POSTMODERNIZING MYTHS: THE APPROPRIATION OF FILIPINO

FOLKLORE IN SELECTED CONTEMPORARY SHORT STORIES

CHAPTER I
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Points to Consider

I. 21st Century Literature as a part of SHS Curriculum

 There are existing books but they’re not enough. The selections are
good but it will good if they can be enriched with more texts that
somehow deal with the prevailing condition of the society. Ganun.
II. What texts can enrich the curriculum?
 The texts under scrutiny can be used in the subject 21st Century
literature because in a way or another they touch the themes of
postmodernism/postcoloniality prevailing in today’s society.
 As appropriated myths, they contain renewed or reimagined folktales
and therefore carry varying levels of meaning—their first meaning
and their appropriated meaning.
III. The function of myths (Why these stories?)
 Myths or grand narratives always carry regulative functions. They
shape the way people think and behave. It’s good to analyse them
for the regulatory or didactic that is has; not to mention that they are
really appealing stories—appealing because they are at once
familiar and strange.
 So to speak, it is a matter of asking: what are these stories us about
our postmodern/postcolonial selves?
IV. Rationale
 To assure that these stories will be included in the curriculum of 21st
century literature classes, it will be good to prepare lesson plans
about them.

Statement of the Problem

The study at hand seeks to investigate how the contemporary short stories
The Kite of Stars and The Beginning of the End: The Fall of the Ispacialo in
Hinirang by Dean Francis Alfar, The Alipin’s Tale by Raymund Falgui, Ana’s Little
Pawnshop on Makiling St. by Eliza Victoria and The Last Full Show by Budjette
Tan appropriate Filipino folklore and thereby describe the themes created by this
appropriation within the context of understanding Filipino identity in the
(post)modern and therefore postcolonial context.
As output, the researcher seeks to integrate the findings of the analysis into
the subject 21st Century Literature of the senior high school curriculum by
developing supplementary materials in the form of Kilgore lesson plans.
 To these ends, the following questions are formulated to guide the present
study:

1. How may the stories be described in terms of:

1.1. plot
1.2. character
1.3. setting
1.4. point of view?
2. How do the concerned short stories compare with the original concept of
the mythical characters?
3. What issues are addressed by the writers in appropriating characters from
Filipino folklore in their narratives?
4. How may the stories be analysed using the following postmodernist themes:
4.1. deconstruction of existing “master narratives”
4.2. dismantling of the Self
4.3. dialectical analysis of power?
5. What common themes are generated by the preceding analysis among the
stories?
6. What supplementary instructional materials may be proposed to integrate
the given short stories into the 21st Century Literature subject of the senior
high school?