A literatura filipina Balikbayan como resistência cultural: Utang na loob e superioridade do expatriado nos Estados Unidos

Abstract

This thesis analyzes three literary works written by Filipino authors in the United States, to present them as tools of cultural resistance, as per author Stephen Duncombe and his Cultural Resistance Reader (2002). The three books studied are: In The Country (2015), by Mia Alvar, a collection of short stories written by the Filipino author based in the United States; the novel America is Not The Heart (2015), by Elaine Castillo, born in San Francisco, to Filipino parents; the memoir The Groom Will Keep His Name (2020), by Matt Ortile, a Manila native raised in Las Vegas. By scrutinizing the works, this study covers unique concepts from the archipelago, such as Utang Na Loob – a feeling that moves its inhabitants and consists of an unpayable debt between anyone who received assistance in some way -, balikbayan (Filipino citizens who are permanently living outside the nation), and balikbayan box (specific remittances to family and friends, sent by those who live abroad). Furthermore, this thesis focuses, in its first two chapters, on the rich history of the island nation, colonized by three foreign powers (Spain; United States; Japan). The third chapter deals with immigration, and through the establishment of differences between the concepts of (im)migrant and emigrant, as well as the idea of diaspora, based on sociologists such as Stuart Hall and Robin Cohen. There is also the proposition of an epistemological category called Expatriate Superiority, which is dedicated to the asymmetric relationship between those who emigrated from the country and those who remain there. The last chapter, the 4th, delves into cultural resistance seen through specific aspects of the analyzed literature, such as expression of sexuality (especially queer); resistance through race/ethnicity; and literature itself as an instrument of resistance. The authors cited, among others, are: Raymond Williams, William Callahan, Michel Foucault. The conclusion reached by the study is that, yes, the books analyzed can be considered tools of cultural resistance, and the aspects of the country mentioned are undeniable signs of an anthropologically rich society, proud of its origins, and unique within the Asian continent.