The Internet has been the key driver for globalization in recent years. Not only can jobs be outsourced through the internet, but it is the tool used for agencies placing OFWs. Teams of professionals in Makati can handle large company support lines, far more efficiently and for far less money than it would take to hire American counterparts. Communicating with these teams is as simple as sending e-mails, video conferencing and instant messages.
Globalization has become an economic force throughout the last century, but economic interdependency is not its only by-product. Globalization in the sphere of culture and communication has taken the form of access to literature and folklore – without the impediment of procuring a printed copy. It also allows the ability for people to communicate cultural experiences to the outside world relatively easily.
The focus is often placed on how the Spanish, Chinese and Americans have influenced the Philippines, but this isn’t a one-way street. When it comes to the pop culture niche of cultural globalization, the aswang has infiltrated the imagination of artists all over the world.
America exhausted its horror genre in the late 1980’s, so it’s no wonder they began to adopt Japanese ghost tales (Ringu, Juon) and explore horror stories from abroad. When the vampire genre became popularized (and quickly saturated), the amorphous and nondescript images of the aswang made it a go-to staple for writers to explore. This is in no small part thanks to Dr. Maximo Ramos’ “vampire” classification of the aswang back in the 1960’s. It is a minuscule part of the folklore, but became the foreigner’s search term, and gateway, to learning about the other fascinating characteristics of the creature. 10 years ago, if I mentioned the aswang, nobody knew what I was talking about. Today, that isn’t the case at all.
Here is a quick look at the exportation of the aswang into foreign TV shows and movies.
The Aswang in Foreign TV and Movies
Aswang (1994 – USA): A young, unwed, pregnant girl is made an offer she can’t refuse. Marry a rich young man with a wealthy estate to please his dying mother, and she’ll be well taken care of. What she doesn’t know is the family has plans to sacrifice her baby!
Surviving Evil (2006 – UK): Six documentary filmmakers attempt to survive their visit to a Philippine island to shoot a survival special when they discover the shape shifting, blood thirsty Aswang (creature of the Philippine folklore) inhabits the island. (trailer below)
Aswang: Journey Into Myth (2008 – Canada): An improvised DocuMovie, not only about Aswang Folklore, but about the artist’s process and how myth is perpetuated through their work. It is about how a creative mind eventually sculpts a new reality.
Destination Truth: Aswang & Haunted Forest (2008 – USA): The Team searches for the Aswang, ghostly creatures said to haunted a tree in the Philippines. Then the Team investigates ghost sightings in Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, the site of nearly 1,000 reported suicides.
CSI (2010 – USA): Dr. Raymond Langston (Laurence Fishburne) defines as “aswang” as “a half-breed, half-vampire, half-werewolf”. (watch the clip below)
Lost Girl: Food For Thought (2011 – Canada): Bo and Kenzi follow Lauren as she tends to a sick Aswang, a type of Fae that is a carrion eater. Kenzi eats some soup that made the Aswang ill and becomes gravely ill as well.
The Aswang Phenomenon (2011 – Canada): Jordan Clark (hey, that’s me!) explores the aswang myth and its effects on Philippine society. (watch the full documentary below)
Blade (anime): Island Lights (2011 – USA): Blade and his partners encounter a mutated version of the Manananggal and its victims while hunting down Deacon Frost on the island of Siquijor, an island province in the Philippines.
Grimm: Mommy Dearest (2014 – USA): The main characters, Detectives Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin, – together with police Sergeant Drew Wu – fight off an Aswang which tries to suck the fetus out of a pregnant woman who happens to be Wu’s childhood friend back in the Philippines.
Search for the Aswang (2016 – UK): Thunderhawk Productions made a documentary about explorer Wil Davis and his search for the aswang. They discovered some really cool mysticism on the island of Siquijor. (watch below)
Aswang (2016 – USA): Awaiting the completion of their new beach house, a family decides to stay in an abandoned mansion that is rumored to be the home of the terrifying ‘Aswang.’ The Philippines has several legends, but this by far is the scariest. (trailer below)
Vampariah (2016 – USA): Mahal is a part of an elite squad of skilled hunters responsible for keeping the world safe from vampires and other creatures of the night. Her mission to rid the world of this undead threat becomes compromised when her fate intertwines with an aswang (a vampire of Philippine folklore). Vampariah has recently started its festival run. (trailer below)
It is worth mentioning that the Grimm episode ended up being the top rated program that night in the United States!
This is just a list of the TV and movies that are incorporating the aswang – there are also several books. A great place to start exploring those is THE ASWANG WARS by Enita Meadows. I have no doubt that the interest in Philippine Mythology will continue to grow as more young writers discover the allure of an essentially untapped pantheon of creatures.
Did I miss anything?
Jordan Clark is a Canadian born descendant of Scottish immigrants living on the homelands of the Lekwungen speaking peoples. His interest in Philippine myth and folklore began in 2004. Finding it difficult to track down resources on the topic, he founded The Aswang Project in 2006. Shortly after, he embarked on a 5 year journey, along with producing partner Cheryl Anne del Rosario, to make the 2011 feature length documentary THE ASWANG PHENOMENON – an exploration of the aswang myth and its effects on Philippine society. In 2015 he directed “The Creatures of Philippine Mythology” web-series, which features 3 folkloric beings from the Philippines – the TIKBALANG, KAPRE and BAKUNAWA. Episodes are available to watch on YouTube. Jordan recently oversaw the editing for the English language release of Ferdinand Blumentritt’s DICCIONARIO MITOLÓGICO DE FILIPINAS (Dictionary of Philippine Mythology) and is working on two more releases with fellow creators scheduled for release later this year. When his nose isn’t in a book, he spends time with his amazing Filipina wife of 20 years and their smart and wonderful teenaged daughter.
