Friday classes, we usually either have lab or a class brunch retreat. This makes class fun and entertaining because they are structured in a way where we can be relaxed but learning at the same time. Although Monday and Wednesday classes are also fun, Friday’s classes are different because they are not structured as a traditional lecture day. Instead, we learn about our classmates by coming together using different activities. On some occasions, we watch movies or we have a potluck and we all gather together and eat. For instance, we watched The Debut, a film about the Filipino culture. The main character, Ben, was embarrassed of his race. The film explained the different aspects of the Filipino culture including their dances and parent’s expectations of their children. For instance Ben had a passion for art and wanted to pursue his dream and go to a performing art’s college, but his father wanted him to be a doctor because art wasn’t a career. Ben then realizes that his father’s dream was to be a singer but his dream wasn’t continue because he had to provide for his family and his father also told him singing wasn’t a real career either. Ben then realized he doesn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps and leave his dream’s behind so he tell his father his going to pursue his career in Art and not become a doctor. The film showed us the Filipino culture and also to never give up on your dream career. The film is educational and you’re able to learn about the Filipino culture in another way that isn’t through a textbook. I like watching the movies in class because it is easier for me to remember the information than from reading about the culture from a textbook. So far, my favorite activity was when the whole class stood in a circle and threw the ball around to learn about each others career goals and achievements.  It’s important to have these Friday brunch retreats because once I know everyone I will feel comfortable and won’t be so shy around my classmates. If we didn’t have these brunch retreats it would have been harder for me to get to know my classmates for the fact that I am a shy person. I chose a picture of food because when i think of a lot of food it makes me think about our brunch retreats. We all bring different types of food to share with each other but we try to bring some Filipino food also since were learning about the culture. Once you know your classmates you are apart of Kapwa (togetherness) so you never feel uncomfortable once you walk into the classroom. Another good thing about getting to know your classmates is that they are happy to help when it comes to homework or any questions you may have when your professor isn’t available at the time.