Mixed Bag Monday

Here's a compiled collection of stories that peaked my interest over the last week, with a little of my own comments on the significance of the stories.

By Staff Sgt. Teddy Wade, via Wikimedia Commons

Jessica Sanchez sings during the National Memorial Day concert in Washington D.C., 2012.

Jessica Sanchez Performs on American Idol Season Finale - Exposure is important for the Fil-Am community in the US, especially when it has been so easy for Fil-Am narratives to be written out of history and current events. Hardly anyone knows about the other half of the labor strikes of the UFW were Filipinos. While I may not agree with all of Jessica’s mannerisms, I believe any positive exposure that makes people go “Wow, where did this person come from?” And maybe ask a few questions about the person’s background, especially if they are Fil-Am, helps introduce a different perspective to people who otherwise may not know about the Fil-Am communities across the country. This, coupled with the growing exposure on television, help recover and incorporate the Fil-Am experience into the American experience.

By yeowatzup from Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany (Sunset, Bohol) via Wikimedia Commons

Sunset in Bohol

State of calamity declared in Bohol Due to Drought/ El Nino - The drought here in California has been quite disruptive to nearly all areas of life, from agriculture to commerce and the daily habits of its residents. While it seems like the new norm is water conservation (it’s not a bad thing!), I think it is important for people in the US to remember that global climate change is not limited to one or two nations, but is truly a GLOBAL condition that needs to be examined by all governments, collectively. At times, when agriculture sustains people with very tight margins for failure, it is all the more important for everyone to do what they can. While the California Drought may not have the same effect as it does for the people in PI, where “more than 40,000 farmers in 27 towns in Bohol, known as the rice bowl of Central Visayas, are facing hunger and loss of income,” its effects are seen in the reservoirs and lakes across the state.

Watch Policeman Teach A Homeless Girl To Play Hopscotch to Pass the Time - Sometimes it is too easy to see the negative in life, especially when those who are sworn to protect and serve display pockets of deplorable behavior, and outright murder, on specific ethnic populations. This is a short video about a non-violent experience with a police officer. These kinds of scenes are played out across the country all the time, but are rarely reported in mainstream media. This needs to change, and I watch videos like this and remember that, while not EVERYONE acts as they should, the police officers are, in general, positive presences that do the best they can seeing the roughest parts of our society everyday.

CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=865798

Chicken Adobo with Rice and Beans

Edible Cutlery - Conservation and light consumption has always been an important part of my outlook on life. This novel kind of solution to overconsumption and unthinking waste displays the ingenuity and value in finding plausible solutions for a growing global population. Particularly in places like the US, Japan and India, where utensils are used and disposed of heavily, these kinds of potential answers helps to reduce the burden on the environment and on production of these disposable products.

By Alexander Klimov at de.wikipedia (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Guy Fawkes Mask has become a common representation of the Anonymous group

Voter Data Breach - I sometimes forget that everything placed on the Internet, or transported through the Internet, has the potential for being stolen or accessed by unwanted parties. In this case, the hacker cooperative Anonymous broke into the Philippine Commission on Elections website and reported on just how easy it was to access sensitive information. It appeared that some voter information was saved in a simple text file. “The breach contains the records of 1.3m overseas Philippines voters, including their passport details; it also includes 15.8m fingerprints,” according to the article. On a wider scale, this points to the fact that whenever information is given freely to another entity, be it a private company or a public office, it has the potential to be stolen. We all have to be careful with the data we share, and demand stronger protections from businesses and organizations that legitimately access and use our information in conducting their affairs.

Gun Battle Against Extremists - The global community must realize that the threat of extremism is not isolated to countries in “the West.” The threat of extremist behavior is not an East-West dichotomy, but a global phenomenon that points to the problems of HUMAN civilization. Here, in the volatile southern region of Mindanao, Philippines, Western Mindanao Command soldiers clashed with Aby Sayyaf Group extremist soldiers, the results being 18 dead government troops and 5 casualties on Abu Sayyaf forces. While it has been popular among politicians in the US to claim that extremists like these are conducting a religious holy war against Christianity and “the West” because they hate our culture and our freedoms, I would argue it is far more a symptom of the great global disparity in access to economic and basic, fundamental needs, but also the ongoing negative impact of the United States’ involvement in other countries. These extremist activities are far more inspired by the political and economic interests of the leadership, who layer their rhetoric with religious absolution for the consumption of the undereducated soldiers who ACTUALLY fight their battles. I believe education and understanding would go a long way in lessening the appeal of extremism for many underrepresented populations. If the religious extremist groups are the only ones who seemingly offer their family a roof and regular meals, how could a soldier refuse?

