The Facebook group “subtle asian traits” (SAT) is a group made in 2018 by Asian teenagers in Melbourne. They were inspired by an Australian group called “subtle private school traits” where private school students shared relatable pictures and memes with other private school students – but for SAT, the group shares Asian-focused jokes with other Asians. “subtle asian traits” soon rapidly grew and its reach extended out of Melbourne to other parts of the world. The group now has more than a million Asian members (mostly consisting of millennials and Gen-Z’s) from all over the world from America to Europe and some of these members are from the Philippines. Some posters and memes even represent Filipino culture as well.

The group shares a lot of relatable jokes and memes for Asians, including Filipinos. The most popular punchlines were always those that reflected the minutiae of coming-of-age as an Asian – and these jokes were sometimes funny, sometimes touching, and sometimes even enraging. Things like having strict parents or absentmindedly switching between English and your native language in the middle of conversation are just some of the relatable things the group posts about. Despite the different Asian cultures, the moderators of the group try to manage the content in a way that targets all cultural differences. As wide and far-reaching as the term “Asian” is, the Asian experience seemed almost similar for every type of Asian, if the comments of “Same!” or “This is so funny I do this too” were to be judged. Though us Filipinos don’t exactly look the same as other Asians our experiences are the same.

The group participants portray Asians as a number of several different things – usually as how Asians usually view themselves: conservative, family-oriented, smart, hardworking, passionate, gifted, and somewhat competitive. Almost all the memes and jokes posted in the group somehow reflect any one of these (subtle) traits that Asians have. The group members immediately identify and relate with these memes too. With regards to Filipinos, some of the memes also reflect the Filipinos’ quirks and bad habits such as cutting in line, dancing to “budots”, and the like. However, though very relatable, the posts and memes posted by Asians themselves, somehow are not that far-off from the stereotypical representations of the group by foreign eyes and opinions. The Facebook group was formed to capture the essence of the Asian experience as an adolescent but somehow, almost all of the jokes now center on just bubble tea. The memes also perpetuate some if not most of Asian stereotypes may it be harmful or not. Especially now with more and more members coming in, the moderators are having a hard time monitoring the content posted. Some members of the group who have noticed this express dismay. They think that this type of stereotypical, unimaginative content isn’t what the group was made for – it was made to reflect the true teen Asian experience. The moderators try their best to remind everyone that this type of content is not okay, that Asians are more than just their stereotypes. What we see in media about Asians has somehow affected us and has become our view of ourselves as well. It may be passed as jokes, but this could potentially harm our collective identity as Asians. The ideology or ideas Asians have of themselves directly shape the representation they project onto their posts and memes. These ideologies are not just informed by the very Asian culture the author of the post came from but are now as well also somewhat influenced by the stereotypes put upon Asians. Social media’s nature of being able to share anything at a moment and see almost everything (every opinion, every thought) at a moment’s glance, makes the spread of these stereotypes grow. These stereotypes are then how people see Asians, and thus, sometimes even Asians see themselves this way as well. The ideology of a non-Asian reader of a post could also directly inform their interpretations. The different ideologies between the Asian post authors and the potentially non-Asian reader could potentially form a gap between the intended meaning and the interpreted meaning, thus the message not really connecting.

Overall, despite the vastness of the variety of Asian culture, we still somehow relate with each other. Through funny anecdotes, memes, and posts, we young Asians connect. Also, despite stereotypes propagating, we Asians know what we truly are and it is our job to avoid perpetuating these stereotypes ourselves in how we represent our culture.

Collectivism and Individualism

6. In the second article, what is a speech act?

Speech acts are a minimal unit of discourse or communication and it is transferable from language to language. It is almost universal to all cultures such as showing gratitude, asking for forgiveness, and many more. However, these acts must be used given proper circumstances or else they might be perceived differently or impolite or strange.

7. How do specific cultures use “apologies” and “thank yous”?

In American culture, apologizing or asking for forgiveness is not as common as other cultures. This is due to their notion that asking for forgiveness makes one loss self-esteem, is a sign of inadequacy, or is even seen as a admitting one’s negative aspect. In stark contrast, East Asians are terribly prone to apologizing. It is encouraged as self-maintenance, self-criticism, and self-improvement. Apologizing is also seen as a critical self-evaluative nature. Americans tend to express gratitude freely and more openly while, on the other hand, East Asians prefer implicit and nonverbal expressions of gratitude.

