Last night Kim got me to watch “The Debut.” In case you are not familiar with this movie, “The Debut” is considered by many to be the first motion picture made in the US to capture the Filipino-American experience. The movie stars Dante Basco (white folks will recognize him as Rufio from Hook ) as a culturally repressed Filipino-American teenager, named Ben Mercado, who suddenly comes to a cultural awakening at his sister’s debutant ceremony. Dante’s performance as Ben is a little distracting, even to a white guy like me. Ben seems to be in a state of complete bewilderment, as if he has never been around his family and was raised by wolves or something. I have been dating a Filipino girl for about a year and I have been to more barcada parties than I can count and never have I been as shocked and amazed at her family’s traditions and collective idiosyncracies as Basco seems to be in this film. Ben is so fascinated by his sister’s debut ceremony it seems as if this was the first time he’s ever seen one. It is extremely unlikely that this would be his first time attending a debut, as he would have been to the ceremonies of the other women in his family. Furthermore, how could Ben Mercado have made it to 18 years of age without learning how to dance with his Aunties? Why is he so surprised to learn that his dad sings? Kim has like 15 uncles who take their Magic Mic Karaoke machines with them everywhere they go.
The scene I expected to see in this movie never came. It would have gone something like this: Ben would be sitting at the table during the reception and then lean over to one of his retarded white friends and say…
“Woah! WOAH!! WOW!! What’s this white stuff!?!?”
“Yo dawg that’s, like, RICE. You know, for sheezy!!”
“Woah! Wow!! It’s so good!! I have, like, the coolest family ever!! I’m gonna go watercolor a portrait of a rice cooker!!
I am sure a major reason this movie was successful is the realism of the characters (most of them anyway). If you know even a few Filipinos, it is easy to watch this film and recognize characters that resemble the people that you know in real life. I am still pretty much on the outside of things in Kim’s family, but this film is very accurate compared to what I have experienced hanging out with her friends and family. For someone who is a part of this culture, I am sure it was a breath of fresh air to see this film on the big screen, especially after years of seeing so many similar films concerning every other ethnic group in the United States.
I even saw myself in this film. Ben’s white friends (I forget their names, they are that forgettable) are completly enamored with the Filipino culture and seem better equipped at having fun with his family than he does. I identified with this, because I think Kim is sometimes exhausted by her own family and when we’re at a party with them I am always the one who wants to stay even when I know she’s ready to leave. Despite this single similarity, I was let down by the portrayal of white people in this movie. I know, I know, you don’t need to tell me, who cares about white folks, right? But, If you were from the Philippines, had never been to the States and this movie was the only exposure you had to American culture (doubtful, but possible) you’d think putis were the biggest idiots in the world. I’m not saying we’re not the biggest idiots; I’m just offended that this movie exaggerates that possibility.
Another example of the film’s accuracy is that it perfectly encapsulates the nonsensical “gangsta” subculture among Filipino Americans. In one scene a would-be hood and rival of Ben, named Gusto, is accusing Ben of being “a coconut” (you know, brown on the outside, white on the inside), throwing gang signs and posturing like Ice Cube (Rice Cube, perhaps?). The whole time I’m thinking “Dude, stop pretending your black.”
Before I met Kim, I knew more Filipinos like Gusto than any other character in this film. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think every Filipino kid that’s into hip-hop is carrying a piece or running drive-bys and I am not knocking Filipino B-Boys or DJs. I simply do not understand how Filipinos merged into hip-hop culture to such an extent that they view hip-hop and R&B as their music and rock as white music. It’s pretty strange to me and I don’t understand it. I’ve never understood it. Maybe Chad Hugo can explain it to me. Yeah, someone tell Chad to email me.
Anyway, despite it’s incosistencies, I find myself wanting to see this movie again so that I can maybe understand it a little better, but, truthfully, I’d rather hang out with Kim’s family and get my own story. Oh yeah, I almost forgot; after watching an included feature on the DVD and seeing, writer, John Castro’s adobo shirt that looks like the addias logo, I did a google search for it and found some other Pinoy-related pop-culture t-shirts. This really cracked me up:
Bomba Star Galactica. That’s hilarious.
