Some thoughts on ‘The Debut’
The first thing I gotta say is that I had a crush on this one half-Filipino girl in high school. I played an ongoing prank on her, of sorts. Just hearing the term ‘Filipino’ makes me remember her and smile. Heh
Anyways.
Watching the film was interesting to me because a lot of things about the story were things I’ve seen many times, whether it be other Korean friends of mine from church, or stories I’ve heard about Asian immigrants, the constant striving to be a ‘model minority’ etc. It’s just a first time for me seeing Filipinos added to that list. I also enjoyed watching the more beautiful aspects of Filipino tradition, and the best of what their culture has to offer.
I thought it was pretty funny that Ben, the main character, seemingly hated everything about his family while his friends, on their first encounter with anything in his house, found themselves amused and genuinely interested with his culture. A running theme through the film was his friends’ interest in Filipino culture, and him appreciating it through their lens.
I also thought the film was vaguely racist, where you have a bunch of immature white people in high school who are essentially contrasted with a very expensive-looking, well-organized semi-formal party filled with adults as well as people in their teens and twenties. That hardly seems fair. I also didn’t think much of the changes in Ben’s drawings in his portfolio, which showcased stereotyped imagery of what appeared to be very stereotypical comic book characters gradually changing into something more mature, as well as moving into subjects regarding his Filipino family and culture. Like wat. C’mon. There are interesting things to be shown through the medium of comics. It shouldn’t be the case that the beauty and potential and culture of any medium ought to give way to anything; the space should be shared, and with respect.
I will recognize that in its homogenization, American culture is very vaguely defined and the cultural richness tends to rely heavily on imported culture. Other than the long-standing impact of Christianity, there’s not much for white people to draw upon, which is why Americans apparently only eat hamburgers and hot dogs and occasionally pizza. At the same time, I don’t think it’s fair to treat them all like they’re a bunch of boiled vegetables. Since when are people ever that simple?