8. What did the authors hypothesize about the use of apology and thank you between Americans and Koreans?

The author’s first hypothesis is that Koreans are more like to use apologies when asking a favor than Americans. In asking favors, Koreans will express apologies while Americans will express thanks since Koreans (as part of East Asian culture) tend to apologize more than Americans  and since Americans tend to speak their gratitude more than Americans.

The second hypothesis is that “favor-asking messages with an apology, a gratitude statement, or an apology and agratitude statement will threaten the hearer’s negative face less than a favor-asking message with no apology or gratitude statement.”

9. How did the author observe these differences? What does the result of the study say about the two cultural groups’ propensity to apologize and express gratitude? What are the implications of the result?

The author observed the differences between these two cultures through their research methods using chi-square test on the relationship between culture and the use of speech acts. According to the results, Koreans write apologies in favor-asking messages more. Americans, in contrast, use both apologies and gratitude in writing favors. These results suggest or imply that Koreans are more likely to use apologies while Americans use both apologies and thanks. This is in agreement with the author’s first hypothesis.

Understanding Cultural Differences

1. What kinds of stimuli are defined by context?

• Time
• Flow of information and networking
• Relationship
• Space

2. How are these stimuli different in high and low context cultures?

In high context cultures, time is more flexible, very fluid and are polychronic in nature. For low context, time is more rigid, scheduled, organized, fixed and monochronic in nature.

Flow of information and networks in high context cultures is quicker and information is spread faster through many channels and sources. It is free-flowing, and there is an abundance in information networks. For low context cultures, though the spread of information is slower, it is also more detailed. Information is centralized and may be controlled or manipulated, the information is also straight-forward.

People in high context culture relationships usually are very close. They value long-term relationships and are open to interruptions. Low context cultures, on the other hand, tend to have short-term relationships. They are more formal, and are less prone to interruptions.

Physical space in high context cultures, is usually shared. The personal bubble is smaller and is more open to others. This leads to sometimes causing boundaries to overlap and more interaction between individuals. Physical space in low context cultures is compartmentalized. The personal bubbles are considerably larger, subsequently leading to lesser interaction among individuals.

3. Give examples coming from your own experiences.

My close friends and I are very high context, especially in our relationship with each other and how we share space.

Identity, Positioning, and Self-Other Relations

1. What is positioning? How does it clarify the relational character of identity?

Identity construction involves a dynamic between the self and the other, which then produces social representations. These representations provide “various possible identities” or positions that individuals may take to “help them structure their social world and orient themselves within this world” (Andreouli, 2010). Individuals and groups construct social identities that reflect their efforts to situate or position themselves within their society. Positioning is literally placing and shaping yourself in relation to others.

2. How does positioning explain how marginalized groups negotiate and assert their collective identities in asymmetric social relations where they experience discrimination and prejudice?

Positioning is an on-going discursive process. Therefore, it is not fixed or stable and can be reshaped or reconfigured. This can explain how marginalized groups see themselves and assert their identities. A marginalized group’s collective identity is shaped by how they position themselves with the majority who discriminate them. The marginalized group is the “other”. Their identity is shaped by their experiences as the “other” in relation to the majority and the discrimination and prejudice they experience because of it.

Owing to positioning’s nature of being an on-going discursive process, some individuals in marginalized groups might experience a dissonance with their personal identity and collective identity such as the example with the Chinese-British woman interviewed in the book. She personally identifies as British – she has Chinese origins but was raised in Britain since a young age. However, she doesn’t feel accepted as a British citizen because people do not view her as one, owing to her Chinese origins. But then, she also feels a dissonance with the collective who are also marginalized with her. She feels she is more British than the others.

What are you really paying for when you ask an artist if you could pay them in exposure?

Before I begin my speech, let me read you a picture I found while scrolling through my Facebook timeline. It is a screenshot of a conversation between an artist and a hopeful client. The client goes, “Sir! Magkano papaint ng wall. Ganito sana, pero may colors!” Insert picture of a beautiful, detailed, complex, black and white doodle. Mr. Artist goes, “Gano po kalaki ang wall? Make your own price, sir! Smiley face”. The hopeful client goes, “150.. Pwede na?”. Artist goes, “Mmm I’m kinda helping my beautiful mother pay the bills. It would take around 8 hrs to paint the wall po kasi. Sad face. Sa iba nalang po sir, thank you so much! Smiley face.” You’d expect the client to amicably end the conversation there but THEN he says, “Mga artist ngayon mga mukhang pera! Dali dali lang niyan, eh! Sige salamat nalang.” End of conversation. The artist posted this screenshot on his Facebook with the caption, “Been doing arts for more than a decade… Just to earn 150.”

