Theories and Approaches in Philippine Pop Culture

This set of vocabulary flashcards covers key theoretical frameworks and socioeconomic perspectives regarding Philippine popular culture, including theories by Roland Barthes, Walter Benjamin, Hannah Arendt, Jean Baudrillard, and Frederic Jameson.

Neoliberalism

The go-term of the left to describe how capitalism has been administered politically since the 1970s, emphasizing the protection of the free functioning of the market through specific government social policies.

Free Market (Neoliberal context)

A system open to all for participation in buying and selling where the government intervenes through social policy to maintain original prices and control during times of necessity, such as a state of calamity.

Myth (Roland Barthes)

A system of communication and a message defined not by the object itself, but by the way in which it utters the message.

Second Order Signification

The process described by Roland Barthes where iconic people who stand out are commodified by the bourgeois for mass consumption.

Aura (Walter Benjamin)

The authority, uniqueness, and singularity of a work of art in time and space that results from its original immersion in rituals and ceremonies.

Mechanical Reproduction

The process by which an artwork's aura decays but becomes available to more people, shifting the artwork's ritual value to exhibition value and changing the masses' reaction toward art.

Vita Activa (Hannah Arendt)

A life of action and speech that forms the basis of political life, characterized by the doing of great deeds and the speaking of immortal words through discussion and persuasion.

Council Democracy

A concept by Hannah Arendt involving face-to-face direct democracy occurring on a large-scale within small units, similar to local meetings or 'meeting de avance' in covered courts.

Simulacra (Jean Baudrillard)

A concept focused on the role of images in contemporary society and how these images mediate reality, leading to distorted representations.

Hyperreal

A representation that is so realistic it cannot be distinguished as a representation and is instead treated as reality.

Reflection (The Faithful Copy)

The first phase of simulacra where symbols or images are direct reflections of reality and accurately represent the original.

Mask (The Perversion of Reality)

The second phase of simulacra where a symbol starts to distort reality while still acknowledging that an original exists.

Illusion (Pretending to be a Faithful Copy)

The third phase of simulacra where a symbol no longer directly refers to a real-world object but covers this up by pretending to do so, such as in reality shows.

Pure Simulacrum

The fourth phase of simulacra where the symbol exists independently as a reality unto itself with no relation or reference to reality.

Pastiche (Frederic Jameson)

A defining trait of postmodernism involving the imitation or replication of styles without deeper meaning, irony, or historical context.

Philippine Public (Online Behavior)

A demographic characterized as being vulnerable to online content, spending more time on the internet than watching television, and basing most purchases on social media.

The Capitalist (in Media and Internet)

Entities that hold the power to control internet connections, determine what the public sees, monitor behavioral data, and manipulate society, especially during events like a pandemic.