Symbols of Social Stratification in the Philippines Light coloring is correlated with intelligence and a light-

skinned attractive person will receive advancement before his or her colleagues. Family position and
patron-client associations are useful in achieving success. Money to buy consumer goods is an indicator
of power. Owning a vehicle is a clear statement of a high social level. Women above the poverty level
have extensive wardrobes. Sending one's children to the best schools is the most important indicator of
social position. Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and
with the creation and appreciation of beauty. sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste. defined
as "critical reflection on art, culture and nature. studies new ways of seeing and of perceiving the world.
White is Beautiful During the Spanish times: To be a prince or a princess in a komedya, one had to look
the part. One had to have sharp nose, big eyes, small mouth, and most of all, white skin. He or she had
to have magandang tindig, which is to be tall like a man. During the American regime: Bodabil not only
singled out Filipinos who can do imitations but necessarily favored the Caucasian-looking either as the
closer imitations of the originals or as leading mans types, above the ethnic-looking who, in spite of
their superior talent, were relegated to slapstick comedians and roles of maids or minor friends. Shows
are the Best Forms of Entertainment before: Komedya Sinakulo Zarzuela Dramas Bodabil
Stage show Hurrah for the Undergo In the Spanish times the two principal forms of literature and their
dramatic counterparts set up two types of heroes for the indios edification and emulation. The pasyon and
its dramatic counterpart, the sinakulo. The awits and koridos and their dramatic counterparts, the
komedya and the moro-moro. During the American regime, usually has for heroines are, blushing rural
maids, utusans, labanderas, tinderas of sampaguita or kakanin who are hounded by various relentless
furies, represented by adject poverty by rich donyas, evil madastras, malicious mother-in-law, and ugly
but well dressed step-sisters. All is Right In Spanish always ended all evil are rewarded. in the World
times, the colonial dramas with the affirmation that punished and all good are
In American times, the maudlin heroines and shy heroes of the dramas and zarzuelas were showered
with happy endings usually in the form of marriage to a rich man's son or daughter and were besieged by
teary repentance of donyas, madrastas and sisters-in-law. IN RETROSPECT: NICANOR G.
TIONGSON'S FOUR VALUES On this day (April 6) in 1977, Nicanor G. Tiongson's Four Values in Filipino
Drama and Film was published, making it 35 years old as of present. It originally app eared in Goodman
Magazine and was subsequently printed in the succeeding years i n essay collections such as The Urian
Anthology. Four Values contains bold obser vations made based on almost six decades of Filipino
cinema which started in 1919 when Jose Nepomuceno's Dalagang Bukid was released. In the essay,
Tiongson articulates the valuesor disvalues, as some would call itprev alent in Filipino films during
the 1970s and the decades preceding it. He provid es a concise history of Filipino cinema to trace the
roots of these disvalues to earlier modes of expression such as stage performances (i.e. sarsuwela,
moro-mo ro, bodabil) and popular literature that were introduced during the Spanish and American
colonial periods. According to Tiongson the four disvalues that plagued Filipino cinema when he wrote
Four Values are maganda ang maputi (white is beau tiful), masaya ang may palabas (shows are the
best), mabuti ang inaapi (hurrah f or the underdog), and maganda pa ang daigdig (all is right with the
world). Thes e disvalues satisfy the entertainment needs of the viewers. Due to the escapist tendencies of
these four themes, liberation from socio-cultural, economic, and p olitical oppression becomes difficult to
achieveas far as the film industry is concerned. Tiongson makes up for his criticism of Filipino cinema in
the latter part of his essay by suggesting positive values that each correspond to the four disvalues he
earlier listed down. These counterpoints are maganda ang kayumanggi (brown is beautiful), masaya ang
palabas na may laman (shows with substance are the best) , mabuti ang may sariling isip at gulugod (it's
good to think and decide for onese lf), and gaganda pa ang daigdig (the world can indeed be more
beautiful).