Just recently there was also another viral photo of an artist who painted a beautiful picture of Catriona Gray receiving a similar kind of message asking for a portrait as well, this time giving no price amount as payment but saying that they will pay by posting the artist’s name and paying them through exposure. Think that’s sad? I’ve got more! It isn’t just the painters that get these kind of messages, it’s the musicians too! Even veterans of their craft aren’t exempt from the stupidity that is “payment through exposure”. An example is the legendary Bisrock band Missing Filemon. They were requested to perform at an event in a certain well-known university in Cebu and the student organizers had the AUDACITY to tell these bisrock legends the stupid phrase, “We’ll pay you in exposure.” Sometimes, it’s members of extended family who ask for free art. I guess it’s okay if it’s as a gift or if it’s something the artist is truly willing to do for free but if it’s a favor from a relative to a professional artist family member to do a huge art project for their business, that’s another story.

These kinds of things these artists have experienced all have similar recurring themes that has been a problem for quite a while now. They highlight an issue that certainly isn’t new but all the more still needs to be addressed. We have to stop underpaying artists, stop trying to “pay them in exposure” and start paying them what they’re due.

Artists are constantly asked to work for free or for so little pay, just because art is viewed as a past time or a quirky hobby. However, being an artist is a legitimate career. Artists still need to be paid for their work, just as much as any other professional should. How is paying an illustrator, a graphic artist, a painter, a photographer, a band, or a wedding videographer any different from paying an architect to draw up a design of a house for you? Architects are technically still making art but you don’t pay architects in exposure. You pay them thousands, sometimes even millions! I’m not saying you have to pay every artist millions for their work but what I’m saying is to give these artists – even the young up-and-coming artists who open up art commissions when they need money – we have to pay them what they are due.

When you ask to pay artists for their work with an unfair price or for free, here’s what you’re really paying for. For one, you’re paying these artists for the tools they use, the years (and even expensive art school tuition) it took to learn, hone, and become experts in their skills. Just because it took them 30 minutes to draw or paint you something, doesn’t mean it took them 30 minutes to learn how to do it. The skill to produce art, be it a painting, a photograph, or music requires years of training. The skill even if naturally given must still be cultivated. That takes TIME AND MONEY.

You are also paying for their house bills, their rent, their food. Artists pour their very souls into their work. You aren’t just paying for their expertise, or their time, you’re also paying for a piece of their very soul, an inkling of their creative minds. Asking for that for all intents and purposes for free is a tall order.

The only reason why there’s a stigma about going into the arts (about how it’s going to be hard to get a job or that you’ll end up starving) is because of clients who perpetuate and enable the culture of asking more of artists for a lesser price! Come on guys it’s 2019! Get with the times! Pay for art or don’t commission an artist at all. It may be the stark reality right now but can’t we change that?

Expecting every artist to produce art just for the love of the art is ridiculous in my eyes. Artists are gifted individuals that produce value. They should be paid for their creations and their contributions to art and culture. We have to start valuing artistry and respect the ascended individuals who produce them.  Regardless of where an artist is at in their career, emerging, established, or somewhere in between, an artist deserves to get paid.

On Identity, For Rhetoric

1. How is identity a social process?

Identity itself is an interactional accomplishment. It is a social process because our own view of ourselves, our identity, is produced, molded, and continually negotiated by the interactions we have with others and our social performances. It is also how we orient ourselves with the people around us, the environment, through communication and the many constraints of social norms.

2. How is identity constructed through communication? What are the processes in identity construction in and through communication?

The identity is constructed through communication through assertion, definition, and mutual communication with others. It is through this negotiation process that people will be able to attain mutually desired identities. This comes about or is made through internalizing the identities attached to someone by others through group discourse and communication, as well as through social norms, and the human desire to be social. It is also through the addition of new ascriptions from other that an identity may change.

3. What is the layered or framed perspective on identity? What does each frame encompass? How do the frames interpenetrate? Can you think of a situation that shows interpenetration between and among identity frames?

The layered or framed perspective on identity help us to understand that (rather than just one layer) identity is a multifaceted social entity nested in different levels. Hecht identified four frames, namely: the personal frame, the enacted frame, the relational frame, and the communal frame.

The personal frame encompasses our sense of being – how we see ourselves. This includes our self-image and self-concept. The enacted frame encompasses the performance and outward expressions of ourselves, our identity, to others. This includes how we form messages to express ourselves. The relational frame defines identity as something that is embedded in our relationships with others, that our characteristics are defined by our relations with others around us. The communal frame explains that identities are a shared vision of our “personhood” in relation to a collective we belong to – where our identity can be described by the characteristics ascribed to us by a community or group. 

