A Metaphorical Lynching

Filipino as the Racialized Other; Night of the Living Dead

The racist nature of the Philippine-American War was painfully obvious as to one segment of U.S. society---African Americans, a majority of whom opposed the annexation. In 1896, as Filipinos began their war for independence from Spain, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized racial segregation by approving the “separate but equal” doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson. Every week somewhere in the South, two or three blacks were lynched--tortured and hanged or burned before cheering white mobs. The letters and diaries of U.S. soldiers who were fighting in the Philippine-American War reflected the racist views of many whites. In a letter published in the Kingston Evening Post, A.A. Barnes of the Third Artillery wrote: “Orders were received...to burn the town and kill every native in site; which was done to a finish. About 1,000 men, women, and children were killed. I am probably growing hard-hearted, for I am in my glory when I can sight my gun on some dark skin and pull the trigger”

I found this article extremely relevant to the assigned movie Night of the Living Dead. As I was watching the movie and the refresher clip in class, I couldn’t help but see that the movie displayed a metaphorical lynching of Duane Jones. It was ironic that the radio mentioned murder-happy individuals and the parallels between the mindless killing of the zombies and the town militia. This article mentions that “blacks were lynched...before cheering white mobs”, similar to the scene we saw in the movie. The media depiction is important because the Civil Rights Movement of the 60’s was giving a voice to the unheard. The individuals who gain “glory” when they “pull the trigger” on “some dark skin” was seen in the movie and definitely seen through all of African-American history from slavery to Jim Crow to cases now. The idea of racism was institutionalized inherently through the militia and the movie as a medium. 

As a Filipino-American, it is very hard to read into these types of discussions because the texts are always from the “winner’s perspective”. Emilio Aguinaldo, the labeled “insurgent” of the Philippines is considered a national hero. It is important to see how political cartoons are depict these individuals.In the picture to the right, we see that the Philippine hero is depicted as a mosquito, a pest to the U.S. and ultimately not a threat.

This shows the dehumanization of the native Filipinos and using a cartoon medium only demonstrates how they cannot take the Philippines seriously. Both Filipinos and African-Americans were viewed as uncivilized as were categorized as below White. This distinction is as important role as the Philippines finally gets to establish themselves as a nation after Imperial Japan and "Postcolonial" America tries to impose their ideals onto the country.