TheyLoveOPM

Papa, R. P. (2017). They Love OPM: A Critical Discourse Analysis of ABS-CBN's I Love OPM, Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication

This thesis examined the reality television singing competition, ABS-CBN's I Love OPM, and how the program claimed to advocate love for Filipino music and culture by showing viewers "100% foreign" contestants who loved the Philippines. This paper sought to find out just how I Love OPM represented Filipino values in its program, and how the show presented the dynamics of Filipino-foreigner interactions that shaped their messages.

Guided by the theoretical frameworks of Postcolonial Theory, Edward Said's Orientalism, and Norman Fairclough's Critical Discourse Analysis, this study found out that I Love OPM anchored all definitions of Filipino pride and values on descriptions and approval of foreigners. This made the show susceptible to creating harmful messages that further oppressed Filipinos. As such, I Love OPM reveals a sad truth that Filipino audiences remain unaware of the colonial history of our country, and that they seem to rely on foreign validation in order to celebrate their own sense of Filipino pride.

Keywords: filipino nationalism, culture, foreign, postcolonial, Orientalism, Critical Discourse Analysis. [1]