Instability of Sub-altern Relationships: Na Janine Tugonon ka na ba?

                

The recent pop issue of Janine Tugonon’s break-up has shaped the media. The twitter, a micro blogging hub, infused the issue into mainstream trends for a couple of days. This was the time that I was reading Gayatri Spivak’s “Can the subalterns speak?” while contemplating on definition approaches of the contemporary western philosophy.  As of yesterday, I have noticed a handful of memes depicting the sensational break-up in a comical burlesque manner. The memes takes a big share on the interest of the people for two things.

               

        First, they are idols of the pop culture - Janine Tugonon, Jaypee Santos and Danny O’Donoghue. Their actions, especially for fanatics, are often held newsworthy even if it doesn't concern the betterment of our nation. Their becoming ‘newsworthy’ is more of them ‘being’ sources of entertainment. 

                Second, the events leading to the break-up and the break-up itself are reflections of the reality of the common men. To better describe its emphatic reality, I have decided to divide the reflections in two, sounding more like fraternal twins. The initial reality is the lesser concern. In this, we relate the break up as an image of a past experience or even a present one. I pity you. Kidding. We are entertained to the fact that it happened to us. We have been left alone by our partners. Note that alienation due to break up, is a very serious concern especially when mutual feelings has been grounded concretely over time and experiences. The same goes to those loved ones have already departed or simply a friendship ending with parting ways. The issue therefore plays a cathartic role between and among the general audience.

                Now, the idea of the Tugonon-Santos break-up is established as an abstraction of reality and a cathartic event. Let us better delve into the deep seated psyche on the Filipino. It would be tautologous to recall that our nation has been colonized for a span of years by three various nations of different continents. Now, we are undergoing a period of post-coloniality for the fact that we have formerly been subsumed by Spain, America and Japan. In post colonial criticism there are two main characters the colonizers and the subalterns. These colonizers are imperial in nature; they impose their dominion over  small countries in various methods. Spain conquered us for the pseudo goal of evangelization. America seemingly extended their help, as politically renowned bastion of power, to their little brown brothers. Japan grappled Philippines for the establishment of the ‘Greater East Asia Co Prosperity Sphere.'

                The other characters are the sub-alterns. Technically, sub-alterns are the people of post colonial lands. Spivak noted that through the course of time the notion of sub-alterns has been vague. They have been the receivers of the western produced cultural hegemony basing on Gramsci’s perspective. She simply defined sub-alterns as people who don’t get the just portion of the pie. Therefore the oppressed but not necessarily impoverished. Men who rule the country’s corporate world are also oppressed in a sense that their corporate capacity needs a blessing from the western companies.        

                Janine Tugonon and Jaypee Santos are living a stable mutual love until Danny O’Donoghue came into the picture. Whether Danny lifted a finger or not to have at least a communication with Tugonon, his colonial dominion spurred as he is of Caucasian descent and a cultural idol on a borderless scale. O’Donoghue’s colonial influence breaks not even sub-altern’s relationship but the Filipino courting tradition or simply the male-female communication. In a traditionally acceptable sense, male should primary initiate communication with a female. But in the alleged stories, Tugonon was the one who went to O’Donoghue. The Script vocalist suggested to converse in Twitter. And the events went forth.

                                Inevitably, Jaypee will experience insecurity. He will probably have this inner question, “Who am I compared to a Script vocalist?” This insecurity will therefore give rise to a dilemma of trust versus mistrust. And this dilemma will destabilize the relationship. Janine Tugonon, by force of media, becomes a jargon for leaving behind a loved one and in a deeper sense leaving for a subjectively ‘better one’ due to a post colonial mentality. And the meme trend is propelled by our empathy as subalterns.

                In a parallel idea, Jaypee who worked for build a relationship with Tugonon is conceptually isolated. Danny who simply enjoys the perks of his colonizer descent and his world fame takes Tugonon. This is similar to the wealth distribution of our country - not only unequal but gravely scarce in the part of the workers and immensely overflowing in the part of the elite.

                Certainly, this question will appear to us, “Majajanine Tugonon kaya ako?” No one is an exemption especially to a post colonial nation. But if we defy neocolonial influence, we will obtain a stable relationship. At a larger scale the country will improve as well.