Editing Romancing Cultural Difference

ABSTRACT 

“Representation is found at the heart of mediation.” (Siapera, 2010) Yet, in the 
context of mediating cultural difference which is inherently complex and  diverse, 
misrepresentations may occur. Hence, one must always ask—are there stereotypes in this 
representation? Does this portrayal contain racist or prejudiced views? 

This study questioned the representation of Visayan women in Philippine 
telenovelas from 2007 to 2011, namely MariMar (Philippines), My Girl (Philippines), 
and Agua Bendita. The texts were examined using Critical Discourse Analysis, alongside 
the theories of Representation, Identity, Stereotyping and Hegemony. 
 
Findings showed that majority of representations portrayed Visayan women as 
members of the lower economic strata, and were either unemployed or working in 
service-oriented positions. They were also portrayed, character-wise, as either irrational 
or servile, justifying the oppression and discrimination exercised by the representations. 
Also, in order to contain difference, the folkloric characteristics, i.e. external symbols of 
culture were highlighted, thus depicting the other as quaint, distant, and picturesque, and 
therefore not threateningly different.  

All these, according to Siapera, belong to certain “regimes of representation,” 
loosely based on Foucault’s (1997) “regimes of truth.” In a nutshell, these regimes denote 
the convergence of certain ideas and discourses with certain power structures and 
mechanisms that sustain such representations. 

Kitane, J.O.V. (2012). Romancing Cultural Difference: A Study on the Representation of 
Visayan Women on Philippine Television. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, College of 
Mass Communication, University of the Philippines-Diliman. 
 
Keywords: Visayan, Cultural Diversity, Representation, Stereotyping, Hegemony

[https://iskomunidad.upd.edu.ph/flipbooks/Romancing View Thesis]



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