Movie Monday: "All for Liberty," a film by Chris Weatherhead, 2011.

[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Sometimes it is not the most flashy or well-funded films nor, even, the story itself that is significant in a film. Part of the charm, perhaps, of historical dramas are that the filmmakers use creative license to create a coherent narrative, grounded in historical source material. All for Liberty is not a high-budget film, nor does it really stand up to modern Hollywood conventions, despite being released in 2011. This film depicts the struggle for Independence during the Revolutionary War, and centers on little known Henry Felder, a Swiss-German colonist who settled in South Carolina and participated in the war, alongside his family.

Felder is capably acted by descendant Clarence Felder, who brings his obvious passion for the story into his performance. Actor Felder's stage experience is clear as many acting techniques (which look overdone on film) are more suited to the limitations of live stage than film.

The film focuses on several events from Felder's life, including his writing of the Articles of Separation from the English King c. May 1776. There are several scenes of skirmishes with British forces as they advance through the South, and the film closes with the surrender of Cornwallis.

So little, outside the regional histories, is known about Henry Felder, and the fact that the screenplay was penned by a descendant brings some historical aspects of the film into question. As a viewer and a student of history, sources like this film become problematic without supporting evidence. Further, one must question the facts based solely on one point of view. For me, however, this is not the most significant aspect of this film. My favorite part of the film is actually the last ten or so minutes, as the dialogue shifts to a kind of "concluding paragraph" that asks the viewers to seek out information on those who are not celebrated in the historical narrative, and learn about the common men and women of historical events. Unfortunately, this is not always possible because sources often say little about the "little people," those who supported the heroes and folklore legends of history. This, for me, is the strongest lesson from this film. There is never just one man or one battle that created history, but a total narrative that covers the leaders and the followers, the logistical people, the "little people."

This film is not "good" in the traditional sense, and I often found myself looking at how much longer the movie was. It relies heavily on the story of Felder and even the battles, while more dramatic than most of the movie, are not the center of the story. Perhaps that, too, is a strength in disguise. Battles, while having a place in history, cannot be the only picture, so having a film focus on the people is refreshing. The acting quality is sporadic, and some actors seem miscast or caricatures based on a cursory investigation of a "common" 1770s colonist. The narrative also doesn't go much into the complex ethnic relations, mainly between Africans and Anglos. The film also only gives a simplified look at Anglo-Native American interactions, although does recognize that the Anglos were "inevitably" going to take over (of which the Native American character stoically nods). This film is not a documentary, although the longer expository voice-over narration gives that feeling. Nor is this film concerned so much with historicity as it is with telling Felder's story.

This film is a project of love, as Clarence Felder obviously appreciates the role of his ancestor in the Revolutionary War. Some viewers will be intrigued by the story and hopefully will be moved to investigate the lesser known stories lost to history. This is my hope for viewers of this film, that their curiosity will bring them to more interesting historical tales. Others will be deathly bored, and honestly I had my moments. The dubious origin of the screenplay, the romanticized relations between Africans, Native Americans and some Anglos (while existent, was not as equal as the film would have viewers believe), and the focus on a single man make the historical value rather weak. Nevertheless, the call for viewers to investigate the lesser known aspects of history is the single strongest message to come from a film recently, in my opinion. This film doesn't demand that we take one story to be the only story, and "official" version of history, and that, to me, is priceless.

Stream "All for Liberty" on Amazon Prime.

