Representation Matters

These are two words that couldn't ring more true for me. As someone who grew up in a mostly white neighborhood, I never felt represented. Not in TV shows, movies, or books. Historically, Asian-Americans have strongly been underrepresented and even when we do appear in anything, we were often seen as racist caricatures, perpetuating kung-fu stereotypes, or playing up to the infamous Model Minority. It didn't help that those around me were only registered Chinese and Japanese as parts of Asia. Or just Asian in general. For my white elementary school peers, they couldn't comprehend what a Filipino was because we were nothing like the very few Asians seen on TV. Most of us are dark skinned and bear Spanish sounding last names. (In my case, I have both the honor and burden of having four names but we'll get into that another day.) So it's no wonder that I questioned my own ethnicity and the very validity of it. Did I consider myself to be more American? Or more Filipino? I'm sure I'll explore those questions and more in later post but today. 

Today, I feel seen. I feel recognized and validated. It's all because of this video below. It's a short video but those few minutes speak more volumes than anything that I've seen before. Granted, I've always been an emotional person but I didn't think I would be such a blubbering mess halfway through the video. Looking back, I probably should have recorded my reaction but what I'm trying to say is that there are many reasons why this video left such a great impact on me!! 

Firstly, I almost couldn't believe the opening scenes were taking place in the Philippines until the little girl shouted, "Tatang!" (Tatang means father in Tagalog.) and registered the hanging parols. I had to rewind to ensure I heard her correctly. But then she greeted her father with a mano po, which is a respectful way to greet one's older relatives, and I almost lost it. Which brings me to my second reason because that gesture is essential to the Filipino culture and how I was raised. I remember learning mano po from my parents and how older relatives would be delighted whenever I greeted them that way. Although I was never taught how to create a parol from scratch, I recall being excited to see all of them lit up at home and feeling giddy to see Christmas Day. But the real tearjerker for me came around the two-minute mark when the Lola  (Lola means grandma in Tagalog) came downstairs to see the living room decorated with colorful parols. Cue ugly tears because for a moment there, I feared that the Lola was no longer with us. Fortunately, that wasn't the case and instead, I'm floored at how the parols transport her back to her days in the Philippines. And of course, the video couldn't be more perfect with the granddaughter gifting the Mickey Mouse plushie back to her. My poor heart couldn't take more. 

Now I'm sure this post is all over the place but what I'm trying to say is that representation matters. It matters because there's nothing more validating than seeing a reflection of your culture, language, and/or something like you in a video or a character. Honestly, I can't begin to describe the importance of representation because I'm speechless as I write this. But what I do know is that everyone should share in this joy, everyone should have the chance to share their story. No matter how complex or different it is, I want nothing more than to see more videos such as these. I'm sure I won't be the only one crying.