Industriya ng “P.I”: Phenomenology of cursing and bad mouthing in the Philippine film and television industry

Abstract

This research was stimulated by an open letter from a bit player who raised his complaint regarding a director who verbally abused him while recording a television show. In the letter, the complainant cited the definition of culture by Geertz as the “webs of significance that man himself has spun.”  With this, the researchers came up with the term “P.I.” culture (Putang Ina Culture), defined in this research as the culture of cursing, bad-mouthing, swearing, and foul and abusive language inside the Philippine film and television industry. This study aimed to describe and interpret the “P.I.” culture lived experiences of talents and production team members working in the Philippine film and television industry from 2006 to 2016. This study is essential as it can raise awareness and bring change in the practices inside the said industries and as a basis for policy-making. This quantitative descriptive and qualitative phenomenological study utilized Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). The result of this study presents that “P.I.” culture exists, and the commonly shared experiences of the participants are a curse, conformity, and unmet expectation. This study concludes that cursing, bad-mouthing, swearing, and foul and abusive language that the people inside the industry have made themselves become a culture and that most people inside the industry experience and conform to it. The researchers recommend that future researchers may conduct other data-gathering techniques to get a more in-depth result of the lived experiences of the participants.