Movie Monday: "Last of the Mohicans" a film by Michael Mann, 1992

Last of the Mohicans (1992) a film by Michael Mann

I’ve held on to this film in DVD format for several reasons. Firstly, it is a good film that showcases quality actors and quality script that stands the test of time. Secondly, the price. $5 at a big box store. This historic drama tells the story of a quickly disappearing way of life, as two cultural worldviews come into conflict and inevitably arrive at an endgame where one side wins, and one side loses. Daniel Day Lewis plays the main protagonist, Hawkeye, an adopted white man frontiersman based on novelist Cooper’s character Natty Bumppo. His adopted father Chingachgook, played by Russell Means, who did not start his acting career until he was in his 50’s. Wes Studi portrays Magua, enemy of Colonel Munro (John Maurice Roëves) and a main antagonist of the film. The casting embraces diversity with sensitivity towards actors of indigenous ethnicity.

The opening shows Hawkeye (Lewis) stalking a buck with his adopted father (Means) and brother, Uncas (Eric Schweig). After their successful hunt, they thank the spirit of the animal and thank him for giving up his life for their benefit. They hunt and trap for their sustenance, trading with the Dutch for silver, as opposed to the British and French custom of trading in “wampum and whiskey.” Their frontier world comes to an end with the war between Britain and France impacting their settler neighbors and friends, the Camerons, who participate in the colonial militia in defense of their homes and in (nominal) support of the British Crown. When the need to protect their homes from war parties conflicts with the needs of the British military, the militia and fort commander Munro come into conflict as to which needs are more important.

The emotional impact of the film is reflective of Mann’s style of film-making. As a director, he portrays the emotional side of the story and the human element in subtle, but engaging, ways. The source material, he said, was a wealth of information but not the be all for his inspiration.

"It's not a very good book," Mann said of Cooper’s original novel. He mentioned the novel comes from a landholding perspective, and “is almost a justification for a massive land grab…that the Euro-Americans will be a better steward of the riches that God bestowed upon American Indians. And that, of course, was not the perspective of American Indians. So the revision of history was one of the things I didn't care for in the novel.” This reflects the times, when many investors saw stewardship of the American continent as justification for their increasingly harsh treatment of indigenous Native American groups.

While the story is historic fiction, Mann captures existential human conflicts that many viewers can relate to. Duty to a greater cause vs freedoms and liberties, self-interest and the honor of the ethnic group are among a couple of the qualities explored in this film.

Overall, this is a capable film that succeeds in drawing the viewer into the characters. While a few scenes seem forced, or the dialogue a little stale, it does not greatly detract from the quality of the film and the actors. Daniel Day Lewis famously only ate what he killed, and learned the skills of a frontiersman to give a more capable performance as Hawkeye. Viewers will appreciate such attention to detail, even though it sometimes teeters on the cliche “white man saves the minority” narrative that comes with such films and Dances with Wolves or Avatar.

Purchase or Stream "Last of the Mohicans" via Amazon

History Notes:

Native American cooperative relationships with European powers
Nathaniel Poe's role as central or peripheral to events
Source material of the original novel and the 1992 film
historical fiction vs factual information

Book Review: "Converting California:Indians and Franciscans in the Missions, 1769-1836" by James Sandos

By Rennett Stowe (Flickr: Mission San Luis Obispo) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

James A. Sandos, Converting California, Indians and Franciscans in the Missions, 1769-1836 (Yale University Press, 2004)

 Scholarship surrounding the Spanish Missionary period in California abounds with different interpretations. Some vilify the Spanish missionaries for essentially wiping out the Native American populations in California and disrupting their lives to destruction. Others opt for a more benign approach, complicated by cooperation and agency among the Native populations. James Sandos’ work on Franciscan conversion of the Native Americans is just such a work.

  Sandos’ overarching thesis is that the goal of the Franciscan mission was conversion of the Native Americans, however the meaning was limited or framed within their understanding of eighteenth and nineteenth century religious ideologies. While the relative intensity of faith the Native Americans brought to their conversion was diverse and somewhat unknowable given the sources, the Franciscan priests believed that once baptism and conversion was “sealed,” the Native Americans assumed not only the unspoken contract of living a pious, Christian lifestyle, but also agreed to a form of “spiritual debt peonage” to the missions (108). Sandos further emphasizes that these conversions were likely driven by survival interests like food, protection, and other material benefits that came to those who participated in musical arrangements that supported the mission.

