NO ! you have to be yourselve. No a McDo and Coca cola country. You had spanish and American influence, but with what where, the result is very original and sympatic. Keep it

Philippines is one of the most Westernized nations in Southeast Asia because of American influence that lasted for almost half century. One foreigner friend of mine once asked me in amusement why Filipinos are very much fanatic about celebrities. "Blame it to the Americans' Hollywood culture," I quipped.

Seriously, American pop culture has long been a part of our daily lives. We patronize America's products. We listen to their music. We eat their burgers and pancakes. And so on and so forth.
Do you think these influences have been beneficial to us? What do you think are the positive and negative influences of American pop culture?

Let's discuss the good and the bad here. Make your point.


how i wish this is true that the philippines is one of the most westernized nations in asia.

i wish it has more rolls roys and mercedez benz on its streets,(not pedicabs, not jeepneys)i wish our archipelago with its 7,102 islands are bridged similarly with that of San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge, or even the Chingma Bridge of hong kong,crisscrossing our islands, i wish our own police forces are equipped with their own GPS gadgets, i wish the common pinoy earns not a 2 USD a day,i wish that the rural housewives donot use bar soaps in big basins to wash clothes but rather soap detergents in each washing machines, i wish every household has its own microwave and dishwashers and each family owns a car, and i wish it is industrialized as japan to say that we are westernized.

but since the author suggest the good and the bad points i may feel free to post

pinoy's strongest point in this topic is his american or western dream, he is not westernized in reality, it is his dream of the west,the pinoy forgot his history, his farm, his inventions and was lured to go away for the the money.


i should say the average pinoy has learned to surrender in terms of all what i mentioned and found his american dream a reality in malls, in burgers, in pop sodas and celebrities..


<br><br>Post edited by: linsi, at: 2007/05/29 02:20

how i wish this is true that the philippines is one of the most westernized nations in asia.

i wish it has more rolls roys and mercedez benz on its streets,(not pedicabs, not jeepneys)i wish our archipelago with its 7,102 islands are bridged similarly with that of San Francisco's Golden Gate bridge, or even the Chingma Bridge of hong kong,crisscrossing our islands, i wish our own police forces are equipped with their own GPS gadgets, i wish the common pinoy earns not a 2 USD a day,i wish that the rural housewives donot use bar soaps in big basins to wash clothes but rather soap detergents in each washing machines, i wish every household has its own microwave and dishwashers and each family owns a car, and i wish it is industrialized as japan to say that we are westernized.

I can only point out one reason why we don't have the above that you mentioned linsi. Simply because Philippines is a third world country. Filipinos can't afford to own GPS gadgets because they don't have the money to buy that. That applies to the scenarios you shared.

The word 'westernized' that I used in this topic implies a different context. It means the our gradual conversion to the customs of Western civilization as a result of our long exposure to American cultural influence.

I have nothing to put more, but there is a pirat on our website that I want to chase him from our front page

I can only point out one reason why we don't have the above that you mentioned linsi. Simply because Philippines is a third world country. Filipinos can't afford to own GPS gadgets because they don't have the money to buy that. That applies to the scenarios you shared.

The word 'westernized' that I used in this topic implies a different context. It means the our gradual conversion to the customs of Western civilization as a result of our long exposure to American cultural influence.


i think we agree on that,
that the influence of western civilization is on the pinoy's dream of the west. that is the reason he prefers american food, clothings, celebrities, tv shows and films as i said.

but american way isn't so, at the age of 18, your kid is on his own, with pinoys
that isn't the case, we have extended families, living in one roof with the parents, children, grand children and in-laws share one abode (the basic standard)that is only one of the many examples of our differences from the west.

but the influence? yes it is the dream of an average pinoy even in the rural areas to be like the west.

am most interested about western influence in the philippines, at first i thought it was..

but i realized it is different-

from religion, the americans state their roman catholic faith differently-

working conditions- america works differently

constitution- american constitution is quite different

their meals? they usually take bread, rather than rice

the philippines i think is more influence in it's own way of attitude by Spain, like some senorita attitude, &quot;sabong&quot;
(rooster derby?) roman catholicism, manyana habits, siestas, meriendas, dancing, singing ) etc..

more influenced by the chinese--
the food-we always have pansit- thread noodle, &quot;a-te&quot; for &quot;ache&quot; chinese word addressed on older sisters,(ditche and so on), formerly black suits on funerals, the street foods-like taho,(bean curd) fish balls, &quot;pansit canton&quot; tea, puto(steam rice cake), hopia, (red bean cake) etc..

more influenced by the moslems (negative attitude in southern philippines)
- these are some of the negative attitudes i donot wish to post.

but when a pinoy enters the mall he becomes his american dream- he would prefer american films, pop sodas, pop corns, burgers, skatings, etc.. nothing bad about this- outside the malls and theatres, he begin to blend into some other cultures again.



hope others would comment- i am open to disagreements


<br><br>Post edited by: linsi, at: 2007/05/31 13:58

This is a good point pokkha!

I couldn't agree more on the fact that Filipinos are very much influenced by the Americans--everything that comes from America is just so extra special to us! It's hilarious at some point--most people would have this mindset (especially back in the late 80's to the early 90's)that everything stateside is better and superior! LOL! And now, everything is made in China pretty much=P
FOODWISE:
Yes I love American food--Jollibee is kind of a reflection of the pseudo Filipino-American burger joint. (Jollibee remains to be number1 folks!)So is Go nuts Donuts to Krispy Kreme. The list goes on! Who would know that filipinos would open Starbucks-ish cafes with names like San Francisco Coffee and Figaro?!!? (non Filipino sounding eh!)
who would know Yellow Cab, a purely Filipino owned pizza place would kick Pizza Hut off its number 1 pizza delivery throne?

Do you think Filipinos are copy cats? (for lack of a better word) Is this brought upon by a lack of identity? (Historically--Spanish, American and japanese Occupation)