Critical Commentary: Post-Colonialism

Is the Philippines still colonized? Or are we living in a post-colonial society? What are the things that colonize us today? Is the west still controlling us? Is revolution really the key to free us from our colonial mindset? Or just destroy and kill our surroundings? These are the questions that I thought about during the presentation on Post Colonialism. But before reflecting on these questions, first, what is colonialism and post colonialism?

Colonialism, according to the report, is “taking up the ‘other’ self”. To further understand, we must take note that this is the western perspective.  During the age of colonization, they believed that they are more advanced and rational, and their “other” is the barbaric, uncivilized humans, like our ancestors. With this in mind, colonialism is transforming the other politically, socially, and economically.

Post colonialism, on the other hand, is a form of resistance from colonialism. It is the return or the rise of the other. There are many forms of resistance in line with post colonialism. Fanon suggests the revolution is a form of resistance from colonialism.  On the other hand, Bhabha saw from the works of Said that post colonialism is now the mixture of the culture of the colonized and the colonizer.

Looking at the Philippine society today, we can see a convergence of cultures. These cultures come from different parts of the world. Giving us different perspectives in life. Answering my inquiries above, I believe that we are still colonized and at the same time living in a postcolonial society. We are colonized because our second language is English. We have western mannerisms, and so much more. At the same time, we continue to find who we are in our own terms. Currently, we are developing our own arts. We are creating our own brand of both social and natural sciences. And, we never let go of our own mannerisms, like “mano po”, and “pamahiin” still found at the provinces.

To further let go of our colonial self, we must continue developing the Filipino brand. We must surely identify ourselves separate from our Latin American counterparts, as well as our South East Asian counterpart. I believe that revolution (Fanon’s theory) isn’t the key to our freedom. We are not being conquered today by our colonizers, but instead face a different enemy, if we consider it an enemy or not. Today, we face multinational companies, international organizations, and other supranational states that slowly, but surely is transforming our society ones more. All we can do is stay firm to who we are.