Cultural Exploitation and Click Baiting: My Two Cents

There has been one trending issue in most social media today about Nas Daily, a vlogger famous for his 1-minute videos. Actually, I am a fan and I've been following an official page of him in Facebook. Yes, he is inspiring, but is he really true to his word on camera?

The issue started when this statement went viral.

"Some people are taking advantage of our culture. Please help us stop this disrespect to Apo Whang Od and the Butbut tribe" - Facebook post of Gracia Palicas

Gracia is the grandniece of Apo Whang Od. Apo is a 103 year old tattoo artist, she is amazingly unique for her tattoos and the way she  inked it in the human flesh is traditionally exceptional. Mind you, she is not just a tattoo artist, and her tattoos are not mere art. This is part of their indigenous tradition and all that enveloped her embodies the generation of the Kalinga ancestors in the Cordillera.

Photo: By Mawg64 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50374688

Right after that post, Nas Daily then showed video evidences about the agreement between Apo Whang Od and NasAcademy - an extension of Nas Daily, for the traditional tattoo art education for P700 (Philippine Peso). What would the National Commission for the Indigenous People (NCRP) have to say with this? I leave that to them, though I have read some posts from heritage lawyers that there are really lapses on the agreement.

Another Filipino broke her silence upon discovering Nas Daily issue, she is Louise, an entrepreneur working on a cocoa project. She made a lengthy post on her Facebook against Nas, and her experience about how arrogant and indifferent this vlogger off camera. The latter then replied publicly in social media, and another foreign vlogger too aired his side in support of Nas. Everyone talked and from everything they've said, I can gest something fishy condescendingly boiling into cultural exploitation and click baiting.

Just My Two Cents

So, this is just my opinion based on the story that all parties have had shared.

First, Nas Daily could've sought advice prior to any agreement with any heritage expert lawyers regarding the Philippines' value of culture, the indigenous people and the laws that surrounds it. Apo Whang Od, like all other tribes we have everywhere in the Philippines, are the backbones of our unique cultural community. We celebrate with them and respect each others authenticity. Thus, there is no equal amount to monetize this information. It is enough that a vlogger or anyone to showcase their story for the world to appreciate. But, to put up a Whang Od Academy in connection with Nas Academy learning portal for online content, and collect P700 from the learners to be educated about the tribes traditional art is just a sheer exploitation of the Kalinga heritage. That is really a bad move.

Second, if you noticed, some foreign video content creators love featuring stories about Filipinos and the Philippines for popularity. Must be because Filipinos love foreign validation that they're good, etc. They call it "Pinoy Baiting" because most of us spends our leisure time online thus we can make stuffs viral. This might be true, we can accept it. But to hear hurtful and discriminating words from this vlogger is not trustworthy to be treated with so much hospitality. So, all in all, I guess his venture to places and people is not really to inspire, but just to gain more views, more popularity and more money.

My final words...

Maybe this is the right time that we should be supporting our local online content creators. There are plenty of them that has been going around to places not just in the Philippines but also around the world to deliver us great and amazing stories.

Let us also stop validating our worth as a Filipino and as a person from the opinion of other nationalities. We should be proud in mind and in spirit, irregardless of anyone's opinion.

Finally, we are stronger as one community, let us protect the culture and tradition that made us unique up to this day.

The photo above is a traditional costume and dance from the Higaonon Tribe in the hinterland in Iligan City. We celebrated with them and with the Maranaw tribe during annual city festivals. Photo: by the author

I have posted some photos about our city's festival through this article:

Diyandi Festival - In My Lens

Lead Image, second image and content are all MINE. All Rights Reserved.

Plagiarized checked: 97% authentic, 3% from the quote. via Plagiarism Checker

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