Diasporic media and migrant worker consumerism: Thematic critique of magazine advertisements for the Filipino community in Taiwan

Abstract

The financial burdens of Filipino migrant workers are exacerbated by the lure of miscellaneous consumer goods peddled to them by businesses looking for a lucrative share of their remittances. This study examines a profit-oriented model of diasporic media that directly serves the business interests of its publisher and its advertisers. It analyses the Taiwan-based EEC Now magazine and criticizes the duplicity of its proclaimed mission of ‘Caring for Migrant Workers Now and in the Future’. Through a thematic analysis of advertisements published in selected issues of EEC Now, the study reveals the consumerist ideology espoused by the magazine: the commodification of the migrant worker’s body, the obligatory sending of balikbayan (repatriate) cargo boxes and cash remittances and the search for the next overseas destination. Applying concepts from Baudrillard’s theory of consumer society and San Juan’s critique of Filipino diaspora formation, the themes from the analysis reveal how profit-oriented diasporic media reflect social inequities and service the global capitalist system that ultimately spawned labour migration.