A situation which may showcase interpenetration between and among these identity frames is when an individual might have a negative view of themselves in their personal frame and this is reinforced by their peers reinforcing the negative view through the relational frame. How the individual acts is then shaped by their identity, by how they view themself – they might act shy and reserved.

4. Jung and Hecht (2004) wrote about dialectical tensions in the interpenetration of the frames. What does this mean? Drawing from your observations and personal experiences, what example can best explain this dialectical tension?

Jung and Hecht wrote about dialectical tensions as the concept of identity gap. This refers to how among the four frames of the identity there may exist discrepancies or inconsistencies. These may arise from poor communication and relations with others that subsequently cause a degradation of mental health. Their studies particularly focused on the gap between personal and ascribed relational identities and the gap between personal and enacted identities.

An example I can think of that might best explain or show this dialectical tension is lifted from my own experience. I personally like to view myself as tough-skinned – that I don’t cry easily or I’m not particularly sentimental. However, my actions showcase otherwise. I cry easily when frustrated or sad because of anything from arguments to failures to sad movies. I view myself as tough-skinned in my personal frame but in my enacted frame, I am actually very soft-hearted, “iyakin“, and sentimental.

Digital Rhetoric

1. How does persuasion work in online communication? How are the rhetorical strategies of persuasion deployed in online spaces?

In online communication, there are four basic qualities, which are: Speed, Reach, Anonymity, and Interactivity. Speed enables communication online to be casual, Reach enables for online posts and texts to be easily accessible with a wide reach to the public, Anonymity enables people to explore and experiment with ideas, and Interactivity enables instantaneous feedback and widespread avenues for discussion.With these four qualities in tandem, creating persuasive text through the online mediums is made possible. These four basic qualities also allow for Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to be deployed in online spaces. These 3 rhetorical strategies are deployed through text posts, websites, forums, and the like.

2. How do computer programs function as persuasive technology?

Computer programs serve as persuasive technology by being a tool, a medium, and a social actor. Computer programs are a tool by simplifying the work and processes that involve the dissemination of information. Computer programs also are used a medium for recreating situations, environments, and objects. Lastly, computer programs are social actors through physical, linguistic, psychological, and social cues.

3. How do the processes of identity and community formation on social media affect rhetorical practice online?

Identity formation has a similar process to the the traditional concept of ethos – building knowledge on a person’s reputation and creating important and ongoing performance of the self.

Understanding Political Rhetoric

1. What were the different persuasive strategies mentioned in this chapter?

The first persuasive strategy mentioned is “how speakers may present their own rhetorical projects as exercises in political consensus” or Taking and Avoiding Sides. This is when a communicator decides to simply side with one group against another to address the problem of audience diversity. One example is when politicians present themselves and speaks as “just an ordinary citizen, with views just like the commonfolk” rather than a member of the political circle.

The second is “appealing explicitly to broadly defined ingroups” or Explicit Appeals to Common Ingroup Membership. Communicators try to appeal to diverse audiences by looking for ways to find common ground between them – a single overarching characteristic for an entire group. The diverse audience must be regrouped into a single category, the leader/communicator’s proposition must meet the needs of this category, and the leader/communicator must also present themself as a typical in-group member.

The third is Constructing Aspiration Identities. Communicators appeal to audiences by envisioning for them a future which is incredibly different from the present. The communicator constructs for the audience more empowered and privileged future identities and rallies the people to achieve change.

The fourth and last is Implicit Displays of Rhetorical Alignment. This strategy is a bit more indirect in trying to influence the thoughts of the audience. This is through body posture, gesture, or even clothes. Even the usage of inclusive pronouns such as “we”, “us”, and “our” serves to endear the speaker to the audience and establish a rapport with them.

2. Of these strategies, which have you encountered during political campaigns?

From watching political campaigns through the years, I’ve seen a lot of these strategies employed by the many different politicians who have run for various positions in office. A big example of Implicit Displays of Rhetorical Alignment is the “Laban” symbol of the Aquinos.

3. Were these strategies effective for you? Why or why not?

For me, I didn’t buy any of it. However, in overall effectiveness, I think it definitely was. It actually won some of them their places in office such as both Cory and Noynoy Aquino and Duterte.

Recognizing a Rhetorical Situation

1. What is Bitzer’s definition of a rhetorical situation?

To Bitzer, it is the situation that calls for the existence of rhetorical discourse. As such, a rhetorical situation is prerequisite for it. However, not all situations can be rhetorical. According to Bitzer, a rhetorical situation is “a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting as actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action as to bring about significant modification of the exigence.” (Bitzer, 1968). In essence, a rhetorical situation is a combination of people, events, objects, and relations that require immediate action or addressing.

