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Coming Full Circle: The Process of Decolonization Among Post-1965 Filipino-Americans, Written by Leny Mendoza Strobel. Published by Giraffe Books, Manila 2001. pp. 204. This is also my customer review at amazon.com
If you ever wanted to know more about certain Filipino quirks such as why there are so many Philippine mestizo movie stars and models... or why many Filipinos believe that imported or "i-stateside" things are superior...or why there are Filipinos who are embarrassed to say they are Filipino... then this book could help you find out why. Coming Full Circle by Leny Strobel talks about the Filipino psychological handicap called colonial mentality. Better yet, this book tells a Filipino probable ways that one could cure colonial mentality in oneself if they ever chose to. For a Filipino, reading this book can already help their mind detoxify from colonial psychological rubbish (even just parts of the book at a time). This is a brave book of a Filipino woman's study and exploration of the phenomenon of Filipino's lack of ethnic pride and the inability to articulate or manifest a strong sense of ethnic identity (colonial mentality) and the process of unlearning it (decolonization). The book is a ground breaking, significant contribution to Filipino community because it is a lucid articulation of the predicament and struggle within the process of finding Filipino identity---individual and collective, whole and healed. Both Philippine and U.S. educational systems do not tell a complete story of U.S. colonial history in the Philippines, but by reading this book, I finally came to know more about it. Just a note, the Philippines was also colonized by Spain, but this book does not cover Spanish colonial history and influences. Still, this book is enough to better understand how colonial mentality came about. The book gives concrete facts and terms that I could connect to what I went through in my life when I tackled thoughts and concepts of colonial mentality, ethnic pride and individuality on my own terms in my Philippine university days in the 80s. I believe that many other Filipinos will also be able to make a few connections with the information and narratives in this book. Leny Strobel's work is both scholarly and intuitive. It not only explains and informs on an academic level, but it also contains insightful thoughts, honest feelings and personal stories. The book illustrates expressions and appearances of colonial mentality through accounts of the author's and that of others. I found many of these people's experiences similar with my own and with Filipinos both in the U.S. and the Philippines. Most significantly, the book talks about the process of decolonization not only in theory but also actual practice. Strobel recognizes that decolonization is a progression of healing and in the book we read that it is "a process of learning to love one's self again... of learning to face the truth and learning to tell the truth... learning to draw up the powers from the deep like before... going back to our roots..." and more. She cites ways for such wholistic self-recovery and discusses what she and the field study participants acted out and how these actions gradually pushed out the different manifestations of colonial mentality in their lives. Strobel also helps the reader realize that the healing process is both an individual effort and a community one. She helps the reader recognize that there is a continual need to work on one's own identity while at the same time interacting within a social context. If you haven't already been aware, this book can point out to you how colonial mentality affects yours and others' choices and actions; how we each might share in each other's ignorance and silent incapacitation; and how we can affect each other's growth. Many times the field participants would share their own experiences of overcoming colonial mentality (by educational and/or cultural exploration) with their families, friends and peers and in turn their sharing would somehow have an effect on those they told.
Although Strobel's field study was done in the U.S., the material of this book is not only significant to Filipino-Americans. It can also be relevant to the Philippines and Filipinos in other parts of the world. The academic discourse of Coming Full Circle cites concepts and works of Filipinos and non-Filipinos, and of those that are published in the Philippines, the U.S., Canada and London. Ignorance can make for complacency and cynicism. Knowledge is power. This book shares knowledge and stories. Consider new insight and strength when you know your facts and can name the identity struggles you're going through and discern how to get over it. This book can be an opening to a new way of looking at things. It can help you realize a way or ways that can become or already are part of your ethnic identity process. A Filipino who comes to be centered within his identity and self, will want to know more and DO more, for his or herself and for others. This is the path of the brave Filipino. Thank you, Leny Strobel, for coming up with this book. Pursuing further interactive dialogue. I met Leny through the Internet just after I started the web site of newfilipina.com in 1998. She was one of the first persons to believe in the web site whose purpose upon its creation was the upliftment of Filipina identity on the internet. She generously contributed her essay "Reimagining Filipino Identity" to the BagongPinay site and also to our first newsletter issue of 1999 (Tinig ng Pilipina sa Internet). This essay is now part of the first chapter of her book CMC. While I read this book, I realized that the Internet was just one of the many avenues whereby the discussion of decolonization within the community of Filipinos everywhere could be furthered. The work of pagtatanong-tanung (research, asking questions, dialogue) could continue on the World Wide Web and could further the reach of the studies of decolonization and the concepts of it. I convinced Leny of this, so at the end of 2001, Leny and I brought about an online discussion group called Pagbabalik-loob which is found at www.yahoogroups.com. This discussion also has a few other moderators from around the world who have done work on the ideas of decolonization. We invite more members to join this discussion. As of January 2002, we are still in the process of developing a few basics such as a glossary of terms and frequently asked questions. You are invited to join this interaction of Filipinos on the thoughts of colonial mentality and Filipino identity. To subscribe, please send a blank email to pagbabalikloob-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. To find out more info, please visit this web page http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pagbabalikloob/ (Note: to access the discussions at this webpage you may have to register with yahoogroups. This is free.) Book Sources:
Other books by Leny Strobel featured in BagongPinay: A Book of Her Own: Words and Images to Honor the Babaylan
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