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Let's do this countdown the BakitWhy.com way! We're counting down the top ten most popular posts of the year. The rank of each post is determined by not the topic nor writing, but by responses from you, our awesome online community! If you're itching to find out what's been hot this past year and just joined in on the fun, this is the 2008 list for you!
10. Guest Contribution: "He Loves Him"
By Alann Salvador on November 15
"In sociology, the term othering is used to describe the singling out of a certain sector of the population, usually for the purpose of ridicule and oppression. Although it sounds like it should be an outdated phenomenon, there exists the very real possibility that our State Constitution can be amended to deem homosexuals as others."
9. Coverboys: Uncovered
By Trisha Nocon on September 27
"Jon Avila, Victor Basa, Jake Cuenca, Zanjoe Marudo, Rafael Rosell, Will Devaughn, Ron Morales, John James Uy and Marvin Raymundo. The ASAP Coverboys are comprised of Philippine media network ABS-CBN's hottest models/actors grouped together to cater to the female audience on a segment of the variety show ASAP on TFC. Now they've just concluded their first U.S. concert tour to cater to their Pilipino American audience. How did these Pil-Am women (and men) find out about the Coverboys? And how did they get such a huge response from their Pil-Am fans?"
8. Guest Contribution: The Resistance of Philippine Cinema
By Geo "Prometheus Brown" Quibuyen on December 2
"We love being Filipino. We love films. So why don’t we love Filipino films?
For many, the combination of the words “Filipino” and “Film” evokes low-budget melodrama and corniness from directors recycling the same five fair-skinned actors while trying, and failing, to emulate Hollywood. A quick glance at the DVD shelves of the local Pinoy video store (if it hasn’t closed and re-opened as a remittance business yet) and this stereotype seems justified."
7. Pil-Am Health: It's Not Just Your Mom's Problem
By Maureen Roble on September 25
"It's rare to hear about Asian American health in the news, outside the context of the miraculous healing powers of green tea, meditation, and eating lots of fish--much of the mass media take Asian Americans to be one homogenous group that has excellent health. Not only is this false, but buying into the stereotype can be deadly. The fact of the matter is Pilipino Americans are facing a silent health crisis, and your 50-year-old Tito Alfredo is not the only one who should be worrying. Young men between the ages of 18 and 49, and women need to increase their health awareness, as well. Heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and diabetes are big problems in the community."
6. Pilipina/o Cultural Nights and Celebrations
By Janice Sapigao on December 20
"Have you ever been involved in a Pilipina/o Cultural Night or Celebration? You know, that 4-6 month long process of scriptwriting, choreographing, learning dances, making practices, memorizing lines, blocking? What about the other side of the process? Like the organizing, community and alumni contacts, fundraising, educating, simultaneous building and crying? "
<<This Countdown Break brought to you by Cris P. Pata>>
5. Representing Pilipinos on the ABDC Finale
By Kaywan Shiraz on August 21
"For those of you who saw our exclusive MTV's America's Best Dance Crew interview and watched the season finale today, you probably witnessed a surprise! As promised in our interview, RJ "Rockadile" Puno of the winning crew, Super Cr3w, flew the Philippine flag across the stage in front of a nationwide audience! The rest of the Pil-Ams came out at the end and passed the flag around, celebrating the prominence of Pilipinos in ABDC."
4. Pil-Ams and America's Best Dance Crew
By Kaywan Shiraz on June 14
"One of the more possibly positive stereotypes of Pilipinos is that, dang, we can dance! In the recent years, Pilipino-Americans have been coming into the mainstream as some of the most talented and creative dancers ever in the world. Featured on shows across different major U.S. networks, Pilipino-American dancers continue to rock the stages and show that yes, we got skill..."
3. BakitWhy.com Exclusive Interview with Lea Salonga
By Jeremiah Abraham and Justin Madriaga on July 16
"BakitWhy.com had the opportunity to speak with the one and only, Lea Salonga about her career, family life, and identity. The international superstar recently performed a variety of songs from her repertoire at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, CA. This included songs from Disney's Aladdin, Disney's Mulan, Les Miserables, Annie, Miss Saigon... and her upcoming production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. The BakitWhy team was then able to catch up with Lea during an intimate reception after the performance."
2. BakitWhy.com Exclusive: America's Best Dance Crew
By Justin Madriaga, Ahmad Shiraz, and Kaywan Shiraz on July 24
"Randy Jackson's America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC) is one of the hottest dance shows on TV today. Nearing the end of season two, ABDC has showcased an impressive range of styles, dancers, and teams to the American public for weeks. As mentioned in our previous post, this season of ABDC is full of Pilipino-Americans--more than half of the remaining dancers are Pil-Ams!"
and...watch out for it.
1. The Crab Mentality: A Suburban Perspective
By Ben Cabungun on July 7
"I always remember being compared to other Filipino kids in my neighborhood, or within my family's networks. I was always bombarded with statements such as "Look at Jimboy, he is very good at the piano, and he gets straight A's...why aren't you doing that too!?" The comparisons would continue for years to come, as they compared college majors, weight, hairstyles, dress, jobs, boyfriends, and so on. A few years ago, I began to realize that there was something much more to this constant comparing. I began to critically understand this behavior as a competition for face, reputation, and status among Filipino families in my neighborhood."
It's been a great year for posts! With your support, let's kick up that discussion and idea exchange for 2009. Do you have any favorite posts for 2008? Let's battle!