2. What are the different aspects of a rhetorical situation?

The first aspect is exigence. According to Bitzer, it is an “imperfection marked by urgency” – this means that it is a situation, an obstacle, or anything that needs to be changed or addressed. However, not all exigences are rhetorical. Death and natural disasters are most definitely exigences but they cannot be changed, thus they are not rhetorical exigences. Rhetorical exigence requires discourse that can affect positive changes, making it rhetorical. The second aspect is the audience which the rhetoric discourse seeks to influence the decisions and actions of. These people in the audience act as the “mediators of change”. A rhetorical audience isn’t just “hearers or readers”,  they only consist of people capable of being influenced and of being mediators of change. The third, and last, is constraints. Constraints are factors that influence the exigence – they have the power to constrain the decisions and actions needed to modify it. These can be people, events, objects, relations, etc. which are related to the rhetorical situation.

3. Which of the issues you encounter today do you think warrant rhetorical discourse?

A lot of issues in our country warrant rhetorical discourse. One such example is the war on drugs and the issue of EJK. Another is the disputes in Mindanao with the radical Moros.

1. Many industry insiders attribute the recent falloff in audiences for movies, recorded music, network television, DVD, radio, newspapers, and video games to changes in technology; people are finding new ways to access content. And while this is certainly true to a degree, others say that in this age of concentrated and hypercommercialized media, audiences are simply being turned off. Would you agree with the critics? Why? Can you give examples from your own media consumption?

In my opinion, access to media such as movies, recorded music, etc. has never been easier than it is now. Technology has made access to media so easy that it’s right at the tip of our fingers. I definitely agree with critics that the advent of services such as Netflix, iWantTV, Spotify, Apple Music, and the like have absolutely made an effect on the physical falloff of media – such as physical album sales, moviegoers in cinemas, console gamers, DVDs, radios, etc. Some people just find the services a lot more convenient. However, this does not mean that some people still do not consume physical outlets of media – some people, such as me, still do watch movies in cinemas (especially if it’s a movie that I feel needs to be experienced in a cinema) and sometimes, theatres are jampacked. Physical albums still are being bought not just for listening but for sentimental value as well – I still buy albums of my favorite artists when I have the money. Gaming consoles are booming with the advent of the newer games and the fact that consoles such as the PS4 perform much better than PCs.

With this easy access to media and the booming development in technology, more and more pieces of media are being produced to cater to the growing market – Hollywood is churning out movie after movie, music artists release album after album, video games are getting better and made for phones to PCs to handheld consoles, television shows are flourishing, among many others. However, the problem with this fast churning of new material is that at some point, the content is starting to become stale and a bit repetitive and unoriginal. Movies, music, and others are being made just for the sake of money and no longer hold a treasure trove of new experiences for the consumer – sometimes the cost isn’t even worth the experience AND it’s over saturated with advertisements and commercials. This isn’t the case for every release out there but it is definitely true for most. An example of this, for me, is when I’m watching videos on Youtube, an ad keeps interrupting my viewing and even when I’m watching a movie in the cinema, the commercials take so long and are like TV commercials, for detergents, soaps, etc. Also, even in Filipino movies and TV shows, the product placements are so much that it takes away from the experience and the commercials take so long but the actual show is way too short. While technology has definitely made an impact on the falling of physical media, the producers themselves and the hypercommercialism involved are the ones also at fault.

3. Critics of concentration of media ownership and conglomeration argue that they are a threat to democracy. What is the thrust of their concern? Do you share it? Why or why not?

The two main threats of concentration of ownership, according to the Cultural Forum article, are: (1) the media’s abandonment of giving off more pressing and more important information and matters in exchange for seeking profit, and (2) media using its reach to shape information to suit their own political agendas.

“With great power, comes great responsibility”. The media, indeed, has great power. They are responsible for information dissemination – the information that most people consume and believe. It is definitely a huge influencer in all fields, this includes the political sphere. Anything the media could shape and alter and present to the masses to consume, that’s all the populace would know. As such, it’s not impossible to imagine that the media could use their influence to benefit their own political agendas. Since the media is such a powerful tool for political gains, it is susceptible to profiting from large sums of money in bribes from suspicious persons to withhold and even alter the information that they release. As such, I definitely share the concerns of critics. If the media can be easily influenced in such nefarious ways, it’s hard to know who to truly trust. Fake news is rampant in today’s age and if one is not careful, they could easily fall prey to its influence.