Module 1: Introduction to

Philippine Popular Culture

Motivation Question
What is pop culture? What are examples of pop culture? What are the “in” things right
now?
Figure 1. Philippine Pop Culture.

(Image by Author).

Module Pretest

Instructions: Read the following statements carefully. Identify what is described in the statement
and write your answers on the space provided before the number.
________1. It is the people’s vernacular culture that prevails in any given society.
_______2. This generally discourages radical innovation.
_______3. It belongs to the social elite; the fine arts, opera, theatre, and high intellectualism.
_______4. It is a key ingredient in the formation of popular culture.
_______5. This serves as the best source of information for a public with a growing interest in
social and economic affairs.
_______6. These diverse people would come to see themselves as a ‘collectivity’ as a result of
common, or popular, forms of expression.
_______7. This is the primary source of pop culture.
_______8. This is a contradictory source of popular culture.
_______9. This is influenced by professional entities that provide the public with information.
_______10. This was the period when it was easier for people to socialize and get similar produce
especially since transportation, literacy, and other things made possible the steps (ex. Mass
media) in creating collective culture.

_______11. According to this theory, the artist is an imitator of aspects of the observable universe.
_______12. The artist was no longer to serve as a mirror reflecting outer things, but instead to
externalize the internal, and make one's “inner life” the primary subject of art.
_______13. The most recent classification, which focuses on analysis of the text in isolation.
_______14. The “most primitive” of the four categories.
_______15. Known for works on Romanticism, in particular his book, The Mirror and the Lamp.
Lesson 1.1: Motivation

Lesson Summary
Before you start the whole course, it is necessary that you get motivated to study it. In
this lesson, you are going to read a news article in Cebuano language. The content of the article
is light and humorous. Hopefully, it will set your mindset that the course is an easy one. Do
remember though that your focus is still necessary.

Learning Outcomes
In this lesson, you are expected to:
1. Acquaint yourself to the course; and
2. Get a general idea of what popular culture is

Motivation Question
Have you read the article Kabit-kabit by Insoy Niñal? What comes to your mind when you hear
the word kabit-kabit?

Discussion
As stated in the lesson summary, you need to start this course with light reading. It is
written by Insoy Niñal, a columnist in a newspaper company in Cebu City. He is also the lead
vocalist of the band Missing Filemon. He writes and sings mainly in Cebuano. He is quite popular
in the Visayas and Mindanao region because aside from his creative songs that showcase
Cebuano culture, his writings are also witty. Enjoy this piece by Niñal. Discussion about the news
article shall follow.

Kabit-kabit
By Insoy Niñal

SA MEDIA, mohalin gyod ang tema nga kabit-kabit, kay naa sa kabit-kabit ang mas halin pa gyod
nga tema sa sex ug violence. Kon asa ang kabit-kabit, tua pud didto ang biga-biga ug away-away.
Sa iningles pa, sex and violence sell.
Dili lang ni diha sa mga balita. Apil sab dinhi ang mga telenobela ug mga salida. Way telenobela
o salida mahitungod sa kabit-kabit nga way biga-biga ug way pinatyanay, binugnoay, pinusilay,
dinunggabay, siningkahay, ug labing importante sa tanan sa Philippine television – sinagpaay.
Sa kadaghan sa sinagpaay aning mga salidaha gikubalan na tingali ang nawong aning mga
artistaha, mao nga naa puy sinabyagay og tubig aron mohumok pagbalik ang aping ug lami na
sab nga sagpaon.
Dili ko eksperto sa sex, ug labi nang di ko eksperto sa violence. Apan sayod ko nga kining duha
nakadugtong sa kalungtaran sa espisye sa tawo. Ang sex konektado sa violence, ang violence
konektado sa sex, ug ang duha konektado sa survival sa human species. Ang kasaysayan
nagtudlo nato niini.
May mga tawo nga dunganon ning duha – nag-sex na, nag-violence pa, o sa mubo nga pagkasulti,
violent sex. Di pud ko sweto ani, apan sa akong pagsabot, sex ni nga may sagol kinusiay. Kon
makakita ka sa imong amiga nga naay daghang kinusian, nahibawo na ka.
Nahisgotan ko ni kay ning bag-o lang, nabuang ang tanan niining teleserye nga may temang kabit-
kabit. Niadtong usang gabii pananglitan, naabtan nako sa balay ang tanan nga nagtutok sa TV.
Importante tingali kaayo to nga eksena kay wa man ko nila tagda sa akong pagsud sa sala, mao
nga ningtan-aw na lang sab kog apil.
Ug ang akong nasabtan sa eksena mao nga nag-abot ang asawa ug ang kabit, ug didto sab ang
bana. Ug dayon miingon ang asawa, “Salbahis kang bayhana ka, di gyod nimo undangan akong
bana ha!” Dayon gilabay niyag sapatos ang kabit.
Nasakitan tingali kay nabukol ang ulo, mitubag ang kabit, ug dinhi ako lang Binisay-on, “Sa
pagsugod, sex ra tong amoa sa imong bana, ug nausban, ug nausban pa, ug nausban pa gyod,
hangtod di na sex ang among gihimo, making love na!”
Naglibog ang asawa. Lahi diay ang sex sa making love? Ang lovemaking, lahi pud? Ang making
out, lahi pud? Kon pirmihon ang sex mahimo diay ning love? Kadaghan ba sa words. Nainsulto
siya kay limited siyag vocabulary. Ug sa iyang kalagot iyang gisagpa ang kabit.
Ug sa reaksyon nga way kalainan anang makaigo si Pacquiao og solid left sa kontra, nagdungan
og syagit ang tanan sa balay, “Yesss!!! Da!!! Mayra!!! Pun-i pa!!!”
Naglingo-lingo ko nga misaka sa kwarto diin naghuwat akong asawa. Nangutana siya, “Ngano na
sila sa ubos?” Ingon ko, “Ay da, sex and violence.” Ug pinapaak ang ngabil, mikidhat nako ang
igat.
------------------------------
Gikan sa libro ni Insoy, "Ang Batang Scorpion: Da Best of Eskina ug Uban Pa," nga mapalit sa
Parkmall karong Aug. 12 hangtod Aug. 18. Sa magpareserba, PM lang.

