Betrayal, Class Fantasies, and the Filipino Nation in Daly City

The depiction of overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) in The Filipino Channel (TFC) relates to concepts in Foucault's excerpt in Truth and Power. For instance, TFC, or the media as an institution, has shaped misconceived notions or false "truths" about how overseas workers experiences are particularly in America. These images are sustained by the continuous struggle for power/dominance between the home country (Philippines) versus host country (U.S.); not only does it reveal power struggles across nations but more importantly, class struggles between the middle-class Filipinos in the Philippines and lower SES folks in America who immigrated in hopes of gaining better opportunities.

As a Filipina American myself who watches Filipino movies and popular TV shows, I do see Filipino immigrants in America being framed negatively. In one show Till I Met You, one mother, who worked abroad in a housekeeping job for years, returned to the Philippines only to find her son suffering the consequences of her leaving. Another character in the movie was depicted as a Filipina women struggling to find jobs with decent pay in San Francisco. Ultimately, to some extent, they end up regretting their decision to work in America.