http://la.indymedia.org/news/2006/03/152481.php
WALKOUT - A Critical Review
By Arturo P. Garcia
March 31, 2006
Some people have recently called the HBO film, Walkout, as providing much
inspiration to the student walkouts across America in recent days. The movie
is about the story of Paula Crisostomo, daughter of Filipino janitor Panfilo
Crisostomo and a Mexican mother, who was one of those who led the walkout of
over 10,000 high school students in East Los Angeles in 1968. Her story was
highlighted in a telemovie, entitled Walkout produced among others by
Latino-American actor Edward James Olmos for HBO and launched this March 18,
2006.
This film is a remarkable breakthrough of sorts one which celebrates the
struggle of the Chicano minority for self-determination in racist, capitalist
America something that a progressive can both appreciate and agree with. But
there are also things that one must also be critical about.
Although the film is a historical feature that tells the story of the Chicano
peoples struggle against racism and discrimination and is undoubtedly a
breakthrough against white supremacy, it is also a telling lesson in the
chauvinism of some Chicano activists towards Filipinos in America. This is a
case of a majority minority that unconsciously or consciously discriminates
against another albeit smaller national minority in advocating for its own
self-determination in the United States.
Dont get us wrong. Filipinos have gone a long way in building solidarity with
the Mexican people. Filipinos have had a long history of cooperation with the
Mexican people even with their own struggle for national determination and
liberation.
Tracing our history, Filipinos of Mexican origin led the Cavite Mutiny of 1872
that resulted in the martyrdom of the three Filipino Priests, Frs. Gomez,
Burgos and Zamora (Gomburza)- an event which had a powerful effect on the
Filipino people and later became an inspiration for Dr. Jose Rizal to write a
novel about Spanish clerico-fascism and colonial theocracy.
The early decades of the last century in the United States tell many stories
not only of how white capitalist bosses pitted Filipinos and Mexicans against
each other, but also of how both groups united and organized eventually to
prevail over corporate growers up and down the West Coast, but especially in
the valleys of California.
What is perhaps a fitting example of solidarity is the internationalism of
Philip Vera Cruz who graciously gave way to the much younger Cesar Chavez to
become the president of the United Farm Workers Union (UFW) in the mid-1960s
to preserve the unions internal unity and unify Filipino and Mexican workers
against capitalist exploitation and oppression in the fields.
And yet, woefully, Philip Vera Cruz is often relegated to the background and
forgotten by the UFW in its official history and all the glories are bestowed
on Cesar Chavez as if he were some kind of demigod and savior of farm workers.
Simply not true. From the point of view of the manongs and veterans of the 1965
Grape Boycott that started it all, Cesar was a terrible ingrate. What the UFW
does not want brought to light until this day is how Chavez stabbed Filipinos
in the back when in 1978 he went to the Philippines to shake hands with
Philippine dictator Marcos and shamelessly brought along yellow trade unionists
like Luis Taruc and Jerry Montemayor back to Delano. It was this incident that
broke the camels back and made Philip Vera Cruz bitterly resign as Executive
Vice President of the UFW. This is but an example of big-minority chauvinism of
some in the Chicano movement in their zeal to promote Chicanismo or Chicano
power at the expense of Filipinos.
If we go back to the film Filipinos have a point in resenting the fact that
the role of the Filipino father Panfilo Crisostomo was given to a Mexican
actor. Could the film makers really not have found any Filipino actor to play
such a role more suitably?
Thus, even in the film, the Filipino character was again diminished and was
again relegated to the background. He was featured cussing a Filipino expletive
word which was not even correctly pronounced.
In one scene, Panfilo was quoted: If you get into the ring, you will be hurt.
And do you know why Americans are afraid to fight Latino boxers? Because they
dont quit. This is to tell her daughter why she should continue to fight for
what she thinks is right.
This is simply a case of stereotyping and attributing to Latinos what is also
applicable to Filipinos. That fighting quality may be true for Latino boxers.
But it is even more apt for Filipino boxers today when we have the likes of
Manny Pacquiao. And it was also true even back in the sixties when Flash Elorde
was world champ in the junior lightweight division. Paula Crisostomos quality
of never giving up was in her blood as a Filipina. Like Gabriela Silang,
Filipinas never give up and fight to the last breath for what they believe is
right.
One part of the film which was almost fleeting was Panfilos rejoinder to her
daughter: You are not Chicana. you are a Chilifina
Overall, notwithstanding our criticism of the portrayal of the Filipino father,
the film is still a breakthrough of sorts and offers a way to correct the
horrible deficiencies of the mainstream Hollywood studios of portraying the
usual racist and chauvinist stereotypes of minorities as criminals, syndicated
crime warlords, berserk, exotic and other images that they want to portray.
As with the film Crash which portrays Asians as human smugglers and Arabs as
angry, unreasonable would-be killers, progressives should stand up and
criticize films or aspects of them which appear to talk about racism but in
effect are still racist or white supremacist in essence.
Genuine self-determination starts with respect for each others culture and
learning from each others strengths and weaknesses. Not demeaning and
disparaging each others culture and imposing ones own over the other. Or else
we will always be like the enemy we are out to overthrow and change is not
coming from ourselves. We should always remember to change the society, change
must also come from within ourselves.
---------------------------------
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