Source: Niñal, I (2014). Kabit-kabit. Retrieved from Facebook website:

(Image by Author)

The following are questions that will guide you into the discussion. Please answer them
mentally.

1. What is your opinion about the article? Did you find it humorous? Informational? Immoral? Why
so? How so?
2. Why do you think kabit-kabit sells in media? Give a concrete example with close reference to
the text.
3. Why do you think violence sells in media? Give a concrete example.
4. Why do you think kabit-kabit and violence, lumped together, sell?
5. What does the popularity of sex and violence tell of the kind of people in the Philippines?
6. Who makes these themes popular: the consumers or the sellers (TV writers, creators)?
7. What do you think is wrong (or right) with Philippine media?
7. Do you consume these kinds of themes? Why or why not?
8. Is the article easy to understand because of the language used? Or do you find it vulgar because
of the language used?

I believe that you think the article is quite vulgar since it has words in Cebuano that people
seldom use in academic settings such as kabit-kabit, igat, biga-biga, and others. The author also
mixes the Cebuano language and the English language, so it gives off the idea that the characters
in the news article belong in the middle-class. The aim of the article is to be humorous first. The
exchange of dialogues of the husband and wife evokes laughter especially the sexual innuendos.

However, the content goes beyond amusement. It also educates you on why violence and
sex sell in media. It is because sex and violence attract people in two ways. First, it is the
evolutionary self ingrained in people. It is intrinsic to people to be wary of violent and sexual
content since their ancestors did so to survive. Second, violence and sexual content are
universally understood by many. It does not need for one to study culture to understand what
death or murder is. Because of the latter reason, many writers and producers create movies and
TV series with sex and violence as themes. They gain much more with them as their content
flagship. Moreover, Jeff Sagansky (as cited in Vitelli 2015) points out that television channels’
aim is not to provide programs with quality to their audiences, but to show them advertisements.

In the Philippines, the themes kabit-kabit and violence are quite common in television
programs and movies probably because of the same reasons as Sagansky states: profit. They
are also consumed more every day than any other themes. For example, many primetime TV
series shown on popular channels from Monday to Friday have these themes. Comedy and
educational shows have the weekend slot. Pinoys enjoy slapping effects and legal wives hurting
the mistresses. Moreover, print media sells the same themes as prevalent in some of its
publications: online platform Spot.FM published on their website the titles Top 10 Craziest Kabit
Confrontations in Pinoy TV and Movies and Top 10 Epic Hair-Pulling Scenes from Pinoy TV and
Movies, and Coconuts Manila has the title In the Mood for Blood: Filipino TV Mistresses and the
Women Who Love to Hate Them on its website.

What the news article presented is somewhat problematic because it shows that the
Filipino consumers of TV and movies enjoy sex and violence. The themes are a household
family member every night. However, despite the staggering studies about the effects of sex
and violence in Philippine and western TV and movies, they are not going to be stopped.
Unfortunately, the reality is business gain overpowers morals. It is up to you as an educated
individual of the country to make a difference.

Learning Tasks/Activities
List 10 Pinoy TV series with the themes kabit-kabit, sex, and violence. Include the timeslot of
the TV series and give 1 reason why the series is or is not appropriate for that timeslot. Below
is the format for your guidance.
Title of the TV Series Timeslot Reason (in sentence form)
1.
2.
3.
.
.