  Sandos further argues that Franciscans were not intentional agents of a genocidal mission against the populations of the Native communities. In fact, there was a lot of internal concern for the maintenance of the population numbers given that the missions relied on these new populations not only for their spiritual goals, but as a steady supply of labor to support their mercantile efforts in trades like oils, candles, tallow and cattle. Sandos’ analysis, however, does seem to limit the discussion to physical genocide, particularly at the level of populations. What is important to recall here is the fact that the Franciscans did intend to commit a kind of cultural genocide, in that they did (ideally) want to replace the indigenous culture with a Christianized, Hispanic-oriented culture. In practice, however, this has been shown to not be the case, as Sandos illustrates with his argument that the missionary period formed a complex hybrid culture that the Franciscans and Native Americans both contributed to, where villains and heroes are not easily defined (184).

  Such arguments mirror other discussions within American West and Southwest borderlands’ communities, such as with James Brooks’ article "Violence, Exchange, and the Honor of Men", as well as Gutierrez’ chapter on "The Spanish Conquest of New Mexico," particularly outlining the conflicts between military conquest before 1573 and the focus on religious conversions by the Franciscans afterwards (Gutierrez, 46). A seemingly coherent argument between Gutierrez and Sandos is the relationship the Native Americans had to the celebration of Mass, where Gutierrez emphasizes not only the familiar aspects of the celebration with Native religious rituals, but also the pacifying effect such a “universal” celebration would have on the population (Gutierrez, 63).

  Sandos, however, emphasizes too the level of resistance the Native Americans had against the religious colonization efforts, particularly in the context of a “hidden transcript,” where the public display of acquiescence belies the very real, private resistance that exists under the surface. What is interesting here is the concept of the “hidden transcript,” as expanded upon in James C. Scott’s book Domination and the Arts of Resistance (a highly recommended work) which deals with the condition of Southern slavery. Sandos emphasizes that the experience of the Native Americans within the missionary system was not one of slavery as we understand it, but of pre-existing “debt peonage.”

  Sandos wishes to emphasize that his analysis avoids the dichotomous camps of Spanish missionary California, particularly the “Christophilic Triumphantalist” that overemphasizes the positive aspects of the Franciscan missions, against the “Christophobic Nihilist” who condemns the Franciscans for their disruptive, destructive efforts. While this point of view is admirable, modern scholarship almost always seem to avoid such black and white “camps” in favor of a more nuanced, gray area reading of what the experience was like. Sandos also mentions the role disease had on the Native American populations, particularly the spread of venereal disease. While these discussions are interesting, it may strengthen a future edition to consider works by Steven Hackel, whose work in ethnographic and environmental factors could strengthen Sandos’ own arguments.

  There are problems with parts of Sandos’ arguments. His discussion of how patriarchy was introduced by the Franciscan missionary system, which relies on the idea that there was a strong matriarchal culture or at least female agency previously, is somewhat problematic based on such assumptions and reduction of the diverse cultures of Native American communities. Further, the role of disease on the native populations also could be strengthened with further diving into more demographic information that would strengthen or counter his treatment of diseases’ impact. Steven Hackel’s later work Children of Coyote, for example, emphasizes the “dual revolutions” of disease introduction AND environmental factors that limited the traditional lifeways of the Native American communities, further influencing many of the men’s participation in the missionary system. Finally, Sandos’ reliance on French artist Louis Choris’ impressions of Native American male expressions places the reasoning on inherent psychological issues, when in fact ethnographic research shows it more to be a reflection of indigenous forms of etiquette, a fact that was not as deeply addressed as it could have been.

  Overall, this work is a useful addition to the historiography, particularly in the treatment of music and its role in Christianizing the Native American populations. The most original aspects of Sandos’ work is in this chapter, as he emphasizes the material benefits of participation in the musical activities. His treatment, too, of their acquisition of the Spanish language, and its potentially unifying role in communication across cultural groups, though Sandos isn’t sure of its full role. The prose is highly readable and quick, meaning historians and lay readers alike will benefit quickly from the salient arguments without getting bogged down in unnecessary complications.