Representation Matters

AAPI Month Post

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AAPI Month Post *

Growing up, I would rarely see a character in a movie or TV show that looked like me. I did not feel properly represented in the media that I was exposed to in my adolescence and it took a toll on me. Sure, I had celebrities like Vanessa Hudgens and Lalaine, and Dante Basco; but they never played a Filipino character that went through Filipino or Filipino American struggles.

It wasn’t until 2018 (right before I left for college) where I felt truly represented on the screen. “Crazy Rich Asians” a film by Jon M. Chu was released and I finally felt represented on the screen. No character was specifically Filipino; in fact not many characters had a specified race. They were all just Asian and I felt seen as there were some actors who were Filipino included in the film like Kris Aquino and Nico Santos. I finally saw people on the screen who looked just like me. 

Since “Crazy Rich Asians”, there has been a huge boom in Asian American Representation in the media! Let’s start with Nico Santos. After Crazy Rich Asians, Santos went on to play Mateo Liwanag, a gay and undocumented store worker at Cloud 9 Superstore. Disregarding the humorous approach that the show took to just about everything, this is when I first saw a true Filipino American struggle depicted on the mainstream television. The character of Mateo Liwanag was the first character that I truly felt represented what it was like to be a Filipino American.

Why does this all matter?

It matters because it matters when an individual sees someone that looks like them on the screen. For example, when the first teasers for the 2023 live action adaptation of “The Little Mermaid” was first released, there were thousands of videos of African American individuals of all ages crying real tears of joy when they saw a Disney princess that looked just like them. I have seen countless of different shows or characters that are Filipino and it makes me feel special and seen. It is so important for all people of different backgrounds to be represented on the screen especially when we grew up in a system that sometimes seems like it exists to erase us.

I am jealous of kids these days because I see that they are growing up with shows that feature Filipino characters and aspects of Filipino culture. They have “Blue’s Clue & You” with Josh, a Filipino host, and appearances from his Lola (grandmother in Tagalog). They have “Firebuds” that follows Bo Bayani and his father and Lolo (grandfather in Tagalog) and Bo’s journey to being a firefighter like his father and grandpa. We can even follow a brother, sister, and their sea monster learn about Filipino culture in “Jelly, Ben, and Pogo”.

It’s so special for me seeing these clips of these shows and I really wish I had Filipino characters to grow up with.