By Farah G. Decano

 

EASTER Sunday is now playing in theaters.  I am pleased that finally Hollywood has taken fancy on an All-Filipino movie.  Jo Koy, the stand-up comedian who explored the humor of having been raised by a Filipino mother steeped in Filipino values and tradition, seems to have struck a pot of gold.  He most likely opened the doors wider for more Filipinos in the western big screen.

Jo Koy’s current success cannot just be credited to his talent.  Many actors came before him like Tia Carrere and Lou Diamond Philips but their appearances in Hollywood did not launch an entire country to fame.  Jo Koy came at a time when the world is ready for actors of different descent.  Jo Koy came at a time when Filipinos have learned to organize themselves in large numbers, empowered themselves and learned to speak up in an alien country.  I also give credit to the Filipino communities around the world for their determination.

Filipinos love laughing at themselves.  They even enjoy self-deprecating humor.  Jo Koy’s presentation of his mom in his stand-up shows as a strict but ridiculously traditional Filipino mother may be seen by foreigners today as disrespectful.  His stories of how he was raised may be perceived as child abuse by present standards.  He and his mother could have been criticized and denounced by children’s rights advocates!  He took the chance anyway.  And lo!  The world laughed with the Filipinos while they laughed at themselves.

The movie mirrors the lives of Filipino communities in the United States.  Recent Filipino arrivals in America may not be able to identify with the hilarious situations shown in the movie.  That the movie is a fusion of east and west elements is undeniable.

A Dagupeño, who became a recent resident of Canada, called me from overseas and told me he had just watched Easter Sunday in Canada.  He admitted that while the film was, to his words, “a bit humorous,” he was “whimpering” inside the cinema.  It suddenly reminded him of his own mother back home. He called me because he was worried for his mom who got entangled in a legal battle.

Easter Sunday is probably a toast to all Filipino mothers out there.  It is likewise a tribute to sons and daughters who are able see heroic love behind their moms’ tough exterior and sometimes bizarre behavior unique to our culture.

Our almost irreverent demonstration of our love for our mothers in a comical way is so Filipino.  It happens in our family.  I am happy that my family’s wickedly humorous manifestation of love for our mother is so common.

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Still on Easter Sunday.  I was watching this recent episode of the Family Feud where Jo Koy’s real-life family members competed against the family of Lydia Gaston, the actor who played his famous mom.  The latter introduced the members of her household by stating the universities they attended and their programs of choice: one was studying Masters in Engineering, another graduated in Applied Math from the University of the Philippines and another was doing another hifalutin course.  Isn’t our emphasis on educational attainment so Pinoy?

I recall how my parents ended up with each other.  While they were in love with each other for their own traits, my grandparents were attracted to other things – their educational attainment.  My paternal grandmother picked my mom because she was an “abogada.”  My maternal grandmother chose the “abogado” over the many professionals who pursued my mom.

Isn’t it more fun to be a Filipino?

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