Images of Japanese men in post-colonial Philippine literature and films

Abstract

Throughout this thesis I use "Philippine literature" in some cases instead of "Filipino literature," and therefore need to clarify the distinction, since "Filipino" also means the national language of the Philippines as laid down in the 1987 constitution. I use "Philippine literature" when I talk about a Filipino writer's works written in English. On the other hand, I use "Filipino" as a general referent for the literature of the Philippines (e.g. - He represents the world of Filipino literature ... ), or works written in Filipino official languages, such as Tagalog, Ilokano, etc. In this thesis, I will analyze the images of Japanese men in post-colonial Philippine literature written in English, Filipino Films, short stories and a poem and consider why and how these images were created and still maintained by Filipinos in the context of the Philippine/Japan historical and social relationship. I address this more specifically in section 2, but as a context I need first to provide a historical overview of Japan and the Philippines.