Eighteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

The Philippines’ 1990s was an era of hastily made and formulaic films due to its increasing cost in production. Despite this, broadcast television technologies expanded their viewership in rural and urban disadvantaged areas. A recurring theme in Philippine Cinema is the portrayal of women’s beauty diverging from the Philippine populations’ general phenotypic appearance. With the general masses exposed to the time’s most attractive celebrities, the beauty standard grew to be more exclusive and out of reach to the average Filipino person. To analyze the difference in attitudes towards beauty standards from the 1990’s to the present, this research documents a recent history of different mindsets, and how Generation X’s environment molded them. Furthermore, this research gauges the implications of Philippine Cinema’s desired facial aesthetics on Generation X’s perception of female beauty. It discerns cinema’s role in establishing beauty standards and examining its recent effects on Generation X. Through gathering both producer and consumer insights, our findings state that the Mestiza, or foreign looks preferred in the 1990s still remain prevalent despite the changing outlook of modern times. The released media has influenced Gen X’s perception of beauty, albeit not completely as they still preserve their own personal tastes and biases. This shows that while the Gen X’s own personal life experience and environment shapes a conceivable influence on their perception on beauty, the media still plays a significant influence in developing the Gen X’s collective view on beauty.